Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Luciafirandet är stundom en omtvistad tradition, föremål för debatter och kontroverser. Firandet har en krokig historia, men den är betydligt kortare än hur den ibland berättas. Många olika influenser har varit delaktiga i framväxten av den tradition då den vitklädda gestalten med ljus i hår började uppvakta om morgnarna i 1700-talets västra Sverige. Detta är en del av vad föreliggande uppsats undersöker, vilket inbegriper flera idag utdöda traditioner, ungdomars galna upptåg, andra helgon än Sankta Lucia själv och oknytt som sades härja under lussenatten. Ibland lyfts frågan om vad som är ett ”korrekt” firande. Föreliggande uppsats undersöker luciafirandet utifrån helighetsaspekten för att se om dess helighet har en påverkan på firandet, som det är och som det utvecklats. Definitionen av det heliga (eng. the sacred) utgår ifrån Ann Taves och Matthew Evans typologier av det heliga som någonting som antingen tillskrivs en speciell mening eller särskiljs då det har en speciell mening. Hur samverkar heligheten med traditionen? Detta har undersökts utifrån hur traditionen berättas om i svensk dagspress vid två skilda årtal. Texter från förra årets luciafirande, år 2019, har analyserats tillsammans med texter från 1927. År 1927 har valts ut eftersom det detta år arrangerades det officiella firande i Stockholm som anses vara det som gjorde luciafirandet populärt över hela Sverige. Uppsatsen fann att det finns en kärna av helighet i traditionen som är betydande för traditionens utveckling samt avveckling. Dessutom tycks traditionen dö ut när folk inte längre bryr sig och därigenom slutar helighålla traditionen.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the academic requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Department of Chemistry University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg April 2017. / The Mkhuze River discharges into the most northern part of Lake St Lucia, via a contemporary bayhead delta. The delta formed in response to sea level rise during the last deglaciation and today exerts great influence on the functioning of Lake St Lucia, one of the largest estuarine systems in Africa and a globally important conservation area. A sediment core (11.5 m) was extracted from the distal end of the delta to examine the geomorphic evolution of the Mkhuze River Delta and links with variations in Holocene sea level and climate. Radiocarbon and optically-stimulated luminescence dating show that the core captured the entire Holocene infill and documents changes in sedimentation over the last ~13.8 kyr. Grain size and high resolution XRF analysis indicates that initiation of the modern delta occurred since ~7200 cal yr BP , when deglacial sea-level rise reached present-day level. Initial Holocene aged sediments are dominated by clay and silt material that was deposited when seawater intruded into Lake St Lucia via a palaeo-river connection to the ocean at Leven Point. The influx of silt and clay material was accompanied by the emergence of an onshore proto-barrier that created a sheltered lagoonal environment and promoted the accumulation of fine fluvial sediment. The presence of discrete, coarse-grained horizons enriched in zircon identifies a period of increased marine palaeostorm activity between 4700 and 2500 cal yr BP. This period is characterised by the presence of discrete shell fragment accumulations and is interpreted to reflect a strongly positive Indian Ocean dipole anomaly, which resulted in warmer sea surface temperatures and an increase in regional cyclone activity and frequency. The upper part of the core is characterized by generally fine silt and is marked by a decrease in sedimentation rate that corresponds to a phase of lateral delta progradation. The last ~1700 cal yr BP years of the record identify with subtle changes in grain size that can be attributed to a strengthening in El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity, which is known to be associated with prolonged drought and wind erosion in eastern South Africa. This study highlights the usefulness of coastal geochemical records in identifying environmental changes and related climate signals at a regional scale. / GR2018

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No / This article briefly outlines the convergence vs. divergence debate before describing research into the potential impact of national culture on the transfer of ''best practice operations management'' to hotels in St. Lucia. The main focus of the paper is on the findings of fieldwork, which supports the contention that national culture does potentially create a barrier to the successful transposition of approaches developed elsewhere. In the case of St. Lucia high uncertainty avoidance and leanings towards high power distance appeared to hinder the adoption of teamworking, empowerment and communication. In addition, attitude towards time and punctuality also mitigated against the provision of a reliable service as and when required. However, with training and supportive HR practices, the end results achieved by International Chains did demonstrate the value of operating ''people friendly'' policies in line with ''best practice''. This article briefly outlines the convergence vs. divergence debate before describing research into the potential impact of national culture on the transfer of ''best practice operations management'' to hotels in St. Lucia. The main focus of the paper is on the findings of fieldwork, which supports the contention that national culture does potentially create a barrier to the successful transposition of approaches developed elsewhere. In the case of St. Lucia high uncertainty avoidance and leanings towards high power distance appeared to hinder the adoption of teamworking, empowerment and communication. In addition, attitude towards time and punctuality also mitigated against the provision of a reliable service as and when required. However, with training and supportive HR practices, the end results achieved by International Chains did demonstrate the value of operating ''people friendly'' policies in line with ''best practice''.

A method for estimating long-term average annual soil loss under different land management scenarios from the Marquis and Soufriere watersheds on St. Lucia is presented. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was used, and a GIS was employed to generate the required input parameters. Model execution and results were also generated within the GIS. Modelling soil loss for the different land management scenarios was based upon a land capability classification and associated conservation treatments. Soil losses under current agricultural land-use patterns were analyzed and compared to potential soil losses under conservation treatments following the criteria specified in the land capability classification. The model predicted substantial declines in soil loss where conservation treatments were assigned, as compared to soil loss under current land-use patterns. It was found that predicted soil losses from the Soufriere watershed were four times that predicted for the Marquis watershed for all the land management scenarios modelled. Of the input parameters in the model, slope steepness was most highly correlated to predicted soil loss. It is anticipated that the findings of this study will be used in the development of a decision support system for agricultural and forestry land planning on St. Lucia.

