Prokofiev had a specific approach to the modernist aesthetic that is worthy of a special study from a new perspective: eclecticism. There are two distinguishable views on his achievement in modern music. One is the Western version, which sees his eclectic approach as not innovative enough in comparison with modern composers such as Stravinsky. The other view is from the traditional Soviet approach, which holds Prokofiev in the highest esteem. These sources largely ignore Prokofiev's Paris and American periods. Such an oversimplification is likely to have reflected political circumstance. Neither the Western view nor the Soviet view provides a satisfying interpretation of Prokofiev's musical style. Therefore, understanding his eclectic approach is important to challenge and redefine our notion of Prokofiev's musical aesthetic. This dissertation examines Prokofiev's eclectic approach in his Violin Concerto in G minor with a combination of historical research and historically informed style analysis. The historical research is mainly based upon current interpretations of Prokofiev's musical style. The two contrasting views (Western and Soviet) on Prokofiev's contributions to modern music are equally lacking in objectivity due to their entrenchment in political rhetoric. Therefore, to have a more precise interpretation of Prokofiev's concerto, historically informed analysis is used to evaluate his essential self-characterization shift in his compositional style, the so-called "five lines."

Johann Joseph Fux's influence on the development of eighteenth-century alto trombone literature is significant. His music, when compared with that of other composers who wrote for the alto trombone before 1730, reveals a more elaborate and frequent use of the instrument. Many of Fux's compositions call for alto, tenor, or bass trombone, but his Sonata a Quattro K. 347 and Alma Redemptoris Mater K. 186 are of particular interest in regard to the composer's treatment of the alto trombone. This study points out the technical demands placed on the trombonist in Fux's works as compared to such contemporary composers as Antonio Caldara and Marc'Antonio Ziani. The primary goal of this study is to substantiate the importance of Fux's role in the development of the alto trombone repertoire. Published and unpublished works by Fux that significantly incorporate the instrument have been studied and compared to compositions of his contemporaries. A thorough discussion of Sonata a Quattro and Alma Redemptoris Mater illustrates the technical aspects of his alto trombone writing. The secondary goal of this study is to create a performing edition of Sonata a Quattro and Alma Redemptoris Mater. The existing editions in Denkmaler der Tonkunst in Osterreich and Johann Joseph Fux, Samtliche Werke are less than complete. There are no individual parts for performers, and tempo indications for several movements are missing. Mistakes in the parts of Sonata a Quattro and discrepancies between the figured bass and continuo realization have been corrected for the creation of a new edition. Tempo, ornamentation, instruments, and articulation are also discussed to assist in the presentation of an historically informed performance of the Sonata a Quattro and Alma Redemptoris Mater.

Due to the limited repertoire for the guitar from the Baroque period, classical guitarists who wish to perform music from this era have to work primarily with transcriptions. Guitarists draw from various sources from this period such as vocal and instrumental music for the five-course guitar, lute and the harpsichord. Of these sources, the repertoire for the harpsichord is perhaps the most frequently arranged for various guitar formations because its textures are greatly similar to those of the guitar repertoire. As a result, harpsichord music tends to transfer well to the guitar. Baroque harpsichord composers such as Domenico Scarlatti, Johann Sebastian Bach, François Couperin, and Jean-Philippe Rameau-to name a few-have a permanent home in the classical guitar canon and represent the musical tastes and styles of Italy, Germany, and France. These composers exemplify the various stylistic differences between the above-mentioned countries; yet, the harpsichord music of Spain is largely underrepresented in guitar collections. One of the most noteworthy Spanish harpsichordists was Padre Antonio Soler (1729-1783), who composed 120 sonatas for the instrument. When considering the ease with which some of his works transfer to the guitar, and specifically guitar duo, much can be gained by expanding the repertoire and exploring the Spanish Baroque style. The purpose of this study is three-fold: first, to present transcriptions of Antonio Soler's Sonata No. 85 and Fandango for guitar duo; second, to provide analysis of Sonata No. 85 with an emphasis on the intervallic features of the motives; third, to give an overview of the transcription process of Fandango for guitar duo while including a study of Spanish Baroque guitar and the appropriate stylistic effects drawn from its repertoire that can be incorporated in the arrangement.

