Magister Human Ecology - MHE / Forced migration is a serious problem worldwide and it is always associated with political, ethnic or violent conflict accompanied by intensive human rights abuses. Africa has the largest number of refugees (more than 15 million) compared to other regions. Many Africans are forced to abandon their homes and go into exile because of ethnic conflicts, civil wars and ongoing violence which in turn cause millions of refugees to be separated from their families and loved ones. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of refugees in the Western Cape province with regard to their integration into the society. The objectives of the study were (1) to explore the experiences of refugees in the Western Cape, South Africa; (2) to explore the link between their experiences and integration into the South African society. This research employed an exploratory study design that was conducted qualitatively. Semi-structured interviews with refugees were conducted with the aim of understanding personal experiences and challenges that refugees face. The population of the study was refugees who visited two of the refugee centres in Cape Town. A purposive sampling method was used. A total of ten refugees were interviewed and a questionnaire was used to collect the demographic characteristics of the participants. Data was analyzed by thematic analysis method where the data was coded and categorized and discussed according to the aims and objectives of the study in relation to previous studies. The major themes identified were employment and financial independence, education, health, language, culture, emotional sustainability, support and xenophobia. The results of the study were made available to refugees and the centres participating in the study. The main findings were that most refugees are educated and have skills and relevant work experience yet they feel dissatisfied in their current work place because they are underutilized and not using their skills optimally. Emotional sustainability and integration is often challenged and refugees rely on spiritual faith to face their hardships. Issues of cultural differences and language gaps contribute to the lack of well being. Accessing treatment in public health care facilities was described as inadequate by refugees. Xenophobia contributes to the problems of integration. Participants felt to some extent their difficulties could be reduced if proper intervention could be made by the government in terms of support. The main recommendations resulting from the research were 1) government and non governmental institutions should work together to improve services delivery to refugees for integration purposes; 2) policy intervention is needed from the government to address the problems of refugees and 3) nongovernmental organizations should extend their services to community development to improve the interaction of refugees in adopted countries.

Magister Artium - MA / Much has been researched in South Africa about the trauma of losing one’s home, one’s community and rebuilding one’s life in a new environment. Several books have been published tracking the lives of the forcibly removed and their responses to leaving District Six. My research focuses on a different group namely those who had been forcibly removed from the centre of Stellenbosch, called “Die Vlakte” during that time.Living and working with and among people who have experienced this removal, I was keen to research whether the impact of the trauma is currently manifesting in this specific community and if so, what the symptoms would be. This qualitative inquiry focuses on one particular individual, Mr. Hilton Biscombe. I selected him because he, who experienced the removal as a teenager, spent most of his later life determinedly collecting stories and documents relating to this incident. Mr.Biscombe is also the only person of whom I am aware who responded personally through compiling a book, making a DVD, writing poetry as well as an autobiography relating to this event. My inquiry into the ways trauma manifests in a narrative, will be based on two interviews: one conducted by a white man from the University of Stellenbosch thirty years after the event; and another interview, six years later, conducted by myself.Our understanding of trauma is usually associated with a death or injury or the possibility thereof, but it could also include the victim’s response to extreme fear, serious harm or threat to family members. According to van der Merwe and Vienings, people also become traumatized when witnessing harm, physical violence or death or the sudden loss or destruction of a victim’s home (van der Merwe & Vienings, 2001).So the issue of trauma is not in question, nor the fact that forced removals cause trauma. I am exploring testimony in the form of interviews for possible current manifestations of this trauma thirty-six years down the line. / South Africa

The purpose of the study was to identify causes and consequences of early marriages in Lusikisiki. The population of this study is a convenience sample from Lusikisiki. The researcher thought that this was appropriate because these subjects would be sharing their personal experiences in the form of case studies. The ages of subjects that were interviewed were 40 years & 47 years old (both married early) and those that married late were both 50 years old. The idea that guided the study was an exploratory one aimed at understanding the phenomenon of early marriage. The aim was to explore the following ideas: Young girls are being given into marriage at their early age by their parents because of the bride price (ilobola)Women that are given into marriage early feel victimized by this process early marriage disrupts the school pattern of young girls Men are the main beneficiaries of early marriage.

