This study looks at political culture and socialisation responses to Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM). It identifies political culture and socialisation as part of a process, the development of a political culture with specific attitudes, cognitions, and feelings towards the political system. Political culture and socialisation impart the knowledge of how to act politically, i.e. how to apply values in formulating demands and making claims on the political system. They form a connecting link between micro- and macro-politics. The study maintains that political orientations are handed down from one generation to another, through the process of political socialisation. Top-down and bottom-up influences come into play to augment a discourse on the global nature of political socialisation and the political culture of international societies with regard to IWRM and governance ideologies. It is argued that these international ideas become relevant in the national political agenda, civil society organisations and trans-national networks. The IWRM aspects of water as an economic good and a basic human right have become a two-edged sword in the South African context. The study reveals that politics stand at the epicentre of water problems, and that IWRM is a political-ethical issue which challenges power bases in many communities. The IWRM global norms of equitable, efficient and sustainable use of water resources have become a major problem in a water-scarce country burdened with economic inequalities and abject poverty. This is a pressing issue because there is an increasing demand for water to sustain the development necessary to redress the draconian ills of the apartheid past. This becomes evident in the fundamental legislative overhaul that has taken place since 1994, embracing a transformation culture that glorifies the norm of water not only as a fundamental human right, but also as a commodity that is necessary to sustain human dignity. It is here that water is politicised. Violent protests have erupted in reaction to perceived neo-liberal attempts to deny the poor their access to this resource. The political culture and socialisation responses as far as IWRM is concerned appear within fragmented lines, i.e. mainly black and poor communities embrace a culture of non-payment for services and resort to violent protests as a viable method to raise their concerns. In contrast, the white and middle-class communities manifest a tendency to form parallel local government structures; they then withhold rate payments and provide services for themselves through ratepayer associations. Finally, the study considers the South African context with regard to the manifestations of political culture, and how this influences water resources. It is evident that there is too much emphasis on politics at the expense of discussions on IWRM. Civil society organisations make very little attempt to encourage public participation in water management structures. It also appears that political elites who are disillusioned with civil society organisations tend to derail their efforts to educate the public on water management structures. / MA, Political Studies, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011

This bottom-up study argue that making of social politics occurs in the meeting between the citizen and the representative of state. In order to generate a deeper understanding of the production of politics, the aim of this study was to identify expressed motivators and arguments in relation to a specific policy, which would unveil the underlying rationalities of actions taken by the specific actors. The policy was introduced in the Växjö municipality in June of 2017 and has changed the benefit distributed by the social services for immigrants waiting to start an employment program through an employment bureau into a loan.  In-depth interviews study, a total of 9 interviews have been undertaken with; decision-making politicians, public officials working with the policy and service users who have been affected by the policy. The data was processed and analyzed according to themes and to theory on rationality. The results showed that the main rationality forming the actions of politicians and public officials was linked to their ambition of upholding an efficient use of resources for the benefit of municipality economy. The main rationality behind the actions of the service users was to obtain autonomi in their life. An important goal for both parties was that the service users should become self-sustaining. Furthemore, the politicians and public officials clamied the responsibility for goal-fullfilment to realy on the individuals and not on the municipality. In addition, the results of this study has revealed that the way that politicians and public officials´ view immigrants, has affected the framing of the policy, deriving from a paternalistic understanding. Service users in the study expressed eagerness and high motivation towards starting employment. However, service users in this study viewed the loan as a hindrance rather than a support towards accomplishing the goal of employment, thus becoming autonomic.

Sustainability is a global issue, whilst the extant sustainability research is largely inclined towards the global north. China as one of most prominent emerging countries, itsimportance in sustainability research has been emphasized by many scholars. As one small step towards fulfilling the quest, this research explores how Chinese universitystudents perceive sustainability as a concept and sustainability related issues. The qualitative research method is being adopted in this research, to complement the few quantitative research done in China. In order to enable comparison and further analysis between respondents, also to simplify the societal structure complex, students’ perceptionon individual, organizational, national and international level are explored. Being inspiredby an ongoing project in Finland, one extra topic regarding the bottom-up approach insustainability initiatives is further included in the research. Research findings indicates: 1) student’s perception on sustainability as a concept is biased towards environmental aspect, with moderate awareness on economic and social sustainability; 2) The awareness regarding sustainability in higher education is found to be low among students, while they all perceive the sustainability performances of universities as good; 3) Students are largely skeptical about corporation’s sustainability performances,while they all hold high expectations for corporation’s role in improving sustainability performances of the society at large; 4) An universal optimistic stance is being observed among students, perceiving the sustainability performances of China as a country is good. Likewise, a univocal endorsement for China to help undeveloped countries to improve their sustainability performances, is being identified; 5) The awareness of achievements that have been made worldwide is low among students, with the most known one as the Paris Agreement, while very few only briefly heard of the SDGs. 6) Majority students perceivethe bottom-up approach should be considered in China, to work as complement of the traditional dominating top-down approach.The institutional logic perspective is chosen as the theoretical framework to understand why students perceive sustainability and related issues the way they do. It has been presented to account for both homogeneity and heterogeneity observed in research findings, with the formal caused by domination of the state logic, and the latter caused by the competition between the market logic, the community logic and the dominating statelogic. These findings advanced our understanding in this field, and could be deemed as contributions of this research.

