This multi-case study examined the experiences of five former students who attended madrasas in Mali between 1980 and 2009. These students were university graduates and worked in Bamako, Mali, at the time of data collection. With these five participants, I explored the religious, personal, social, educational, and professional effects of madrasa education on students, and I explored their perspectives about the curriculum, teaching, role, and future of madrasas in Mali, a Muslim majority country in West Africa. I collected research data through 15 semi-structured interviews and document review. The findings revealed that the participants perceived madrasas as needed in Mali for educating future Muslim religious leaders and scholars who understand the contemporary world and master Arabic, an essential language for Islamic scholarship and religious rituals. The participants argued that madrasa education connects Mali to its intellectual heritage, all of which was written in Arabic prior to French colonization. They equally stated that madrasa education enabled them to observe Islamic teachings in all aspects of their life and to know these teachings better than the average Malian Muslim. They were thus able to guide their family members, their coworkers, and their neighbours in religious matters. The findings also showed that the participants had strong foundations in Islamic subjects and Arabic. However, for lack of fluency in French or competencies in modern subjects, some participants faced difficulties in terms of higher education and career. Hence, the participants appreciated that the Malian government designed a new curriculum in 2003 to improve madrasa students’ fluency in French and competencies in modern subjects. This new curriculum gave students the opportunity to study at Malian public universities and enter the job market easier than before. However, the participants lamented that the new curriculum neglected Islamic subjects and Arabic. Neglecting these subjects, in participants’ views, threatens the religious mission of madrasas. To sustain madrasas in Mali for future generations, the participants thought that state officials and madrasas union need to cooperate to design a curriculum that balances Islamic subjects and Arabic with modern subjects and French; madrasa owners must pay teachers a good salary; teachers must teach with devotion; parents must supervise children’s education; and students must be advised about the importance of madrasas, university education, and careers. Based on these findings, I recommended that Malian state officials support madrasas because the role madrasas play in the Malian education sector cannot be substituted with other types of schools. I also proposed that curriculum designers structure the madrasa curriculum to balance Islamic subjects and Arabic with modern subjects and French. Structuring the curriculum as such makes madrasas respond well to the educational needs of students including religious needs and career aspirations. Hence, the madrasa continues to play its roles in Malian society. / Graduate

The objectives of this study were to identify the extension needs of land reform beneficiaries (A1 and A2 farmers) for sustainable land reform, by describing and analyzing the current extension corporation and activities in newly resettled areas. The study was carried out in three districts, namely Kadoma, Chegutu and Zvimba , situated in Mashonaland West province of Zimbabwe. The target population samples for the study comprised of A1 and A2 farmers (N=690) and the extension personnel in the three districts (N=68). The study revealed that there is a distinct difference between A1 and A2 farmers regarding their socio-economic status, education level, farm size, land tenure status, and governance structure. 58.0% of A1 farmers farm on farm sizes that vary between 0.5 – 50ha, while 76.3% of A2 farmers received farm sizes between 51 - 200ha. A1 farmers mainly have obtained only primary level education, while 57.3% of A2 farmers obtained post matric education. In general the A1 farmer households are bigger with 16.2% of the households bigger than 10 members compared to A2 farmers where 31% of the households are smaller than three household members. A1 farmers use permits as tenure instruments which allows them to farm and communally share grazing areas and water sources. A2 farmers use offer letters and 99-year lease which allows them to exclusively use resources on their farms. The tenure instruments that apply to A1 farmers have limitations as farmers cannot use them to borrow operational capital since the land is considered state land. In general A1 farmers are less satisfied than A2 farmers with the current land reform program implemented by the government. According to farmers (A1 and A2) the major constraints preventing them to farm optimally are: frequent droughts, inadequate financial credit, poor availability of production inputs, poor extension services, poor farming knowledge and no farming equipment. Farmers perceived the following stumbling blocks in order of priority to the current land reform program: inadequate credit facilities, unstable political situation, corruption and inefficient extension services. 48.0% of extension officers in the three districts (Chegutu, Kadoma, Zvimba) are between the age of 18-30 years, 64.2% of the extension officers have obtained only a certificate in agriculture, which is causing problems in the role they play as technical advisors to farmers. 86.6% of the extension officers have never attended in-service training to attend to their skills development. The average ratio of extension officer to farmer is 1:250-300, which is internationally acceptable for efficient extension delivery. T&V and FSRE extension approaches are the popular approaches extension staff use, although they are in general not satisfied with these extension approaches being used, due to the little financial support government provides to execute these approaches. There is also very little monitoring of application of the various extension approaches by the department, and there is a lack of commitment on the part of the government. 72.0% extension officers indicated that they have at least weekly contact with farmers, mainly through group meetings. Extension officers perceived their technical as well as extension knowledge to be adequate for efficient extension delivery. The major constraints being faced by extension officers in the three districts are: lack of operational budgets, lack of production inputs for farmers, lack of commitment on the part of the farmers and government, low level of farmers' knowledge about farming practices and climate change. Extension officers perceived the following stumbling blocks in priority order to the current land reform program: corruption, lack of planning, lack of coordination among stakeholder and political interference. A negotiated transition for a land reform program is highly recommended. Proper selection of the land reform beneficiaries and human capital development is a critical component of a sustainable extension system. There is a need of greater participation of private role players in providing of inputs. For this to happen government should allow a free market system. A gradual transformation of extension to self finance system is needed. A levy can be imposed on A2 farmers who are in a stronger economic position, so as to finance some of the operations of extension. Due to difference in socio-economic status between A1 and A2 farmers, a tailor made extension support system needs to be implemented, taking into consideration these differences. There is a need for programmed extension with expected and measurable outputs, which offers options and problem solving strategies, facilitate decision-making and technology adaptation, and a need of attracting more private players in the agricultural extension arena. Also there is a need to employ more female extension officers, so as to improve participation of female farmers and offer in-service training for extension officers is much needed. / Dissertation (MSc Agric)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

