No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis presents a critical overview of a supernatural being, the South Slavic vila, as she figures in the oral traditions of Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and Serbian peasants collected in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The thesis returns to the conceptual frame of older primary texts (here titled survey studies) used by comparative scholars and updates this work with the knowledge gleaned from a century of research and theory in the fields of folkloristics and historical anthropology. These materials are presented in a distributive frequency analysis model such as those often employed by the Historical-Geographic school of folklore research, but the study is built on a foundation informed by the insights of Milman Parry and Albert Lord’s researches into the diffusion of oral traditions. These traditions are further refined by focusing on the singers, storytellers and believers who used the vila in an emic manner balanced at a nexus point between artistic innovation and traditional dictates. The data is also further contextualized with a focus on the embedded nature of these cultural expressions and a clear portrait of the contexts surrounding their collection and publication in a wider cultural sphere. The aim of the thesis is to present a comprehensive description of the vila’s role in oral traditions to serve as a primary source for scholars doing comparative or interpretive work, as well as to provide a clearer picture of the contexts of the materials to refine such research. In doing so, this thesis produces a comprehensive method and model that can be applied to other supernatural beings, repatriates oral arts back to their original purveyors by undoing academic silencing of subaltern voices and returns critical context to inherited traditions once stripped of them by romantic academic theories. / Thesis / Candidate in Philosophy

"The Concept of 'the Human' in the Work of Hermann Hesse and Paul Tillich" is an interdisciplinary study in theology and literature. Three chapters each on Hesse and Tillich discuss the life work, and critical significance of both men. The seventh chapter compares their similarities and their contrasting views. In his work Hermann Hesse singles out the artist as the best example of true personhood and believes that individuals become fully human by being aesthetes, possessing ironic humor, learning to love unconditionally, expressing themselves while at play, transcending themselves through magical thinking, i.e., bringing into harmony the polarities of life, and finally, by assuming ethical responsibility for life to the point of sacrificial service. In the work of Paul Tillich existential man experiences estrangement, but essential man possesses a vision of wholeness and therefore of potentiality. However, maturity is to be found in becoming reconciled. Jesus as the Christ is the New Being who reunites man with God, Sanctification describes what it means to be fully human, and participation in a theonomous culture requires that one help make human life more human for others. The final chapter compares the life and work of Hesse and Tillich and concludes; both men have a tripartite view of human nature, they recognize the ambiguities of life as well as the demonic element in man, perfection is beyond an individual's grasp hut fulfillment is not, and both men are humanists who oppose dehumanization. They differ in that Tillich is more interested in ontology than in psychology, Hesse stresses self-realisation, whereas Tillich: stresses becoming whole by way of reunion with Being-itself. Hesse appreciates the aesthetic and ethical stages of life but lacks Tillich's emphasis on the depth dimension. Hesse's answer to the human situation is autonomous rather than theonomous as advocated by Tillich. The implications of both Hesse's and Tillich's thought include the following: becoming fully; human is a lifelong process; man is most human when he reflects his best self or the image of God; being human must address itself to the perennial problems of man (sin, suffering, and death); anthropology rather than dogmatic theology is the arena in which the theological enterprise should take placer and finally. the contemporary church needs to be aware of the necessity for both personal religious experience and social action.

Problems associated with planning the future use of estuarine areas stem from: A lack of knowledge on the critical aspects of the system. Inability to predict the future changes which will occur within the system in order to effectively manage the resource base. These difficulties lie in the fact that changes within the system occur because of both "natural" and "cultural" conditions. The thesis hypothesis and subsequent research is to describe the physical changes that have occurred within the Netarts system, primarily due to man's impact. Types of data gathered for the analysis includes that on historical and current land use activities, current research findings on system characteristics, and independent research on shoreline changes and vegetation composition. Much of the historical data were taken from early manuscripts and publications. Current research data were obtained from several engineering studies of the bay, as well as a baseline study of Netarts funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation and Oregon State University. This study included an inventory of man's utilization of the resource base. Methods utilized in data analysis included aerial photo-interpretation, planimetric measurement of shoreline and vegetative alterations, and on-site inventory of current shoreline and vegetation changes. Results of the research have shown that it is possible to measure and describe changes within the Netarts Bay system. Specific findings include: A decrease in sandspit volume of nine percent between 1942 and 1974 due to construction of a boat basin and fill. Occurrence of marsh progradation in all marsh areas with sedge and low sand type showing the greatest increases between 1939-1962. A decrease in rate of marsh progradation from 1962-1974. A total decrease in tidal prism of the bay between 1957-1969 as measured by cross sectional areas. The rate of decrease is occurring at a faster rate south of the mouth of Whiskey Creek. Destruction of Chum salmon fisheries and native oyster populations due to over-harvesting and siltation. Destruction of Gaper clam beds along the eastern shore of the bay and increased erosion of the shore, due to road fill and road construction. The results of the research and subsequent findings show that it is possible to describe an estuary as a "system" that has applicability for future development of a land and water use model for an estuary.

