Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stevens Point, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-78).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Delaware, 2009. / Principal faculty advisor: Brock W. Jobe, Winterthur Program in Early American Culture. Includes bibliographical references.

Denna C-uppsats i socialpsykologi syftar till att undersöka hur en grupp gymnasieelever reflekterar kring sina egna och andras erfarenheter av grupptryck. Arbetet ska bidra till att få en förståelse för socialpsykologiska interaktioner som återfinns i resonemanget kring grupptryck. Arbetet grundar sig på intervjuer av fem gymnasielevers upplevelser av grupptryck och använder hermeneutiken i sin metodologi. Empirin analyseras genom tre teorier som behandlar olika perspektiv på grupptryck; beteende, existentiellt och intersubjektivt. Dessa teorier är Social Proof, Sartres Ond Tro samt Meads intersubjektivitet. Vid arbetets slutfas har jag funnit att det existerar tre influenser som gör att man kan dra till sig grupptryck och som har negativa konsekvenser. Dessa tre krafter är, för det första, en önskan om maktlöshet för att fly ångest, för det andra, en osäkerhet som baseras på att andra vet bättre och, slutligen, en överidentifikation med samhällsrollen som utelämnar den lekfulla delen av självet.

The temporal and spatial changes in chemical and biological properties of Lake Mead have been investigated, thereby indicating the sources of water pollution and the time of highest pollution potential. Planktonic organisms have been shown to indicate the presence of water problems. Macro- and micro-nutrient analyses have shown that primary productivity is not inhibited by limiting concentrations. A mathematical model has been developed, tested with one set of independent data, and shown worthy of management utility. Although the model works very well for the Lake Mead area, the physical reality of the MLR equation should be tested on independent data.

While the production of mead, a fermented honey beverage, has declined in popularity around the world in recent centuries, a substantial mead industry continues to exist in Africa with an estimated annual production of 1 to 1.7 billion litres. This is largely an ‘invisible industry’, and has functioned outside the formal economy due to proscription of indigenous beverages during colonial times. The traditional African mead industry is, however, also now under pressure due to the environmental degradation of scarce natural ingredients, urbanisation and loss of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) and, with time, the beverage will likely follow the declining trend of mead consumption observed elsewhere. An analysis of early reports of African mead production suggested that the Khoi-San, among the earliest inhabitants of the continent, are the originators of the mead making techniques which use fibrous plant materials derived from specific plant species, to facilitate mead fermentation in some way. The Eastern Cape represents a region with a large body of Khoi-San IKS preserved in their descendants among the Afrikaans and Xhosa populations. A survey to establish a baseline of mead-making technology in the Eastern Cape was undertaken, and involved interviewing traditional mead makers across an area of roughly 100 000 km2, showing that the mead, iQhilika(Xhosa) Kari (Khoi-San/Afrikaans), is produced using a very similar process throughout the region. This involves the roots of a Trichodiadema sp. plant (imoela – Xhosa, karimoer – Afrikaans/Khoi-San), honey, extract of brood and/or pollen and water. Various other fruit sugar sources were also found to be added at times producing seasonal beverages with unique organoleptic properties. A model traditional iQhilika production operation was investigated in order to describe the main features of the process. Biomass immobilised on Trichodiadema root segments was found to be distributed evenly through the profile of the bioreactor resulting in a well mixed fermentation and a productivity of 0.74 g EtOH/l/h. In the initial stages of fermentation, the ethanol yield was highest in the mid-regions of the bioreactor, but with time the regions closer to the surface, which had atmospheric contact had a higher yield. This phenomenon was attributed to aerobic fatty acid synthesis which allowed the yeast close to the surface to function more efficiently despite rising ethanol concentrations. The mead contained 44.25 g/l (7 % volume) ethanol produced in a fermentation time of 43.5 h. Yeast biomass in the traditional process was either immobilised in the form of flocs or attached to the Trichodiadema intonsum support. Electron microscopy revealed that the cells were covered in a layer of extra-cellular polymeric substance apparently assisting the immobilization, and which was populated by a consortium of yeasts and bacteria. Yeasts isolated from iQhilika brewed in two regions separated by 350 km were found to be very closely related Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains as determined by molecular genetic analysis. The traditional beverage was found to contain populations of Lactic acid bacteria (LAB), which are known spoilage organisms in other beverages. Spoilage characteristics of these organisms matched descriptions of spoilage provided by the IKS survey. Other possibly beneficial LAB, which may contribute useful flavour compounds, were also found to be present in the system. The basic functional aspects of the traditional process were used to design a continuous bench-scale tower bioreactor and process development was based on the IKS survey. This consisted of a packed bed bioreactor, consisting of 2 mm3 T. intonsum root segments, immobilising a novel Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain isolated from a traditional batch of iQhilika. The bioreactor performed well with a yield of close to the theoretical maximum and an ethanol productivity of 3.45 g EtOH/l/h. The parameters of the 5.6 l/d bench-scale bioreactor were used to design a full-scale production bioreactor with a planned maximum output of 330 l/d. This bioreactor had a productivity of 0.19 g EtOH/l/h. The organoleptic properties of the product produced were considered by a taste panel to be better than those of the product of the bench-scale tower bioreactor. This research was based on the development of IKS which imposed a number of constraints and obligations on the project to ensure environmental, and social, in addition to financial viability of the scale-up operation. Makana Meadery was established in partnership with Rhodes University as an empowerment company which, in addition to undertaking the commercialisation of the iQhilika process, would also develop methods for the production of scarce ingredients traditionally unsustainably sourced from fragile ecosystems, provide beekeeping training and the manufacture of beehives.

