This study inquires as to whether Walmart’s sustainability campaign represents a sincere and holistic change throughout the company’s global supply chain or if it is simply a public relations campaign which caters to the growing target market of “next-generation” consumers and justifies further expansion into “emerging markets”. A critical analysis of Walmart’s sustainability discourse is presented, using transcribed texts of various corporate and publicitygeared publications. Frequently utilized terms and themes are identified throughout the big-box retailer’s sustainability campaign which convey a distinctly Neoliberal ethos—a political economy which lies at the heart of current practices of institutional unsustainability—and emphasize the role of the atomized individual—who may purchase protection from environmental risks via green products. Other themes, which are commonly associated with sustainability research, are glaringly absent: subsidiarity; human rights; steady-state economics; economic inequity; the precautionary principle. This research aims to shed light on the prospects for the sustainability of green overconsumption, which Walmart is leading the way in promoting, and for the continuation of the modern economistic zeitgeist into the twenty-first century.

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Background: Over the years, the traditional academic library has been the quintessential repository for hard-copy materials and relevant information resources to support the teaching, learning and research activities of their parent universities. Accordingly, the reinvention of the academic library and its transition to the research commons model was induced by the combined effect of historical and momentous developments such as :globalisation; the worldwide democratisation of societies; the advent of mass higher education; as well as the irreversible proliferation of information and communication technologies and their tectonic impact on the knowledge economy. Purpose: This research study investigated strategies applied when converting traditional university libraries to the research commons service delivery model in South Africa. The study also sought participants’ perspectives in the identification of success factors and constraints to such conversion strategies. Methodology :The study adopted a combined qualitative-quantitative approach involving interviews, observations and questionnaires. Three public university libraries in Gauteng Province were involved as case studies to determine the extent of their orientation to the research commons model. In this regard, the study sample consisted of a manager/librarian from each of the three university libraries. Data was collected primarily by means of a survey questionnaire and semi-structured individual interviews. Explorative, descriptive and interpretive elements were applied to complement the data collection and analysis processes. Thematic data analysis was used for the ultimate categorisation and merging of both the questionnaire- and interview-based data accrued rom the selected participants. Results: Overall, the study found that careful planning and identification of positive conversion factors were critical aspects for successful implementation and evolution of any current or future research commons model. Critical factors included :formation of a research library consortium; establishing one-stop multifunctional spaces; and ongoing user and space assessment to adjust services, resources and spaces accordingly to suit changing technologies, postgraduate needs and contemporary learning styles on time and as required .Meanwhile, conversion hindrances included: model misconception by university leadership; strategic planning and change management deficiencies; poor communication; homogeneous staffing models and budgetary constraints. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)

Möjligheterna för skogsbruket och rennäringen att samexistera har sedan den industriella skogsindustrins början varit en infekterad fråga. Under 2000-talet startades projektet att införa renbruksplaner (RBP) i Sveriges samebyar med syfte att förbättra relationen mellan parterna i samråd, vilket upplevs ha uppfyllts. Renbruksplan är rennäringens motsvarighet till skogsbrukets skogsbruksplan och är ett informations- och dataverktyg med en kartläggning över renarnas betesmarker. Den här uppsatsen undersöker varför projektet med renbruksplaner har lyckats genom att använda Elinor Ostroms teori om förvaltning av en gemensam resurspool. Syftet är att illustrera möjliga förklaringsfaktorer till varför samverkan mellan skogsbruket och rennäringen upplevs ha förbättrats i och med införandet av RBP. Med hjälp