A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, School of Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, January 25, 2017. / The classical Wishart distribution, was first derived byWishart (1928) as the distribution of the maximum likelihood estimator of the covariance matrix of the multivariate normal distribution. It is a matrix variate generalization of the gamma distribution. In high dimensional settings,Wishart distributions defined within the framework of graphical models are of particular importance. [No abstract provided. Information taken from introduction] / MT2017

Thesis advisor: Marjorie Howes / This dissertation examines the dual impacts of evolutionary theory and the industrial revolution on late 19th and early 20th century transatlantic fiction, particularly in articulating the concepts of perfectibility and degeneration. Darwinian evolutionary theory made real the possibility failing to successfully evolve and adapt as a species could cause humans to go extinct or, maybe worse, devolve into monstrosities. The industrial revolution, on the other hand, enabled humans to conquer nature to a degree that suggested a power to become engineers of our own future world and selves. At the same time, this ability to understand and alter ourselves dissolved the distinction between humans and machines, and the realities of industrial technology under a capitalist system revealed that humans could also be reduced to machine-minding cogs. The two (sometimes conflated) categories of animal and machine, which we have long used to distinguish ourselves as humans, were breaking down and threatening to undo our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world. The authors whose works I discuss in this dissertation recognized that <italic> human </italic> could no longer be considered a stable category or entity, and they worked from within the received conceptual language of animals and machines to challenge our ideas about what being human means. They believed that by using imagery and narrative to re- articulate human identity and purpose, they could change behavior, morality, politics, economics, culture, and the future evolution of the species. In this dissertation, I examine the different approaches that H.G. Wells, Upton Sinclair, and D.H. Lawrence used to engage this dangerous and exciting problem of reimagining human meaning and human potential through narrative. By situating these authors in conversation with each other, I am able to highlight different facets, concerns, and shortcomings of each approach. This study also reveals that these authors were already engaging in a dynamic discussion currently gaining prominence and urgency in our own time as we explore through science, technology, philosophy, and narrative what we are and what we want to be. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: English.

Organisational sustainability is associated with the concept of organisational development, which emanates from the resources and capabilities that the organisation has in place. Sustainable organisations possess a strategic system, which is reliant on sustainable resources, and good capabilities that lead to strategic success. This study sets out the extent to which the Egyptian National Olympic Committee (ENOC) and its members the National Federations (NFs) are able to create organisational sustainability. The purpose of this research is to empirically study organisational sustainability and to provide insight into its creation within NFs. It has used a mixed-methods strategy that involved two phases. The first, a thematic analysis, identified the characteristics of the sustainable National Federation. It was undertaken by carrying out semi-structured interviews with ENOC and NF board members, experts, and NF consultants to generate the benchmarks or the requirements needed for sustainable National Federations. The second phase used the Readiness Assessment Tool (RAT) (Robinson and Minikin, 2011) in investigating the organisational development pillars based on the resources and capabilities of the Egyptian NFs (organisations that are responsible for developing the overarching performance of the ENOC). The findings indicated that the NFs included in this study need to develop further in terms of resources and capabilities in order to improve their readiness for sustainability. At their current levels of development, they do not exhibit the necessary or sufficient characteristics to become sustainable sports organisations. In other words, the research reveals that the NFs under investigation are not sufficiently developed to establish organisational sustainability due to their limited resources and low levels of capabilities. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by providing a better understanding of organisational sustainability in NFs. In addition, it creates the characteristics, or the requirements needed for a sustainable NF. Furthermore, it offers the first evidence to suggest that Egyptian NFs need more improvements in terms of resources and capabilities to create a strong sports system leading to sustainable success.

This thesis examines both contemporary and historical meanings surrounding human body FAT in order to illuminate, chiefly, the forces that have rendered it both an omnipresent and negative entity in Western societies. It explores the apparent contradiction that we must exist amidst hyper-consumptive capitalism yet display no bodily evidence of such consumption. Along with an investigation into alternative bodily conceptions to that of the hegemonic West, a discourse analysis is employed to challenge the key assumptions that underpin the current 'obesity epidemic' and its ensuing 'war on obesity' so that body FAT may be configured differently. It is shown that, because bodily conceptions and ideals are complex cultural constructions, body FAT, as a substance, is not the scourge it is presently portrayed, but rather a substance that signifies most of what consumer society despises and fears. It is argued that the 'war on obesity' has not been successful, and will continue to be ineffective, because the focus should not be on losing body FAT but rather on the conditions of poverty that generate overall ill-health. It is concluded that such a 'war', if sustained in its current fashion, will only serve to further malign the situations of those deemed 'overweight and obese'.

