This paper explores Alexanderplatz during the Weimar Period in Berlin. It is looked at from three different perspectives: historical urban plans, Alfred Döblin's novel Berlin Alexanderplatz, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 1980's film adaptation of Berlin Alexanderplatz. Through these three mediums, an argument forms that Alexanderplatz functioned as both a major transit space for movement of transportation and pedestrians, but also the transit space for the movement of ideas and information.

Roads and traffic are a major non-point source of pollutants and may have severe impacts on surface water, groundwater, soil and vegetation. In cold climates, de-icing salt is one such pollutant that may cause increased chloride concentrations and induce other effects on the environment. Monitoring and quantifying environmental effects are crucial for governing decisions towards more suitable use of de-icing salt in order to achieve and maintain good environmental status around roads. This thesis presents an operational modelling tool for monitoring the transport and fate of de-icing salt in the roadside environment in order to quantify changes in the environment at various spatial and temporal scales, using salt application data, meteorological data, geology and generic descriptions of hydrogeological environments as main inputs. A combination of modelling and various independent field measurements provided an efficient means for evaluating and describing the spread of de-icing salt from the road to the surroundings, the deposition of salt and ploughed snow in the roadside, and the corresponding increase in chloride concentration in soil and groundwater. Both the spatial and seasonal variation in soil chloride concentration were significantly affected by de-icing salt application. The importance of type of soil, vegetation type, groundwater conditions and distance from the road was clearly demonstrated for modelling the transport and fate of de-icing salt in the roadside environment. Salt emissions from the road by surface runoff were estimated at 50-80% of applied salt and transport by snow ploughing and air emissions at 20-50%. The uncertainty in the spatial distribution of snow and salt deposition close to the road was high and a previous proposed exponential decline in salt deposition with distance from the road could not be justified within a couple of metres from the road. Future monitoring should include both modelling and systematic data collection in order to reduce the uncertainty in predictions of the environmental impact of de-icing salt. Modelling of chloride concentration, soil water content and soil temperature and measurements of electrical resistivity may be a cost-effective solution for quantifying changes in the roadside environment. / QC 20100526

Bruno Latour, a former philosopher who turned to anthropology and sociology, whose work is so much known as controversial, has been developing a radical restatement of contemporary social sciences,with broad consequences for them, and in particular for sociology. Stating that the social does not exist, Latour claims the inclusion as «actants», as well as humans, of all kind of objects. According to Latour, in that way it would not be necessary to appeal to transcendent instances of experience, like huge historical processes, or entities in which a specific agent does not appear. After discovering Gabriel Tarde’s scientific production, who is considered by him as an antecessor of his ideas, Latour has lay down both a critique to the homo economicus, as well as to Marx’s vision on capitalism. This article intends to evaluate those critiques, making each author question the other. / Bruno Latour, filósofo devenido en antropólogo y sociólogo, cuya obra es tan conocida como controversial, viene haciendo un replanteamiento radical de las ciencias sociales, con amplias implicancias para ellas, y muy en particular para la sociología. Sosteniendo que lo social no existe, Latour demanda considerar como «actantes», al igual que los humanos, a todo tipo de objetos. Según él así se evitaría recurrir a toda instancia trascendente a la experiencia, como grandes procesos históricos, o entes donde no aparece un agente específico. Tras su encuentro con la obra de Gabriel Tarde, a quien considera como antecesor de sus propias ideas, ha planteado una crítica tanto al homo economicus como a la visión de Marx sobre el capitalismo. Este trabajo hace un balance de dichas críticas haciendo que cada autor interrogue al otro.

Northeast Brazil is a region characterized by economic poverty and human misery. Poor ecological conditions contribute to the nature of the dilemma, but another factor in the apparent cultural stagnation of the Northeast, may be the persistence of values and social practices traditionally aligned with the colonial sugar plantation system. Thus, this thesis represents an examination of the continuity of a given pattern, the man/patron relationship. This pattern is a contemporary parallel to the master/slave relationship which was the key to understanding of the social system of the colonial period. An historical overview reveals the nature of the traditional system, which proceeded to decline in the late nineteenth century. A review of present day conditions of the rural worker in the Northeast indicates numerous aspects of the colonial system which remain almost as they were. This review is followed by several case studies which particularly reveal various manifestations of the man/patron pattern in contemporary situations other than those associated with the remaining sugar industry. The information presented in the case studies was collected in 1968-69 when the author was living in Recife on a Fulbright-Hays grant. The case studies do not represent conclusive documentation but, rather, provocative evidence that certain aspects of the traditional social system, namely the man/patron pattern, persist in a con­temporary society which is no longer solely dependent on nor dominated by the production of sugar. Furthermore, the thesis implies that the continuity of traditional cultural patterns may, in fact, obstruct efforts of economic and social development.

Uncertainty surrounding volcanic activity can lead to socio-economic crises with or without an eruption as demonstrated by the post-1978 response to unrest of Long Valley Caldera (LVC), CA. Extensive research in physical sciences provides a foundation on which to assess direct impacts of hazards, but fewer resources have been dedicated towards understanding human responses to volcanic risk. To evaluate natural hazard risk issues at LVC, a multi-hazard, mail-based, household survey was conducted to compare perceptions of volcanic, seismic, and wildfire hazards. Impacts of volcanic activity on housing prices and businesses were examined at the county-level for three volcanoes with a “very high” threat designation from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS); LVC, (caldera system), Mount St. Helens, WA (stratovolcano), and Kīlauea, HI (shield volcano). A negative relationship was found between volcanic risk perception and preparedness. Additionally, the perception that housing prices declined after volcano alerts was confirmed by econometric modeling.

