5 Abstract A significance of platforms based on sharing economy principle in tourism has been continuously increasing. Currently, the most significant phenomenon is Airbnb, which allows residents to offer their homes for tourists. Even though Airbnb still works on basic peer to peer principle of sharing economy, due to uncontrolled development, it has been leading to a diversion from values of sharing economy. Unlike Airbnb, couchsurfing still retains values of sharing economy and promotes sustainable tourism. However, there is not enough data about couchsurfing. For example, this platform does not have any public database, which would outline how many people were accommodated through Couchsurfing in particular destinations. The lack of data about couchsurfing is apparent in the academic sphere as well. The vast majority of studies is focused on sociological themes like motivations of people to use couchsurfing or mutual trust among its users. In the meantime, the spatial behaviour of these tourists has been therefore underestimated. Creation of a database of these tourists on international and Czech national scale including an exploration of spatial behaviour in Czechia is the main aim of this research. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was adopted for this research. The quantitative...

Thesis is submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Town and Regional Planning) to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / Focusing on Zimbabwean migrants in Johannesburg, this thesis engages the ways in which diverse groups and individuals construct and negotiate spaces in the city. I have looked at how Zimbabwean migrants spatially respond to the regulatory and socio-economic environments within which they lead their everyday lives in Johannesburg. I emphasize the theme of heterogeneity, specifically highlighting the differentiated nature of Zimbabwean immigrants living in South Africa and discuss their movements and spatial identities. Theoretically, I have combined de Certeau's conception of space as represented by the schema of “strategies” of the powerful and the “tactics” of the subordinate with Bourdieu's concept of “habitus”, which operates within a field of social forces that are responsible for, and the result of, its emergence. Following my empirical engagements within the context of Johannesburg, I observe that, the initial decision by Zimbabwean migrants to move to South Africa, be it in search of work opportunities or forced by political circumstances, enable a structure that predisposes them (migrants) to continued mobility. Firstly, as transnational migrants who engage in frequent short term and long term movements between Zimbabwe and South Africa. Secondly, as transient residents of Johannesburg who frequently change residential addresses yet remain largely within the same spaces where they first arrive. Thirdly, as de Certeau's ordinary man who walks the city while engaged in everyday activities such as, shopping, going to places of employment, to places of education, etc. I theorise mobility as a way of making do and an inhabited space that migrants mobilise in contestation with the broader strategic entities such as the City of Johannesburg's regulatory platforms, South African citizens and other migrants. I also argue that, for migrants to engage in different mobility cycles and deploy mobility as a tactical resource, particular dispositions are necessary. I refer to these dispositions as the transnational migrant habitus, which operates within a transnational social field constituted by socio-cultural factors in both South Africa and Zimbabwe. Both, the transnational habitus and the transnational social field are hybrid social formations that are not reducible to either the Zimbabwean or the South African contexts that are responsible for their genesis and ongoing reconstitution. Methodologically, I employed a mixed methods research design, which refers to a procedure by which the researcher mixes two or more methods with different meta-theoretical assumptions in a single study in order to understand a research problem. I used mixed methods because I needed sufficient breadth to explore the diversity of Zimbabwean migrant experiences and spatial decision-making, but also sufficient depth to uncover the reasons for behaviours and decisions. / MT2018

The thesis examines the ability of animals to construct a home base. The home base is a point in space where animals rear, groom, and circle and is a primary element in organized spatial behaviour (Eilam and Golani 1989). Once animals establish a home base, they make outward trips and stops, and after a series of trips and stops they return again to the home base. The home base behaviour of animals acts as a platform for asking questions about the cognitive organization of an environment. The thesis describes five main findings. Control and hippocampectomized animals use (1) proximal and (2) distal cues to form a home base and organize their behaviour. (3) Control and olfactory bulbectomized animals form home bases in the dark where as hippocampectomized animals are impaired suggesting self-movement but not olfactory cues play a role in home base behaviour. A final set of experiments demonstrated that control and hippocampectomized animals learn the position of (4) proximal and (5) distal cues so that in the cue's absence, animals still form a home base at that position. The demonstration that a central feature of exploratory behaviour, establishing a home base, is preserved in hippocampectomized rats in relation to proximal, distal, and conditioned visual cues - reveals that exploratory behaviour remains organized after hippocampal lesions. The inability of hippocampectomized rats to form a virtual home base in the absence of visual cues is discussed in relation to the idea that the hippocampus contributes to inertial behaviour that may be dependent upon self-movement cues. / xv, 232 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Carleton University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 248-274). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Originally presented as the author's dissertation. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 271-286).

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Waikato, 2009. / Title from PDF cover (viewed October 2, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-146)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Originally presented as the author's dissertation. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 271-286).

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 50-52). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-13T14:50:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2013-02-18Bitstream added on 2014-08-13T18:00:57Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000749982.pdf: 2720795 bytes, checksum: 2e49c9833aeacff0574f9a55e2115f75 (MD5) / Em ecossistemas aquáticos lênticos, o material orgânico de origem autóctone é o recurso basal de maior destaque, sendo a principal fonte de energia para consumidores primários, que por sua vez podem sustentar uma complexa rede trófica nesses ambientes. As principais fontes de material orgânico particulado em lagos, os detritos orgânicos, têm procedência do fitoplâncton e das macrófitas, e se acumulam no sedimento. Os macroinvertebrados bentônicos são, portanto, componentes fundamentais do processo de transferência de energia e nutrientes, de forma que sua sobrevivência nesses ecossistemas está relacionada, dentre outros fatores, a disponibilidade de recursos alimentares. Assim, é importante compreender, de acordo com as particularidades morfológicas, fisiológicas e comportamentais de cada táxon, como se mostram seus hábitos alimentares, frente às condições ambientais. O principal objetivo do trabalho foi evidenciar as diferenças na estruturação da fauna de macroinvertebrados bentônicos em duas lagoas marginais ao Rio Paranapanema, partindo-se do princípio que a presença de plantas aquáticas em uma delas afetaria significativamente a organização desses organismos. Buscou-se demonstrar ainda que essa influência seria resultado da contribuição que as plantas aquáticas têm para a alimentação dos grupos de macroinvertebrados bentônicos. Os itens alimentares consumidos por Chironomidae e Ephemeroptera foram verificados em ambas as lagoas e períodos de estudo através da análise do conteúdo estomacal das larvas. Neste trabalho concluiu-se que o material orgânico particulado fino é o item mais explorado por estes dois grupos, favorecendo o desenvolvimento de muitos táxons e interferindo na estruturação da fauna em ambas as lagoas e períodos analisados