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Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-10-04T11:08:20Z No. of bitstreams: 1 izaurareginaazevedorocha.pdf: 829824 bytes, checksum: eebfa7dbe5aa7b53a74e48fc58074db9 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-10-04T16:18:10Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 izaurareginaazevedorocha.pdf: 829824 bytes, checksum: eebfa7dbe5aa7b53a74e48fc58074db9 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-10-04T16:18:21Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 izaurareginaazevedorocha.pdf: 829824 bytes, checksum: eebfa7dbe5aa7b53a74e48fc58074db9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-04T16:18:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 izaurareginaazevedorocha.pdf: 829824 bytes, checksum: eebfa7dbe5aa7b53a74e48fc58074db9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-06-23 / Esta dissertação focaliza a produção da romancista, crítica literária e historiadora da literatura brasileira Lucia Miguel Pereira pelo duplo ponto de vista da teoria literária e da crítica feminista. A interseção dessas duas disciplinas se faz necessária para compreender a aparente fratura entre a obra ficcional e a de crítica literária da autora. Partindo da constatação de que uma preocupação com a condição feminina na primeira metade do século XX perpassa inegavelmente o conjunto dos quatro únicos romances de Lucia, enquanto sua produção crítica se revela quase indiferente ao desprestígio da autoria feminina no cânone da literatura brasileira, procura-se investigar caminhos de convergência entre as duas vertentes dessa produção aparentemente contraditória. Numa perspectiva metacrítica, o trabalho mapeia o pensamento da autora sobre o exercício da crítica literária e da criação ficcional e estabelece seu sistema e método de abordagem da literatura. A categoria do romance, como gênero literário de particular interesse nos estudos de Lucia, desponta como chave para percepção da unidade da obra da autora, na medida em que é por ela compreendido como campo de experimentação sobre a existência. No processo, a pesquisa acompanha o amadurecimento intelectual de Lucia Miguel Pereira rumo à sistematização de suas formulações teóricas sobre o romance e revê o lugar dessa intelectual pioneira na história da crítica e da literatura brasileiras. / This dissertation focuses on the production of the novelist, literary critic and historian of Brazilian literature Lucia Miguel Pereira by the dual perspective of literary theory and feminist criticism. The intersection of these two disciplines is needed to understand the apparent rift between the author‘s fictional work and literary criticism. Based on the observation that a preoccupation with the female condition in the first half of the twentieth century undeniably pervades the whole of her four novels, while her critical output reveals to be almost indifferent to the discredit of female authorship in the canon of Brazilian literature, seeks to investigate ways of increasing convergence between two seemingly contradictory aspects of this production. In a metacritique perspective, the work maps the author's thinking on the exercise of literary criticism and the fictional creation and sets her system and approach to the literature. The category of the novel as a literary genre of particular interest in Lucia‘s studies emerges as key to understand the unity of her work, insofar as it is understood as a field of experimentation on life. In the process, the research followed the intellectual maturation of Lucia Miguel Pereira towards the systematization of her theoretical formulations about the novel and review the place of this intellectual pioneer in the history of Brazilian literature and criticism.

This thesis examines the feasibility of economic incentives for reforestation, with improved water quality being one potential benefit, in the Fond D’or watershed of Saint Lucia. Population growth, economic development, and the onset of climate change have decreased the environmental quality in Small Island Developing State (SIDS) while increasing risk to the islands’ water security. The unique topography and geology of Caribbean island nations contribute to the challenges of managing freshwater resources. The governments of SIDS often lack the human and financial resources to provide potable water for their citizens, as well as to monitor and enforce environmental regulations limiting land use in watersheds. Therefore, a new approach to watershed management in Saint Lucia is imperative for the provision of valuable ecosystem services at the local, regional, and global scales. Payments for ecosystem services (PES) are a promising approach to the protection and maintenance of public ecosystem services where there is little incentive for private landowners to provide them. The first article explores household willingness-to-pay (WTP) for reforestation in Fond D’or watershed. The contingent valuation method was used to obtain residents’ WTP for a hypothetical scenario in which an increase in water users’ fees are used to fund a program where farmers in the upper watershed are compensated for taking land near water sources out of agricultural production for reforestation. The findings from 294 household surveys provide a description of the state of water quality and quantity in the Fond D’or, domestic water uses and sources, as well as attitudes and opinions about current water service. Bivariate analyses were performed to identify underlying factors that influence WTP, revealing that increased WTP is not a result of higher education and income. Rather, residence in a particular community group likely influences opinions about water, ultimately shaping WTP. Lastly, I discuss WTP in terms of its potential contribution to a PES scheme in Saint Lucia; WTP by local beneficiaries represents one potential funding source for PES mechanisms as well as public support for environmental improvement programs. The second article describes a methodological approach to constructing a PES scheme in the Fond D’or watershed. Of the five environmental policy approaches— prescription, penalties, property rights, persuasion, and payments—payment is likely to be the most feasible method to influence private land management decisions for the provision of ecosystem services for the public good. This article draws upon existing PES schemes for hydrological services around the globe to provide key lessons for expanding the use of the instrument to Saint Lucia. I apply these lessons to the social, political, and institutional context of Saint Lucia, identifying opportunities for and challenges to developing local or regional payment schemes for ecosystem services in the Fond D'or watershed. I outline the steps to constructing a PES and recommend further research to Saint Lucian policymakers.