This thesis critically examines the role of indigeneity in urban policies and planning in a context of constitutional changes that have taken place in Bolivia and Ecuador in the recent decade. It departs from previous academic and policy research which mainly studied indigenous rights in rural areas and focused on urban indigenous peoples as outlawed, excluded, or insurgent subjects. Instead, it conceptualises the translation of indigenous rights into urban policies as a complex process in which a multiplicity of social actors – including government officials and urban indigenous groups – are involved. Drawing on the practice-centric literature on urban policy and planning, it recognises that the work of government officials is influenced by multiple factors such as constitutional texts as well as their personal views, interest group demands, and the wider structural and political environment surrounding them. Government attempts to translate indigenous rights are contrasted to urban indigenous peoples’ own understandings of indigeneity and associated interests and demands. In addition, this thesis uses an asset accumulation framework as well as the concept of tactics to identify how urban indigenous peoples address and negotiate their interests and demands and try to influence decision-making processes from the bottom-up. The thesis relies on La Paz (Bolivia) and Quito (Ecuador) as ‘illustrative cases’ to study the role of indigeneity in urban policies. As both La Paz and Quito represent capital cities, it was possible to approach government officials operating at multiple scales – international, national and local – as well as ordinary urban indigenous residents. Methodologically, the thesis employs a qualitative, case study comparison and draws on information derived from semi-structured interviews, document analysis, participant observation and participatory focus groups conducted during eleven months of fieldwork. In terms of comparison, this thesis makes use of a variation-finding approach. By explaining variations between the cases through focusing on the unique processes and factors that shaped the translation of indigenous rights within each city, it intends to offer a more nuanced and context-responsive approach for studying urban indigeneity and addressing indigenous rights in cities. A central finding of this thesis is that the incorporation of indigeneity into urban policies and indigenous people’s own practices to fulfil their specific demands were characterised by a set of conflicting realities: First, for government officials the translation of indigenous rights into urban policies sometimes clashed with other priorities – such as addressing universal rights and interests of non-indigenous pressure groups – or with their own views of the city as a ‘white’, ‘western’, and ‘modern’ places. Second, urban indigenous peoples articulated multiple and contradictory identities. They mainly did this by voicing specific demands for land – an important asset which they associated with the preservation of a communal and traditional lifestyle but also with aspirations to lead a modern and capitalist life in the city. Third, the findings reveal that indigenous peoples – particularly their community leaders – had to enter in negotiations with governments to access different assets such as land, housing, or education. In these processes leaders manoeuvred between different worlds. They had to conform to political agendas and – particularly in the case of Bolivia – to official spatialized understandings of identity and rights which often conflicted with their own sense of being indigenous in the city.

Heavy metal pollutants, discharged into the ecosystem as waste by anthropogenic activities, contaminate drinking water for millions of people and animals in many regions of the world. Long term exposure to these metals, leads to several lethal diseases like cancer, keratosis, gangrene, diabetes, cardio- vascular disorders, etc. Therefore, removal of these pollutants from soil, water and environment is of great importance for human welfare. One of the possible eco-friendly solutions to this problem is the use of microorganisms that can accumulate the heavy metals from the contaminated sources, hence reducing the pollutant contents to a safe level. In this thesis an arsenic resistant bacterium Lysinibacillus sphaericus B1-CDA, a chromium resistant bacterium Enterobacter cloacae B2-DHA and a nickel resistant bacterium Lysinibacillus sp. BA2 were isolated and studied. The minimum inhibitory concentration values of these isolates are 500 mM sodium arsenate, 5.5 mM potassium chromate and 9 mM nickel chloride, respectively. The time of flight-secondary ion mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy analyses revealed that after 120 h of exposure, the intracellular accumulation of arsenic in B1-CDA and chromium in B2-DHA were 5.0 mg/g dwt and 320 μg/g dwt of cell biomass, respectively. However, the arsenic and chromium contents in the liquid medium were reduced to 50% and 81%, respectively. The adsorption values of BA2 when exposed to nickel for 6 h were 238.04 mg of Ni(II) per gram of dead biomass indicating BA2 can reduce nickel content in the solution to 53.89%. Scanning electron micrograph depicted the effect of these metals on cellular morphology of the isolates. The genetic composition of B1-CDA and B2-DHA were studied in detail by sequencing of whole genomes. All genes of B1-CDA and B2-DHA predicted to be associated with resistance to heavy metals were annotated. The findings in this study accentuate the significance of these bacteria in removing toxic metals from the contaminated sources. The genetic mechanisms of these isolates in absorbing and thus removing toxic metals could be used as vehicles to cope with metal toxicity of the contaminated effluents discharged to the nature by industries and other human activities.

