Thesis (M.Sc. (Agriculture (Crop Science)) -- University of Limpopo, 2004. / Canon Collins Educational Trust of Southern Africa (CCETSA), and the National Research Foundation (NRF)

<p>The aim of this study is to find out if the former students think that they have made use of the courses they have taken at the Natural Resource Use Programme specialised in Animal Husbandry at Lillerudsgymnasiet or if the courses should be exchanged. In the study it is assumed that a course can be useful professionally, for further studies and in private life.</p><p>The main questions are: Have the former students made use of the courses they took at the Natural Resource Use Programme specialised in Animal Husbandry at Lillerudsgymnasiet? Was it the right decision to replace the course Horses?</p><p>I have sent a questionnaire to all the students who graduated between 2003 and 2007. Out of 107 questionnaires I received 66 replies (62 %). All students have studied the same mandatory courses but different eligible courses. Therefore the frequency of replies shows great variation.</p><p>The course Horses was recently replaced by the courses Small Enterprises A, Dogs and Species at risk. 52 % (34 persons) answered that they found the course Horses useful. 46 % (16 persons) answered that they found the course Small Enterprises A useful. 78 % (32 persons) answered that they found the course Dogs useful. 37 % (10 persons) answered that they found the course Species at risk useful.</p><p>It is hard to say if it was right to replace Horses if you look only at the answers to how useful the course was. My conclusion is that the teachers should look at Species at risk and try to make it suit the specialisation Animal Husbandry better. English B is the course that the highest share of former students found useful, 82 % (18 persons). Nevertheless I think it should stay with the eligible courses. The former students think that they have made use of the mandatory courses.</p> / <p>Syftet med det här arbetet är att få reda på om de tidigare eleverna tycker att det varit nyttiga kurser som de läst på naturbruksprogrammets djurvårdsinriktning på Lillerudsgymnasiet och om det är någon eller några kurser som skulle kunna bytas ut. Jag tänker mig att en kurs kan vara nyttig både i kommande arbete, i fortsatta studier och i privatlivet.</p><p>De huvudsakliga frågeställningarna är: Har de före detta eleverna haft nytta av kurserna som de läste på Lillerudsgymnasiets naturbruksprogram med djurvårdsinriktning? Var det riktigt att ta bort hästkunskapskursen som inriktningskurs?</p><p>Jag har skickat ut en enkät till alla elever som gick ut naturbruksprogrammet med djurvårdsinriktning på Lillerudsgymnasiet mellan 2003 och 2007 och det blev 107 stycken. Svarsfrekvensen blev 62 % (66 st.). Alla elever har läst samma inriktningskurser men de har läst olika kurser av de individuellt valbara. Svarsfrekvensen är därför mycket olika för olika kurser.</p><p>Kursen Hästkunskap blev nyligen utbytt mot Småföretagande A, Hundar och Utrotningshotade arter. 52 % (34 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Hästkunskap. 46 % (16 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Småföretagande A. 78 % (32 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Hundar. 37 % (10 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Utrotningshotade arter.</p><p>Det är svårt att säga om det var rätt att ta bort Hästkunskapskursen som inriktningskurs enbart utifrån nyttan. Jag anser att man bör se över om Utrotningshotade arter kan göras om för att passa djurvårdsinriktningen bättre. Engelska B är den kurs som störst andel i den här studien tycker att de har haft nytta av, 82 %, (18 st.). Jag tycker ändå att den ska vara kvar bland de valbara kurserna. De tidigare eleverna tycker att de har haft nytta av sina inriktningskurser.</p>