This thesis examines land reclamation as an increasingly significant form of land grabbing and control. Its focus is coastal reclamation in south Bali, Indonesia, particularly in and near the culturally, economically, and ecologically important Benoa Bay. Like elsewhere in Asia and around the world, the remaking of landscapes and seascapes in Indonesia through reclamation has numerous, interconnected material, ecological, and social impacts. In south Bali, coral, mangrove, and seagrass meadows have been degraded, fishers’ livelihoods decimated, and communities’ spiritual and other connections to place disrupted. Benoa is a particularly productive case to analyze, as there have been instances of both historical and recent reclamation projects, as well as a proposed mega-project that has successfully been resisted for nearly a decade. The thesis seeks to make multiple contributions in analyzing reclamation, primarily in Bali and elsewhere in Indonesia. First, despite its quickening pace and widening extent, there is a need for greater empirical attention to reclamation’s spatiality and its entwined social, ecological, and material effects. This case study is attentive to the historical and conjunctural specificities of Bali (including the tourist-centric economy that provides capital with unique imaginaries and circulations for a spatial fix and the Balinese-Hinduism that subtends legal pluralism), but also attempts to trace trends and dynamics of reclamation more widely. Second, examining reclamation as an assemblage enables us to better understand its political economy, by identifying the many financial, technological, legal, discursive and other elements that must be made to cohere. Analyzing cases of resistance, or other failures to cohere, reveal potential weak seams and chokepoints in reclamation’s assemblage. Third, analysis of reclamation enables us to see reclaimed land as “manufactured,” and different not just theoretically from emplaced land, but distinct in its behaviors. Manufactured land behaves like a true (not pseudo) commodity. Seeing land in a commodity chain further reveals its political economy as well as opportunities to disrupt its manufacture.

Evaluation of many records is the only way valid judgments can be made on abundance and status. The necessity of obtaining exact dates, localities, numbers, and special weather conditions cannot be overemphasized. For this reason, records in supplement to this list are freely solicited. The present checklist includes all species and subspecies for which specimens exist. In some instances sight records have been adequate reason for including a species on the list when no specimen existed. Sight records for species which are difficult to identify have been admitted upon careful editing. The author has followed the policy outlined by Griscom (1922) with regard to acceptance of sight records. Answers are sought to six questions about the person reporting an unusual sighting.: (1) Is he familiar with the birds of his area?; (2) Is he aware of the importance of his observation?; (3) Has he ever seen the species before?; (4) Does he know the species with which it might be confused?; (5) Does his account show that circumstances were good for a proper identification?; and (6) Did he recognize it at once, or look it up later from memory?

<p>This thesis examines the local consequences of the restructuring of Ontario's welfare state. Changes in welfare state policies are shown to have significant impacts upon the Province's urban areas. The thesis argues that to understand the development of the welfare state it is necessary to examine the structural context in which that deveIopment occurs as weII as the actions of human agents that seek to influence policy development and to change the structures of social organisation. That is, welfare state Policy, and the restructuring of the state, are not to be seen as imposed by the state: people can influence the development of the welfare state. It is within particular locaIities that we can observe the interactions between structures and agents.</p> <p>The thesis proposes that to understand the development of the local welfare state, we need to investigate the structural context in which a locality operates; the processes at work within a locality; and the unique features of the locality itself (e.g., people's experiences of the state and their reactions to state pol icy). This study incorporates each of these dimensions to provide a comprehensive analysis of the development of the local welfare state in Ontario.</p> <p>The primary processes at work in Ontario to influence the local level or Jment of the wellfare state in the last two decades have been the deinst itutionalisation of several (previously -institutionalised populations , and the) privatisation of services which serve these people. The~e policies are shown to be the result of pressures external to the 5tate (e.g .• the demands for social services), as well as those internal pressures which have received much greater attention in UH• literature (E.g •• the state's fiscal crisis).</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Globalization is recognized as a world-encompassing phenomenon, even as its benefits are debated. Sustainability, the capacity to maintain high standards of living through generations, is at stake. This paper examines the problems of sustainability with globalization from several perspectives. High statistical correlation between indices of globalization and environmental degradation (r2 = 0.977, p < .001) is found using multi-dimensional scaling software. The socially destabilizing, culture flattening effects of globalization are examined, and the terms ‘nationalism’ and ‘terrorism’ are defined. On the basis of its medial position among the indices of both globalization and environmental degradation, Chile is explored in a case study of the interaction. Conclusions regarding Chile’s vulnerabilities are reached, and the country’s environmental, social, and economic ‘weak spots’ are identified. The ethical positions of globalization and sustainability are considered, and the conclusion that there is very little that can be done to alter the nature of the interaction is drawn. It is suggested that globalization minimizes the prospects of success in efforts toward sustainability by maximizing vulnerabilities among sustainability’s components.

The city of Bangalore in southern India is undergoing rapid urbanisation and administrative transition. Its growth puts pressure on the available water sources – being mainly the disputed inter-State River Cauvery and the hard-rock aquifers – with ensuing problems of access. These aspects affect how rights to and over water are fulfilled and perceived. Competition for drinking water is intensifying worldwide and over a billion people are estimated to lack safe access to it. Urbanisation and other demographic trends, along with globalisation and climate change, are adding to the changing patterns of water scarcity. The role of rights in attaining and improving access to water is undoubtedly great and often referred to in the general water management debate. The notion is analysed here as having three interlinked dimensions: the right to water as a human right; water in terms of property rights; and water rights. Law treats these rights, and thereby water, differently. For instance, groundwater has traditionally been thought of as invisible and unpredictable. Partly for this reason, it is still left largely unregulated in many parts of the world. In India, according to the proverb, ‘the landlord is a water lord’. This has effects on the claim for water as a human right. The dissertation shows that we cannot talk in terms of water and rights until we are aware of how complex rights apply simultaneously, and how they correspond to obligations.