Studien syftar till att undersöka forskares upprätthållande av säkerhetiseringen av Irans kärnkraftprogram och hur detta påverkar deras roll som potentiella policyskapare. Studien ämnar vara teoriutvecklande genom att definiera Köpenhamnsskolans aktörsroll inom säkerhetiseringsteorin på ett mer nyanserat och precist sätt. Studien går igenom olika perspektiv inom debatten kring ”bridging the gap” mellan teori och praktik och använder Köpenhamnsskolans säkerhetiseringsteori som analytiskt ramverk vid analysen av det empiriska materialet. Studien analyserar artiklar skrivna av amerikanska forskare i amerikanska tidskrifter och undersöker hur och om dessa upprätthåller säkerhetiseringen av Irans kärnkraftprogram. Studien sätter därmed forskarna i rollen som säkerhetiserande aktörer för att se hur detta kan påverka forskarnas roll i att ”bridge the gap”. Studien menar att forskare genom att ha ”dubbla roller” som både ”forskare” och ”aktörer” kan använda sig av säkerhetisering för att ”bridge the gap” mellan forskning och policyskapande.

This qualitative bounded case study examines both the benefits and challenges faced by first-generation African American students who have completed early college access programming (ECAP). Not all children have equal access to higher education, therefore educators have been trying to bridge the gap in education for years. Due to socio-economic challenges in society, there has been a colossal increase in the need for diversity and inclusion within postsecondary institutions. Students from various ethnicities and backgrounds bring different experiences to education and the education learned through those various experiences are valuable. Inequalities in college access experienced by first-generation African American students is the lens for this study. This study addresses the effectiveness of early college access and its effects on first-generation African American students' postsecondary academic and psychosocial outcomes. Driven by critical race theory, this study analyzed student perceptions of their participation in ECAP and whether it supported their academic achievement in college. The study consisted of 10 interviews with Achievable Dream alumni enrolled in six universities across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Results were analyzed using inductive coding to identify components that affect academic achievement. Findings suggest that participation in early college access programming established an educational foundation which led to positive outcomes in academic achievement throughout postsecondary education. In addition to positive outcomes, barriers to achieving academic success were also identified. / Doctor of Philosophy / This case study examines both the benefits and challenges faced by first-generation African American students who have completed early college access programming (ECAP). Not all children have equal access to higher education, therefore educators have been trying to bridge the gap in education for years. Due to socio-economic challenges in society, there has been a huge increase in the need for diversity and inclusion within colleges and universities. Students from various ethnicities and backgrounds bring different experiences to education and the education learned through those various experiences are valuable. Inequalities in college access experienced by first-generation African American students is the lens for this study. This study addresses how early college access effects academic achievement of first-generation African American students while in college. This study analyzed student perceptions of their participation in ECAP and whether it supported their academic achievement in college. The study consisted of 10 interviews with Achievable Dream alumni enrolled in six universities across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Findings suggest that participation in early college access programming established an educational foundation which led to positive outcomes in academic achievement throughout college. In addition to positive outcomes, barriers to achieving academic success were also identified.

This study sets out to address problems caused by the lack of an integrated tourism management framework that would give a strategic direction to the delivery of tourism services in the Kruger National Park (KNP). The lack of tourism management plans and capacity in protected areas can be traced back to the classic management approach that concentrates exclusively on biodiversity conservation while paying superficial attention to other equally important management elements such as tourism, community participation, financial viability and governance matters. As a result of such management deficiencies, protected areas are unable to raise sufficient revenue from their tourism business to adequately meet obligations of their conservation mandate, community expectations and maintenance of the tourism facilities. Financial problems lead to over-dependence on diminishing and inflation-eroded state subsidies, thus compromising the effective management of parks. A management approach that does not balance the elements that constitute the management function of a protected area has the potential to destroy the resource base on which the attractiveness of a protected area as a holiday destination hinges and risks alienating tourists. The practice of 'fortress conservation' with protected areas treated as distinct units from their surrounding communities is being challenged worldwide. Protected area managers are now constantly looking for management paradigms that can harmonize the fundamental functions of conserving biodiversity, delivering tourism services and ensuring financial viability whilst contributing to the socio-economic development and benefits for local people balancing conservation and socio-economic needs. This is the situation in which the KNP finds itself. The study recommends the adoption of an integrated tourism management framework based on adaptive tourism management principles to enable the Park to cope with continuous uncertainties, conflict management, dynamic systems of societal changes, economic changes, changes of ecosystems and bridging the gap between conservation and tourism. / Thesis (PhD (Tourism Management))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Tourism Management / unrestricted

The digital age has re-shaped the landscape of creative writing. One example of the changes that have taken place is the way in which millions of young people, globally, now write and share stories as online fanfiction. This is an out-of-school leisure pastime that can also help improve language skills (Aragon & Davis, 2019; Black, 2008). English taught as a second language (i.e. L2) in schools can be less authentic, less motivational and engaging than English used in free-time situations (extramural English, Sundqvist, 2009); thus, there is a need to “bridge the gap” between the English taught in the formal setting of school and the English encountered in informal settings (Swedish Schools Inspectorate, 2011). This licentiate thesis focuses on extramural English creative writing and aims to raise understanding about the ways it can motivate and engage. Also, the issue of L2 English is addressed in relation to pupils’ perspectives of their informal learning as well as their insights into creative writing and challenge in the school subject of English. The participants in the study were thirteen teenage pupils of Swedish secondary and upper-secondary schools who write creatively in English in their free time. Their writing included stories, comics, poems and songs, and some of this work was published online. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews, and it was analysed using qualitative content analysis. The findings confirm that writing can be closely related to reading, as participants were motivated by stories they wished to imitate and adapt. Also, the results show how teenage creative writers were able to use networked communication to access a large global readership. There was a strong motivation to write for pleasure – for oneself – and this writing, and enjoyment, could subsequently be shared with others. The free-time writing activity was fun, playful and imaginative, and also aided understanding of the participants’ own experiences and emotions. The state of flow (Csíkszentmihályi, 1990) was an aspect of the pupils’ engagement with creative writing as well. The activity was rewarding as it brought praise, enabled role-play, involved social contacts, and opened the way to new affiliations and friendships. Moreover, the pupils considered that their language learning was enriched through their free-time creative writing. Finally, the participants offered valuable insights into aspects of English as a school subject: there was some creative writing in English lessons, but there was a need for both more creative writing and more challenge.