This research investigates, using the New Institutional Economics theories of property rights and transaction cost, two interrelated problems. Firstly, the question of whether real estate markets in the urban informal settlements of Namibia could be used to alleviate poverty or, to put it differently, create wealth. The second problem relates to the question of whether specific forms of property rights matter for engendering pro-poor outcomes in real estate markets and, if so, what form these are likely to take. Corresponding to these questions are two working hypotheses respectively. Firstly, it is hypothesised that real estate is a significant asset held by the urban poor in Namibia and that there is potential for capital accumulation by trading up in real estate markets. Secondly it is hypothesised that, by affecting the incentive structure of, and transaction costs in real estate markets, systems of property rights affect market outcomes, thus ultimately determining whether these markets may be efficacious for poverty alleviation. The study employs the comparative institutional methodological approach in a case study framework to examine effects of three types of property rights regimes on low income real estate markets in settlements located on Windhoek’s periphery. The main empirical data for the study were collected by means of a questionnaire survey of 440 households in two settlements called Goreangab and Okahandja Park respectively. This survey was supplemented by 14 unstructured interviews with selected respondents and by key-informant interviews with officials from the Windhoek City Council (WCC), the Namibian Housing Action Group (NHAG), and the Namibian Housing Enterprises (NHE). The study finds that real estate is indeed a major asset held by the respondents. The study finds that, while there are robust rental markets for rooms and backyard structures, there is very limited sale activity. The study also finds that in the absence of formal property rights, social networks and hierarchical organisations rather than impersonal markets provide the institutional structure to transaction activity. It is found that the degree of formality of property rights correlates to perception of security, that property rights affect investment in housing and that property rights (to some extent) affects the degree of market activity. The study therefore concludes that while not insignificant gains are to be had from rental markets, there is at present limited potential to derive benefits from sale markets in Namibia due to a lack of trading activity. The first hypothesis is thus only partially confirmed. It is also concluded that while social networks guarantee access to urban land for the poor, they tend to lock them in enclaves of ethnic and kinship relations, inhibiting the development of wider, impersonal markets argued to be necessary for capital accumulation. Further, it is concluded that formal property rights create incentives for investment and therefore matter for capital accumulation, but that they are not necessarily accessible to the poor. The second hypothesis, that property rights affect market outcomes, is substantially confirmed. Overall the study concludes that there is good potential for leveraging real estate markets in Namibia’s (and other developing countries’) informal settlements for capital accumulation but that these need to be primed first. This means deliberate interventions with the aim of bringing about increased trading activity. In this regard specific proposals have been made for policy intervention in three key areas, namely, the creation of appropriate property rights systems, together with supporting organisational infrastructure, the expansion of physical infrastructure and the building of shared understanding and trust in urban communities. The study makes a number of key contributions to knowledge about the relationship between real estate markets and poverty alleviation in the area of theory, methodology, policy and empirical data. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Construction Economics / unrestricted

The global development of capitalism and the transition from ‘Fordism’ to ‘flexible accumulation’ intensified international migration especially the migration of professionals. ‘Flexible accumulation’ hinges on different forms of flexibilities mainly labour market flexibility, which is, made possible by dividing the labour force into ‘core’ and ‘periphery’. Migrant professionals, however, occupy a unique position. As foreigners they can be easily marginalised in the social, cultural and political processes in the workplace. At the same time they hold scarce skills that are crucial for the success of business organizations. The social ordering and the nature of interactions between employees at the workplace, generally, mirror what happens in the wider economic, social and political spheres. The reverse is also true. Thus, the workplace has the potential to perform an integrative function by connecting individuals with the larger society or by connecting individuals from different racial and ethnic groups. This is particularly important in heterogeneous countries, like South Africa, that are made up of diverse racial and ethnic population groups and significant numbers of immigrants. Despite its integrative capacity, there are also social and cultural processes that take place in the workplace that severely undermine its capacity to perform this integrative function. South Africa’s racial ordering during the colonial and apartheid eras created deep-seated racial divisions in the wider societal realm and the workplace. In post-apartheid South Africa the African National Congressled government has set up and continues to put in place structural measures to undo the impacts of the past political and workplace regimes. Unfortunately, some of the measures put in place result in new and unexpected problems and challenges. Thus, South Africa continues to battle with structural unemployment and critical skills shortages, which has necessitated the importation of skilled migrants. These migrant professionals, therefore, find themselves in a divisive environment in the South African workplace with limited opportunities for workplace integration. This case study of Zimbabwean engineers in the public sector of the construction industry in Pretoria and Johannesburg reveals that migrant professionals are far from being fully integrated in the workplace. They are faced with structural barriers that need to be redressed. If left unchecked these differential practices in the workplace will have negative impacts on the wider political democracy in South Africa. / Dissertation (MSocSci)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Sociology / unrestricted

