This thesis is a study of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) activity concentration, gamma dose rate and radon (222Rn) exhalation from the waste streams of large-scale onshore petroleum operations. Types of activities covered included; sludge recovery from separation tanks, sludge farming, NORM storage, scaling in oil tubulars, scaling in gas production and sedimentation in produced water evaporation ponds. Field work was conducted in the arid desert terrain of an operational oil exploration and production region in the Sultanate of Oman. The main radionuclides found were 226Ra and 210Pb (238U - series), 228Ra and 228Th (232Th - series), and 227Ac (235U - series), along with 40K. All activity concentrations were higher than the ambient soil level and varied over several orders of magnitude. The range of gamma dose rates at a 1 m height above ground for the farm treated sludge had a range of 0.06 0.43 µSv h 1, and an average close to the ambient soil mean of 0.086 ± 0.014 µSv h 1, whereas the untreated sludge gamma dose rates had a range of 0.07 1.78 µSv h 1, and a mean of 0.456 ± 0.303 µSv h 1. The geometric mean of ambient soil 222Rn exhalation rate for area surrounding the sludge was mBq m 2 s 1. Radon exhalation rates reported in oil waste products were all higher than the ambient soil value and varied over three orders of magnitude. This study resulted in some unique findings including: (i) detection of radiotoxic 227Ac in the oil scales and sludge, (ii) need of a new empirical relation between petroleum sludge activity concentrations and gamma dose rates, and (iii) assessment of exhalation of 222Rn from oil sludge. Additionally the study investigated a method to determine oil scale and sludge age by the use of inherent behaviour of radionuclides as 228Ra:226Ra and 228Th:228Ra activity ratios.

Cette thèse a deux objectifs principaux: (i) la reconstruction de l'évolution des plaines côtières autour des baies de Chabahar et de Pozm et (ii) L'évaluation des risques côtiers (tsunamis et tempêtes extrêmes) par l'étude des dépôts de haute énergie. Vastes plaines côtières et paleo-rivages protégées par des terrasses marines soulevées sont présents autour des baies de Chabahar et Pozm. Nous avons mise en évidence des changements du niveau marin relatif le long de quatre profils. L'architecture interne des paleo-rivages a été imagée en utilisant le géoradar (GPR). Des analyses sédimentologiques et stratigraphiques des séquences côtières ont été examinées par carottages et tranchées. Les paleo-rivages sont datées entre 4800 et 270 ans BP à des distances respectives de 5 km et de 670 m du rivage actuel. La position spatiale des paléo-rivages montre une chute du niveau relatif de la mer de 15 m au cours des 4800 derniers années. Nous insistons aussi sur le rôle de contrôle des structures géologiques. Les dépôts d'événements (tsunami et tempêtes) ont été étudiés en contexte de côte meuble par Les sédiments sableux et coquilliers d'origine marine, et sur les côtes rocheuses par les dépôt des blocs déplacés. Nous avons appliqué des modèles hydrologiques pour évaluer et comparer la hauteur des vagues et la distance d'inondation. Nos résultats montrent qu'aucun événement de tempête, connu ou potentiel, n'est capable de transporter les blocs observés. Des vagues de tsunamis de l'ordre de 4 m de hauteur sont suffisantes pour transporter les blocs. La côte de Makran a enregistré des indices de paléo-tsunamis probablement générés par de grands séismes dans la zone de subduction. / In this thesis we have two main goals: (i) to reconstruct the Holocene coastal evolution and relative sea-level changes using strandplains around the Chabahar and Pozm bays; and (ii) to evaluate coastal hazards (tsunami and extreme storms) along the Iranian coast of Makran using high-energy deposits. Since the mid-Holocene, the shoreline rimming the bays of Chabahar and Pozm has prograded ~5 km and formed extensive strandplains. We documented relative sea-level changes along four coast-normal profiles. Internal architecture of strandplain imaged using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). The sedimentology and stratigraphy of the coastal sequence were studied by coring and trenching. The highest paleo-coastline is located about 5 km inland and stands approximately 15 m above present sea level. Paleo-shorelines date back between 4800 and 270 years BP at respective distances of 5 km to 670 m from the active shoreline. The spatial position of the palaeo-coastlines demonstrates a fall in local sea level of around 15 m during the last ~4800 years. Event deposits attesting to high-energy waves have been studied in low-lying coast by study of Over-washed sandy and shelly marine sediment and on the rocky shore by study of displaced boulder deposits. We applied hydrologic models to estimate the height and inundation distance of exceptional waves. Our results demonstrate that no known or probable storm is capable of detaching and transporting the boulders. Tsunami waves 4 m in height are enough to transport the boulders. We conclude the Makran coast has archived evidence of palaeo-tsunami events generated in the Makran subduction zone.

