Saltwater intrusion, which can be facilitated by natural conditions, human activities and climate change, is a big threat to mankind from social-economic, environmental and ecological perspective. Agriculture, the largest consumer of water, is identified as both contributor and most vulnerable sector to saltwater intrusion, especially in coastal low-lying areas, with the increasing demands and competition of water owing to economic bloom, population growth and climate fluctuations. Sustainable water resource management is urgently needed owing to its essential in solving this issue. Hence this study is to deliver the understanding of linkage between saltwater ingress and agriculture and seek appropriate water resource management strategies in coastal low-lying areas to address saltwater intrusion and reduce its impacts on agriculture.   This study conducts a comparative case study between Texel, the Netherlands and Shouguang, China to specify the linkages between saltwater intrusion and agriculture with local features. The reasons, impacts and associated mitigations and/or adaptations of the issue, together with the legislation of each region have been investigated and compared.   The results show that for combating the saltwater intrusion and reducing the losses from agriculture, both study areas have adapted specific approaches. Among them similar approaches, despite different legislations and policies, such as developing alternative water resource (treated wastewater and rainwater) and saline agriculture are implemented by both of the regions. Through the comparison, each can learn the lessons from the other. The integrated water legislation together with its effective implementation, the strong involvements of different stakeholders and ecological approach to post-treat effluent of Texel can no doubt inspire Shouguang. While the highlights of counteract measures taken by Shouguang such separating rainwater from wastewater during collection and treatment, water diversion and development of special market to achieve high profit for saline products can obviously inspire Texel as well.   The analysis and comparison between these two case studies can reflect the general problems regarding to water management on saltwater intrusion and agriculture in all the regions that suffer from this problem. Hence, it is concluded that 1) integrated water legislation and management (with climate change considered and integrated as well) are the foundations, while water conservation should be core idea that always kept in mind; 2) strong involvements of different stakeholders and necessary supervision systems can guarantee the effectiveness of implementation; 3) all actions should be based on both technical knowledge and local-cultural knowledge; 4) self-sufficient approaches should be promoted at micro level to reduce the dependency on external water intrusion; 5) economic means should be carefully combined with environmental and ecological ways as well to achieve the goal of development of sustainability; 6) monitoring systems are of great significance.

Although governments have implemented several reforms to better integrate or coordinate regional transportation and land use decisions, little is known about the effects of new institutional designs on planning and development outcomes. This study compares the effects of two different types of institutional reforms on the planning process, transportation investments and land use decisions, while assessing their characteristics in terms of accountability, democracy, and effectiveness. Using semi-structured interviews, planning documents, as well as transportation spending and land use decisions, this longitudinal, comparative case study assesses the effects of the centralized, regulatory framework implemented in Toronto in 2005-2006, to the collaborative governance framework adopted in Chicago in 2005. Although each institutional design features different sets of constraints and opportunities, both reforms improved the planning process by establishing a renewed commitment to the exercise of regional planning. However, their impact on transportation investments was limited because the allocation of transportation funds is still primarily controlled by the province and the state governments who continue to control the purse strings and allocate money to advance their own political agendas. Both cases also show how difficult it is to increase densities and curb urban sprawl because local land uses, zoning and development approvals remain the prerogative of local governments and a function of locational preferences of individuals and corporations, which are contingent upon the market and shaped by global economic forces. Besides stronger regional institutions, the evidence presented in this study calls for new political strategies that address the fiscalization of land use and that offer financial incentives for the adoption of smart growth policies. / Urban Studies

