Announced in 2013 by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Belt Road Initiative (BRI) is a global development project that extends across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Most Western scholars and politicians have been highly critical of the BRI, particularly in connection with sub-Saharan Africa, defining the project as neo-imperialistic and arguing that only China would benefit from it in terms of political, economic, and military expansion. This thesis uses Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria as case studies to measure the effectiveness of the BRI in the development of these three countries. On the basis of this analysis, it can be posited that not only China, but also sub-Saharan African countries, specifically continental coastal democracies with access to natural resources that engage with China as business partners within the BRI's context, derive substantial benefits from their partnerships. To different degrees, Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria, are presented with opportunities to improve their infrastructure, enjoy economic growth, and reduce inequality by engaging in the BRI. Key Words:​ ​Sub-Saharan-Africa, China, Belt Road Initiative, development, economics, neo-imperialism, natural resources, infrastructure Title:​ China and Africa: The Dragon in The Lion's Den

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Philippa Foot’s account of natural normativity relies on functions. For Foot, having a function is what distinguishes those traits that can serve as the basis for the evaluation of an organism from those traits that cannot. For example, Foot asserts that a blue-headed tit that lacks the blue spot on its head is merely unusual but a peacock that lacks a brightly colored tail is defective because while the blue spot does not have a function, the brightly colored tail does. Problematically, it is not immediately clear just how Foot understands functions. I argue that Foot’s account of functions requires a distinction between functions and accidents. In Foot’s schema, functions appear similar to contributions to the achievement of ends: in the case of non-human organisms, functional traits contribute to survival and reproduction, while human beings are sui generis in that our ends are not exhausted by survival and reproduction. However, a trait’s contributing to these ends is not sufficient grounds for that trait to have a function. Only those traits that contribute in the right way count as having a functional role and can consequently serve as the basis for evaluations of the organism. Borrowing Reid Blackman’s example, a deer that evades predators through camouflage rather than swiftness is uncharacteristic and not naturally good in Foot’s schema. In such cases, the trait in question makes only an accidental contribution to an end. Furthermore, I argue that in order to maintain a function/accident distinction, Foot must understand functions in terms of kinds. These kinds entail three things for any organism that instantiates the kind: some work or end achieved by the organism, a characteristic story of how that work is achieved, and some sort of purposiveness to the characteristic achievement of that work. In the case of the deer above, its work is survival and reproduction, the story of how it achieves those ends includes eating leaves and avoiding predators through swiftness, and the achievement of survival and reproduction in this way is purposive because it answers to the capacity of living things to be a beneficiary. On one hand, my account of Foot’s natural goodness solves numerous problems in the interpretation of her work. It explains why natural goodness is unique to living things as opposed to entities that admit of similarly structured evaluations by looking at the purposiveness involved in these evaluations. Additionally, my interpretation counters the objection that Foot’s treatment of nature appears ignorant of pertinent empirical scientific evidence. In evaluating organisms as members of kinds, presumably an organism might belong to multiple kinds. Consequently, we can understand and evaluate an organism both as a member of a biological kind whose work is genetic promulgation and as a member of its neo-Aristotelian species whose work, at least in the case of non-human organisms, is survival and reproduction. Seen in this way, the relevant concern is not “how can Foot’s account of organisms avoid the charge of being scientifically uninformed?” but “why should the natural goodness of an organism be evaluated with respect to one kind instead of another?” Some neo-Aristotelians have endeavored to address this difficulty through the following commitments: that the neo-Aristotelian understanding of an organism is special because it is a self-interpretation, that these interpretations do not compete with one another, or that