Post-ischemia depression (PID) is a condition that affects approximately 30% of survivors from stroke or cardiac arrest and has an important impact on patients’ quality of life. Previous studies support important roles of the endocannabinoid (eCB) system in depression and brain ischemia. This study attempts to link all three variables together by investigating the role and mechanism of eCB signaling in the development of PID. A global ischemia + hypotension model was used to induce a PID phenotype in CD1 mice. Three ischemic time frames were tested, and even though all three could induce significant cell death in the CA1 region of the hippocampus, only the 15-minute time point led to an increased immobility time on the forced swimming test (FST). The main goal of this study was to investigate the effect of a cannabinoid type-I receptor (CB1R) antagonist/inverse agonist, AM281, on the development of two depressive symptoms: anhedonia, measured with the sucrose preference test (SPT), and behavioral despair, measured with the FST. AM281 administration was able to significantly reduce the symptoms of anhedonia and behavioural despair. Subsequently, the mechanism behind this antidepressant-like effect was investigated. Administration of bicuculine with AM281 did not significantly affect the antidepressant effect on the FST, therefore suggesting that AM281 does not act on GABAergic synapses. A similar protocol was adopted with NVP-AM077, where its administration combined with AM281 was able to block the effect of AM281, thus confirming the importance of glutamatergic synapses for the antidepressant effect of AM281. Furthermore, the administration of a TAT-GLUR2 peptide did not significantly affect the effect of AM281, implying that the astroglial cell-mediated LTD (long-term depression) at glutamatergic synapses is not involved in the antidepressant effects of AM281. Finally, a bilateral intra-BLA (basolateral nucleus of the amygdala) administration of AM281 was able to reduce the immobility time on the FST. In conclusion, these results highlight the important contribution of BLA glutamatergic synapses to the antidepressant-like effect conferred by AM281.

Orientador: Carlos Alberto Carrasco Altemani / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-24T09:07:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Loiola_BrunaRafaella_M.pdf: 2801156 bytes, checksum: 0bbef2296c5a3a938f63b6246554ab2d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: A transferência de calor conjugada por convecção forçada-condução de dois aquecedores protuberantes montados na parede inferior (substrato) de um duto retangular foi investigada através de medidas experimentais em laboratório. Potência elétrica era dissipada em resistências embutidas nos aquecedores feitos de alumínio, que eram resfriados em regime permanente por um escoamento forçado de ar no duto. Cada aquecedor transferia calor por convecção diretamente das suas superfícies em contato com o escoamento e por condução para a placa do substrato através da interface comum. Esta condução de calor espalhava na placa do substrato e era transferida por convecção da placa para o escoamento de ar no duto. O resfriamento conjugado dos aquecedores na placa de substrato foi descrito por uma matriz de coeficientes conjugados obtidos por meio de testes experimentais realizados com um aquecedor ativo por vez, em uma faixa do número de Reynolds do escoamento entre 1600 e 6400. Foram utilizadas duas montagens experimentais praticamente idênticas, uma com a placa do substrato de acrílico e a outra, de alumínio. O número de Nusselt adiabático, que é um descritor invariante do processo convectivo de troca de calor, também foi avaliado nos testes com o substrato de acrílico. Os coeficientes conjugados obtidos nestes testes foram então utilizados para prever as temperaturas dos aquecedores em testes adicionais com os dois simultaneamente ativos, sob condições variadas de escoamento e aquecimento. A concordância dessas temperaturas indicou que esses coeficientes são descritores invariantes do resfriamento conjugado dos aquecedores discretos no duto. Simulações numéricas do escoamento e da transferência de calor no duto considerado foram efetuadas com o pacote computacional PHOENICS em um domínio tridimensional semelhante ao duto experimental. Os resultados numéricos obtidos foram comparados com as medidas experimentais / Abstract: Conjugate heat transfer by forced convection-conduction of two protruding heaters mounted on the lower wall (substrate) of a rectangular duct was investigated through experiments in laboratory. Electric power dissipation in the Aluminum heaters¿ embedded resistances was transferred under steady state conditions to forced airflow in the duct. Heat losses from each heater included direct convection from its surfaces in contact with the airflow and conduction to the substrate plate through their common interface. This heat conduction was spread in the substrate plate and eventually transferred by convection from the plate to the airflow in the duct. The heaters¿ conjugate cooling was described by a conjugate matrix with coefficients obtained from experimental tests with a single active heater at a time, in the range of the airflow Reynolds number from 1,600 to 6,400. Two almost identical assemblies were used, one with a Plexiglas plate and the other with Aluminum. The adiabatic Nusselt number, an invariant descriptor of the convective heat transfer, was also evaluated in the tests with the Plexiglas plate. The conjugate coefficients were used to predict the heaters¿ temperatures from additional tests with both active heaters, for arbitrary airflow rates and heaters¿ power dissipation. An agreement of these temperatures indicated that the conjugate coefficients are invariant descriptors of their conjugate cooling. Numerical CFD simulations were performed using the PHOENICS software in a three dimensional domain similar to the experimental assembly. The numerical results were compared to those of the experiments / Mestrado / Termica e Fluidos / Mestra em Engenharia Mecânica