The aim of this study is to find out if the former students think that they have made use of the courses they have taken at the Natural Resource Use Programme specialised in Animal Husbandry at Lillerudsgymnasiet or if the courses should be exchanged. In the study it is assumed that a course can be useful professionally, for further studies and in private life. The main questions are: Have the former students made use of the courses they took at the Natural Resource Use Programme specialised in Animal Husbandry at Lillerudsgymnasiet? Was it the right decision to replace the course Horses? I have sent a questionnaire to all the students who graduated between 2003 and 2007. Out of 107 questionnaires I received 66 replies (62 %). All students have studied the same mandatory courses but different eligible courses. Therefore the frequency of replies shows great variation. The course Horses was recently replaced by the courses Small Enterprises A, Dogs and Species at risk. 52 % (34 persons) answered that they found the course Horses useful. 46 % (16 persons) answered that they found the course Small Enterprises A useful. 78 % (32 persons) answered that they found the course Dogs useful. 37 % (10 persons) answered that they found the course Species at risk useful. It is hard to say if it was right to replace Horses if you look only at the answers to how useful the course was. My conclusion is that the teachers should look at Species at risk and try to make it suit the specialisation Animal Husbandry better. English B is the course that the highest share of former students found useful, 82 % (18 persons). Nevertheless I think it should stay with the eligible courses. The former students think that they have made use of the mandatory courses. / Syftet med det här arbetet är att få reda på om de tidigare eleverna tycker att det varit nyttiga kurser som de läst på naturbruksprogrammets djurvårdsinriktning på Lillerudsgymnasiet och om det är någon eller några kurser som skulle kunna bytas ut. Jag tänker mig att en kurs kan vara nyttig både i kommande arbete, i fortsatta studier och i privatlivet. De huvudsakliga frågeställningarna är: Har de före detta eleverna haft nytta av kurserna som de läste på Lillerudsgymnasiets naturbruksprogram med djurvårdsinriktning? Var det riktigt att ta bort hästkunskapskursen som inriktningskurs? Jag har skickat ut en enkät till alla elever som gick ut naturbruksprogrammet med djurvårdsinriktning på Lillerudsgymnasiet mellan 2003 och 2007 och det blev 107 stycken. Svarsfrekvensen blev 62 % (66 st.). Alla elever har läst samma inriktningskurser men de har läst olika kurser av de individuellt valbara. Svarsfrekvensen är därför mycket olika för olika kurser. Kursen Hästkunskap blev nyligen utbytt mot Småföretagande A, Hundar och Utrotningshotade arter. 52 % (34 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Hästkunskap. 46 % (16 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Småföretagande A. 78 % (32 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Hundar. 37 % (10 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Utrotningshotade arter. Det är svårt att säga om det var rätt att ta bort Hästkunskapskursen som inriktningskurs enbart utifrån nyttan. Jag anser att man bör se över om Utrotningshotade arter kan göras om för att passa djurvårdsinriktningen bättre. Engelska B är den kurs som störst andel i den här studien tycker att de har haft nytta av, 82 %, (18 st.). Jag tycker ändå att den ska vara kvar bland de valbara kurserna. De tidigare eleverna tycker att de har haft nytta av sina inriktningskurser.

Over the last two decades, there have been increasing concerns about environmental degradation and its consequences on the long-term sustainability of socio-economic systems around the world. The publication of the report of the Club of Rome in 1972, (Meadows et al. 1972) focused on the issue of limits to growth. Since then, there has been a profusion of literature and general models have been developed to address the causes of environmental degradation and the unsustainability of current patterns of growth (Ehrlich and Ehrlich 1970; 1990). Essentially these models used parameters that included population growth, consumption levels and aspects of technology, and their effects on the environment. While these models and studies were at a macro level that helped focus attention on the patterns of growth and their unsustainability, they did not provide insights into the mechanisms that were driving ecological change, nor suggest alternative models of growth. An entry point into the current study is to understand the mechanisms that drive ecological change. Motivated by concerns for environmental degradation, and the need to understand the mechanisms that drive ecological change, the study is situated in the academic domain of studies on human-nature interactions. The complex nature of interactions between human groups with their environment and their dependence on the situational context, requires that such studies be at a regional and local scale for which sufficient detail is available. This particular study is situated in the Nilgiri hills in the Western Ghats of Southern India for which such detailed information is available. The study reconstructs the ecological history of the Nilgiri area during the last 200 years, and from this laboratory of human-nature interactions, attempts to derive general patterns.

No description available.