Some climate models predict that, within the next 30-50 years, sea surface temperatures (SSTs) will frequently exceed the current thermal tolerance of corals (Fitt et al. 2001; Hughes et al. 2003; Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2007). A potential consequence is that mass coral bleaching may take place (i) during warm El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events which are predicted to occur in some regions more frequently than the current 3-7 year periodicity (Hoegh-Guldberg 1999; Sheppard 2003) or (ii) perhaps as often as annually or biannually if corals and their symbionts are unable to acclimate to the higher SSTs (Donner et al. 2005, 2007). Global data also indicate an upward trend toward increasing frequencies, intensities, and durations of tropical hurricanes and cyclones (Emanual 2005; Webster et al. 2005). As coral communities have been shown to require at least 10-30 years to recover after a major disturbance (e.g. Connell 1997; Ninio et al. 2000; Bruno & Selig 2007; Burt et al. 2008), it is possible that future coral communities may be in a constant state of recovery, with regeneration times exceeding the periods between disturbances. Life history traits (e.g. reproduction, recruitment, growth and mortality) vary among species of hard corals; thus, gradients in community structures may have a strong influence on susceptibilities to disturbance and rates of recovery (Connell 1997; Ninio & Meekan 2002). Taxa which are more susceptible to bleaching and mechanical disturbance (e.g. tabular and branching acroporids and pocilloporids) may experience continual changes in population structure due to persistent cycles of regeneration or local extirpation, while the more resistant taxa (e.g. massive poritids and faviids) may display relatively stable population structures (Woodley et al. 1981; Hughes & Connell 1999; Baird & Hughes 2000; Marshall & Baird 2000; Loya et al. 2001; McClanahan & Maina 2003). Determining whether resistant coral taxa have predictable responses to disturbances, with consistent patterns over wide spatial scales, may improve predictions for the future affects of climate change and the composition of reefs (Done 1999; Hoegh-Guldberg 1999; McClanahan et al. 2004). The work presented in this dissertation describes the spatial and temporal patterns in community structures for high latitude coral assemblages that have experienced the types of natural disturbances which are predicted to occur in tropical reef systems with increasing frequency as a result of climate change. The primary area of focus is the southeastern Arabian Gulf, where the coral communities are exposed to natural conditions that exceed threshold limits of corals elsewhere in the world, with annual temperature ranges between 14-36°C (Kinzie 1973; Shinn 1976) and salinities above 40 ppt. Two additional regions are included in this study for comparisons of high latitude coral community structures. The northwestern Gulf of Oman is adjacent to the southeastern Arabian Gulf (i.e. the two bodies of water are connected by the Strait of Hormuz); however, the environmental conditions are milder in the Gulf of Oman such that the number of coral taxa therein is threefold that found in the southeastern Arabian Gulf (i.e. 107 coral species in the Gulf of Oman compared to 34 species in this region of the Arabian Gulf (Riegl 1999; Coles 2003; Rezai et al. 2004)). Broward County, Florida is geographically remote from the Gulfs and, therefore, serves as a benchmark for testing whether consistent patterns in community structures exist despite different climatic and anthropogenic influences. The coral communities within the southeastern Arabian Gulf, the northwestern Gulf of Oman, and Broward County, Florida have been exposed to recurrent elevated sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies, sequential cyclone and red tide disturbances, and frequent hurricanes and tropical storms, respectively. These disturbances and other impacts (e.g. bleaching episodes, disease outbreaks, anthropogenic stresses) have affected the more susceptible acroporids and pocilloporids, resulting in significant losses of coral cover by these families and shifts towards massive corals as the dominant taxa. During the post-disturbance scarcity or absence of branching and tabular corals, the resistant massive taxa have become the crux of the essential hard coral habitat for fish, invertebrates and other marine organisms. Because recovery to pre-disturbance community structures may take decades or may not occur at all, it is vital that scientists and resource managers have a better understanding of the spatial and temporal ecology patterns of the corals that survive and fill in the functional gaps that are created by such disturbances. To aid in this understanding, this dissertation presents spatial and temporal patterns for the coral assemblages which have developed after the respective disturbances. Spatial ecology patterns are analyzed using graphical descriptions (e.g. taxa inventories, area cover, densities, size frequency distributions), univariate techniques (e.g. diversity indices), distributional techniques (e.g. k-dominance curves) and multivariate techniques (e.g. hierarchical clustering, multidimensional scaling). Temporal comparisons at monitoring sites within the southeastern Arabian Gulf and northwestern Gulf of Oman describe the coral population dynamics and are used to create size class transition models that project future population structures of massive corals in the recovering habitats.