The majority of low income households in South Africa have limited access to electricity, and typically cook on stoves fuelled by paraffin. Paraffin represents a fossil fuel. It is a relatively cheap fuel in South Africa. Another fuel that can also be used for cooking is wood pellets, which is a renewable fuel. It can be used in a similar way to that of paraffin and is relatively cheap compared to other renewable energy sources. To investigate if living conditions among low income households can be improved the focus of the study was to evaluate the sustainability of cooking on paraffin and wood pellets. This was done by comparing social, environmental and economic aspects associated with the two cooking fuels. The social aspects were investigated through an interview study, the environmental aspect through a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) and the economic aspects through a partial life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) focusing on the user phase.   The interview study showed that paraffin users considered four aspects as the most important when cooking, namely safety, health, affordability and quality. The study also found that the majority were willing to change to another cooking fuel if these aspects were fulfilled. The LCA showed that both systems score the highest on 9 out of 18 environmental impact categories over a 16-year perspective. The economic analysis showed that the user phase of the wood pellet system is more economically beneficial during the 16-year time period than the paraffin system. It was concluded that wood pellets could be used as an option to paraffin for cooking and would most likely increase living conditions for low income households. / Majoriteten av låginkomsthushåll i Sydafrika har begränsad tillgång till elektricitet och vanligtvis sker matlagningen på paraffinspisar. Paraffin är ett fossilt bränsle. Det är ett relativt billigt bränsle i Sydafrika. Ett annat bränsle som också kan användas för matlagning är träpellets som är ett förnyelsebart bränsle. Det kan användas på liknande sätt som för paraffin och är ganska billigt i jämförelse med andra förnybara energikällor. För att undersöka om levnadsförhållanden för låginkomsthushåll kan förbättras låg fokus för denna studie på att utvärdera hållbarheten för att laga mat på paraffin och träpellets. Detta genomfördes genom att jämföra sociala, miljömässiga och ekonomiska aspekter associerade med dessa bränslen för matlagning. De sociala aspekterna undersöktes genom en intervjustudie, de miljömässiga aspekterna genom en jämförande livscykelanalys (LCA) och de ekonomiska aspekterna gjordes genom en livscykelkostnadsanalys (LCCA) för användarfasen.   Intervjustudien visade att paraffinanvändare anser att fyra aspekter är de viktigaste vid matlagning, nämligen säkerhet, hälsa, kostnad och kvalitet. Studien visade också att majoriteten var villiga att byta till ett annat bränsle för matlagning om dessa aspekter var uppfyllda. Livscykelanalysen visade att båda systemen hade högst miljöpåverkan i 9 av 18 miljöpåverkanskategorier vardera inom ett 16-årsperspektiv. Den ekonomiska analysen visade att under en 16-årsperiod var användarfasen mer kostnadseffektiv för matlagning på träpellets jämfört med paraffin. Studien visade att träpellets kan användas som ett alternativ för paraffin vid matlagning och kommer troligtvis öka levnadsförhållanden för låginkomsthushåll.