av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys har Ostrom designprinciper för självstyrande och hållbar förvaltning hittats i fem rapporter publicerade av Skogsstyrelsen i projektets slutskede. Totalt fanns det stöd i rapporterna för att sex av åtta designprinciper applicerats i och med införandet av RBP. Två av dessa, Ostrom designprincip om tydligt definierade gränser och konfliktlösningen mekanismer, kan identifieras som möjliga förklaringsfaktorer. Att dessa två principer har införts har underlättat kommunikationen mellan parterna vilket lett till större förståelse för varandras branscher och situation. / Whether forestry industry and reindeer husbandry could harmoniously coexist in northern Sweden has been debated since modern forestry started. A unique context grants indigenous people in Sweden, the Sami people, exclusive right to use land for reindeer husbandry. In the beginning of the 2000s a project was launched to create Land Use Plans for the reindeer husbandry (in Swedish Renbruksplan, RBP), which aimed to improve the relation between reindeer owners and the forestry industry. Hence, the Land Use Plan for reindeer husbandry is primarily a program for mapping reindeer graze lands. The project is considered successful for the reindeer owners as well as for the forestry. This thesis investigates why the land use plans have improved the relations between the two stakeholders by applying Elinor Ostrom´s theory about governing commons. The aim is to illustrate possible explanatory factors to why collaboration between forestry and reindeer husbandry is found to have been improved with the introduction of the land use plans. Using a qualitative content analysis, examples of Ostrom’s design principles of autonomous and sustainable management were identified in five reports published by the National Board of Forestry in the project's final phase. In total, the reports supported that six of eight design principles had been implemented since land use plans were introduced. Two of these, clearly defined boundaries and mechanisms of conflict resolution, can be identified as possible explanatory factors for the success of the project. In conclusion, the introduction of these two principals have facilitated communication between the two stakeholders, which have ensued better understanding for each other’s situations and industries.

The commodification of culture, space, and resources is incentivized by neoliberal urbanism. In response, we have seen an attempt to develop collectively organized, oppositional spaces within urban places. The tensions that arise when considering the production of commons in the development of the neoliberal city are the central focus of this paper. As I will observe, these spaces are subjected to commodification as they become increasingly de-politicized through neoliberal ideologies. In order to theorize about these contradictory elements, I observe a makerspace in Richmond, Virginia called HackRVA. Specifically, I consider HackRVA as an urban commons. Through in-depth interviews and participant observation, I consider how HackRVA engages with the neoliberal city of Richmond and how the organization and maintenance of their space and their community reflects commoning as social reproduction. I find that HackRVA’s relationship to the city is complicated as the community within the space both contests and assimilates to the creative economy.

General Election to the House of Commons Abstract The aim of this thesis is to analyze the electoral process of general elections to the House of Commons of the British Parliament. The text analyzes the problematics of the two basic questions. The first question is, in regards to the scope, more comprehensive, and it is an analysis of the aforementioned general elections. The second area of the matters relates closely to the first area and concerns the referendum on changing the electoral system in 2011. The text is logically structured into four chapters, which are usually further divided into subsections. The first chapter is devoted purely to the British Parliament in general, spanning from their historical origins to today's modern appearance. It also includes a brief specification of both of the Houses, including their composition and a scope of work. The second chapter is discussing the matter of general elections, the introduction to this chapter is devoted to applied electoral system. This system is based on the principle of "first past the post", which belongs to the "family" of majority electoral systems. The specifics of the application of the system are mentioned, pointing out the benefits and so-called system errors that the system entails. Next subsection discusses the systematics of election...