<p>This study is based on an investigation into the way RCL members participate in the deliberation of their School Governing Bodies. The study was conducted in two primary schools in the Western Cape town of Vredenburg. The research participants were members of the Representative Council of Learners from these schools. Focus group discussions as well as in depth interviews were used to explore the RCL members' views on the nature of their participation during SGB deliberations. the main fining of this study is that, due to external as well as in-school factors, a huge gap exists between normative RCL policy exp[ectations and the actual manifestation policy in the real world of the RCL members' schools. the findings of the study reveal a lack of participative capacities among these RCL members, which, in combination with a non participative culture at their homes, the community and the school, leads to learners being excluded from democratic processes.</p>

Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) synthesis is partially regulated at the translational level; however, the molecular mechanisms that govern translational control of apoB mRNA remains largely unknown. We imaged intracellular apoB mRNA traffic and determined whether insulin silences apoB mRNA translation by trafficking into translationally-silenced cytoplasmic RNA granules called Processing Bodies (PBS). ApoB mRNA was visualized by using a strong interaction between the bacteriophage MS2 protein and a specific phage RNA sequence that binds MS2 protein. We observed a statistically significant increase in the localization of apoB mRNA into PBs, 4h, 8h, and 16h after insulin treatment. Conversely, acute insulin treatment (1h) did not show any significant effect. Insulin was also found to reduce polysomal association of apoB mRNA 4h and 16h post treatment in HepG2 cells. Overall, our data suggest that chronic insulin treatment silences apoB translation in HepG2 cells by localizing apoB mRNA into PBs and reducing translationally-competent mRNA pools.

Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) synthesis is partially regulated at the translational level; however, the molecular mechanisms that govern translational control of apoB mRNA remains largely unknown. We imaged intracellular apoB mRNA traffic and determined whether insulin silences apoB mRNA translation by trafficking into translationally-silenced cytoplasmic RNA granules called Processing Bodies (PBS). ApoB mRNA was visualized by using a strong interaction between the bacteriophage MS2 protein and a specific phage RNA sequence that binds MS2 protein. We observed a statistically significant increase in the localization of apoB mRNA into PBs, 4h, 8h, and 16h after insulin treatment. Conversely, acute insulin treatment (1h) did not show any significant effect. Insulin was also found to reduce polysomal association of apoB mRNA 4h and 16h post treatment in HepG2 cells. Overall, our data suggest that chronic insulin treatment silences apoB translation in HepG2 cells by localizing apoB mRNA into PBs and reducing translationally-competent mRNA pools.

In recent years, the study of the body has developed rapidly across many disciplines, including visual art, art history, gender and cultural studies, queer theory and sociology among others. In regards to the body, definitions of the “human,” “sub-human,” “acceptable,” “unspeakable” and “non-human” vary widely depending on the societal context. In Western culture, artists have introduced new bodies and ideas to viewers. What may have been unspeakable a century ago, such as the queer body and self-asserting sexual female body, is now more commonplace, although there is still resistance. The introduction of new and unspeakable bodies is always met with controversy. Often the contested unspeakable body is not new but rather is brought into visibility in public spaces that have been purposed for the representation of normative dominant bodies that ‘belonged.’ This paper has two aims; one is to reflect on the figure of the “unspeakable” body in collective national memory, past and present; the second aim is to ask questions about the role of art and visual culture in contesting, decoding and re-figuring discourses of national identity and the ideal citizenry.

Univ., Diss.--Paris, 2004.

This project examines the literal and literary bodies associated with the Sinhalese-Tamil conflict in Sri Lanka as they are represented in literary, journalistic, and anthropological accounts. These texts are populated by historical personages and fictional characters spun from imagination or based on actual people who serve as representatives of those who live in the day to day reality of violence. The goal of this project is to offer a re-visioning of the power relations between the aggressor and victim, the victor and vanquished, in violent conflicts. Island of Blood: Frontier Reports from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Other South Asian Flashpoints, a memoir by Anita Pratap, and The Terrorist, a feature film by Santosh Sivan, illustrate how Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, fashioned his own absent or invisible body and the bodies of the suicide bombers as the focal point of Tamil nationalism. Prabhakaran developed the cult of personality around himself by fostering an aura of mystery and employing religious symbolism. In particular, feeding emerges as the quintessentially nurturing function misappropriated by this malignant maternal figure Prabhakaran. The other category of bodies is comprised of the victims: the dead, the raped, and the other defiled bodies that are anomalous in military conflicts. These are the profaned and violated bodies. In Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost, the unidentified bodies of human rights violations provide forensic evidence for legal proceedings and in turn attain sanctified status as the survivors use their remains to build legal cases against the atrocity. Their mute presence serves as a powerful amplifier for the survivors. A. Sivanandan’s When Memory Dies has as its focal point an ethnically incited rape and murder. During intergroup conflicts rape is often used to weaken the enemy group’s integrity. However, I argue that When Memory Dies challenges this norm and suggests that those who are considered threats to group integrity, whether they be minorities, outcasts, unwed mothers or raped women, could paradoxically be the agents of social integration, especially in the time of unrest. / text