This research paper examines the role of the souvenir in terms of social relations and notions of self-identity and/or autobiography. Many types of souvenir objects (commercial and non-commercial) are explored as being agents that participate in the construction of identity. Commodity fetishism, nostalgia and fetishism are examined as key elements that define the social relations surrounding the souvenir. The notion of home and family is also explored as a fundamental aspect of how identity is constructed.

This thesis examines Oscar Wilde, George Gissing and the challenges of aesthetic authorship in the literary marketplace of the 1890s. Using Pater’s formulation of the aesthetic as a basis for my understanding, I argue that the commodity-driven changes that transformed the literary marketplace at the end of the nineteenth century created insurmountable obstacles for authors working within the aesthetic ideal. I examine the conflict between the demands of the aesthetic and those of the literary market through two specific notions of ‘utility’. In the first instance, following Regenia Gagnier’s The Insatiability of Human Wants, I explore the seemingly opposed notions of economic utility and aesthetic authorship and how they appear to merge, with examples from the fictional prose of Wilde and Gissing. I then explore the public’s use of the aesthetic, which, I argue, is discernible in the celebrity-status of these authors; in particular, I focus on the growing need for authors to perform for their public—a need which signals a shift in the public’s consumption of art away from the literary work and towards the author himself. / As both forms of utility are essential aspects of literary production, yet also pose unaesthetic demands on the author, I examine how Wilde and Gissing respond to these challenges through their literary prose. Taking The Picture of Dorian Gray [1891] and New Grub Street [1891] in addition to Gissing’s The Whirlpool [1897] and Born In Exile [1892] and Wilde’s “The Remarkable Rocket” [1888] and “The Soul of Man Under Socialism” [1891], alongside both authors’ letters and contributions to journals and magazines of the day, I reveal how their aesthetic idealism shapes their writing in an oppositional manner. Despite the overt differences between Wilde and Gissing, I also find striking similarities in their positioning as aesthetic authors in the late-Victorian literary field. By doing so, my thesis comprehensively examines how both authors mediate their aesthetic ideals in the literary marketplace of the 1890s.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-155). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on July 27, 2009) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Northcentral University, 2008. / Adviser: William Shriner. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on November 17, 2009). Thesis advisor: Dr. Patrick Westhoff. Includes bibliographical references.

The study focuses on tariff-linked (or commodity-linked) agreements entered into between a power utility and commodity producers. The main purpose of these types of agreements is to link electricity tariff payable by commodity producers to the price of the commodity produced thereby transferring a certain level of commodity price risk to the power utility. The study looks at risk management practices of a power utility company with a particular reference to tariff-linked agreements. Also, the study critically analyses risk hedging mechanisms put in place by the power utility. The report makes practical recommendations, where applicable, in dealing with these risks. Risk management continuously evolve to meet the challenges of complex financial world. Despite the latest sophisticated risk management tools available commodity producers still encounter difficulties to hedge the price risk. The challenge for the power utility is the application of new risk management tools to effectively manage price risk. / Business Management / M.Com. (Business Economics)

This study defines the need and practicality of measuring and determining the metrics and success indicators for an international commodity marketing office for a bulk material resource mining corporation and more particularly for the recently established international marketing office of the specific corporate. The methodology of the study offers the industry a comprehensive investigative process to prove the viability of various quantifiable and qualifiable metrics and success indicators as well as value proposition potentials for an international commodity marketing office were found. The expected and high priority functions of the international marketing office were Customer relationship management and Competitive & Market intelligence The measurement criteria are collated within 4 main groupings namely General, Products, Markets and Financial. The specificity of the monitoring points and the fact that they are derived from non-financial and non marketing bases proves that their determination and measurement is viable and will further increase the potential value added by a coal commodity marketing office. Based on similarities between coal commodity market drivers and drawing this relation back through the generality of the bulk commodity marketing concepts and processes, the same benefits and or metrics may also be true for all commodities and their relevant marketing offices.