Les mutations sont la principale source de diversité sur laquelle agit la sélection pour permettre aux espèces de s'adapter. Les études de l'effet des mutations sur la survie et du taux de mutation sont donc essentielles pour mieux comprendre l'évolution. Par une approche d'expérience d'accumulation de mutations, nous étudions ces deux questions chez cinq modèles d'algues vertes (Ostreococcus tauri, O. mediterraneus, Bathycoccus prasinos, Micromonas pusilla, et Picochlorum RCC4223). Il est mis en évidence une diminution de la fitness au cours du temps en raison des mutations délétères, et une importante interaction génotype-environnement sur l'effet des mutations. Le taux de mutation varie aux échelles intra-génomique et inter-spécifique, avec deux principaux résultats: une augmentation du taux de mutation dans les régions non codantes et une augmentation du taux de mutation avec la taille du génome chez les eucaryotes et en fonction de l'écart à l'équilibre en GC du génome. Aussi, l'assemblage et l'annotation d'une picoalgue du genre Picochlorum permettent d'étudier le rôle des transferts horizontaux de gènes chez les Chlorophytes. / Mutations are the main source of diversity on which selection acts to allow species to adapt. Studies of the effect of mutations on survival and estimation of spontaneous mutation rates are essential to better understand evolution. Using mutation accumulation experimental approach, we investigated the issues of mutation effects and mutation rate in five models of green algae (Ostreococcus tauri, O. mediterraneus, Bathycoccus Prasinos, Micromonas pusilla, and Picochlorum RCC4223). It highlighted a decline in fitness over time because of deleterious mutations, and a significant genotype-environment interaction on the fitness effect of mutations. The mutation rate varies at inter-specific and intra-genomic scales, with two main results: a raise of the mutation rate in non-coding regions in accordance with trancriptional-coupled repair, and an increase of the mutation rate with an increase of the genome size in eukaryotes and the GC content deviation from the equilibrium. Also, a new Picochlorum genome is provided to investigate the role of horizontal gene transfer in the Chlorophyta group.

Heavy metal pollutants, discharged into the ecosystem as waste by anthropogenic activities, contaminate drinking water for millions of people and animals in many regions of the world. Long term exposure to these metals, leads to several lethal diseases like cancer, keratosis, gangrene, diabetes, cardio- vascular disorders, etc. Therefore, removal of these pollutants from soil, water and environment is of great importance for human welfare. One of the possible eco-friendly solutions to this problem is the use of microorganisms that can accumulate the heavy metals from the contaminated sources, hence reducing the pollutant contents to a safe level. In this thesis an arsenic resistant bacterium Lysinibacillus sphaericus B1-CDA, a chromium resistant bacterium Enterobacter cloacae B2-DHA and a nickel resistant bacterium Lysinibacillus sp. BA2 were isolated and studied. The minimum inhibitory concentration values of these isolates are 500 mM sodium arsenate, 5.5 mM potassium chromate and 9 mM nickel chloride, respectively. The time of flight-secondary ion mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy analyses revealed that after 120 h of exposure, the intracellular accumulation of arsenic in B1-CDA and chromium in B2-DHA were 5.0 mg/g dwt and 320 μg/g dwt of cell biomass, respectively. However, the arsenic and chromium contents in the liquid medium were reduced to 50% and 81%, respectively. The adsorption values of BA2 when exposed to nickel for 6 h were 238.04 mg of Ni(II) per gram of dead biomass indicating BA2 can reduce nickel content in the solution to 53.89%. Scanning electron micrograph depicted the effect of these metals on cellular morphology of the isolates. The genetic composition of B1-CDA and B2-DHA were studied in detail by sequencing of whole genomes. All genes of B1-CDA and B2-DHA predicted to be associated with resistance to heavy metals were annotated. The findings in this study accentuate the significance of these bacteria in removing toxic metals from the contaminated sources. The genetic mechanisms of these isolates in absorbing and thus removing toxic metals could be used as vehicles to cope with metal toxicity of the contaminated effluents discharged to the nature by industries and other human activities.

