This study analyses the faunal remains of four Iron Age sites from eastern Botswana, namely Phoenix 17, Phoenix 18, Thabadimasego and Dukwe 25. Phoenix 17, Phoenix 18 and Thabadimasego date to the 9th century AD, and Dukwe 25 to the 15th century AD. The sites are significant as they date to critical time periods during which we see shifts in the socio-political organisation, towards increasing social complexity in the 9th century AD, and the establishment of powerful states in the 15th century AD. By comparing the results of Phoenix 17, Phoenix 18, Thabadimasego and Dukwe 25, it will also be possible to examine whether these sites point to regional, chronological or socio-cultural variability. Other sites in eastern Botswana together with the sites in this study, can give broad understanding into animal exploitation patterns during these time periods, specifically the relative use, social use and exploitation of animals. Understanding animal exploitation patterns can assist researchers in exploring the impact these communities had on their environment. In particular, how they reacted and responded to diverse environments, rich in wild fauna, such as the Makgadikgadi. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Anthropology and Archaeology / MA / Unrestricted

Microbial mats have played an important role in the carbon (C) and nutrient cycles since the Archean Eon and modern mats are important contributors to the biogeochemistry of intertidal wetlands. Microbial mats are flat assemblages of microbes that are currently found in many unvegetated habitats globally. Intertidal salt pans are a common habitat for microbial mats, however little is known about the distribution of microbial mats within the intertidal landscape. Understanding the spatial distribution of microbial mats is critical to developing quantitative estimates of the impacts of microbial mats on their ecosystems. We photographically measured the presence and density of microbial mats within 1 m2 quadrats across a landscape scale (~1000 Ha) on the Gulf Coast of Florida. The wide variety of metabolic processes that are found within microbial mats makes the net biogeochemical impacts of the microbial mats highly variable as well. To explore the biogeochemistry associated with microbial mats, we measured a suite of soil attributes under microbial mats and compared those measurements to nearby soils without microbial mats. We found that microbial mats are found on soils with biogeochemical attributes that are significantly different than soils without microbial mats. Soil organic matter, nitrate concentration, and soil temperature significantly increased in soils under microbial mats; pH was significantly lower in soils under microbial mats. Also notable was although the concentration of soil organic matter was higher, the bioavailability of that organic matter was significantly lower. Microbial mat presence is correlated with geomorphic variables such as proximal boundaries, as well as neighboring vegetation and other microbial mats.

Sammanfattning/AbstractSandberg, Helén (2020). En livsberättelse om skolgången för en person med PANS. Specialpedagogprogrammet, Institutionen för skolutveckling och ledarskap, Lärande och samhälle, Malmö universitet, 90 hp.Förväntat kunskapsbidragPANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome) eller PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections) är en relativt ny och okänd diagnos inom skolan. Det är en autoimmun sjukdom som har neuropsykiatriska symtom men utlöses av infektion. Forskare menar att alla som arbetar inom skolan kommer att stöta på en eller flera elever som har PANS under sitt arbetsliv (Miglioretti, 2019, Doran, 2015). Därför är det av vikt att PANS uppmärksammas så att skolan kan ge bästa stöd för elever. Då det finns stor brist på information och forskning om PANS inom skolan är min förhoppning att genomförda studie ska kunna bidra med ökad kunskap om diagnosen och vara som en väckarklocka för skolväsendet att uppmärksamma elever med PANS.Syfte och frågeställningarSyftet med undersökningen är att genom livsberättelseanalys öka kunskapen om diagnosen PANS samt hur skolan på bästa sätt kan bemöta elever med PANS och anpassa skolgången.Frågeställningar:-Hur har en person med PANS upplevt sin skolgång?-Vilka lärdomar kan skolväsendet dra ifrån denna berättelse?TeoriStudien har vägletts av livsberättelseanalys som metod men har även intagit ett systemteoretiskt perspektiv. I resultat och diskussionsdelen har en livsberättelse analyserats med hjälp av systemteori. Bronfenbrenners utvecklingsekologiska teori redogör hur en individs utveckling alltid är beroende av samspelet med sin miljö och sitt sammanhang. Livsberättelsen har studerats i förhållande till omgivningens olika system: mikro-, meso-, exo-, och makrosystem.  MetodLivsberättelseintervju har använts för att studera en person med PANS subjektiva upplevelse av skolgången. Livsberättelse är en lämplig metod då upplevelser av ett fenomen ska beskrivas ur ett längre tidsperspektiv (Fejes & Thornberg, 2019). Intervjun blir då retrospektiv då informanten reflekterar över tidigare erfarenheter och minnen. Det är inte en exakt avbildning av verkligheten som eftersträvats utan personens egen berättelse om sin upplevelse av skolgången.ResultatResultatet visar att informantens upplevelse är att hon har bemötts av en oförstående skola och ett oförstående samhälle. Sjukdomen PANS bröt ut när hon var 7 år men det dröjde tills hon blev 23 år innan hon fick rätt diagnos och behandling. Under grundskolan har hon blivit utsatt för övergrepp som att bli fasthållen när hon varit i affekt samt blivit avstängd och nekad undervisning under ett helt läsår. Vidare har både skola och vård skuldbelagt henne och föräldrarna.Vad skolan kan lära sig av denna livsberättelse är vikten av att alltid ha ett relationellt perspektiv och inte lägga problemet hos eleven eller dess föräldrar. Att ha gott samarbete mellan skola och hem och lyssna på barnet och föräldrarna är avgörande för att eleven ska få rätt stöd i skolan. Vidare behöver skolan hålla sig uppdaterad om nya diagnoser och aktuell forskning för att förebygga att elever bemöts av en oförstående skola som inte ger rätt hjälp i tid.Specialpedagogiska implikationerDet är viktigt att specialpedagoger håller sig informerade om nya diagnoser och om aktuell forskning för att kunna ge eleverna bästa stöd i skolan. När skolan missförstår en elevs problematik kan det få förödande konsekvenser. Specialpedagogen kan verka för att skolan utgår ifrån ett relationellt perspektiv på skolsvårigheter där lärare alltid lyssnar på eleven och föräldrarnas bild av situationen (Nilholm, 2012). Att ha en positiv elevsyn och alltid utgå ifrån att eleven vill uppföra sig om den kan (Hejlskov et al. 2017) är av stor vikt för alla elever, men särskilt för elever med PANS. NyckelordLivsberättelse, PANS, PANDAS, skolgång, systemteori

