The publicly funded libraries should be accessible toeveryone and according to § 4 of the Library Act libraries arelegally obliged to pay special attention to persons withdisabilities. The purpose of this thesis is to examine howpeople with disabilities are addressed in local library policydocuments. The research questions address the disabilitiesidentified in library policy documents and whether the usergroup is named as a priority group. They also address theservice offered by the libraries and operational deficiencies.42 library policy documents from municipalities in VästraGötaland were analyzed by content analysis. Buckland'stheories of different aspects of access to information havebeen used to conduct the analysis. The theoretical perspectiveof the thesis focus on ill-suited environments instead ofindividual inadequacies.The analysis showed that dyslexia and visual impairment arethe disabilities most often mentioned in the library policydocuments. Only half of the documents mentioned personswith disabilities as a priority group. The service most oftenmentioned is accessible media, of which the talking book isby far the most common. Of the deficiencies noted the vastmajority concern the need for better adapted premises.Interventions designed to facilitate retrieval of informationare seldom mentioned in the library policy documents.

Part one of this thesis investigates the conceptualisation of the performer-creator and its relevance in late twentieth century physical performance by examining some of the theoretical, but mainly artistic, traditions that suggest a movement towards this. Chapter one tackles the question of definition, linking mime within a wider physical theatre phenomenon. Chapter two looks at the importance of mime training for contemporary performance. This requires a focus on selected theatre practitioners who have significantly advanced the development of mime training and performance during the twentieth century. Chapter three examines the issue of silence in mime and questions a potential liberation of the word and language in contemporary performance and consequently how this affects the role of the performer, particularly in South Africa. Chapter four investigates the figure of the theatrical clown and how this late twentieth century development is playing an increasingly important role in contemporary performance. Chapter five then wraps up part one by pulling the preceding chapters together and thereby providing a working conceptualisation of the performer-creator, locating it within an overall appreciation of contemporary mime. Part two then tests the notion of the performer-creator by focussing on a case study through the investigation of Andrew Buckland to develop this idea. Andrew Buckland, and his work under the ethos of Mouthpeace from 1988-2000, provides a clear and unique example of this movement in contemporary South African performance. Trained as an actor and in classical illusion-based mime technique, as well as many dance forms such as ballet, contemporary and jazz, he has virtually single-handedly created and shaped a particular performance trend that is in line with contemporary international trends but retains a distinctive South African flavour. There is no space to attempt a definitive or exhaustive examination of his works, and nor is the intent to do so; rather, the aim is to draw from his work their essences that reveal his development as an artist: as both a creator and a performer.

The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the understanding of how Swedish libraries work with the mission of accessibility for people with disabilities. This qualitative study tries to extend the knowledge by examining how six Swedish libraries use their resources for people with disabilities and how the libraries interpret the guidelines set by the government and organizations. As each library has its own routines around this work the libraries have to prioritize according to need and opportunity. It is of interest to see various aids in the work progress taking action at the libraries in this study. Do the libraries work in a structured and similar way when working for people with disabilities?  How do libraries plan their resources?  Who makes and how are the decisions made when prioritizing resources for people with disabilities? Based on earlier research the study looks for these answers using a semi structured interview guide. The study uses Bucklands barrier theory to focus on the areas of work and disabilities. The results in this study show that resources are the main barrier for a more active way of working with people with disabilities. The resources include allocating time for working with disabilities, funding and having enough staff to be able to focus on the library users with disabilities.

The purpose of this study is to investigate information seeking habits among young persons with mild mental disability. We wanted to know how they seek information in everyday life, barriers they experience when seeking information and also if they consider the library to be a source of information.The theoretical background of this study is based on the works of T. D. Wilson and Michael Buckland. Wilson’s model of information seeking behavior and seeking information was used as a tool analyzing the results from the interviews. Buckland’s sixaspects of access to information works as a supplement to Wilson’s theory.A qualitative method, based on emistructured interviews and literature studies, was applied in our research. Six persons withmild mental disability were interviewed in their home environment.The results indicate that the respondents often were dependent on others to get access to some information. It seems, a majority ofthe respondents want access to more Information, especially from the Internet, enabling them to seek information on their own without asking for help. They also visit the library to some extent but we found that different kinds of barriers prevent them fromgetting all the information they want there. / Program: Bibliotekarie

Defining the concept of information has long been the subject of debate within Information Science (IS) and new challenges are constantly presented by new scientific discoveries and new theoretical positions. It is, nevertheless, of key importance for any academic discipline to find definitions on which there is a consensus. The paper therefore aims to clarify the relevance of one of these new theoretical approaches for IS, namely poststructuralism. It does so by describing the theories found in the writings of poststructuralists Mark C. Taylor, Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault, and discussing their relevance for the three definitions of information suggested by Michael Buckland (Information-as-knowledge, Information-as thing and Information-as-process), thereby answering the following questions: What relevance does Mark C. Taylor's theory have for defining information-as-knowledge? What relevance does Jacques Derrida's theory of différance have for defining information-as-thing? What relevance does Michel Foucault's discourse theory have for defining information-as-process? The method used in the paper is a qualitative ideology analysis focused on identifying key dimensions in Buckland's definitions and then describing the poststructuralist theories in relation to these dimensions. The paper argues that, from a poststructuralist perspective, Information-as-knowledge should be defined as something radically relational and characterized by the theory of a passive subject; the definition of Information-as-thing should be characterized by the ongoing interplay of differences between signs; and Information-as-process should be defined by the disciplinary forces of society.