This thesis examines two aspects of social inequalities in health with three empirical studies that are based on the Swedish Level of Living survey (LNU): The relationship between accumulated occupational class positions during adulthood and health and the class-specific nature of gender differences in health. Previous research continuously finds that there are health differences by class and gender, but less is known about the extent to which accumulated class experiences in adulthood are related to health or how gender differences vary by class. The overall conclusion in this thesis is that occupational class experiences matters for health, both as historical and current experiences. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of taking class into consideration when examining health differences between men and women, as the mechanisms that underlie the gender gaps in health are not necessarily the same for all classes. The studies can be outlined as: Study I: Class differences in working conditions is a mechanism that underlies class inequalities in health. The working class is generally more exposed to adverse working environments than non-manual employees, and when the wear and tear of these conditions accumulate over time, the length of this exposure may contribute to class inequalities in health. Thereby, accumulated time in the working class is studied as a partial explanation for class differences in health. The results suggest that the duration of time in the working class is related to a higher probability of less than good self-rated general health (SRH), given current class position. This association was also found among individuals who were no longer in working class positions and thus show that duration of experience matters, both as current and past experience. Study II: The study addresses the research gap of class-specificity in gender health inequality and seeks to further disentangle class and gender by studying gender gaps separately by class. The results show that there are class-specific gender gaps for both SRH and musculoskeletal pain, while the gender gap in psychiatric distress appears to be more general across class. Working conditions do not explain the between-class differences in gender gaps but contribute to specific gender differences in health within classes. Study III: The labour market has changed over time and has “upgraded” the class structure while at the same time the share of women in paid employment has increased. Therefore, female health may be increasingly influenced by occupational factors, such as working conditions. This study explores the class-specific nature of gender differences and investigates musculoskeletal pain and working conditions among employed men and women within classes during a time-period that spanned more than 30 years. There were class-specific gender gaps in health throughout the period. The gender gap has increased more, and is wider, among non-manual employees compared to the working classes. This development could not be explained by changes in working conditions. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript.</p>

Ce travail de thèse a concerné l’évaluation des impacts écotoxicologiques de rejetsindustriels complexes issus de la filière du traitement de surface et de solutionssynthétiques mono- et polycontaminées sur la laitue Lactuca sativa L. Il est ainsimontré que les résultats des tests écotoxicologiques de germination des semences delaitue reflètent la variabilité de la composition chimique des rejets et de leuramélioration après traitement d’abattement de la charge métallique et/ou organique.Ces tests ont également permis de classer selon leur toxicité croissante certains ETM(Fe, Cr, Co, Cu, B, Al, F, Ni, Cd, Ag, Zn, Sn) et quelques molécules organiques (4NP,NAP, DBP, NP9). En revanche, quelle que soit la qualité chimique du rejet testé, lestaux de germination des semences et les élongations des plantules (principalement leslongueurs racinaires) dépendent de la variété de laitue choisie pour le test. Cetteobservation s’applique aussi aux solutions synthétiques métalliques monocontaminées.Ainsi, pour un même rejet, la Batavia dorée de printemps apparait plus résistante auxpolluants que la Kinemontepas et la Grosse Blonde Paresseuse, et que l’Appia (CE50estimées respectivement à ~99, 59, 43 et 25 %). Ces différences intraspécifiquess’observent également pour la composition interne et les tendances d’enrichissement encertains nutriments et ETM, malgré la présence de Cd dans le péricarpe de semences“vierges”. / This thesis has explored the surface treatment DW and mono- and polycontaminatedsynthetic solution ecotoxicological impact assessment on lettuce Lactuca sativa L.Ecotoxicological seed germination bioassays reflect the DW chemical variability, theirchemical improvement after metallic and/or organic abatement, and also permit toclassify MTE (Fe, Cr, Co, Cu, B, Al, F, Ni, Cd, Ag, Zn, Sn) and POP (4NP, NAP,DBP, NP9) according to their increasing ecotoxicity. However, whatever the DWchemical quality, seeds germination rates and plantlets elongations (mainly rootelongations) depend on lettuce variety’s choice. It is also true for monometallicsolutions. Thus for the same DW sample, the Batavia dorée de printemps varietyappears to be more resistant to pollutant than the Kinemontepas and the GrosseBlonde Paresseuse varieties, and than the Appia variety (estimated EC50 respectively99, 59, 43 and 25 %). Despite the presence of Cd in virgin pericarp seeds, intraspecificdifferences occured as well when analyzing the inner plantlet compositions and thenutrients and MTE uptake patterns.