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Thesis (D.Sc.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, 2002. / "April 2002" Includes bibliographical references and list of the publications and papers submitted.

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Geological Sciences and Environmental Studies, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

M.Sc. / Mpumalanga, “the place where the sun rises”, sets the scene for one of the rarest wetland types in South Africa. They are formed on one of the last remnants of the ancient African land surface, contain peat and together with a variety of other pan types make up the Mpumalanga Lakes District. Of these approximately 320 pans, only ±2.3% are reed pans. These endorheic wetlands are unique from other pan types and peatlands in South Africa and support an abundant biodiversity. They perform vital functions such as water storage, filtering out impurities and carbon fixation, which prevents an excess release of CO2 into the atmosphere. There is very little known about these endorheic wetlands and thus they are constantly being threatened by various activities such as agriculture, livestock and mining. The objectives of this study were to determine the spatial and temporal variation of macroinvertebrate community structures of reed pans and the environmental factors, such as water quality, responsible for the maintenance of these structures; to determine the best method for sampling aquatic invertebrates in reed pans; as well as to determine the relationship between aquatic invertebrates and the water, sediment and habitat quality of a reed pan. Together with this the amphibian diversity as well as the occurrence of other biotic components was determined. Four reed pans were assessed during four different seasons over a one year period to account for the different hydrological extremes. Sub-surface water samples were analyzed for their suspended solid content, nutrient levels, metals and chlorophyll-a concentrations as well as in situ water quality parameters. Sediment samples were analyzed for metal concentrations, organic carbon and water content, as well as sediment size distribution. Invertebrates were collected using the following sampling techniques: aquatic light trap, terrestrial light trap, emergent trap, sweep net, plankton net, as well as benthic sampling using an Eckman grab.

This research project was undertaken to determine if an evaporation pan would accurately predict evapotranspiration when placed in an actual irrigated field situation. Two potato fields in Southern Idaho with different micro-climates and soil types were used in this study. The in-field evaporation pan method was compared with the gravimetric method and the Jensen-Raise and modified-Penman climatic methods. Yield and quality responses were evaluated by varying the amount of sprinkler-applied water so that three distinct moisture regimes were evaluated. It was also necessary to evaluate recent crop coefficient (Kc) curves on potatoes to see if the Kc values predicted evapotranspiration (Et) accurately when related to the evaporation pan or climatic methods. The results showed that the in-field evaporation pan method predicted Et as well as or better than the climatic methods. During July and August, the evaporation pan reading times a Kc of 0.95 predicted Et extremely well when compared with measured actual Et. Crop coefficient curves were developed for both fields by dividing measured actual Et by the evaporative pan reading. The two Kc curves were very similar for the entire growing season. Established Kccurves did not predict actual Et with accuracy or consistency. Yield and quality was definitely correlated with the amount of applied water. The dry moisture regime for both fields received 37 percent less water than the normal plots (which were watered to gravimetric and evaporation pan depletion levels) and resulted in a yield reduction of 34 percent. The quality (percent number one potatoes) was decreased by about 50 percent with reduced water.