Local perceptions and livelihood strategies have in this study been examined through extensive fieldwork in two villages in rural Pondoland in the former homeland Transkei in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province. Using a bottom-up perspective, changes in livelihoods and the processes involved in choosing between and combining various types of livelihood activities are analysed. The study also looks at specific South African policies, targeted at poverty relief and restriction of natural resource use, from the local perspective and points at communication problems between the national and local levels. Livelihoods in Transkei are today often conceptualised as consisting of subsistence agriculture combined with monetary incomes in the forms of state pensions and remittances from migrant labourers. This view is challenged by the results of the present study, showing that local jobs are the major components of livelihoods in the studied villages. Informal jobs are stressed as constituting an important, and perhaps previously underestimated, part of local job opportunities. While pensions also do make important contributions to livelihoods, the significance of agriculture, livestock keeping and various forms of natural resource use is shown to be relatively low. Key insights are that livelihood activities in rural Transkei vary a lot between specific localities, and that important recent changes in livelihoods have taken place. Transkei is furthermore often conceptualised as a region where severe environmental degradation is taking place, a fact that is also contradicted by findings from the study area. In accordance with recent research on an ‘African degradation narrative’, the hopeless and homogenous picture of Transkei as a generally degraded region is questioned. These results are also used to critically examine concepts such as ‘multiple livelihood strategies’ and the tendency to generalise about rural livelihoods across regions, countries or even continents. / Lokala uppfattningar och försörjningsstrategier har i denna studie undersökts genom långvarigt fältarbete och omfattande intervjuer med lokalbefolkningen i två byar i den rurala kustregionen i Pondoland, i Sydafrikas f.d. ‘homeland’ Transkei (idag Östra Kapprovinsen). Under apartheidtiden tvingades Sydafrikas befolkning av afrikanskt ursprung i hög utsträckning att bo i dessa s.k. homelands, vilket anses ha lett till både fattigdom och omfattande miljöförstöring i dessa områden. Transkei konceptualiseras idag därför ofta som ett problemområde, där befolkningen överlever på småskaligt jordbruk, nyttjande av, statliga bidrag och pengar från släktingar som jobbar i storstäder. Denna studie ifrågasätter upprätthållandet av en sådan bild av Transkei, genom att peka på att majoriteten av hushållen i fältområdet idag har lokala jobb. I detta sammanhang har informella jobb en viktig och troligtvis tidigare underskattad roll. Studien pekar också på att försörjningsstrategier är föränderliga och att det finns stora skillnader mellan olika lokaliteter med avseende på olika försörjningsmöjligheter. Många studier i Afrika har på senare tid ifrågasatt antaganden om att olika regioner är generellt degraderade, och visat på att detta ofta kan vara ett narrativ som av olika skäl upprätthålls utan att närmare granskas. Denna studie visar däremot på att miljön i fältområdet inte är generellt degraderad och att lokalbefolkningen inte överutnyttjar naturresurserna. Därmed bidrar studien till att nyansera en ibland alltför homogen och hopplös bild av Transkei som region. Studien granskar också specifika Sydafrikanska policies för naturvård och fattigdomsbekämpning utifrån lokalbefolkningens perspektiv och visar på problematiska kommunikationsbrister mellan nationell och lokal nivå.

Excavations Project at Paloma, Chilca Valley, PerúThe preceramic site of Paloma (12b-VII-613), Chilca Valley, Peru, was excavated over a number of seasons, first by Frédéric-André Engel and Bernardino Ojeda and later by Robert A. Benfer, Jr., in a joint project with the original investigators. The project was a multidisciplinary investigation of the largest site of its time period, 7800 to 4700 B.P. The Hypsithermal time of global warming, 6500-5000 B.P. was optimal for the central coast due to an increase in moisture. The principle occupation of Paloma, strata 300 and 200, were during the Hypsithermal. We studied the adjustments to sedentary life from an exceptionally extensive series of studies of the consequences of this life registered in the skeletons and teeth of the 201 individuals excavated from in and around over 50 domestic structures in 1900 square meters of excavations. Principal findings from the study of the human remains along with studies of animal and plant remains have been summarized elsewhere (Benfer 1990). Here I present details of the excavation and the stratigraphy of the site. In addition, new data are presented from analyses of mortuary customs and plant use. / El sitio precerámico de Paloma (12b-VII-613) se ubica en el valle de Chilca, Perú y fue excavado durante varias temporadas, originalmente por F. Engel y B. Ojeda y luego por R. Benfer, Jr. Este último dirigió una investigación multidisciplinaria del sitio ocupado entre 7800 hasta 4700 a.p. La epoca hipsitermal del calentamiento global (6500-5000 a.p.) fue el periodo más favorable para la Costa Central debido al aumento de humedad a la que corresponde la ocupación principal de Paloma (estratos 300 y 200). El autor investigó las adaptaciones a la vida sedentaria desde una serie extensiva y excepcional de estudios para encontrar las consecuencias de esta vida, registrada en los esqueletos y dientes de los 201 individuos excavados dentro y alrededor de más de 50 estructuras domésticas en 1900 m2 excavados. Los principales hallazgos de restos humanos así como restos vegetales y animales han sido resumidos anteriormente (Benfer 1990). Aquí se presentan detalles de las excavaciones y de la estratigrafía del sitio, así como nuevos datos producto de los análisis de las costumbres de los entierros y del uso de plantas.