This thesis focuses on the analysis and description of the causes of trends in the accumulation of foreign exchange reserves in three selected Asian economies, China, Singapore and Hong Kong. In the analysis are examined selected factors whose relationship with the foreign reserves, based on their merits and in the work of this association subsequently investigated on empirical data, mainly from the balance of payments and the statement of net investment position to identify and specify the main causes of accumulation of foreign exchange reserves in individual economies. The general framework of work consists of the theories of international movement of capital, specifically called Lucas's paradox, whose presence adds insight about other possible causes of some capital flows.

A cana-de-açúcar (Saccharum spp.) é uma das principais gramíneas cultivadas do mundo e o Brasil é seu maior produtor, ela se tornou uma importante cultura devido às altas taxas de assimilação de carbono permitindo a síntese e acumulação de grandes quantidades de sacarose em seus entrenós. Com isso, faz-se necessário uma melhor compreensão dos mecanismos moleculares que regulam o acúmulo de sacarose nesta planta. Tais mecanismos têm sido estudados em vários níveis, tais como, identificação e localização de genes, identificação de lócus controladores de características quantitativas, transcriptoma, proteôma, caracterização e identificação de metabólitos. Com todos esses estudos é evidente a necessidade de uma abordagem holística para o entendimento global da planta durante o acúmulo de sacarose. Assim este trabalho teve por objetivo integrar dados de metabolômica e proteômica de tecidos da cana-de-açúcar da variedade SP80-3280 durante o desenvolvimento e o acúmulo de sacarose, utilizando a bioinformática para unir esses resultados por meio da análise de correlação canônica regularizada em uma abordagem de biologia sistêmica. Os resultados obtidos indicam diferenças no perfil metabólico e proteico da cana-açúcar durante o desenvolvimento e acúmulo de sacarose. Foram propostas classes de metabólitos que podem estar relacionados com o acúmulo de sacarose na cana-de-açúcar tais como glicerolipídeos, glicerofosfolipídeos, cumarinas e derivados, esteroides e derivados de esteroides e acil graxos. Também foram propostas proteínas que podem estar relacionadas com o acúmulo de sacarose, onde as histonas foram as que mais se destacaram. Nas redes biológicas de correlações também foram observadas correlações entre possíveis metabólitos e proteínas que podem estar correlacionadas com o acúmulo de sacarose na cana-de-açúcar / Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is one of the most important cultivated grasses of the world and Brazil is the largest producer, it has become an important crop due to high carbon assimilation rates allowing the synthesis and accumulation of large amounts of sucrose in their internodes. Thus, it is necessary a high understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of sucrose accumulation in this plant. These mechanisms have been studied at various levels, such as gene identification and localization, identification of quantitative trait locus controlling, transcriptome, proteome, characterization and metabolites identification. With all these studies is evident the necessity for a holistic approach to global understanding of the plant during the sucrose accumulation. Thus, this work aims to integrate metabolomics and proteomics data from tissues of sugarcane variety SP80-3280, during plant development and sucrose accumulation, using bioinformatics to link these results by regularized canonical correlation analysis in a systems biology approach. The results indicate differences in the metabolic and protein profile of sugarcane during development and sucrose accumulation. Metabolites classes have been proposed that may be related to sugarcane sucrose accumulation as glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids, coumarins and derivatives, steroids and steroid derivatives and fatty acyl. In addition, some proteins have been proposed that may be related to sucrose accumulation, where the most highlighted were the histones. In the biological correlations networks, have been also observed correlations between possible metabolites and proteins that can be correlated with the accumulation of sucrose in sugarcane