Magister Legum - LLM / Forced marriages and child marriages1 are a global and major concern when dealing with girl children’s and women’s rights. UNICEF statistics2 show that in South Africa alone 1% of girls were married by 15 years and 6% by 18 years.3While these numbers are insignificant, they arguably contribute to a global crisis where girls of primary school age are forced into marriage.4 This mini-thesis will focus on ukuthwala, a customary practice which is prevalent in the rural parts of South Africa, where girls and young women are married off. Moral reasons exist for the custom, however in recent years it has changed radically. Ukuthwala is most prevalent in the Eastern Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal provinces.6 It has been described as a ‘romantic mock abduction’ of an unmarried woman by a man who intends to marry her.7 According to Bekker and Koyana8 the procedure for ukuthwala is as follows: ‘The intending bridegroom, with one or two friends, will waylay the intended bride in the neighbourhood of her own home, quite often late in the day, towards sunset or at early dusk, and they will “forcibly” take her to the young man’s home. Sometimes the girl is “caught” unawares, but in many instances, she is caught according to plan and agreement. In either case, she will put up a show of resistance to suggest to onlookers that it is all against her will when in fact, it is hardly ever so’. While ukuthwala involves kidnapping a girl or young woman, the intention is to compel her or her family to endorse marriage negotiations.9 This therefore means, by custom, the suitor should report the thwala to his kraal head in order to commence lobolo10 negotiations.11 During this time consensual sex with the young girl is forbidden. Koyana and Bekker further explain that the girl or young woman is immediately placed in the midst and care of the womenfolk; and is treated with ‘utmost kindness and respect’,12 until such time that the marriage requirements are met.

People’s ability to call an experienced item “old” and a novel item “new” is recognition memory. Recognition memory is usually studied by first asking participants to learn a list of words and then make judgments of old (studied) or new (not studied) for test words. It has long been debated whether the underlying process of recognition memory is continuous or discrete. Two types of models are compared specifically that assume either discrete or continuous information states: the 2-high threshold (2HT) model and the unequal variance signal detection (UVSD) model, respectively. Researchers have used the receiver operation characteristic (ROC) function and response time (RT) data to test between the two models. However, both methods have provided evidence for 2HT and UVSD, and the debate has not come to consensus. In this study, we used an alternative approach to look into this issue. After studying the words, participants first made “old/new” judgment for each single test item. Then, if there were falsely identified items, each of them was randomly paired with a correctly identified word of the same response. Participants were asked to choose the studied word from the word pair. Simulation and experimental results were able to discriminate the 2HT and UVSD model. Experimental results showed that the UVSD model fitted the data better than the 2HT model. The forced-choice test paradigm provided an effective way to test between the 2HT and UVSD models.

In March of 2020, the Czech Republic was hit by the covidu-19 pandemic. This was followed by three waves of forced closures, which limited the activities of museums and galleries and prevented the public from visiting them. The museum presentation has therefore moved to the online sphere, where institutions sought to engage their online visitors with virtual tours, videos, social media communications and other projects. The aim of this diploma thesis was to find out what consequences the forced closures in 2020 had on Prague's museums and galleries and how these institutions managed to adapt in the online world. For this purpose, I chose the methods of a questionnaire survey and an interview. I contacted a total of 64 Prague's museums and galleries, from which I received 32 responses. The results point to far-reaching problems that forced closures have meant for these institutions. Even after reopening, visitor numbers did not return to the state before the covid-19 pandemic broke out. Nevertheless, none of the respondents is in immediate danger of extinction in the near future. The adaptation of Prague's museums and galleries in the online world turned out to be more optimistic. Institutions were able to create a whole range of interesting online projects that caught the attention of their...

The diploma thesis solves a project of air-conditioning with heat recovery in the gym and adjacent dressing rooms. Furthermore, experimental measurement of temperature and relative humidity is carried out in one year in an air-conditioning device with a heat recovery heat exchanger.

The aim of the diploma thesis is the simulation of different types of air conditioners using the CFD methods. The main goal of this thesis is to design the most suitable type of air conditioning in the consideration room, due to the air flow rate in the residental area. The conclusion of the work is to devote the design of air conditioning system with the application of selected type of air conditioning based on the results of CFD simulations.