Abstract Focusing on Swedish as the second official language of Finland, this study has two overarching aims. Firstly, it strives to outline and describe what is understood by the so-called Swedish for civil service, i.e., the written and spoken communication skills in the Swedish language laid down by the Act and Decree on State Civil Servants. A second aim involves establishing to what extent proficiency requirements are achieved through compulsory courses at Finnish institutions of higher education. By a government decree issued in 1987, university degrees came to include official recognition of the graduates' Swedish language skills. Thus, universities took on the responsibility of ascertaining whether their students have the skills required by the decree. In this work, the conceptualization and implementation of Swedish teaching are investigated by charting course design, implementation, testing, assessment and grading on a range of courses. A practical framework for this undertaking is provided by language policy legislation, analysis of teacher cognition and proficiency assessments. For evaluation of the results, I have used the CIPP curriculum evaluation model. The Discussion Section presents some suggestions for further measures relating to the acquisition and demonstration of public service Swedish language skills as part of a tertiary level degree. Empirical research material was collected using an e-mail survey sent to Swedish teachers at universities (n = 24) and polytechnics (n = 19), and the thus acquired data were complemented by personal interviews (n = 8). The focus of the survey was on elucidating, first of all, what the respondents understood by the terms Swedish for specific purposes and civil service language proficiency and, secondly, how they assessed goal attainment. Working at universities and polytechnics across the country, the respondents comprised a representative sample. Their responses were analyzed both from a qualitative and quantitative perspective, complemented by phenomenographic methods and content analysis. On the basis of the results, it is evident that responsibility for course planning rests largely with individual teachers or institutions. Moreover, making a clear distinction between Swedish for civil service and Swedish for specific purposes is difficult to the extent that, in terms of teaching and course examinations, many teachers view them as practically synonymous. As a result, testing and assessing whether students have acquired the competence level required by the act rarely conforms to the guidelines of the civil service language proficiency examination. Reading and listening comprehension skills, for example, are not examined by separate standardized tests. Each year, about 20% of students who pass the examinations for the courses do not in reality possess the B1 skill level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF), which is required by the civil service examination. These results confirm the assertion that increasing numbers of secondary school graduates who have passed the course of study laid down for B-level Swedish actually have such low language skills that, as degree students, they are unable to reach the proficiency level stipulated by the civil service examination. Follow-up measures to lower the proficiency requirements will be presented in the Discussion Section. / Tiivistelmä Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selostaa ja kuvata, mitä valtionhallinnossa vaadittavalla ruotsin kielen suullisella ja kirjallisella kielitaidolla, virkamiesruotsilla, tarkoitetaan ja miten virkamiesruotsin taitotasovaatimus toteutuu korkeakoulututkintoon kuuluvissa pakollisissa ruotsin kielen opintojaksoissa. Vuonna 1987 korkeakouluopiskelijoiden virkamiesruotsin taidon osoittaminen liitettiin asetuksella korkeakoulututkintoihin. Sen jälkeen virkamiesruotsin riittävän taitotason toteaminen on ollut korkeakoulujen itsensä vastuulla. Virkamiesruotsin merkityssisältöjä ja toteutumista tutkittiin kartoittamalla eri koulutusohjelmien ruotsin kielen opintojaksojen suunnittelua, opetuksen toteuttamista, opiskelijoiden kielitaidon testaamista, kielitaidon arviointia ja arvosanan määräytymistä. Tarkastelun viitekehyksen muodostivat