Higher education expands and Swedish universities are obliged to strive for widened recruitment (SCB u.å.; SFS 1998:1434). However, admission to university doesn´t mean a graduation is guaranteed and the teachers’ training programme for Swedish upper secondary education struggles especially with a large number of defections (UKÄ 2017). The student role concerns both rights and obligations (UKÄ 2020) but how does students perceive these aspects when failing an important exam? This study aims to demonstrate in what way students manage misfortunes in their studies and how this reflect the way they perceive their role as students. The empirical material consists of interviews with 8 teacher training students, all experienced in failing exams in one way or another. The analysis of the student’s reflexive processes is accomplished through the lens of different approaches of agency (e.g. Ketokivi & Meskus 2015; Erofeeva 2019) and Mead’s view of reflexivity within social interactionism theory (Lundin 2008). The result shows that failing exams has many implications for the student role, both practically and at an ontology level connected to the future role as a teacher. The students picture themselves as constantly trying to read what is asked of them since the requirements for passing an exam are vague and differ between courses. The students consider themselves responsible for failing, but when it comes to their strategies to comprehend a new test their agency has an outlook orientation including other actors, objects and material settings. This suggests that the students are in need of a concrete structure to accomplish their studies, which addresses time, physical objects and significant others.

Denna uppsats har som syfte att undersöka moderskapets identitetstillblivelser och upplevelser utifrån kvalitativa intervjuer som erbjuder narrativa perspektiv från tio svenska mammor. Detta görs inom den teoretiska ramen av symbolisk interaktionism, och mer specifikt genom George Herbert Meads teori om Jagets konstruktion. Moderskapet förklaras som socialt konstruerat, med grund i tidigare forskning, och moderskapets koppling till identitet analyseras i uppsatsens resultat. Då tidigare forskning innehåller bristfällig representation från skandinaviska länder bidrar uppsatsen även med ett nytt perspektiv till den forskning som redan finns kring identitet och moderskapets sociala konstruktion. Resultatet i uppsatsen presenteras i fyra teman, vilka sammanfattar de delar som moderskapets identitetstillblivelser och upplevelser kan förstås utifrån. Det som huvudsakligen framkommer i resultatet är att kvinnor som går in i ett moderskap upplever att det är en anpassning, och ibland även en utmaning, att kombinera den nya identiteten som mamma med sina övriga identiteter. Genom moderskapets sociala konstruktion, vilken är sammankopplad med internaliserade samhälleliga förväntningar och extern påverkan, kan mödrarnas upplevelser av identitet påverkas. Avslutningsvis kan moderskapets identitetstillblivelser bidra till både positiva och negativa upplevelser hos mödrarna beroende av den egna inställningen, omgivningens bemötande samt hur eventuella utmaningar hanteras.

Syftet med den här studien är att få syn på hur barns identitetsskapande tar plats i lek. Leken är en arena som ger upphov till många möjligheter och vi undrar hur en identitet kan ta form i dessa. Genom en kvalitativ observationsmetod har vi studerat barns fria lek i en förskoleverksamhet. Detta för att sedan genom Meads teori (1962) kring interaktion och socialt samspel samt de kompletterande begreppen självkänsla och makt, fördjupa oss i lekens betydelse. Resultatet av studien visar att leken i förskolan är en central del av barns identitetsskapande. I leken får barn bemästra olika situationer som alla har påverkan på deras blivande jag. Meads interaktionsbegrepp samt begreppen självkänsla och makt ger oss perspektiv på hur vi kan förstå och se identitetsskapande i de empiriska leksekvenserna. Interaktioner och socialt samspel är lärorika processer som påverkar barns utvecklande av kunskaper och förmågor inom lek som sedan spelar roll för identitetsskapandet.