The key theme of this research document is the negative impact of an increasingly expanding motor vehicle industry. The urban infrastructure and dependence on individual transportation has become an integral part of everyday life for many. Continual growth in the numbers of new automobiles within cities has resulted in the disposal of old and broken (end-of-life) automobiles. This dissertation investigates the potential of industrial architecture in assisting with the regulation of waste management through adaptive re-use of lost spaces and materials. The main objectives include recycling, recycling-awareness and education, re-use of materials, architecture promoting low embodied energy products, the production of energy and social consolidation. Due to the high embodied energy of automobiles, the different range of materials used and the availability of discarded automobiles found within the surrounding industrial area of Pretoria West, a study of the recycling of automobiles will form the central theme for this dissertation. A Vehicle Disassembly Plant, which would be located within the Pretoria West Industrial Area – West of the City of Tshwane CBD, would, by means of waste management, form the basis of the architectural intervention. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Architecture / unrestricted

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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This is a photo-documentary study of two themes found within the literature on fabulous appearances: the gay nightclub patron and the club DJ. This study used a large Midwestern gay nightclub as the field setting. Fabulousness involves the way patrons costume themselves in order to communicate status within the setting. This study revealed that participants in the setting utilize three different types of self-presentation. These types embody desirable characteristics and ideas of attractiveness that revolve around power, establishing a normalized “gay” identity, and using surreal based characteristics to achieve their goal of being noticed. The DJs served as informal organizers through their appearances and performances. Analysis of the DJ role found that DJs provide visual cues for other participants in the setting on how to act, dance, dress, and behave. This study is the first in depth examination of the role of the DJ and the communicative processes between the DJ and dancers in gay nightclubs.

The late Pleistocene snake fossils from Sawmill Sink (Abaco, The Bahamas) represent five taxa: blind or thread snake (Scolecophidia indet.: either Leptotyphlopidae or Typhlopidae); Abaco boa (Boidae: Chilabothrus cf. exsul); rat snake (Colubridae: Pantherophis sp.); water snake (Natricidae: Nerodia sp.); and Cuban racer (Dipsadidae: Cubophis cf. vudii). Scolecophidia, Chilabothrus exsul, and Cubophis vudii still exist on Abaco and have been previously recovered in fossil deposits in the West Indies. In contrast, no forms of Pantherophis or Nerodia have been reported as fossils anywhere in the West Indies until now. This is the first evidence of any indigenous species of Pantherophis (living or extinct) in the Caribbean, whereas the only other indigenous Nerodia in the West Indies is the extant N. clarkii along the northern coast of Cuba. In being present on Abaco in late Pleistocene but not Holocene contexts, Pantherophis sp. and Nerodia sp. resemble 17 species that apparently did not survive the dramatic changes in climate, habitat, and land area associated with the Pleistocene–Holocene Transition in The Bahamas. It is likely that Pleistocene fossils of both Pantherophis and Nerodia will be found eventually on other Bahamian islands. With the discovery of these two snakes, the vertebrate fauna of Sawmill Sink now stands at 97 species, by far the richest in the West Indies.