Bakgrund: Kolorektal cancer är en av de vanligaste och dödligaste cancerformerna ivärlden. Det är viktigt att sjukdomen upptäckas och behandlas i god tid för attundvika metastasering i andra delar av kroppen och minska dödligheten. För attupptäcka kolorektal cancer finns olika diagnostiska metoder, inklusive DT-kolografi,koloskopi, dubbelkontrast bariumlavemang och sigmoidoskopi. Syftet: Syftet var att undersöka patienters upplevelser vid DT-kolografi jämfört medandra tarmundersökningsmetoder. Metod: Pubmed och Cinahl användes för att söka artiklar. Åtta kvantitativa artiklaruppfyllde kriterierna för inkludering och granskades med hjälp av Olsson ochSörensens mall. Data analyserades med Popenoes metod för dataanalys i allmännalitteraturöversikt. Resultat: Resultatet delades in i fyra huvudområden bestående av obehag, smärta,oro/ångest och patientpreferens. Dessa områden jämfördes mellan DT-kolografi ochandra undersökningsmetoder. Resultaten visade variation angående obehag och oro,men färre patienter rapporterade smärta under DT-kolografi och patienternaföredrog DT-kolografi jämfört med andra tarmundersökningsmetoder. Konklusion: Sammanställning av resultaten visar att alla tarmundersökningar,oavsett undersökningsform, var fysisk krävande till någon grad, vilket betonarbehovet att minska negativa upplevelser genom förmedling av information, ha godkommunikation, och att arbeta personcentrerat. / Background: Colorectal cancer is one of the most common and deadly cancers inthe world. It is crucial that the disease is detected and treated early to preventmetastasis to other parts of the body and reduce mortality. Various diagnosticmethods are available to detect colorectal cancer, including CT colonography,colonoscopy, double-contrast barium enema, and sigmoidoscopy. Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate patients' experiences with CTcolonography compared to other methods of lower gastrointestinal examination. Methods: The Pubmed and Cinahl databases were searched for articles. Eightquantitative articles met the criteria for inclusion and were critically appraised usingOlsson and Sörensen’s template. Data were analyzed using Popenoe's method fordata analysis in general literature reviews. Results: The results were divided into four main areas consisting of discomfort,pain, anxiety, and patient preference. Patient experience was compared between CTcolonography and other examination methods. The results revealed variation indiscomfort and anxiety, but fewer patients reported pain during CT colonography,and patients preferred CT colonography compared with other lower gastrointestinalexamination methods. Conclusion: A summary of the results indicates that all gastrointestinalexaminations are physically demanding to varying degrees, emphasizing the need toalleviate negative experiences through information provision, effectivecommunication and adopting a person-centered approach.

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Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka investeringsbeslut inom designbranschen och skapa en större förståelse kring investeringsbesluten i designbyråer samt uppmärksamma designbyråer att investeringar kunde vara en konkurrenskraft. Teoretisk referensram: Studien behandlade olika investeringstyper, Porters fem konkurrenskrafter, risk, osäkerhet och lönsamhet. I uppsatsen användes också sju tidigare forskningar kring dessa områden samt forskning inom SME-företag, investeringsbeslut samt hur känslor påverkade vid beslutsfattande av investeringar. Metod: I uppsatsen har en deduktiv forskningsansats brukats. Studien genomfördes med en kvalitativ forskningsmetod i form av intervjuer med tio designbyråer. Kraven för designbyråerna var att de skulle ha olika arbetsområden i Stockholms innerstad samt att de skulle innefatta minst fyra anställda. Ytterligare ett krav var att de skulle ha välkända kunder. Intervjuerna genomfördes personligen, per telefon samt via mail. I studien tillämpades en komparativ metod för att kunna jämföra likheter och skillnader mellan designbyråerna samt finna kopplingar mellan designbyråers investeringar och beslutsfattandet kring dem. Resultat: Studien resulterade i att investeringar i personal samt kompetens var den största samt viktigaste investeringen då åtta av tio designbyråer nämnde det. Sex designbyråer gjorde investeringar i lokal och kontor och fyra designbyråer utförde expansionsinvesteringar. Tre av tio designbyråer använde sig av exempelvis kalkyler eller return on investment vid investeringsbeslut. För sex av designbyråerna spelade känslor in vid beslut av en investering. Åtta av dem ansåg att en investering var lönsam när intäkten översteg kostnaden för investeringen. Sju av designbyråerna såg investeringar som en risk men främst som en möjlighet. Slutsats: Designbyråer i Stockholm gjorde investeringar i främst personal, lokal, resor, expansion och datorer för att generera värde vilket också gjorde investeringen lyckad. Strategiska planeringen bestod främst av budgetering samt ett fåtal designbyråer utförde kalkyler. Det som var avgörande vid beslutsfattande var ekonomiska och emotionella värden. En investering sågs som lönsam när intäkten översteg kostnaden. Designbyråer såg investeringar främst som möjligheter men som behövde vägas gentemot risken. Jämfört med den finansiella teorin och designbyråers syn på investeringar skiljde sig inte speciellt mycket men hur besluten fattades skiljde sig markant. / Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to examine investment decisions in the design industry to provide greater comprehension on investment decisions in the design agencies and to notice design agencies that investments were a competititiveness.   