The majority of low income households in South Africa have limited access to electricity, and typically cook on stoves fuelled by paraffin. Paraffin represents a fossil fuel. It is a relatively cheap fuel in South Africa. Another fuel that can also be used for cooking is wood pellets, which is a renewable fuel. It can be used in a similar way to that of paraffin and is relatively cheap compared to other renewable energy sources. To investigate if living conditions among low income households can be improved the focus of the study was to evaluate the sustainability of cooking on paraffin and wood pellets. This was done by comparing social, environmental and economic aspects associated with the two cooking fuels. The social aspects were investigated through an interview study, the environmental aspect through a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) and the economic aspects through a partial life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) focusing on the user phase. The interview study showed that paraffin users considered four aspects as the most important when cooking, namely safety, health, affordability and quality. The study also found that the majority were willing to change to another cooking fuel if these aspects were fulfilled. The LCA showed that both systems score the highest on 9 out of 18 environmental impact categories over a 16-year perspective. The economic analysis showed that the user phase of the wood pellet system is more economically beneficial during the 16-year time period than the paraffin system. It was concluded that wood pellets could be used as an option to paraffin for cooking and would most likely increase living conditions for low income households. / Majoriteten av låginkomsthushåll i Sydafrika har begränsad tillgång till elektricitet och vanligtvis sker matlagningen på paraffinspisar. Paraffin är ett fossilt bränsle. Det är ett relativt billigt bränsle i Sydafrika. Ett annat bränsle som också kan användas för matlagning är träpellets som är ett förnyelsebart bränsle. Det kan användas på liknande sätt som för paraffin och är ganska billigt i jämförelse med andra förnybara energikällor. För att undersöka om levnadsförhållanden för låginkomsthushåll kan förbättras låg fokus för denna studie på att utvärdera hållbarheten för att laga mat på paraffin och träpellets. Detta genomfördes genom att jämföra sociala, ekologiska och ekonomiska aspekter associerade med dessa bränslen för matlagning. De sociala aspekterna undersöktes genom en intervjustudie, de miljömässiga aspekterna genom en jämförande livscykelanalys (LCA) och de ekonomiska aspekterna gjordes genom en livscykelkostnadsanalys (LCCA) för användarfasen. Intervjustudien visade att paraffinanvändare anser att fyra aspekter är de viktigaste vid matlagning, nämligen säkerhet, hälsa, kostnad och kvalitet. Studien visade också att majoriteten var villiga att byta till ett annat bränsle för matlagning om dessa aspekter var uppfyllda. Livscykelanalysen visade att båda systemen hade högst miljöpåverkan i 9 av 18 miljöpåverkanskategorier vardera inom ett 16-årsperspektiv. Den ekonomiska analysen visade att under en 16-årsperiod var användarfasen mer kostnadseffektiv för matlagning på träpellets jämfört med paraffin. Studien visade att träpellets kan användas som ett alternativ för paraffin vid matlagning och kommer troligtvis öka levnadsförhållanden för låginkomsthushåll.

With the hot topic of the climate change effects a desperate change is needed in the world ofthe national and global industry. A good start is an environmental management system, EMS.The main focus of the on-going process of an EMS is to organise the company’s work, to decrease the use of raw materials and energy, and to severely reduce pollutions to air, water and land. The EMS is a part of a sustainable development and a valuable tool for everyindustry who wants to better their image and keeping environmental concerned customers. Asia and Thailand are growing markets where SME and large-scale industries have started tointroduce ISO standards. The top management of these organisations have opened their eyes to the demand of the clients regarding less environmental impact from their products and services. The motive for this study, carried out as an MFS is to get an insight of the Thai industries and how well they have implemented their EMS. / www.ima.kth.se