The Irwin River catchment, located in the central western region of Western Australia, has been the scene of significant geomorphological change over both historical and geological timescales. This thesis focuses on the most recent of these changes, the anthropogenic imprint, through the development of a catchment-scale understanding of system behaviour. Analysis and modelling of changes in the hydrological behaviour of the system indicates that while the Irwin River has displayed a natural susceptibility to large flood events, these have been exacerbated by the widespread clearing of native vegetation throughout the catchment. As a result, when such events do occur, the catchment response is now larger, more direct and has a greater ability to cause erosion. However, the nature and detail of sediment yield processes and stream channel response varies markedly throughout the system. A series of representative channel reaches, as defined by their planform characteristics, geometry and architecture, are presented to illustrate spatial changes in stream channel behaviour. A distinct variation in river morphotypes is seen both downstream throughout the system as well as across the tributary sub-catchments of the Irwin River, Lockier River and Green Brook. This inter and intra sub-catchment variation in stream channel response can be attributed to changes in the boundary conditions and coupling mechanisms in operation throughout the Irwin River system. The pronounced spatial variability in response to human disturbance and the changing nature of catchment-scale connectivity seen in the Irwin River system differs markedly to that reported elsewhere in the literature. Appreciation of the variability in form, behaviour and evolutionary history throughout the Irwin River catchment not only provides the foundation for effective management but also contributes to a wider understanding of fluvial system behaviour. Unlike the majority of existing literature, which tends to identify and measure channel changes in a single catchment where historical variation to the sediment and discharge regime is well known, this study demonstrates the role of boundary conditions in determining the response of the fluvial system to changing environmental controls.

People's level of development is a significant determinant in their relationship to wild nature. People today characterized by a high level of development value wild natural resources primarily for non-consumptive aesthetic and humanistic purposes. Modern nature conservation has been dominated by developed peoples' concerns with wild nature. Concerns of developed peoples with wild nature are described by a resourcism-preservationism paradigm. In contrast underdeveloped peoples rely upon wild nature to maintain the integrity of their cultures and increasingly for purposes of physical survival and promoting, development; this involves consumptive use of wild nature. As all people increasingly become part of a global development trajectory, resourcism-preservationism is articulating itself as the global people-environment dynamic. Emergent relations between nature conservation agency staff and reserve neighbours in South Africa offer a unique opportunity to study competing concerns around wild nature and assess the ability of approaches which link conservation and development to meet developed and underdeveloped peoples' concerns. Evaluation of reserve-neighbour interaction at Giant's Castle and Kosi Bay areas is achieved through determining whether it empowers reserve neighbours and conservation agency staff; fundamental to empowerment is people managing natural resources themselves. Natal Parks Board's and KwaZulu Department of Nature Conservation's frameworks for extension do not empower reserve staff or neighbours at Giant's Castle and Kosi Bay respectively. Trends in competition between developed and underdeveloped peoples for use of wild nature evidenced in field studies mirror global trends in people-environment relations. Recent attempts in South Africa and internationally to address the concerns of underdeveloped peoples, witnessed in efforts to link development to conservation such as reserve-neighbour interaction, are efforts by developed people to protect their particular concerns with wild nature. As a result these attempts have not been integrated into a larger conservation and development process. Instead they have been plagued by short term vision among nature conservation agencies and reserve neighbours. Linking conservation and development is a process fundamental to the future of conservation, benefitting people at all levels of development. A fundamental redefinition of conservation agency objectives and restructuring conservation agency operations is required such that people are empowered to manage their own natural resources. Principles to guide and an approach for structuring such an undertaking are proposed involving collaboration with relevant agents. / Thesis (M.Soc.)-University of Natal, Pietermartizburg, 1996.

xvii, 382 p. : ill. (some col.), maps. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / The debate concerning the role of natural versus anthropogenic burning in shaping the prehistoric vegetation patterns of the Willamette Valley of Oregon and Washington remains highly contentious. To address this, pollen and high-resolution charcoal records obtained from lake sediments were analyzed to reconstruct the Holocene fire and vegetation history, in order to assess the relative influence of climate variability and anthropogenic activity on those histories. Two sites provided information on the last 11,000 years. At one site at the northern margin of the Willamette Valley, shifts in fire activity and vegetation compared closely with millennial- and centennial-time scale variations in climate, and there was no evidence that anthropogenic burning affected the natural fire-climate linkages prior to Euro-American arrival. In contrast, the fire and vegetation history at a site in the central Willamette Valley showed relatively little vegetation change in response to both millennial- and centennial-scale climate variability, but fire activity varied widely in both frequency and severity. A comparison of this paleoecological reconstruction with archaeological evidence suggests that anthropogenic burning near the site may have influenced middle- to late-Holocene fire regimes. The fire history of the last 1200 years was compared at five sites along a north-south transect through the Willamette Valley. Forested upland sites showed stronger fire-climate linkages and little human influence, whereas lowland sites located in former prairie and savanna showed temporal patterns in fire activity that suggest a significant human impact. A decline in fire activity at several sites in the last 600 years was attributed to the effects of a cooling climate as well as the decline of Native American populations. The impacts of Euro-American settlement on the records include dramatic shifts in vegetation assemblages and large fire events associated with land clearance. The results of this research contribute to our understanding of long-term vegetation dynamics and the role of fire, both natural- and human-ignited, in shaping ecosystems, as well as provide an historical context for evaluating recent shifts in plant communities in the Willamette Valley. / Advisers: Cathy Whitlock, Patrick J. Bartlein

This study elucidates the underlying relationships for the distribution of oak landcover on bedrock and soil orders in two counties in Texas and one in Oklahoma. ESRI's ArcGis and ArcMap was used to create surface maps for Denton and Coke Counties, Texas and Choctaw County, Oklahoma. Attribute tables generated in GIS were exported into a spreadsheet software program and frequency tables were created for every formation and soil order in the tri-county research area. The results were both a visual and numeric distribution of oaks in the transition area between the eastern hardwood forests and the Great Plains. Oak distributions are changing on this transition area of the South Central Plains. The sandy Woodbine and Antlers formations traditionally associated with the largest oak distribution are carrying oak coverage of approximately 31-32% in Choctaw and Denton Counties. The calcareous Blackland and Grand Prairies are traditionally associated with treeless grasslands, but are now carrying oak and other tree landcover up to 18.9%. Human intervention, including the establishment of artificial, political and social boundaries, urbanization, farming and fire control have altered the natural distribution of oaks and other landcover of this unique georegion.