the natural sciences must presuppose a neo-Aristotelian understanding of species in order to have a notion of life. Rather than adopting any of these approaches, I contend that by understanding Foot through this three-part model we can understand the evaluation of an organism as a member of the neo-Aristotelian species as primary in a way that the biological account is not. On the other hand, my interpretation entails epistemological problems for Foot. We seem unable to distinguish accidental contributions to the work of an organism from functional contributions in a well-informed way, and the sui generis nature of human work makes it difficult to establish what counts as a contribution to its achievement. In light of these difficulties, the prospect of our having knowledge of the kinds on which her account depends seems dim. / Philosophy

This thesis examines Neo-Aramaic as an endangered language in the diaspora. It sheds some light on some linguistic and pragmatic aspects that have received little scholarly attention to date in Semitic literature, language endangerment and first language (L1) erosion in language contact studies. This thesis also draws attention to the fact that research on North Eastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) dialects needs to take into account that language (pragmatics) is an emergent phenomenon, especially in contract situations. Linguists need to shift gears and start empirical research that is derived from contextualized language use. In three studies, the thesis addresses the role that acculturation plays in molding L1 communicative competence and, in turn, macro-linguistic components of language, such as idioms, metaphors and politeness strategies. Chapter 2 deals with animal-based metaphors as conceptual categories belonging to a rudimentary level of knowledge. We report evidence which shows that Neo-Aramaic-English bilinguals (NA-E) failed to provide interpretations of culturally distinct animal-based metaphors that align with the interpretations of older NA speakers. This finding indicates that the cognitive process of conceptualizing animal metaphors is motivated by the way NA-E bilinguals perceive the world around them in an environment where NA is considered the language of an ethnocultural group. This shift in the NA-E bilinguals’ cognition represents a departure from the concerted conceptualizations of their L1 culture. In chapter 3, we examined NA-E bilinguals’ comprehension of two sets of decomposable and non-decomposable NA idioms obtained from older NA speakers and chosen on the basis of their high familiarity. NA-E bilinguals’ performance showed a marked decline on both decomposable and nondecomposable task compared to Canadian-English monolingual speakers (CE). The evidence reported here shows a high degree of L1 erosion in figurative competence which is, to a large extent, dependent on cultural beliefs and conventions. The study in chapter 4 documents the effect of acculturation on NA-E bilinguals’ behavioural competencies in terms of separateness and connectedness politeness strategies. Chapter 4 foregrounds the idea that NA speakers represent a collectivist culture whereas CE speakers belong to individualistic cultures. The study shows that NA-E bilinguals diverge from the politeness patterns of their cultural group, but their shift is compatible with the individualistic cultural norms. It provides fresh evidence that cultural adaptation to the majority group shapes cultural cognition and thus prompts L1 speakers to approximate L2 cultural preferences. Taken all together, the findings of this thesis demonstrate that language erosion is not limited to the structural aspects of language (morphosyntax and phonology), but it extends, in a regressive fashion, to include more advanced skills that are necessary to develop native-like proficiency. By and large, language atrophy is not necessarily caused by mere linguistic factors, but rather by a number of extralinguistic factors and culture is one of them. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The purpose of this study is to explore the concept of subculture and its meanings in today's discourse. I will also examine the post-subculture concept of neo-tribe and the differences between the two concepts. It is also my intention to show how subcultural groups undergo crises of authenticity in membership. By analyzing the Deadheads, the group of loyal fans surrounding the band the Grateful Dead, as a case study I will explore several factors contributing to a crisis of authenticity in membership within the subculture: the internet, the death of Jerry Garcia, and commercialization. I will also examine how the concept of subculture has evolved over time and been replaced with concepts such as the neo-tribe. / Master of Science