The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of how dyslexic adults experience the library, their meeting with a librarian and how they feel they are being helped with finding literature. To answer the purpose of the study I have conducted six semi-structured interviews with dyslexic adults.. Two theoretical models were used as an analytical tool in this study. One was Michael Buckland's aspects of access to information. The other is four aspects that explains the significance of personal encounter at the library. The findings in this study show that the kind of reception dyslexic library users have met in the past, becomes important for how they perceive the library today. There are also difficulties that the dyslexic library users encounter in the library. One example of this is that the library catalogue requires correct spelling. As a result many users avoid using the library catalogue and find other ways to access the literature they are looking for. A further conclusion in this study is the importance of a personal assistance from a librarian. A librarian can often help to overcome the barriers that make it difficult for dyslexic library users to find literature. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The Paparoa Metamorphic Core Complex developed in the Mid-Cretaceous due to continental extension conditioning the crust for the eventual breakup of the Gondwana Pacific Margin, which separated Australia and New Zealand. It has two detachment systems: the top-NE-displacing Ohika Detachment at the northern end of the complex and the top-SW-displacing Pike Detachment at the southern end of the complex. The structure is rather unusual for core complexes worldwide, which are commonly characterised by a single detachment system. Few suggestions for the kinematics of the core complex development have been made so far. In this study structural-, micrographic- and fission track analyses were applied to investigate the bivergent character and to constrain the kinematics of the core complex. The new results combined with reinterpretations of previous workers’ observations reveal a detailed sequence of the core complex exhumation and the subsequent development. Knowledge about the influence and the timing of the two respective detachments is critical for understanding the structural evolution of the core complex. The syntectonic Buckland Granite plays a key role in the determination of the importance of the two detachment systems. Structural evidence shows that the Pike Detachment is responsible for most of the exhumation, while the Ohika Detachment is a mere complexity. In contrast to earlier opinions the southwestern normal fault system predates the northeastern one. The Buckland Pluton records the ceasing pervasive influence of the Pike Detachment, while activity on the Ohika Detachment had effect on the surface about ~8 Ma later. Most fission track ages are not related to the core complex stage, but reflect the younger late Cretaceous history. They show post core complex burial and renewed exhumation in two phases, which are regionally linked to the development of the adjacent Paparoa Basin and the Paparoa Coal Measures to the southwest and to the inception of seafloor spreading in the Tasman Sea in a larger context.

This thesis explores the implications of chinoiserie, or Western creations of Chinese-style decorative arts, upon an eighteenth century colonial American audience. Chinese products such as tea, porcelain, and silk, and goods such as furniture and wallpaper displaying Chinese motifs of distant exotic lands, had become popular commodities in Europe by the eighteenth century. The American colonists, who were primarily culturally British, thus developed a taste for chinoiserie fashions and wares via their European heritage. While most European countries had direct access to the China trade, colonial Americans were banned from any direct contact with the Orient by the British East India Company. They were relegated to creating their own versions of these popular designs and products based on their own interpretations of British imports. Americans also created a mental construct of China from philosophical writings of their European contemporaries, such as Voltaire, who often envisioned China as a philosopher's paradise. Some colonial Americans, such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, fit their understanding of China within their own Enlightenment worldview. For these individuals, chinoiserie in American homes not only reflected the owners' desires to keep up with European fashions, but also carried associations with Enlightenment thought. The latter half of the eighteenth century was a time of escalating conflict as Americans colonists began to assert the right to govern themselves. Part of their struggle for freedom from England was a desire to rid themselves of the British imports, such as tea, silk, and porcelain, on which they had become so dependent by making those goods themselves. Americans in the eighteenth century had many of the natural resources to create such products, but often lacked the skill or equipment for turning their raw materials into finished goods. This thesis examines the colonists' attempts to create their own chinoiserie products, despite these odds, in light of revolutionary sentiments of the day. Chinoiserie in colonial America meshed with neoclassical décor, thereby reflecting the Enlightenment and revolutionary spirit of the time, and revealing a complex colonial worldview filled with trans-oceanic dialogues and cross-cultural currents.

Исследование посвящено проблеме определения степени влияния искусства романтизма конца XVIII – первой половины XIX в. на научную картину естественной истории Земли, отразившейся в интеллектуальном наследии Уильяма Баклэнда и его коллег-ученых. Материалы частной естественно-научной коллекции исследователя – окаменелости, образцы геологических пород и минералы – как акторы воплотили в себе многие идеи романтизма, которые посредством публикаций вошли в научный дискурс. Взаимосвязи между наукой и искусством, находящиеся в фокусе данной работы, становятся, таким образом, следами действий рассматриваемых материалов и позволяют представить естественную историю как сложную систему, включающую вещественные источники, научные публикации, отдельных исследователей, научные институции, а также идеи и образы художественной культуры рассматриваемого времени, произведения искусства и коммуникации между этими элементами. / The research is devoted to a problem of identifying the degree of influence the romanticism art of the end of 18th – the first half of 19th century had on scientific understanding of the natural history. This impact had reflected on the intellectual legacy of William Buckland and his fellow scientists. The collectibles from the researcher’s private natural history collection, such as fossils, specimens of rock and minerals, embodied many ideas of romanticism.