This thesis examines the growth ring structure of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnhardt and investigates links between ring features and the climatic conditions under which growth took place. Samples of E. camaldulensis from the Barmah Forest (near the River Murray in northern Victoria) were used in the study. E. camaldulensis growth is linked to periodic flooding, and the Barmah Forest contains sites that are frequently flooded. Wood samples were obtained from sites subject to different average flooding frequencies. Trees used in the study grew out of natural regeneration in the 1920’s and 1930’s and from regeneration trials in the early 1960’s. Initial investigation of E. camaldulensis samples revealed ring-like features that were able to be traced on samples by eye. Microscopic investigation showed that there existed considerable variations in the properties of individual rings at different positions on the samples, and that the boundaries between rings were often indistinct.

La présente thèse retrace l’évolution de la formation de la famille rurale à travers trois périodes, avant 1954, 1955-1986, 1987-2011 dans le Delta du Fleuve Rouge au Nord du Việt Nam. Le cadre théorique a été construit en faisant référence aux travaux d’Alain Girard, Claude Henryon et Edmond Lambrechts, François Héran et Michel Bozon, à l’analyse des conditions de formation d’une génération et des rapports de génération de Karl Mannheim, à l’analyse de la transformation sociale de Pierre Bourdieu dans son livre Travail et travailleurs en Algérie. L’enquête de terrain par l’entretien et l’observation a été menée auprès des conjoints dont le mariage a eu lieu entre les dates de référence. Le Việt Nam a connu au cours du XXe siècle des grands événements, des dates historiques auxquelles nous faisons référence. Il a traversé la période féodo-coloniale, la période de l’édification socialiste avec une économie planifiée et la période de l’économie de marché à orientation socialiste. En partant des contextes politiques, économiques, juridiques, éducatifs, et démographiques du pays, à travers les observations empiriques en la matière et résultats des enquêtes disponibles, nous cherchons à dégager les caractéristiques principales du mariage de chaque période en examinant les aspects principaux du processus d’entrée en union: les circonstances de rencontre, les conditions de la découverte, la prise de décision, les critères du choix et les rites du mariage. Tout cela vise à comprendre les persistances et les changements de cette évolution. On observe que la distance géographique s’accentue entre les communes d’origine des conjoints. Les contextes de découverte sont de plus en plus marqués par l’existence des réseaux sociaux et par le système de l’éducation et de la formation. L’autonomie des jeunes s’affirme. On trouve des concordances entre les résultats de la thèse et les données socio-démographiques récemment élaborées au Việt Nam. / This dissertation relates the evolution of the formation of rural family through three periods before 1954, 1955-1986, 1987-2011 in the Red River Delta in the North of Vietnam. The theoretical cadre is referring to the work of Alain Girard, Claude Henryon and Edmond Lambrechts, François Héran and Michel Bozon, to the analysis of conditions for formation of one generation and generating reports of Karl Mannheim, to the analysis of the social transformation of Pierre Bourdieu from his book Work and workers in Algeria. The fiel survey by interview and observation was realized with spouses who had their marriage between references dates. Viêt Nam has experienced in the twentieth century big events which we refer. It crossed the feudal-colonial period, the period of socialist construction and the period of the market economy with a socialist orientation. Starting from political, economic, legal, educational, and demographic contexts of the country, through empirical data on the subject and survey results, we try to identify the main characteristics of the marriage of each period and the social mechanisms which determine the choice of spouse by examining the main aspects of the entry process in union: circumstances of meeting, conditions of courting, marriage decision-making, criteria for selecting, and marriage rituals. All of this aims at understanding the continuities and changes of this evolution. We observe that the geographical distance becomes more marked between the municipalities of origin of the spouses. The contexts of courting are more and more marked by the existence of the social networks and by the system of the education and training. The youth autonomy is affirmed. We find concordances between survey results and sociodemographic data recently observed in Viêt Nam.

This study is based in Tana River National Primate Reserve (TRNPR), Kenya. The reserve, established in 1976 to protect remnant patches of riverine forests from increasing human pressure is home to two endemic endangered primate subspecies, Tana River Red colobus (Colobus badius rufomitratus) and Tana River Crested mangabey (Cercocebus galeritus galeritus). Habitat encroachment through indigenous farming and forest uses was thought to be one of the causes of drastic colobus and mangabey population decline after 1975. This study aimed at; generating information on the impact of these human land-uses on the habitat, this would facilitate the preparation of management recommendations which would improve the chances of survival of primate habitats without compromising the welfare of indigenous people. Using 3 sets of aerial photographs and a geographic information system, information on land-use changes over time has been generated. A 3 month field work generated information on agriculture, forest uses and other relevant socio-economic information. Results from the study indicate that: (i) human population has increased by more than two-folds between 1969 and 1991; (ii) this has not corresponded to a net increase in forest area decrease or farm area increase; (iii) there has been a net increase in area under forest and decrease in area under agriculture; (iv) spatial and temporal changes in forest area explain colobus population crash observed between 1975 and 1985, (v) indigenous farmers interviewed prefer a compromise, where they are allowed controlled access to land within the reserve. They showed a keen knowledge of conservation costs and benefits and cause-effect processes between humans and the environment. Management recommendations advocate measures that encourage indigenous people to be partners in conservation.