University, Diss., 2003--Osnabrück.

Hannover, University, Diss., 2008.

The increasing global air temperature will trigger changes in the global mean water vapor, precipitation patterns and evapotranspiration, which further leads to changes, for instance, instream flow, groundwater flow and soil moisture. Projections of future changes in thehydrological regime of the Aral Sea Drainage Basin (ASDB) in Central Asia are however highlyuncertain, due to complexities of natural and engineered water systems of the basin. The AmuDarya River Delta (ADRD) is vital to the water budget of the Large Aral Sea, the livelihood inUzbekistan and Turkmenistan, as well as the surrounding riparian ecosystem. This study attemptsto investigate responses of river flow in the Aral Sea Drainage Basin and key riparian vegetationspecies (of the so-called Tugai community) in the Amu Darya River Delta to projected futureclimate change. Results from hydrological model and outputs from multi-GCM predictions providea basis for conducting more robust quantitative analysis of possible future hydro-climatic changesin the Amu Darya River Basin. A qualitative synthesis of the suitability of Tugai is furthermoreperformed in order to increase the knowledge of the riparian vegetation status under thechanging hydro-climatic conditions. The results show that the averaged temperature in the ASDBis likely to continuously increase and yield a total increase of about 2 °C ~ 5°C by 2100. Thechange trend of the annual regional precipitation of 2100 is relatively unclear, with estimatesranging from 50 mm lower than today to 75 mm higher than today. Modeled ensemble means (EM)river flow, obtained from hydrological modeling of climate output from multi-GCM projections,converge on showing future decreases in river runoff (R). Projected absolute R may decrease tozero around 2100, implying no surface flow and a dry out near the river outlet. The relationship ofwater flux between upstream and downstream will be changed dramatically due to climatechange. More specifically, R of the upstream region will decrease, and it is likely to becomeinsufficient for feeding downstream river reaches as it used to. The decreased river flow in thedelta may accelerate the desertification and salinization processes. Consequently, speciestransitions may occur, along with degradations of the existing Tugai communities. Theuncertainties of hydro-climatic change projections to some extent hinder the understanding of thedynamic hydrological-climatic-ecological system. However, the detailed responses of the delta toclimate change based on multiple qualitative and quantitative analyses provide an important basisfor the formulation of more robust forecasts on the future ecological development in the ADRD, and further for recommendations of measures to mitigate the ecosystem’s deterioration under achanging climate.

No description available.

Ephraim Amu is a distinguished musician. He is well known for his advocacy on African tradition and culture. Amu's pride in the African personality has earned him a place in Ghana's hall of fame. It was in recognition of these achievements that his portrait was embossed on Ghana's highest currency, the Twenty Thousand Cedi note. But there is more to the Amu story. In this thesis I have drawn substantially on Amu's own works to demonstrate how, in fact, he is an exemplar of mother tongue apprehension of the Christian faith in Africa. Amu showed in his songs, diaries, sermons, letters, addresses and private papers that the mother tongue, in this case, Ewe and Twi can be used to express not only Christian experience but also to formulate theological ideas in an innovative and creative ways. Amu's credentials as "African statesman" and "a self-conscious nationalist" owe not so much to Pan-African ideologies as his understanding of African culture and tradition from a biblical perspective. Amu believed that the entire universe, including the African cosmos, was created by God from the very beginning as kronkronkron (pure), pepeepe (exact), and fitafitafita (without blemish). He wrestled with the problem of (evil) and how this may have polluted an otherwise unblemished creation. Amu also wrestled with the issue of human participation in God's work of creation and the extent to which humankind may have contributed to the desecration of creation. In spite of the pollution, Amu believed that creation can be redeemed and restored to its original status by cleansing with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. This belief led him to adopt a positive stance towards African culture and tradition. Amu demonstrated this particularly in the use of language. Most of his sermons and notable musical compositions are in Twi or Ewe. He kept a diary in his mother tongue, Ewe, for almost seventy years. Amu demonstrated that by using indigenous African languages it is possible to make a fresh contribution to theological issues and thereby present African Christianity as an authentic expression to God and capable of contributing to world Christianity. Apart from language, Amu believed that other elements in the African tradition could be employed to express the Christian faith. It is in this regard that his contribution to Christian worship, particularly the use of indigenous musical instruments, must be appreciated. Amu's realisation, that "There are deep truths underlying our indigenous religions, truths which are dim representations of the great Christian truths", led him to deal with the perception that / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