kielilainsäädäntö, opettajan ajattelun hyödyntäminen tutkimuksessa sekä kielitaidon arviointi. Tutkimustulosten arvioinnin apuna käytettiin opetussuunnitelmien arviointiin tarkoitettua CIPP-mallia. Lisäksi tutkimuksen pohdintaosassa esitetään korkeakoulututkintoon kuuluvia virkamiehen kielitaitoa ja sen osoittamista koskevia jatkotoimenpide-ehdotuksia. Empiirinen aineisto kerättiin sähköpostitse kyselylomakkeilla yliopistojen kielikeskusten ruotsinopettajilta (n = 24), ja ammattikorkeakoulujen ruotsinopettajilta (n = 19) sähköpostitse kyselytutkimuksilla ja aineistoa täydennettiin henkilökohtaisilla haastatteluilla (n = 8). Kyselytutkimuksessa selvitettiin korkeakoulujen ruotsinopettajien käsityksiä erityisalojen ruotsin ja virkamiesruotsin merkityssisällöistä ja taitotasovaatimusten toteutumisesta. Eri puolilla Suomea sijaitsevat kielikeskukset ja ammattikorkeakoulut olivat hyvin edustettuina tutkimusaineistossa. Tutkimuksessa käytettiin kvalitatiivista ja kvantitatiivista tutkimusotetta. Aineiston analyysissa on fenomenografisen tutkimuksen ja sisällön analyysin sovellusta. Tulosten mukaan korkeakoulututkintoon kuuluvien ruotsinopintojen suunnittelu oli etupäässä opettaja- tai oppilaitoskohtaista. Virkamiesruotsia ja erityisalojen ruotsia oli vaikea erottaa toisistaan, ja ne tarkoittivat monien ruotsinopettajien mielestä samaa asiaa opintojakson opetuksessa ja sen loppukokeissa. Näin ollen virkamiesruotsin taidon testaaminen ja kielitaidon arviointi olivat hyvin harvoin valtionhallinnon kielitutkintoja koskevan ohjeistuksen mukaisia. Korkeakouluissa virkamiesruotsin osuuteen kuuluvaa luetun ja puhutun ymmärtämistä ei testattu erillisillä standardikokeilla. Vuosittain vähintään 20 % korkeakouluopiskelijoista sai tutkintotodistuksiinsa merkinnän virkamiesruotsin hyväksytystä kielitaidosta, jonka taitotaso ei todellisuudessa vastannut säädettyä Eurooppalaisen viitekehyksen mukaista vähimmäistaitotasoa B1. Tutkimustulokset tukivat käsitystä siitä, että yhä useampien lukion B-ruotsin oppimäärän suorittaneiden korkeakouluopiskelijoiden kielellinen lähtötaso oli niin alhainen, että he eivät saavuttaneet korkeakoulututkintoon kuuluvien pakollisten ruotsinopintojensa aikana virkamiesruotsiin vaadittavaa taitotasoa. Pohdintaosassa esitetään jatkotoimenpiteitä korkeakoulututkintoon kuuluvan virkamiesruotsin taitotasovaatimuksen madaltamiseksi.

By 2020, cancer mortality rates are estimated to increase by 180% in Arab countries, where breast cancer is the most common type of cancer. This thesis explores and evaluates the ‘asabiyya-driven structuration (the cohesive force of the group that gives it strength in facing its struggles for progressive reproduction) of cancer agents, government agents, and the World Health Organization agents for breast cancer prevention and early detection in the Arab region. The layers of the philosophical standing from Ibn Khaldûn’s concept of ‘asabiyya and the theoretical foundation of social systems theory, structuration theory, social network analysis, and social capital theory are peeled in order to explore and evaluate the context, constraints, social networks, autopoiesis, and social capital. Utilizing a qualitative research design, this thesis employs content analysis and in-depth interviews, as well as NVivo as a tool for analysis. Data is collected from 122 publications and knowledgeable informants employed by cancer agencies, ministries of health, and World Health Organization offices in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Oman. The findings are divided into the contextual scope of responsibility and resources, the progressive and hierarchal constraining structure, the optimal and weak social networks, the strong and vulnerable shields of autopoiesis, and the presence and absence of social capital momentum, followed by a discussion on the the struggle for structuration against breast cancer. The findings demonstrate that countries with a national cancer control program witness local strengthening ‘asabiyya and ‘asabiyya-driven structuration, while those without a national cancer control program witness weakening local ‘asabiyya. Ultimately, this thesis proposes strategic recommendations to accelerate the regional ‘asabiyya-driven structuration of breast cancer.