Idag finns det endast begränsad forskning om sambanden mellan inkomstutfall och specifika personlighetsdrag, därför ville vi undersöka detta vidare. Syftet med studien var sålunda att undersöka sambanden mellan inkomstutfall och specifika personlighetsdrag inom Big Five. Uttrycket ”fasett” användes i studien och avsåg specifika personlighetsdrag som tillsammans bildade bredare benämningar på olika personlighetsdrag. Personlighetsdragen delades in i fem bredare benämningar (faktorer) och 30 specifika personlighetsdrag, varav 11 lyftes fram i denna studie. Sambanden studerades på fasettnivå, samtidigt som det kontrollerades för ålder, kön och antal år i nuvarande yrket. Studien bestod av en enkät med två delar, dels med 16 självskattade frågor kring inkomst dels med 120 självskattade påståenden kring personlighet, IPIP NEO - 120. Data bearbetades med en korrelationsanalys och en multipel regressionsanalys. I studien testades fyra hypoteser, där tre av fyra kunde få stöd av resultatet (N=131, ålder 18–61 år, 68% kvinnor och 32% män). Anxiety (ångest), assertiveness (bestämdhet) och achievement-striving (prestationsinriktad) var de tre fasetter som fann stöd i resultatet. Modesty (blygsamhet) fann inte stöd. Av alla fasetter så visade adventurousness (äventyrlig) (β = .24, p = .02) och achievement-striving (prestationsinriktad) (β = .25, p = .01) störst prediktiv (förutsägande) förmåga tillsammans med kontrollvariabeln ålder (β = .52, p < .001). Resultaten från studien kan vara till hjälp genom att ge en bild av personlighetens generella prediktiva förmåga för inkomst samt vikten av samspelet mellan yrkeskvalifikationer och personlighet. Kunskap om hur personlighet samvarierar med inkomst kan bidra till utveckling inom områden som rekrytering, personalvägledning och lönesättning / Today there is limited research on the relationship between specific personality traits and income. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between income and specific personality traits within the Big Five. The term "facet" was used in the study referring to the 30 specific personality traits, 11 of which are highlighted in this study, which together form five broader factors. The correlations were studied at facet level, whilst controlling for age, sex and number of years in the current profession. The study consisted of a two-part questionnaire, partly with 16 selfassessed questions about income, partly with 120 self-assessed claims about personality (IPIP NEO-120). Data was processed using a correlation analysis and a multiple regression analysis. 4 hypotheses were tested, where 3 out of 4 could be supported by the result (N = 131, age 18-61 years, 68% women and 32% men). Anxiety, assertiveness and achievement-striving were the 3 facets that found support in the result, while Modesty did not find support. Of all facets, adventurousness (β = .24, p = .02) and achievement-striving (β = .25, p = .01) showed the greatest predictive ability along with the control variable age (β = .52 , p <.001). The results from the study can be helpful by showing the predictive ability of personality on income as well as the relation between professional qualifications and personality. Knowledge about how personality correlates with income can contribute to development in areas such as recruitment, personnel development and salary settlements.

A presente dissertação tem como objetivo ressaltar os caminhos dos fluxos literários estabelecidos dentro do macrossistema literário de língua portuguesa a partir dos romances São Bernardo, de Graciliano Ramos e Casa na Duna, de Carlos de Oliveira. A análise de ambos os romances é empreendida buscando destacar a codificação artística fruto de um rigoroso trabalho estilístico em correlação com a realidade social de ambos os escritores, evidenciamos assim a concepção (neo) realista da obra de arte como uma unidade sensível de forma e conteúdo que propicia um conhecimento do mundo dos homens sob a sociedade capitalista através dos destinos de Paulo Honório e Mariano Paulo. Buscamos também destacar elementos que evidenciam a apropriação que ambos os autores operam da tradição literária deste macrossistema, constituindo assim uma atualização do realismo como método de composição literária. / This paper aims to show the paths of literary flows established within the Portuguese literary macrossystem in the novels São Bernardo, by Graciliano Ramos and Casa na Duna, by Carlos de Oliveira. The analysis of both novels aims to highlight the artistic codification as a result of a close estilistic labor in relation to their social environment, emphasizing the (neo)realistic notion of the work of art as a sensitive unity of form and content which provides (self)consciousness of mens world in capitalism through Paulo Honório and Mariano Paulos destinies. We also try to highlight the aspects that show both writers appropriation of this macrossystem literary tradition, being an update of realism as a way of literary compostion.