This essay provides a study of five Swedish locales in the Mälar Valley and Öland, namely Arkels tingstad, Aspa löt, Tingstad flisor, Anundshög and Signhilds kulle/Fornsigtuna, and their possible use as sites of Viking Age thing assemblies. Historical texts, place names and archaeological excavations are queried through the aid of a theoretical assemblage drawing on De Landa, Deleuze & Guattari, as well as Icelandic, British and Scandinavian research. Following this, I propose that the locales chosen as thing sites were communicational nexuses localised on commons in borderzones between land domains. Thus, space commonly understood as in the elite's periphery insteadbecomes of central importance.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:27:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Manuella Silva dos Santos.pdf: 963837 bytes, checksum: ab8696038be19a3292bfc0e3c28e4a30 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-05-06 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The progress of mankind has always depended on the creative capacity of man. In the beginning of civilization, knowledge was transmitted orally, from person to person, and occasionally was lost. Technology, regarded as new tools and gadgets, has allowed the democratization of knowledge. Thus, literary works experienced a huge revolution, with the invention of typography by Gutenberg; later, they faced the menace of photocopiers, and, now, audiobooks (spoken-word works) and eBooks (books available for download on the Internet) coexist with printed works. Songs have come from live sessions to LP, then to cassette tapes until they came to be listened to on CD and, nowadays, downloaded from the Internet in MP3 format. This growing technological evolution has provided the basis for the rise of a new society, the information society . We are living the revolution of computers, Internet, and mass media. We term this scene digital era , i.e., the society marked by the digital revolution and widespread information sharing, whose fundamental tools are the computer and the means of communication. In this scene, evidenced by the turning of atoms in bits, this study presents reflections on the impact of the Internet on copyrights. Through facts, technical data, and juridical aspects, we try to trace a panorama of our times, facing the main questions concerned with this theme coming from the premise that considering copyrights on the Internet is essential not only for their survival, but mainly for incentivating creators to create more and more, contributing for the growing development of our society / O progresso da humanidade sempre dependeu da capacidade inventiva do homem. Nos primórdios da civilização, o conhecimento era transmitido oralmente, de pessoa para pessoa, e por vezes se perdia. A tecnologia, compreendida como novas ferramentas e inventos, permitiu a democratização do conhecimento. Assim, as obras literárias viveram uma grande revolução, com a invenção da tipografia por Gutenberg; mais tarde, elas viram-se ameaçadas pela máquina de xerox, e, hoje, os audiobooks (obras narradas oralmente) e eBooks (livros disponíveis para download na Internet) convivem com as versões impressas. As músicas passaram do ao vivo para o LP, depois para o rádio, mais tarde para a fita cassete, até serem ouvidas em CD e, atualmente, baixadas via Internet no formato MP3. Essa crescente evolução tecnológica forneceu a base para o surgimento de uma nova sociedade, a sociedade da informação . Estamos vivendo a revolução dos computadores, da Internet e dos meios de comunicação de massa. Denominamos esse cenário era digital , isto é, a sociedade marcada pela revolução digital e pela disseminação da informação, cujas ferramentas fundamentais são o computador e os meios de comunicação. Nesse cenário, marcado pela transformação de átomos em bits, o presente estudo apresenta reflexões sobre o impacto da Internet nos direitos autorais. Por meio de fatos, dados técnicos e aspectos jurídicos, procuramos traçar um panorama da atualidade, enfrentando as principais questões que envolvem esse tema e partindo da premissa de que respeitar os direitos autorais na Internet é essencial não só para sua sobrevivência, mas principalmente para o incentivar os criadores a criarem cada vez mais, contribuindo para o crescente desenvolvimento de nossa sociedade

Des innovations monétaires, donnant à la monnaie des formes et des caractéristiques nouvelles, sont aujourd’hui utilisées dans le but de favoriser le processus de développement économique. Au Kenya, elles se concrétisent dans les systèmes de monnaie mobile tels que le M-Pesa, ainsi que dans plusieurs monnaies locales mises en place sur le modèle du Bangla-Pesa. Ces monnaies ont des natures et des logiques divergentes, dont la thèse vise à en montrer les impacts et les implications. Pour cela, nous utilisons notamment des données issues de deux enquêtes de terrain.Les innovations monétaires interpellent les théories du développement, qui ont largement exclu la monnaie de leurs analyses, et qui la considèrent généralement comme étant neutre. L’étude de ces dispositifs nous permet de poser les bases d’une théorie