<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p><em>Bachelor thesis in political science by Alexander Hassan, autumn 2008, “Effects of external factors on a nations democratisation process during the transition from authoritarian to electoral democratic rule – A categorical analysis”</em></p><p><em>Supervisor: Tomas Sedelius</em></p><p>In recent years globalization has become a hot topic in understanding the world we live in today. Globalization has indeed had a great impact on international relations and with it a great influence on the domestic conditions that determine a nation’s possibilities. It is therefore rational to hold true that this also would apply to a nation’s democratic process. This basic notion is what lies as a foundation for the thesis, where the purpose of the study is to examine the relatively new field of the international context and its significance on democratisation.</p><p>The aim of the study is to examine and determine, through a categorical analysis, the different forms and roles that the external factors can take during the process leading up to the transition and implementation of an electoral democracy, the most basic form of democracy.</p><p>The thesis thus has demanded the study and infusion of all discourses within the field of democratisation processes, as the only way to produce the roles and forms of the international contexts impact on the domestic process is through the study and determination of the different domestic spheres associated with the process.</p><p>The different forms of external influences have been studied within the confines of the third wave of democracy, and their roles in the democratic process determined depending on the respective domestic spheres they affect. The significant result of the studies where chiefly that all forms of external influence have the possibility to affect the democratisation process indirectly as well as directly. Where direct influence is exerted within the political sphere of the nation; where the actual transition takes place, and the indirect influence is exerted through the socio-economical and cultural sphere; which exerts its influence in the process through the political sphere. </p><p>The results thus show that it is hard to draw the conclusion that an indirect form of influence would be superior to the direct approach or vice versa, as both are prevalent in successful democratic transitions.</p>

Different approaches for the estimation of the uncertainty related to measurement results are found in the literature and in published guidelines. In the present work three approaches were used to estimate the uncertainty of the determination of aflatoxins (AB1, AB2, AG1, AG2) and deoxynivalenol in maize by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry tandem (LC-MS/MS): the Bottom up approach, adapted from the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (ISO GUM); the Monte Carlo Method (MCM), which propagates distributions assigned to the input quantities through a numerical simulation; and the Kragten approach wich calculates standard deviations and confidence intervals with a universally applicable spreadsheet technique. A measurement equation was developed for mycotoxins analysis and a cause-and-effect diagram was draft to assist in the identification of the sources of uncertainty associated with the method. Detailed analysis of contributions of the various uncertainty sources was carried out. Measurement uncertainty was determined by the addition of the variances of the individual steps of the test procedure, according to each approach employed. The Bottom up, MCM and Kragten approaches produced very similar estimates to the combined uncertainty and the coefficient of variation (CV) between them was smaller than 1.0%. The main contribution to overall uncertainty is the intermediate precision with contributions over 90,0% for each mycotoxin. The results obtained with this research conclude that the three approaches are adequate for estimating the uncertainty in mycotoxin assays with LC-MS/MS technique. Among them, Bottom up is the most appropriate approach, since it requires that the analyst performs a detailed investigation about dominant components of the measurement uncertainty, allowing for better understanding and improvement of the measurement process. The Monte Carlo and Kragten methods are indicated the data generated by the Bottom up approach. / A literatura cita diferentes abordagens para estimar a incerteza de medição em ensaios quantitativos. No presente trabalho três abordagens foram utilizadas para estimar a incerteza da determinação de aflatoxinas (AB1, AB2, AG1, AG2) e desoxinivalenol em milho por cromatografia líquida acoplada à espectrometria de massa tandem (LC-MS/MS): a abordagem Bottom up, adaptada do Guia para a Expressão da Incerteza de Medição (ISO GUM); o método de Monte Carlo (MMC), que propaga distribuições atribuídas às grandezas de entrada através de uma simulação numérica; e a abordagem de Kragten que calcula desvios padrão e intervalos de confiança com uma técnica planilha universalmente aplicável. Um modelo matemático foi desenvolvido para os ensaios de micotoxinas e um diagrama de causa-efeito foi proposto para auxiliar na identificação das fontes de incerteza associadas ao método. A análise detalhada das contribuições das várias fontes de incerteza foi realizada. A incerteza de medição foi determinada pela adição das variações dos passos individuais do procedimento de ensaio, de acordo com cada abordagem. Os métodos Bottom up, MMC e Kragten geraram estimativas similares para a incerteza combinada, com um coeficiente de variação (CV) menor que 1,0% entre elas. O principal componente de incerteza é a precisão intermediária, com contribuições acima de 90,0% para cada micotoxina. Como resultado da pesquisa, conclui-se que as três abordagens são adequadas para estimar a incerteza nos ensaios para quantificação de micotoxinas por LC-MS/MS. Dentre elas, a abordagem Bottom up é a mais apropriada, pois requer que o analista avalie o método detalhadamente para identificar os principais componentes de incerteza, possibilitando a implementação de melhorias no sistema de medição. Os métodos de Monte Carlo e Kragten são indicados como uma ferramenta de confirmação dos resultados obtidos pela abordagem Bottom up.