當過去歷史透過電影重現，電影以特定的形式與內容重新編排將會使歷史有著不同意義，影響行動者認知及將某種行為成為可能。因此，探討電影如何再現歷史對閱聽人相當重要。 本研究探討影視文本如何再現歷史，以1984年印度黃金廟事件為例，採用《火柴》（Maachis,1996）、《阿畝》（Amu, 2005）及《旁遮普 1984》（Punjab 1984, 2014）三部電影為研究個案，取徑影視史學與民族寓言理論並透過文本分析法，探討三個面向：第一，電影拍攝時空環境與歷史事件時空環境兩者之間的辯證關係。第二，電影文本如何再現過去歷史並呈現其關鍵要點；第三，書寫歷史與影視歷史間呈現的關係。 研究發現，當歷史以影視文本再現時，呈現出以下幾個特點。第一，影視文本歷史再現關注現在。第二，影視文本歷史再現反映當代主流觀點。第三，以角色人物為主之民族寓言。第四，敘事安排製造懸疑感、凸顯關鍵要點。第五，影視文本歷史再現開啟換位思考。 / This study aims to analyze how films reproduced history by using Maachis, amu and Punjab 1984 as case studies which focus on the history of the “Golden Temple Incident of 1984” in India. The methodology of this study is based on concepts of historiophoty by Haden White and national allegory by Fredric Jameson. Textual analysis is adopted to explore three films for the following questions. First, what is the relevance between the filmic background and the historical incident? Second, how does the film text represent history and focus on key points? Third, what is the relationship between Historiography and Historiophoty? This study finds that, first, the historiophoty focuses on present situations. Second, historiophoty reflects the dominate perspectives in present time. Third, the films represent characters as the figures in national allegory. Fourth, arrangement of narrative creates suspenses and foregrounds crucial moments. Lastly, historiophoty opens the possibility for the audience to identify with characters in films.