monétaire du développement, en questionnant ce faisant le sens à donner au concept de développement, et les rôles que doivent jouer pour celui-ci la monnaie et la finance. / Monetary innovations, giving money new forms and characteristics, are now used to promote the process of economic development. In Kenya, they unfold in mobile money systems such as M-Pesa, as well as in several local currencies implemented on the model of the Bangla-Pesa. These monies have different natures and logics, and the thesis aims to show their impacts and implications. For this, we use data from two field surveys.Monetary innovations challenge development theories, which have largely excluded money from their analyzes, and which generally consider it to be neutral. The study of these schemes allow us to lay the foundations of a monetary theory of development. By doing so, we question the meaning of the concept of development, and the roles that money and finance have to play for it.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:23:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Julia Azevedo Moretti.pdf: 2044985 bytes, checksum: bd160b52bd8e62f058719d48c1fc7953 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-26 / In a context of rapid, concentrated, unequal, and exclusionary urbanization that characterizes the national urban development, a large amount of the population has difficulties to access land and housing rights are made possible only through informal arrangements. This research aims to adopt the commons theory to analyze urban problems, especially the problem of limited access to urban land in which housing rights are exercised. Land tenure regimes will be studied based on the commons theory adapted to Brazilian reality, and some legal institutes designed from these land tenure regimes, such as property and possession, will be critically analyzed considering its social function. It also aims to verify in what extent the debate about land tenure, within the commons theory, can catalyze the dimension of social use of urban propriety as well as improve access to land in a way it reinforces the distributive aspect. Expressing land distributive conflicts in collective terms will underpin analysis on contributions of the legal system to promote collective solutions and support existing collective land tenure arrangements to access land and housing. In that context, collective forms of adverse possession will be studied and questions about the instrument being an expression of the commons theory as well as its ability to legally promote collective arrangements that currently enable access to urban land and housing will be brought to fore. This research points out possibilities and challenges within the law, doctrine and jurisprudence to a creative revision of legal institutes related to certain land tenure regimes considering a critical analyzes of the social reality characterized by scarcity and inequities without redesigning legal institutes or finding solutions to land conflict in urban areas / Em um contexto de urbanização acelerada, concentrada, desigual e excludente - marca do desenvolvimento urbano nacional, uma expressiva parcela da população tem dificuldade de acesso à terra, fazendo com que a informalidade permeie a afirmação de direitos fundamentais como a moradia. Este estudo se propõe a utilizar a teoria dos bens comuns para analisar problemas urbanos, em especial a questão do acesso limitado à terra urbanizada para fins de moradia. A partir desse marco teórico, ajustado à realidade brasileira, são analisados regimes jurídicos fundiários, ou seja, as relações jurídicas de apropriação da terra urbana, discutindo-se de forma crítica alguns institutos jurídicos regidos por essas relações de apropriação, como a propriedade e a posse em face do imperativo da socialidade. Procura-se refletir em que medida essa discussão sobre os regimes jurídicos fundiários, à luz da teoria dos bens comuns, pode potencializar a dimensão de uso social da terra urbana e colaborar na melhoria do acesso à terra para moradia, reforçando o aspecto distributivo. Com um olhar sobre a questão dos conflitos fundiários distributivos em termos coletivos, procura-se verificar as contribuições do sistema jurídico na promoção de soluções moleculares e na proteção de arranjos coletivos criados para assegurar o acesso à terra para moradia, especificamente no tocante ao regime jurídico fundiário envolvido. Nesse sentido, faz-se a análise mais detida da usucapião urbana coletiva, verificando em que medida o referido instrumento afina-se com a teoria dos bens comuns, bem como sua aptidão para dar suporte jurídico aos arranjos coletivos construídos para garantir o acesso à terra urbana para fins de moradia. São apontados caminhos, potencialidades e desafios para, a partir da lei e de sua interpretação pela doutrina e jurisprudência, proceder a uma revisão criativa de institutos que configuram os regimes jurídicos fundiários, considerando uma visão crítica da realidade social, com suas escassezes e desigualdades, sem que com isso se esgote o redesenho de institutos jurídicos ou mesmo se apresente soluções para conflitos fundiários urbanos