Syftet med denna studie är att öka förståelsen kring hur lärare kan motivera elever att jobba med teoretiska ämnen som språk på yrkesgymnasium. Detta görs genom en analys av hur tre engelsklärare på olika naturbruksgymnasier i mellersta Sverige arbetar med fokus på ämnesöverskridande innehåll. Studien genomfördes via intervjuer av de involverade lärarna, intervjuer som spelades in och transkriberades för att sedan analyseras djupare. Resultatet visar på både likheter och olikheter i hur lärarna tacklar deras vardag i klassrummet, vilka uppgifter de anser vara motiverande och ger exempel på olika uppgifter de gjort med eleverna. Dessa exempel och reflektioner jämförs med ett urval av tidigare studier. Denna studie fann att elever är mer motiverade när de får uppgifter som kan kopplas till deras valda yrkesinriktning, när de får valmöjligheter och när de kan känna sig kompetenta. / The purpose of this study is to develop the understanding around how teachers are able to motivate students to work with theoretical subjects like languages at a vocational secondary school in Sweden. The study will focus on an analysis on how three English teachers at different natural resource use programmes in Sweden work with their subjects, focusing especially on subject content which covers more than one subject. The study is based on interviews of the involved teachers, interviews which were recorded and later transcribed to be analyzed deeper. The results show both similarities and differences in the approaches the teachers have to their day to day life in the classroom, which tasks they deem motivational, and give examples on different tasks they have had their students do. These examples and reflections are compared to what previous studies have brought to light. This study found that students are more motivated when they are issued tasks which connects to their chosen vocation, when they get opportunity to exercise student choice, and when they feel competent in some manner. / <p>Kontakt: emma.carolin.ogren@protonmail.com</p>

In light of the need to reduce resource usage and mitigate the climate impact of the Swedish construction industry, the adoption of reusing secondary materials has gained significant attention as an alternative construction process. This approach not only addresses environmental concerns, but also aims to transition from the prevailing "make-take-waste" system of resource management. Reuse, recognized as a circular method, holds promise for the construction industry's efforts to reduce the embodied environmental impact from construction. However, the identification of key actors responsible for spearheading the implementation of reuse to make it both economically and environmentally beneficial remains vague, creating an opportunity for consultancy firms to offer their expertise and knowledge in this domain.  This thesis explores the opportunities and challenges related to the implementation of reuse in the construction industry to formulate possibilities for consultants to introduce reuse in projects. This is done from the context of a Swedish consultancy company by using qualitative methods including a literature review and semi-structured interviews, to investigate different views and experiences of implementing reuse among a variety of actors in the construction process. Based on the results, analysis and discussion, it can be concluded that the project dependent nature of implementing reuse creates a division between the more optimistic views, who see benefits with initiating reuse in most projects, and the more restrained views, which raises the concern of how the benefits of reuse can be misinterpreted. There are two identified challenges that need to be met in order to make the benefits evident for all actors; to enhance the market for reuse in the industry through economic incentives and company driven initiatives, and to change the industry's mindset by prioritising repurposing of buildings and putting weight on coordination in the early stages of construction projects. Consultants can have a supporting role in the early stages of projects by coordinating the logistics and management of secondary materials, and consequently ease the pressure for other actors in the value chain. It is additionally shown that even if there is a wide range of expertise within the consultancy company, it can be hard to manage in order to maximise the benefits of reuse in projects.

I conducted demographic and behavioral studies of Western Sandpipers (Calidris mauri) breeding on the Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta, Alaska (1998-2005). In chapter one, I estimated apparent annual survival (product of true survival and site fidelity) while correcting for the probability of encounter for 237 males and 296 females. Overall return rates (individual returned to the site in a subsequent season) were lower for females (40%) than males (65%), as was apparent annual survival (&#177; SE, females = 0.65 &#177; 0.05, males = 0.78 &#177; 0.03), and encounter rate (females = 0.51 &#177; 0.07, males = 0.74 &#177; 0.04). In chapter two, I examined the effects of mate and site fidelity on nesting success (N = 430 nests). Annual divorce rate ranged between 37-83%, with 17-63% of pairs reuniting annually. Reuniting pairs initiated clutches earlier than newly formed pairs, and clutches that were initiated early in the season had higher nest success rates compared to late-season nests. When I controlled for clutch-initiation date, nests tended by individuals with prior breeding-site experience had higher daily survival rates compared to birds breeding at the site for the first time. The effect of site experience was greater for males than females. In chapter 3, I reported that Western Sandpipers exhibited aggregated breeding behavior on a 36 ha plot. Breeding aggregations occurred when dominant and/or older individuals excluded younger, subordinate individuals from preferred habitat. The pattern of habitat occupancy conformed to an ideal despotic distribution with aggregated nesting birds in less preferred habitat experiencing lower reproductive success. In chapter 4, I described and demonstrated the form and function of parent-chick communication in the Western Sandpiper. Through experimental playback of adult vocalizations to chicks in the field, I demonstrated: (1) chicks respond to the alarm call by vocalizing relatively less often and moving away from the signal source, (2) chicks respond to the gather call by vocalizing relatively more often and moving toward the signal source, (3) and chicks respond to the freeze call by vocalizing relatively less often and crouching motionless on the substrate for extended periods of time. I also describe two distinct chick vocalizations (chick-contact and chick-alarm calls). / Ph. D.