Theoretical framework:The paper examined different types of investments, Porter’s five forces, risk, uncertainty and profitability. The paper also applied seven previous researches on these areas and also researches in SME, investment decisions and how feelings affected investment decisions. Methodology: A deductive research approach has been used in this paper. The study was conducted by a qualitative research method which included interviews with ten design agencies. The requirements for the design agencies included different work areas in Stockholm inner city and the design agency had to have at least four employees. Another requirement was that they had to have wellknown customers. There were face-to-face interviews, interviews by e-mail and telephone. The study was made by a comparative method to make comparisions between design agencies to find similarities, differences and connections between investments which design agencies made and eventually the decision making. Results: The results of the study demonstrated that investment in employees and competence was the greatest investment according to eight of ten design agencies. Six of the design agencies invested in premises and offices and four of ten made investments in expansion. Three of ten design agencies used calculations or return on investment while making investment decisions. It was found that six of ten design agencies included feelings in making investment decisions. Eight of ten considered that an investment was profitable when revenue exceeded the cost of the investment. Seven of the design agencies considered investments as a risk but mainly as an opportunity.   Conclusion: Design agencies in Stockholm invested mainly in employees and even in offices, business trips, expansion and computers to generate value which also lead to a successful investment. Strategic planning mainly consisted of budgeting as well as a few design agencies performed calculus. Economic and emotional values were a decisive factor in investment decisions. An investment was considered as profitable when revenue exceeded the cost. Design agencies primarly considered investments as opportunities but they needed to be in balance with the risks. The design agencies’ view of investments compared to the financial theory did not differ very much but how the decisions were made differed significantly.

My aim with this essay is to analyse how the theme of sexuality and love in two dystopian novels – We  (1924),  by Yevgeny Zamyatin and Kallocain  (1940), by Karin Boye – relate to “the modern project”, a term I use to identify a cluster of important ideas that profoundly impacted society in the first decades of the 20th century. My analysis is based on a theoretical point of view claiming that dystopian novels present a critical perspective on society, and that they deal with issues, problems and values specific to the period in which they were written. Using a comparative method, where “the modern project” works asan “Ansatzpunkt”, I explore a variety of texts studying the theme of love and sexualityin We  and Kallocain  from different perspectives. I further discuss how both novels criticize societies where some of the ideas from “the modern project” are realized in unexpected ways: the “bourgeois family” is gone and the state performs some of its duties, sexuality is reduced to biological needs and reproduction, and love relationships are seen as egotistical and irrational. Even though these societies are trying hard, they can’t stop their citizens from using love and sexuality as a means to connect to one another and build a resistance. My conclusion is that both Zamyatin and Boye most likely were inspired by the writings of Sigmund Freud, who at that time was highly influential. In this light their novels can beinterpreted as presenting the human libido (We) and insights gained through psychoanalysis (Kallocain) as defences against collectivistic totalitarian states.

Picking up on current research about settler colonialism, this study uses a modified version of a model explaining modern-state formation to explain settler-colonial formation. Charles Tilly identified two simultaneous processes at work – war-making and state-making which produced modern states in Western Europe. Settler-colonial systems engage(d) in a particular type of war to produce their existence: total war. Hence, a modified version of total-war-making and settler-colonial-existence-making (production) occuring in the settler-colonial-creation phase is proposed. However, before this conceptual analytical framework could be developed, it was necessary to examine the meanings of terms such as 'nation' and ‘nation-state’ as well as concepts such as settler-colonialism and total war. The sample of relevant literature analyzed revealed inconsistencies in the meanings of the terms when applying W.H. Newton-Smith’s theory of meaning, suggesting the influence of what Edward Said identified as the workings of orientalism. This has conceptual