Ces travaux de thèse ont eu deux objectifs: i) le développent de systèmes nanofluidique en utilisant une méthode non-lithographique, peu chère et facilement transposable à l'échelle industrielle ii) la compréhension des phénomènes nanofluidiques au travers des études expérimentales et de modélisation. Des couches minces mesoporeuses, en particulier des structures planaires avec des nanopiliers, ont été utilisé pour des études sur l'infiltration capillaire des liquides dans espaces confiné au niveau nanométrique. En plus des premiers tests pour des applications plus complexes comme des séparations et réactions nanoconfiné. Des structures mesoporeuses non-organisés ont aussi été étudiées pour déterminer la relation entre la nanostructure et la vitesse de remplissage capillaire. A été aussi démontré que pour des porosités avec des forts rétrécissements le remplissage capillaire se produit par l'intermédiaire d'une phase vapeur. Les échantillons ont été préparés par dip-coating. Une méthode de préparation basé sur une substitution de la plus grande parte de la solution à déposer par un fluide inerte a été développé. La méthode permet de réduire fortement le cout de procédé et, par conséquence, de faire des dépôts sur plus grande surface. Un effort dans la modélisation des phénomènes nanofluidiques a aussi été fait pendant cette thèse. Une méthode de simulation qui permet de décrire adéquatement les interactions hydrodynamiques dans un système nano a été utilisée pour simuler un flux électro-osmotique. La méthode, Stochastic Rotational Dynamics, a été valide par confrontation avec des résultats connus et l'influence des certains paramètres de simulation évaluée dans le détail. / This thesis had a dual purpose: i) the development of nanofluidic devices through not lithographic, cheap and scalable bottom-up approach ii) the understanding of nanofluidic phenomena both through experiments and simulations. Mesoporous thin films, in particular Pillared Planar Nanochannels (PPNs), were prepared and utilized to study the capillary infiltration of liquids in nanostructures and have been tested for future nanofluidic applications like separations and nanoconfined reactions. Non organized mesoporous films have also been studied to determine the relationship between nanostructure characteristics and infiltration speed. It has been also demonstrated that in the case of porosities with reduced bottle-necks capillary penetration is performed through a vapor mediated mechanism The samples were prepared by dip-coating. A novel method of preparation based on the substitution of a large part of the deposing solution in dip-coating with an inert fluid has been developed in order to strongly reduce the fabrication costs and allow the preparation of larger samples. Moreover advancement in control of the dip-coating technique in “acceleration-mode” to produce thickness gradients has been developed and some potential application linked to fluidics shown. Finally a part of the effort of this thesis has been placed in the modeling of the electro-osmotic phenomenon in nanostructures through a rather novel simulation method, Stochastic Rotational Dynamics, which takes into account the hydrodynamics and the other interactions inside a nanofluidic system. Validations of the method and further investigations in particular nanofluidic conditions have been performed.

When integrating sustainability, companies are often overlooking the changes needed in their organisational culture. This hinders organisations’ core business to efficiently embed sustainability and dooms corporate sustainability initiatives to be superficial. A possible solution is for organisations to develop a sustainability- oriented organisational culture that engages employees with the sustainability change and that develops a leadership supportive of the engagement of their employees. As a result, this thesis aims at exploring how organisations can change their organisational culture in order to fully integrate sustainability by engaging employees and managers. Specifically, it studies how employee engagement can contribute to transforming organizational cultures to fully embed sustainability. Additionally, this paper analyses how managers can support employee engagement with sustainability. The thesis conducts a literature review to set the theoretical foundations; it further resorts to semi-structured interviews and document analysis conducted in a Swedish public company, which has begun to integrate sustainability into its culture. The study finds that organisations’ cultures are being changed at the artifact levels and, partially, at the values and beliefs level of their cultures. Additionally, the thesis establishes that organisations are failing to create the conditions for employee engagement. It finally shows that leadership in companies is not efficiently supporting the engagement of employees to integrate sustainability into their culture.