Cette étude transdisciplinaire incluant sédimentologie, stratigraphie séquentielle, chimiostratigraphie, et géochimie organique et inorganique, examine la série carbonatée du Jurassique moyen-supérieur dans la chaîne du sud-ouest Gissar. Cette série représente l’affleurement le plus complet de la marge nord du Bassin d’Amu-Darya, une province gazière majeure d’Asie Centrale. La production de carbonates commence au début du Callovien, lors d’un ralentissement de la subsidence tectonique régionale associé à un réchauffement climatique. Un changement majeur dans la production carbonatée et la configuration de la plate-forme est enregistré à la fin du Callovien. Ce changement se caractérise par le passage (i) d’une rampe carbonatée avec un gradient proximal-distal bien contrasté du Callovien à (ii) un lagon à faciès péritidaux probablement protégé par des récifs de grande dimension à l’Oxfordien. La surface stratigraphique séparant ces deux séquences est interprétée comme une surface d'émersion régionale, enregistrant une chute du niveau marin entraînée par la tectonique et le climat. Durant la partie terminale de l’Oxfordien moyen, un ou plusieurs bassins intrashelfs sont localisés au sud-ouest de la plate-forme carbonatée. Des carbonates fins nodulaires ou laminés se déposent dans des eaux stratifiées, légèrement hypersalées et anoxiques à dysoxiques, où des tapis microbiens produisent de la matière organique et des carbonates. Ces faciès enregistrent l’initiation de la restriction du Bassin d’Amu Darya, qui se poursuit avec la progradation d’une sabkha et le dépôt de séries anhydritiques et salifères. La comparaison des séries sédimentaires met en évidence des évènements stratigraphiques communs entre le sud-ouest Gissar et les autres bassins des marges nord téthysienne et sud téthysienne : initiation de la plate-forme carbonatée, excursions isotopiques du carbone, âge et mode de formation des roches mères organiques (etc.), impliquant des contrôles climatiques et/ou tectoniques à grande échelle. L’étude pétrographique et géochimique de la diagenèse des carbonates révèle une paragenèse complexe. Certains faciès sont influencés par la fabrique sédimentaire lors de la diagenèse précoce. La succession des phases diagénétiques est reliée à la stratigraphie et à la subsidence des carbonates. Après leur dépôt, les sédiments de la série du Kugitang ont été enfouis à plus de 2 km de profondeur. Des phases liées à des fluides chauds et possiblement à la réduction thermochimique des sulfates se mettent en place durant la Mésogenèse. Finalement, les données stratigraphiques à haute résolution obtenues sur les affleurements du sud-ouest Gissar sont utilisées pour aider à la prédiction de la répartition des réservoirs d’hydrocarbures en subsurface du Bassin d’Amu-Darya. / This transdisciplinary study including sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy, chemostratigraphy, and organic and inorganic geochemistry examines the Middle-Upper Jurassic carbonates series located in the southwestern Gissar range. These carbonates, also known as the Kugitang series, represent the most complete outcrop of the northern margin of the Amu-Darya Basin, a gas-producing province of Central Asia. Carbonate production begins in the late Early Callovian during a regional slowing of the tectonic subsidence, coeval with a climate warming. A major change in the carbonate production and platform configuration is recorded at the end of the Callovian: (i) a carbonate ramp with a well-contrasted proximal-distal gradient develops during the Lower to Middle or Upper Callovian. It is overlain by (ii) a vast low energy lagoon dominated by peritidal facies, probably protected by large reefs, during the Lower and Middle Oxfordian. The stratigraphic surface separating the two depositional sequences is associated with a hiatus (Upper Callovian-Lower Oxfordian) and interpreted as a regional exposure surface recording a sea-level drop caused by tectonics and/or climate. During the Middle Oxfordian, one or several intrashelf basins develop southwestwards of the studied carbonate platform. Laminated and nodular carbonates rich in organic matter predominate in these basins. They are interpreted to have formed through the mineralization of microbial mats colonizing the stratified, slightly hypersaline, anoxic to dysoxic basin floor. Large scale reefs may have favored the isolation of these basins. These deposits record the initiation of the tectonic isolation of the Amu Darya Basin, which culminates with the progradation of a large-scale sabkha and the deposition of a thick anhydrite and salt series. The comparison of stratigraphic series highlights common events in several basins of the northern Tethyan margin, but also with the Arabian Plate: initiation of the carbonate platform, carbon isotope excursions, age and depositional conditions of organic-matter rich rocks, etc. The petrography and geochemistry of carbonates reveal a complex diagenetic history. Some facies are strongly controlled by the sedimentary fabric. The diagenetic succession is tentatively linked with the stratigraphy and the subsidence history. Following deposition, the Kugitang series was buried at more than 2 km. Some cements are interpreted to have formed through the circulation of hot fluids in the rocks during the mesogenesis and possibly due to thermochemical sulfate reduction, especially in the Callovian Sequence. Finally, the high-resolution stratigraphy established in this study is used to help improving the prediction of carbonate reservoirs in the subsurface Amu Darya Basin.