implications on terms such as settler-colonialism and the meaning of the type of war it wages upon the indigenous nations. It also has implications on developing a conceptual analytical tool to understand the dynamics of the production of the settler-colonial existence. Thus, the terms and concepts needed to be de-orientalized before using them in the modified model which was then used to examine initially three settler-colonial cases: the United States, Australia and Apartheid South Africa. The modified analytical model was able to highlight particular dynamics relevant to settler-colonial systems and was then used – with the incremental and imbricate research done in the first three chapters – to examine the Zionist case. It illustrated that while the cases of the United States and Australia were able pass their creation phases, the Apartheid case could not and subsequently collapsed. The Zionist case seems to be still in its settler-colonial-creation phase. This has implications on current analysis concerning the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The main goal of this thesis was an investigation into the ways in which whiteness is constructed and positioned in the South African soap opera, 7de Laan, and the Flemish soap opera, Thuis, with the emphasis on the possible implications of these constructions for local as well as global discourses on whiteness in the media. In conjunction with the above, this thesis endeavoured to answer a number of subquestions relating to the origin and history of the construct of “whiteness” and Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS) as a theoretical approach and its relevance in the South African and Flemish contexts, specifically as it pertains to the analysis of mass media texts like 7de Laan and Thuis. It, moreover, sought to explore if and how whiteness functions as an organising principle in the narratives and representations of these soap operas with the emphasis on potential similarities, differences and the kinds of whiteness constructed in these texts. Finally, the goal was to draw conclusions on the possible implications of these differences and similarities in the wider context of the way in which whiteness functions in the media. To that end I conducted a controlled case comparison of a sample from these two community soap opera texts, which was informed by a literature review and deep description of each context as part of the qualitative approach I chose to take. Despite a number of similarities between the two contexts, they still differ significantly, and this afforded me an opportunity to highlight both the consistencies and particularities in the ideological patterning of representations of whiteness, across seemingly unrelated domains, to illustrate its pervasiveness. Added to the emergence of three shared rhetorical devices perpetuating whiteness in both texts, I was also able to draw conclusions about the unique way in which whiteness functions in 7de Laan in particular, since South Africa remains the primary context of the study. / Communication Science / D. Litt. et Phil.(Communication)

Socrate et Krishnamurti comptent parmi les personnages importants de l'histoire de la pensée. Le premier fut proclamé le "père" de la philosophie occidentale alors que le second fut considéré comme l'un des cinq grands "saints" du XXème siècle par la prestigieuse revue Time. Le présent mémoire porte sur les rapprochements qu'il est possible de montrer entre ces deux penseurs considérés par la postérité comme "inclassables". Ce qui les réunit d'emblée toutefois, c'est leur préoccupation indéniable pour le thème universel de la connaissance de soi. C'est donc sur cette trame de fond que nous avons abordé l'étude des ressemblances entre eux. Celles-ci apparaissent particulièrement dans leur engagement indéfectible eu égard à la recherche de la vérité en ce qui a trait aux principes de la vie bonne et de la vertu. Nous avons tenté d'établir un certain nombre de faits qui démontrent que leurs discours portaient en substance sur les mérites de la réflexion pour que l'être humain comprenne qu'il avait tout intérêt à se préoccuper de la relation qu'il entretient avec sa pensée afin de mieux se connaître lui-même. / Important figures in the history of thought includes Socrates and Krishnamurti. The former was proclaimed the "father" of western philosophy while the latter was regarded as one of the five great "saints" of the 20th century by the prestigious journal Time. This case focuses on tne connections it is possible to show between these two thinkers regarded by posterity as "unclassifiable". Which brings them together with at the outset however, it is clear concern for the universal theme of self-knowledge. It is therefore on this shading that we have approached the studies of the similarities between them. They appear especially in their unwavering commitment to the search of truth with respect to the principles of virtue. We tried to establish a number of facts which demonstrate that their speeches were in substance on the merits of the reflection for a human to understand that he had any interest to concern itself with the relationship he has with his thinking to better understand itself.