I förskolan finns det två yrkeskategorier, barnskötare och förskollärare. Förskolan har blivit en egen skolform som fått egen läroplan som reviderats och fått tydligare riktlinjer för förskollärare och arbetslag. Som en följd av detta har kraven på personalen höjts. Med utgångspunkt i begreppen identitet och kompetens samt i identitetsteorier vill vi försöka närma oss en förståelse för hur de båda yrkeskategorierna ser på sin egen och varandras yrkesroll och kompetens. Vi undrar också hur de tänker kring förskolans framtid, kommer det fortsatt att finnas två yrkeskategorier i förskolan? För att få syn på detta har vi gjort en kvalitativ studie och för att samla in vår empiri valde vi att göra halvstrukturerade intervjuer. Vi valde att intervjua tre förskollärare och tre barnskötare från olika arbetslag. Studien visar att förskollärare och barnskötare inte gärna uttalar några tydliga skillnader i yrkesrollerna. En anledning till detta kan vara att det skett en kompetensutjämning vilket innebär att man känner lojalitet i arbetslaget och därför lägger sig på minsta gemensamma nivå trots olika kompetenser. Trots att de gärna inte vill uttala några skillnader blir det tydligt att de faktiskt ser skillnader mellan yrkeskategorierna. Studien visar även att språket är en central del i identitetskonstruktionen, i talet om sin kompetens och yrkesroll urskiljer man sig från de andra. Vidare finns det en allmän uppfattning om att en yrkeskategori vore det optimala och att detta är ett rimligt mål att sträva mot.

Adjustment of the drinking water treatment process as a simultaneous response to climate variations and water quality impact has been a grand challenge in water resource management in recent years. This desired and preferred capability depends on timely and quantitative knowledge to monitor the quality and availability of water. This issue is of great importance for the largest reservoir in the United States, Lake Mead, which is located in the proximity of a big metropolitan region - Las Vegas, Nevada. The water quality in Lake Mead is impaired by forest fires, soil erosion, and land use changes in nearby watersheds and wastewater effluents from the Las Vegas Wash. In addition, more than a decade of drought has caused a sharp drop by about 100 feet in the elevation of Lake Mead. These hydrological processes in the drought event led to the increased concentration of total organic carbon (TOC) and total suspended solids (TSS) in the lake. TOC in surface water is known as a precursor of disinfection byproducts in drinking water, and high TSS concentration in source water is a threat leading to possible clogging in the water treatment process. Since Lake Mead is a principal source of drinking water for over 25 million people, high concentrations of TOC and TSS may have a potential health impact. Therefore, it is crucial to develop an early warning system which is able to support rapid forecasting of water quality and availability. In this study, the creation of the nowcasting water quality model with satellite remote sensing technologies lays down the foundation for monitoring TSS and TOC, on a near real-time basis. Yet the novelty of this study lies in the development of a forecasting model to predict TOC and TSS values with the aid of remote sensing technologies on a daily basis. The forecasting process is aided by an iterative scheme via updating the daily satellite imagery in concert with retrieving the long-term memory from the past states with the aid of nonlinear autoregressive neural network with external input on a rolling basis onward. To account for the potential impact of long-term hydrological droughts, teleconnection signals were included on a seasonal basis in the Upper Colorado River basin which provides 97% of the inflow into Lake Mead. Identification of teleconnection patterns at a local scale is challenging, largely due to the coexistence of non-stationary and non-linear signals embedded within the ocean-atmosphere system. Empirical mode decomposition as well as wavelet analysis are utilized to extract the intrinsic trend and the dominant oscillation of the sea surface temperature (SST) and precipitation time series. After finding possible associations between the dominant oscillation of seasonal precipitation and global SST through lagged correlation analysis, the statistically significant index regions in the oceans are extracted. With these characterized associations, individual contribution of these SST forcing regions that are linked to the related precipitation responses are further quantified through the use of the extreme learning machine. Results indicate that the non-leading SST regions also contribute saliently to the terrestrial precipitation variability compared to some of the known leading SST regions and confirm the capability of predicting the hydrological drought events one season ahead of time. With such an integrated advancement, an early warning system can be constructed to bridge the current gap in source water monitoring for water supply.