The exploitation of colloidal building blocks with morphological and functional anisotropy facilitates the generation of complex structures with unique properties, which are not exhibited by isotropic particle assemblies. Herein, we demonstrate an easy and scalable bottom-up approach for the programmed assembly of hairy oppositely charged homogeneously decorated and Janus particles based on electrostatic interactions mediated by polyelectrolytes grafted onto their surface. Two different assembly routes are proposed depending on the target structures: raspberry-like/half-raspberry-like or dumbbell-like micro-clusters. Ultimately, stable symmetric and asymmetric microstructures could be obtained in a well-controlled manner for the homogeneous–homogeneous and homogeneous–Janus particle assemblies, respectively. The spatially separated functionalities of the asymmetric Janus particle-based micro-clusters allow their further assembly into complex hierarchical constructs, which may potentially lead to the design of materials with tailored plasmonics and optical properties.

No description available.

La réalisation de micro et nanomatériaux avec des propriétés contrôlées nécessite le développement de nouvelles voies d’élaboration dites ascendantes « ou Bottom-up ». Les travaux présentés dans ce manuscrit visent à maîtriser la formation d’agrégats de particules colloïdales et de cellules, avec des applications potentielles dans les domaines des biocapteurs, de la microélectronique, de l’optique et de l’ingénierie tissulaire. L’approche proposée pour assembler les particules en structures organisées se base sur l’emploi de la diélectrophorèse, reposant sur l’application d’un champ électrique non- uniforme. L’un des inconvénients de cette technique tient au caractère réversible des assemblages ainsi formés, l’annulation du champ électrique entrainant la redispersion des colloïdes. Afin d’apporter une solution à ce problème, il est possible de recourir à un couplage chimique pour maintenir la cohésion des structures formées dans le milieu liquide. Afin de mieux maîtriser le comportement diélectrophorétique et les réactions chimiques exploitées, des travaux de caractérisation électrique et chimique des particules manipulées ont été réalisés. D’autre part, différents types de microélectrodes ont été étudiées pour la génération du champ électrique nécessaire à l’assemblage. Une nouvelle filière technologique a été développée pour la réalisation de microélectrodes transparentes en ITO et leur intégration en système microfluidique, basée sur l’exploitation du pouvoir isolant d’une fine couche de PDMS micro-structurée. La méthode a été appliquée à la fabrication de microélectrodes « verticales » puis à la réalisation de matrices d’électrodes quadripolaires. Ces dernières ont permis d’obtenir des assemblages permanents de particules de polystyrène fluorescentes présentant des groupements carboxyliques en surface, en combinant l’emploi de la diélectrophorèse négative et l’utilisation d’un agent de couplage chimique (Jeffamine). Des agrégats de cellules HEK 293 ont également été réalisés par diélectrophorèse négative. Nous avons démontré qu’il était possible, sous certaines conditions, de préserver le caractère permanent des agrégats cellulaires après coupure du champ. / The design of micro and nanomaterials with controlled properties requires the development of new bottom- up assembly approaches. The work presented in this manuscript aims to control the formation of aggregates of colloidal particles and cells, with potential applications in the fields of biosensors, microelectronics, optics and tissue engineering. The proposed approach for assembling colloids into organized structures is based on the use of dielectrophoresis, a phenomenon observed when polarizable particles are placed in a non-uniform electric field. One of the drawbacks of this technique is the reversibility of the assemblies thus formed, the cancellation of the electric field causing the redispersion of the colloids. As a solution to this problem, we proposed to use a coupling agent to maintain the cohesion of the structures formed in the liquid medium. In order to better control the dielectrophoretic behavior and the chemical reactions exploited, electrical and chemical characterizations of the manipulated particles were carried out. Moreover, different types of microelectrodes have been studied for the generation of the electric field required for the assembly. A new approach has been developed for the fabrication of transparent micro patterned ITO microelectrodes and their integration in microfluidic systems, based on the exploitation of a thin micro-structured PDMS membrane used as an insulating layer. The method has been applied to the fabrication of "vertical" microelectrodes and of quadrupolar electrode arrays. The latter were used to obtain permanent assemblies of carboxylic acid functionalized, fluorescent, polystyrene particles, by combining negative dielectrophoresis with the use of a chemical coupling agent (Jeffamine). HEK 293 cell aggregates were also produced by negative dielectrophoresis. We have demonstrated that it was possible, under certain conditions, to preserve the permanent character of the cell aggregates after field removal.