Les restructurations et les mutations de plus en plus nombreuses dans les entreprises font évoluer la trajectoire de carrière des employés vers un cheminement moins linéaire et amènent une multiplication des changements de rôle (Delobbe & Vandenberghe, 2000). Les organisations doivent de plus en plus se soucier de l’intégration de ces nouveaux employés afin de leur transmettre les éléments fondamentaux du fonctionnement et de la culture qu’elles privilégient. Par contre, la plupart des recherches sur la socialisation organisationnelle portent sur les « meilleures pratiques », et les résultats qui en découlent sont mixtes. Cette étude comparative cherche à déterminer si et sur quelles variables les nouveaux employés socialisés par leur entreprise diffèrent des nouveaux employés « non socialisés ». Premièrement, cette étude vise à comparer ces deux groupes sur 1) les résultantes proximales (la maîtrise du contenu de la socialisation organisationnelle et la clarté de rôle) et 2) les résultantes distales (l’engagement organisationnel affectif, la satisfaction au travail et l’intention de quitter) du processus de socialisation organisationnelle, ainsi que sur 3) les caractéristiques des réseaux sociaux d’information, en contrôlant pour la proactivité. Dans un second temps, cette étude a pour objectif d’explorer si le processus de socialisation organisationnelle (les relations entre les variables) diffère entre les nouveaux employés socialisés ou non. Cinquante-trois nouveaux employés (moins d’un an d’ancienneté) d’une grande entreprise québécoise ont participé à cette étude. L’entreprise a un programme de socialisation en place, mais son exécution est laissée à la discrétion de chaque département, créant deux catégories de nouveaux employés : ceux qui ont été socialisés par leur département, et ceux qui n’ont pas été socialisés (« non socialisés »). Les participants ont été sondés sur les stratégies proactives, les résultantes proximales et distales et les caractéristiques des réseaux sociaux d’information. Pour le premier objectif, les résultats indiquent que les nouveaux employés socialisés maîtrisent mieux le contenu de la socialisation organisationnelle que les nouveaux employés non socialisés. En ce qui a trait au deuxième objectif, des différences dans le processus de socialisation organisationnelle ont été trouvées. Pour les nouveaux employés « non socialisés », la recherche proactive d’informations et la recherche de rétroaction sont liées à certaines caractéristiques des réseaux sociaux, alors que le cadrage positif est lié à la satisfaction au travail et à l’intention de quitter, et que la clarté de rôle est liée uniquement à la satisfaction au travail. Les nouveaux employés socialisés, quant à eux, démontrent des liens entre la maîtrise du contenu de la socialisation organisationnelle et chacune des résultantes distales (l’engagement organisationnel affectif, la satisfaction au travail et l’intention de quitter). Globalement, l’intégration des nouveaux employés non socialisés serait plutôt influencée par leurs stratégies proactives, tandis que celle des nouveaux employés non socialisés serait facilitée par leur maîtrise du contenu de la socialisation organisationnelle. De façon générale, cette étude comparative offre un aperçu intéressant des nouveaux employés rarement trouvé dans les recherches portant sur les « meilleures pratiques » de la socialisation organisationnelle. Des recommandations pour la recherche et la pratique en suivent. / Careers today are becoming increasingly multi-organizational (Howard, 1996), as workers are becoming more mobile and less loyal to a single organization (Fang, Duffy, & Shaw, 2011). Retention is a growing problem, and organizations are more and more preoccupied with the successful socialization and integration of their newcomers. However, best practice research on the subject of newcomer socialization has come up with mixed results over the course of the last 25 years of research. This comparative study sought to explore the differences between socialized newcomers and unsocialized newcomers in terms of organizational socialization process variables. Specifically, in its first objective, this study aimed at comparing these newcomer groups in terms of (1) proximal outcomes (learning of socialization content and role clarity) and (2) distal outcomes (affective organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and intention to quit) of the organizational socialization process, as well as in terms of (3) information network characteristics (network size, status, range, strength, and density), controlling for newcomer proactive strategies. In its second objective, this study sought to explore how the organizational socialization process (relationships between variables) differed between newcomer groups. The participants were new employees in a large multi-media company (n = 53), all with a tenure of less than one year in the organization. This organization had a sanctioned socialization practice in place, but allowed department managers to socialize their newcomers at their discretion. This resulted in two newcomer groups: those who were socialized by their respective departments (“socialized” newcomer group) and those who were not (“unsocialized” newcomer group). Participants completed a questionnaire measuring proactive behaviors, mastery of socialization content, role clarity, affective organizational commitment, job satisfaction, intention to quit, and information network characteristics. The results indicated that, with regards to the first objective, socialized and unsocialized newcomers differ in terms of their mastery of socialization content, namely, learning of job/task, group, and organization knowledge was significantly greater for socialized newcomers than for unsocialized newcomers. No differences in distal socialization outcomes or network characteristics were observed. As for the second objective, the organizational socialization process was different depending on the newcomer group. Unsocialized newcomers showed a significant positive relationship between proactive information seeking and network size, as well as between feedback seeking and network status. Proactive positive framing was positively related to job satisfaction and negatively related to intention to quit, and role clarity was related to job satisfaction in unsocialized newcomers. These relationships were not found in socialized newcomers. Instead, socialized newcomers showed significant relationships between learning of socialization content and each of the distal socialization outcomes (affective organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and intention to quit). Overall, unsocialized newcomers’ adjustment seems related to their proactive strategies, while socialized newcomers’ adjustment is facilitated by a greater mastery of socialization content. This study’s unique sample offers interesting insights into the different experiences of newcomers not normally found in popular best practice research. Recommendations for research and practice are discussed accordingly.