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The diploma thesis named British reaction to the Arab Spring events in the context of United Kingdom's relations with Persian Gulf countries is concerned with an impact of the revolutionary events of 2011, known as the Arab Spring, on bilateral cooperation between United Kingdom on one side and Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman on the other. While using quantitative analysis approach, it depicts how the Persian Gulf developments were reflected by prominent British representatives and members of the Cameron coalition government. Since the government promised to approach foreign policy matters through a liberal-conservative lens and also planned to further deepen its relations with Persian Gulf countries, the Arab Spring events can be interpreted as a clear dilemma for British policymakers. This thesis aims to answer whether such dilemma forced the government officials to re-asses the traditionally warm attitudes towards Persian Gulf and additionally, it demonstrates which spheres of their cooperation were threatened the most. Firstly, the bilateral relations between United Kingdom and Persian Gulf countries between 1971 and 2010 are described. Then, the focus moves towards the Cameron coalition government and its foreign- policy aims. In its final part, the thesis focuses on British...

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Les titres et les statuts territoriaux occupent une place centrale en droit international en raison de la territorialité de cet ordre juridique. L’émergence des Etats du Moyen-Orient présente des spécificités historico-juridiques, qui sont en grande partie à l’origine des problèmes territoriaux actuels. En effet, dans la région étudiée, l’application des régimes de protectorat et de Mandat a eu une incidence considérable sur les titres territoriaux des Etats. Contrairement à la colonisation pure et simple, ces régimes territoriaux laissaient, en principe, subsister pour l’entité sous domination, une personnalité internationale distincte. Une telle situation intermédiaire a très souvent conduit à des interrogations sur les règles de droit international applicables. La présente étude envisage justement cette problématique : quels effets ont eu les régimes de protectorat et de Mandat sur l’établissement ou la modification des titres territoriaux ? L’objectif de l’étude est de contribuer à mettre en exerguel’origine des titres territoriaux au Moyen-Orient, pour mieux comprendre et analyser les problèmes territoriaux actuels dans la région. / Territorial titles and statuses occupy a central place in international law because of the territoriality of this legal order. The emergence of the Middle East States presents historical and legal specificities which are largely the sources of current territorial problems. Indeed, in the region under study, the application of Protectorate and Mandate regimes had a significant impact on the States territorial titles. Under these territorial regimes, unlike outright colonization, a separate international personality remained, in principle, for the entity under domination. Such an intermediate situation has often led to questions about the applicable rules of international law. The study considers precisely this issue: what effects have had the regimes of Protectorate and Mandate on the establishment or modification of territorial titles? The objective of thestudy is to contribute to highlight the origin of territorial titles in the Middle East, in order to better understand and analyze the current territorial problems in the region.

This study investigates awareness and use of communicative language teaching methodology (CLT) in a foundation programme at an institution of higher learning in the Sultanate of Oman, where rapid expansion and a reliance on expatriate skills has resulted in the employment of predominantly native English teachers, many with inadequate formal teacher training. The qualitative research methodology employed involved a core of five teachers using three data-gathering instruments and ten additional English language teachers who responded to a questionnaire. The study finds that the majority of teachers have inadequate knowledge of the CLT approach and do not use it in the classroom. The findings suggest that an adapted version of CLT which embraces local contextual and sociocultural conditions may be pedagogically viable. The study draws comparisons between the idea of a hypothetical, “adapted” version of CLT and the notions of “particularity, practicality and possibility” as suggested by Kumaravadivelu (2006). / English Studies / M.A. (Specialisation in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, TESOL)