A rebours du schéma élaboré dans le cadre du Traité d’Abuja signé le 3 juin 1991 par les Etats membres de L’Organisation de l’unité Africaine (OUA), la divergence actuelle des systèmes régionaux africains constitue une dénaturation de l’approche convenue. Ce texte prévoit en effet dans son article 6, la création des Communautés économiques régionales (CER) comme une modalité de l’intégration continentale. A ce titre, huit CER sont aujourd’hui reconnues par l’Union Africaine : la Communauté Economique des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (CEDEAO) ; la Communauté Economique des Etats de l’Afrique Centrale (CEEAC) ; la Communauté de l’Afrique de l’Est (CAE) ; la Southern Africa Development Community (SADC); l’Autorité Intergouvernementale pour le Développement (IGAD); le Marché Commun de l’Afrique Australe et Orientale (COMESA); l’Union du Maghreb Arabe (UMA); et la Communauté des Etats Sahélo-Sahariens (CEN-SAD). L’établissement de la Communauté économique africaine instituée par le Traité, reste subordonné à la réussite de ces systèmes communautaires régionaux. Toutefois, la multiplication d’autres organisations communautaires sous-régionales - en plus de celles reconnues - d’une part, et la mise en œuvre de programmes et activités similaires dans le domaine économique d’autre part, tendent à compromettre la réalisation du projet africain. Cette situation fait échec au concept de départ qui établit le principe d’une exclusivité régionale à la faveur de la CER reconnue. A cause de chevauchements des objectifs poursuivis, il s’ensuit entre les organisations régionales, des rapports de rivalité plutôt que de complémentarité, aboutissant à la coexistence des systèmes d’intégration concurrents. Les rapports entre les CER et l’Organisation continentale rendent également visibles les insuffisances liées à la coordination du processus projeté. L’Union Africaine ne disposant pas du tout ou pas suffisamment des moyens juridiques lui permettant une intrusion dans la mise en œuvre des programmes communautaires régionaux, l’application des dispositions du Traité d’Abuja par les CER, ne semble pas homogène. La matérialisation des ambitions affichées par les Etats signataires demeure à ce jour conditionnée par la rationalisation de l’intégration envisagée. Cette étude vise à proposer quelques pistes de solutions en ce sens. / In stark contrast to the vision which emerged from the Treaty of Abuja, ratified by the member states of the Organisation of African Unity on the 3rd of June 1991, the present divergence of regional systems in Africa constitutes a serious distortion of the approach that was agreed upon. Indeed, in Article 6, the treaty sets forth the “strengthening of existing regional economic communities” (RECs) as a means of achieving integration on a continental scale. Along these lines, the African Union now recognizes eight RECs: the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), and the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD). As laid out in the treaty, the establishment of the African Economic Community is entirely dependent upon the success of these regional community systems. At the same time, the increase of other community organisations at the sub-regional level, beyond those officially recognized, on the one hand, and the implementation of similar programmes and activities, on the other hand, tend to endanger the realisation of the African project. This situation flies in the face of the original idea, which was based on the principle of the regional exclusivity of the recognized RECs. As a result of the various overlapping goals that are being pursued by difference organisations, competitive rather than complimentary relations have led to a coexistence of rival systems of integration. The relations between the RECs and the continental organization (the AU) have also made apparent the inadequacy of the coordination procedure that had been envisaged. As the African Union does not have sufficient legal means at its disposal to intervene in the implementation of regional community programmes, the execution of the Treaty of Abuja by the RECs lacks homogeneity. In order to achieve the ambitions declared by those member states who signed the treaty, a rationalisation of the proposed integration is necessary. The present study puts forward several proposals as to how such a rationalisation may be accomplished.

The author of this thesis endeavours to create a comprehensive portrait of Hanuš Bartoň, a Czech contemporary composer, pianist, and academic educator. The thesis is focused on his compositions and his contribution as a pianist and a teacher with the aim to establish a practical source of information. This source ought to fulfil both its musicological potential, especially concerning the analysis of Czech classical music of the end of the 20th century up till now, as well as its potential in the field of education, noting Bartoň's works for children and his academic pedagogical contribution. The thesis is systematically organised into several parts. The main body starts with the composer's biography. The attention then moves to his compositions, which are systematically presented and commented on from the perspective of Bartoň's musical style development and its tendencies. His works adhere to the postmodern ideal considering the fact that the music deals in a specific way with the synthesis of stylistic elements. The scope of his oeuvre is relatively wide. It mostly encompasses instrumental pieces, although there are many others including, for example, musical-dramatic works, vocal pieces, electroacoustic music, and music for the theatre. The individual compositions and their performances are...