A survey of the localised distribution of Culicoides obsoletus and Culicoides pulicaris was performed on a dairy and sheep farm in south-west England. Culicoides obsoletus and C. pulicaris have both been confirmed as vector species for the transmission of bluetongue virus in Europe. Sampling was done using motorised black-light suction insect traps. Seventeen traps were set around the farmyard and animal housing and five traps were set in varying pasture locations. Sampling was carried out on eight occasions between mid-September and mid-October 2008. The trapped Culicoides were counted, speciated, sexed and the reproductive stages of the females were recorded. Culicoides obsoletus, C. chiopterus, C. scoticus, C. dewulfi and C. pulicaris (group) were identified during the study. The trap sites were selected to examine the Culicoides populations associated with a wide range of microclimates. The selected sites included manure stores; forage feed stores; yard areas and sites surrounding as well as inside the animal housing. Comparisons were made between Culicoides numbers trapped from different directional sides of the animal buildings and the numbers found inside compared to numbers found outside the buildings. Culicoides numbers collected from the animal areas were compared to the non-animal areas and to the manure and forage sites. The field sites consisted of a marsh area; stream; water trough; open field site and a group of trees in a hedge field boundary. Culiccompared catch sizes from the field trap sites were compared to each other and to the farm holding sites. The highest number of Culicoides trapped were at the farm holding sites, apart from one catch on one occasion from a single field site. Weather changes, particularly high wind speeds with direction changes appeared to reduce the catch sizes during some of the trapping occasions. A greater number of C. obsoletus were collected from both the farm and field sites although a higher relative proportion of C. pulicaris was collected from the field sites. Of the C. obsoletus group, C. dewulfi was only found in farm holding catches, not at any of the field sites. The remaining three sibling species were found in both the farm and field catches. Relatively high numbers of Culicoides were found within the animal housing, with external numbers apparently influencing those found within the housing. An increase in numbers of Culicoides trapped inside the buildings may have been associated with a small shed size and possibly with straw bedding. A relative shift in the Culicoides population into the buildings appeared associated with prolonged high wind speeds. Widely varying female life stages found at all of the farm trap sites suggested possible dispersal of the Culicoides populations between these sites. Populations appeared to remain localised around the farm holding, but possibly dispersed over greater distances from the pasture locations. A wide distribution of breeding sites was suspected around the farm holding. A ranking system was used to identify specific areas associated with increased numbers of female Culicoides collected from these sites. Three sites surrounding a straw bedded cow shed were highlighted as higher risk Culicoides exposure sites; two sites adjacent to a cubicle shed; inside the calf housing; the manure store area and the silage store area. A field site with trees in a hedge boundary was the only high-risk field site identified. Multilevel modelling was used to examine for possible factors influencing Culicoides numbers. Factors examined included wind, temperature and humidity variables; distance from manure, forage, water and trees and livestock variables such as: time of contact, time since contact and distance from sheep and cattle. The model suggested wind speed at light trap setting and an increased time since contact with cattle both appeared significantly associated with reduced Culicoides numbers. Culicoides obsoletus numbers also appeared significantly reduced with increasing distance from manure. From an on-farm risk assessment point of view the farm holding area of a dairy farm as a whole should generally be considered a high-risk site for Culicoides exposure and specific pasture sites can periodically become high exposure sites. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Veterinary Tropical Diseases / unrestricted

In just five years West Virginia was rocked with two devastating disasters in the coal mining industry. Despite the disasters, West Virginians could not just walk away from the mines, as they depended on the coal industry for jobs and tax revenue. West Virginia had built a purpose-driven orientation towards the coal industry through a historical and current dependency on coal. However, the two disasters had a chance to alter that dominant orientation. In order to understand how or if the coal orientation was altered, by the disaster or the discourse that followed, a pentadic analysis was completed. The analysis revealed that the coal companies constantly battled a tension between the elements of agency and purpose, while trying to overcome a scene that made safety challenging. In the end, one mining company altered the purpose-driven orientation, as the other reinforced the orientation. As both of the situations offered different orientations towards coalmining, their orientations showed that coal companies can be purpose-driven providers but also a responsible provider, understanding not only that miners need a paycheck, but also safety. In the end, when companies use the purpose-driven orientation, created from the history, present, and future of the West Virginia coal industry, their orientation drives profits and reduces the importance of safety for the coal miners, making coal mining a risky business. However, after just one disaster, despite the mining company\'s orientation, the companies become providers to no one / Master of Arts

The thesis contains interesting and relevant information concerning the impact of the mining and milling industry on communities located within a geographically, socially, politically, and economically defined area in southwestern Colorado. This area supplied a tremendous amount of radium, vanadium, and uranlum In successlve eras. The author focuses primarily on Uravan, and examines the town's role in the uranium procurement program during World War II. The study of Uravan also provides information on the social structure of a company-owned community. Also examined are the ways in which government policies affected these small communities, and the impacts of the mining and milling industry upon the environment and human health.