Captive-breeding has been identified as an integral part of the conservation of threatened species. The black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) as a species is currently listed by the IUCN as critically endangered (CR), while the white rhinoceros’s (Ceratotherium simum) current status is near-threatened (NT). Three African rhinoceros subspecies currently occur in captive populations in regional population management programmes, namely the South-central black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis minor), the Eastern black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis michaeli) and the Southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum). Concerns have been raised, however, that these populations are not self-sustainable. This study aims to analyze the demographic parameters that contribute to the growth rates of the global captive populations of African rhinoceros. The study sets out to determine if these global captive populations are currently self-sustaining, which demographic factors have the most influence on the population growth rates, and whether or not 50- and 100- year targets set for the captive African rhinoceros populations are attainable. Demographic data from 1 January 2010 until 31 December 2010 were analysed through population census, life table and age structure analyses. Two additional concerns, namely poor reproductive performance of the female F1 generation and male-biased birth sex ratios, were also assessed. The results indicate that the captive populations of D. b. minor and C. s. simum are not self-sustainable, with population growth rates (λ) of 0.98 and 0.99, respectively. Diceros bicornis michaeli is the only subspecies with a growing population, with a population growth rate of 1.02. Sensitivity analyses conclude that fecundity rates, and not mortality rates, are the limiting factor to population growth in all three subspecies. While lifetime reproductive success values for D. b. minor and C. s. simum captive-born females are far lower than those of the founder generation, several factors need further investigation to determine the true cause of this. Birth sex ratio analysis shows no significant difference from parity for both black rhinoceros subspecies, however, quadratic logit regression conducted on the white rhinoceros data indicated a statistically significant male-bias. In all three subspecies, no significant link was found between maternal age and the sex of the offspring. Overall, the results of this study show that the 50 year and 100 year targets set at the GCAP workshop in 1992 are achievable. However, D. b. minor will only be able to achieve the target population sizes with an increase in fecundity rate of around 170% or alternatively, additional supplementation from the wild. Recommendations for the future include a global study of breeding husbandry at an institutional level, and the formalisation of a Global Species Management plan for D. b. minor. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / I would like to acknowledge several organisations and people that have supported me throughout this MSc. The National Research Foundation (NRF), which provided me with the funding for my studies. My employer, The National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, a research facility of the NRF, and particularly the CEO, Dr Clifford Nxomani and my manager, Dr Abeda Dawood, who gave me support, encouragement and most importantly, time off to concentrate on this thesis. A special heartfelt thanks goes to my supervisors, Prof. Chris Chimimba, who never gave up on me, even though this study took a little bit longer than it was supposed to, and Dr Ed Stam, whose dedication, patience and endless comments (and good cappuccinos) helped shape this thesis. Lastly, my husband David, who always encourages me to do better and never allows me to become complacent; thank you, my love, for always pushing me to achieve. / Zoology and Entomology / MSc / Unrestricted

The thesis deals with the book collection of the Capuchin monastery in Sušice. It conducts a survey of the history of the collection and elaborates its characteristics in terms of content and language. It carries out provenance research in the collection and looks into the reading culture of the rural monastery. The structure of the work is built on four pillars, each of them expressed in an individual chapter. The first part deals with the historical circumstances related to the arrival of the Capuchin Order in Bohemia and the founding of the monastery in Sušice. These events led to the creation of the monastic library. The second point is a summary discussion about the monastic library, its content and impact on the book culture in Sušice. The third pillar is built upon information on the development and fate of the library in the 20th century. The present status and recent functions of this historical collection is described here in detail. The final part deals with the topic of reading. The conclusion summarizes the results reached.

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Legal status of a minor and the Children's Ombudsman in civil proceedings Abstract As the title may indicate, the main author's purpose is to address specific aspects of participation of a minor in civil proceedings, to highlight complications related to procedural (in)capacity of minors and to suggest solutions for the major issues, which the author sees especially in unsatisfactory representation of a minor and in disregard for the child's right to participation. Using concrete examples, it is demonstrated that current law does not need to be modified fundamentally in order to significantly improve position of minors as parties to civil proceedings. On top of that, in pursuit of livening up this frequent topic, the thesis provides a critical analysis of the Children's Ombudsman bill that may give rise to an entirely new office of the Children's Ombudsman, which already exists in almost all EU member states, however, Czech Republic is not one of them. Therefore, a brief comparative study of several European legislations on Children's Ombudsman will be conducted. According to the bill, the potential Children's Ombudsman's authority should apply, inter alia, to some civil proceedings. Namely, the Children's Ombudsman would be entitled to initiate or participate in vast majority of special court proceedings...