Kein anderes Thema hat die nigerianische Literatur so dominiert wie der nigerianische Bürgerkrieg, in dessen Verarbeitung sich verstärkt auch Autorinnen einmischen. Die Dissertation evaluiert 34 Texte von 16 nigerianischen Autorinnen - 12 Romane und 22 Kurzgeschichten - und analysiert sie als Gesamtkorpus, in dem die Texte miteinander und mit der Männerliteratur einen Dialog um den Bürgerkrieg führen. Die Autorinnen wenden bei ihrem "war talk" literarische Strategien wie "re-reading" und "re-writing" an, das Neu-Lesen, Fort- und Umschreiben der Texte und Diskurse des "Zentrums", durch die nicht nur die Blindstellen eines von Männern dominierten literarischen Diskurses sichtbar werden, sondern durch die auch der Prozess des Aushandelns der Geschlechterverhältnisse sowie des Krieges selbst erfolgt, seiner Ursachen, Auslöser und Folgen. Die Autorinnen stellen den Krieg als "sexuelle Unordnung" dar, als Geschlechterkrieg. Die Untersuchung zeigt, dass bei der Verortung der Perspektive der Autorinnen neben Geschlecht, ethnischer Zugehörigkeit auch andere Faktoren, wie Alter, Race, Grad der Distanz oder Nähe etc. berücksichtigt werden müssen, um vorschnelle Festschreibungen zu vermeiden. Hierbei spielen die Paratexte eine wichtige Rolle, in denen die Autorinnen sich persönlich zum Krieg äußern. Die Arbeit bewegt sich an den Schnittstellen mehrerer Disziplinen: Literatur, Historiographie und Geschlechterstudien. In der Einleitung werden die theoretischen Prämissen im Kontext von Krieg, Geschlecht und literarischer Repäsentation behandelt. Das 1. Kapitel ist dem historischen Kontext des Bürgerkrieges, einschließlich der Rolle der Frauen darin gewidmet. Im 2. Kapitel geht es um die Darstellung des Krieges, des Selbst- und Feindbildes sowie der Zukunft. Das dritte Kapitel handelt von der Beziehung zwischen Bürger- und Geschlechterkrieg, vermittelt durch das Medium literarischer Text. Die Zusammenfassung der Ergebnisse und der Ausblick auf zukünftige Forschung erfolgt im Schlussteil. Der Anhang enthält ein vorläufiges Verzeichnis der gesamten Frauenliteratur über den nigerianischen Bürgerkrieg. / No other topic has dominated the Nigerian literature as much as the Nigerian Civil War and female authors increasingly interfere in its literary representation. The thesis evaluates 34 literary texts by 16 female Nigerian authors - 12 novels and 22 short stories - and analyses them as distinctive corpus whose individual texts are in a state of dialogue both with each other and with texts from male authors. The female authors use, in their "war talk", literary strategies like "re-reading" and "re-writing" of texts from the "Centre". On the one hand, these strategies enable them to make the blind spots of a male dominated literary discourse apparent/visible on the other hand, they facilitate the negotiation of gender relations and of the war itself, its causes, trigger points and consequences. The female authors represent war as "sexual disorder", as gender war. The study shows that in order to be able to locate an author''s perspective (and to avoid rash conclusions) it is essential to consider the different factors determining it - besides ethnicity and gender, also age, race, the grade of emotional involvement or distance etc. It is in this regard, where the paratexts play an important part, as in these authors express their personal views and comments on the war. The thesis is located at the interfaces of several disciplines: literary, historical and gender studies. The introduction deals with the theoretical backgrounds in the context of war, literary representation and gender. The first chapter is dedicated to the historical context of the Nigerian Civil War including the role of women. The second chapter looks at the paratexts, different representations of the war''s causes, the self-image, the enemy''s image and the future. The third chapter finally deals with the question how the relationship between Civil War and gender war is negotiated/conveyed through the medium of the literary texts. In the conclusion the results are summarized and prospects for future research are discussed. The appendix contains a preliminary bibliography of all literary texts on the Nigerian Civil War written by female authors.