The playas of the Salt Basin in Trans-Pecos Texas are natural laboratories for the study of the hydrodynamic, hydrochemical, and sedimentologic properties of the unsaturated zone under the conditions of evaporation from a shallow water table. Water beneath the salt-flat surface moves upward from the saturated zone, through a thick capillary fringe, to the unsaturated zone where it is removed by evaporation. Daily temperature fluctuations change soil suction values and seasonal variations in temperature alter the thickness of the capillary fringe. There is little change in the chemical composition of the pore water as it moves from below the water table to the capillary fringe because the filled pore spaces of the capillary fringe prevent evaporation from taking place. However, an enrichment in the heavy isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen in the groundwater, as compared to area precipitation, suggests that evaporation may have occurred earlier along the flow path. As water moves from the top of the capillary fringe into the unsaturated zone, evaporation in the partially-filled pore spaces increases the total dissolved solids content. According to the increase in chlorinity, the brine has lost over 60% of its original volume by the time it has moved to within 20 cm of the surface. Evaporation in the unsaturated zone further enriches the brine in deuterium and oxygen-18. Gypsum precipitation in the unsaturated zone depletes the shallow pore water in calcium and sulfate, relative to chloride, and forms white patches, enterolithic bands, and discontinuous lenses of pure gypsum. The sediments are made almost entirely of gypsum and dolomite. The high magnesium-to-calcium molar ratio in the brines and the poorly ordered nature of the dolomite mud in the sediment column indicate that the salt-flat dolomite formed by the alteration of a calcium carbonate precursor. A lack of lateral continuity in sediment structures and a change in sediment character from massive below the water table to laminated above indicate that the shallow salt-flat sediments were formed by vadose-zone processes rather than by sedimentation in an ancient lake. / text

M.Sc. (Geology) / Despite Chrissie Lake being South Africa's largest freshwater lake, the chemistry of this lake and the surrounding lakes and pans in the Mpumalanga Lake District has never been studied in detail. These closed systems show varying chemistry while being in very close proximity to one another, adding to the uniqueness of this area where pans, usually typical of arid regions, are found in a humid area. The factors affecting the water chemistry of these lakes needed to be identified and explained. In order to evaluate the water chemistry in this unique environment, water samples were taken at the end ofthe wet and dry seasons, in April and September 2007 respectively. The major pans were sampled, as were adjacent fountains or springs, indicative of the perched groundwater aquifers found in this area, as well as borehole water from the surrounding farms. Alkalinity was determined by manual titration upon returning from the field while pH and conductivity measurements were performed on site. Major cations and anions were analysed for using ICP-OES and Ion Chromatography respectively. Sediment samples were collected from the floor of each pan in the summer sampling and the mineralogy determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). During September 2007 sampling, precipitates found on the floors and banks of the pans were also collected and analysed using XRD, to identify mineral species precipitating from solution. Initial results show pH values ranging from 7.0-10.5 for the lakes and pans and from 6.0-8.0 for the borehole water and springs. Values as low as 100 mglL Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) were measured for the pans, with maximum values set at 10 giL for the most saline of these bodies of water in the wet season and as much as 90glL for a pan almost completely dried out in the dry season. The water in the closed pan systems are dominated by Na-CI- HCO~ and have varying concentrations of major cations. The dilute spring waters have TDS values ranging from 20-200 mg/L, indicating the excellent quality of the groundwater, while some boreholes reach values of I 000 mg/L TDS showing possible linkage to pans or leaking of the pan water into the surrounding strata. To understand the main processes affecting the inorganic chemistry of the surface and shallow groundwater of this area, major ions were plotted against chloride. The latter behaves conservatively and can thus be used to monitor the behaviour of solutes in the pan waters. These plots illustrate that the dominant process in the evolution of the waters in the MLD is evaporative concentration. Removal of species through mineral precipitation is clearly seen; carbonate species...