Doctorat en sciences sociales, politiques et économiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Central point of the thesis at hand is the effort to clarify legal consequences arising out of the conclusion of the usurious contract. Its primary aim is to determine whether the usurious contract is voidable or rather null and void and whether it is possible to uphold the usurious contract either by applying the concept of partial invalidity or by judicial balancing of the grossly disproportionate considerations arising out of the usurious contract. This thesis is structured into two parts. The first chapter of the first part briefly introduces paradigms of the rules related to the usury. The second chapter analyzes individual characteristics of the usury. In the third chapter author argues for the possibility to review the contracts (showing the disproportion of considerations, defects of the abused's will and the element of abuse, however, not fulfilling all the characteristics of the usurious contracts due to narrow definition of the usury) by the good-manners-test. Second part of this thesis is divided into three chapters. The first chapter analyzes consequences resulting from the violation of the usury prohibition and their impact on the usurer's and the abused's legal position. This chapter also deals with the difficulties in terms of interpretation of rules governing invalidity of legal...

Argues that Of Mice and Men is not only a tale of morality, but also a representation of the political themes found in In Dubious Battle and The Grapes of Wrath. Establishes that Steinbeck does not simply divorce himself from the labor themes of the other two books; rather he uses this novel as a representative account of the social events taking place in California during the 1930s. Examines aspects of the split hero as found in the novel's two main characters, George and Lennie, who resemble a dark rider coming into a ranch with nothing more than a dream of a better life.

博士(学術) / 甲第454号 / 290p / 一橋大学

MAAS (Xitsonga) / Ehansi ka Sentara ya M. E. R. Mathivha ya Tindzimi ta Afrika, Vutshila na Ndhavuko / This research describes and discusses the superstitions which are on the verge of dying out in Zimbabwe. The aim of this study is to explore various animals and birds superstitions predominantly among Machangana. The researcher shall use a qualitative method and data shall be attained through the use of interviews and the researcher will listen to and sometimes converse with the participants in a conducive manner. The researcher shall gather birds and animals superstitions from old people who are fifty years and above because they are experienced and well versed in that area. This research targets the people of N’wanedzi District that is located in the South Eastern part of Zimbabwe. Furthermore, the total number of participants shall be fifteen and shall be randomly sampled to attain authentic information and the method of the data analysis which shall be used is thematic qualitative analysis where the researcher shall use his own discretions. The study shall be of great use to the schools, higher and tertiary institutions and the entire society.

During the last ten years the European union has faced several new challenges, especially with regards to the democratic backsliding that has been happening in its member states. Poland, which has had a positive democratic development and has been seen as being in the forefront of positive democratic consolidation, has since 2015 changed course towards becoming authoritarian regimes. EU has acted against this development, but this hasn’t stopped Poland in growing even more in an authoritarian direction.The aim of this paper is to examine what actions the European union has taken to stop the democratic backsliding in Poland through normative power, and what are the reasons for the failure of EU’s earlier sanctions against Poland. The conclusion of this thesis is that EU has used all the tools at its disposal to deal with Poland, without much success. What can be seen is that the member states in the union don’t always agree on defending the same values. But also, that the legal procedure to pursue a member which has gone against the core values of the union, are far too complicated. But it is not only dark, but as brighter future might also be ahead of EU, as its latest actions against Poland might be having an effect.

Normative Power Europe theory presented by Ian Manners defines the European Union as a normative actor in international relations. According to him, EU's ability to change what passes for "normal" in international relations originates from its internal set-up which the EU uses to shape its environment and international norms in its own image. After first studying Manner's tripartite analysis and defining normative goals, means and impact of the normative policy, the thesis then proceeds to test normative theory in the European neighbourhood, particularly in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, by analysing EU's democracy and human rights promotion in Tunisia. It identifies discrepancy between EU's goals and means and discovers that on the one side, Euro-Mediterranean cooperation improves socio-economic development, however on the other it impedes the political one. This finding reflects incoherence and inconsistency of the EU's policies in the Mediterranean and arrives to the conclusion that EU is not a normative power in its neighbourhood policy.

The purpose of this case study is to use Ian Manner’s normative power theory and Adrian Hyde-Price’s neo-realism theory, in order to explain the Visegrad countries’ resistance against the EU relocation. There is great tension within the EU on how to handle the migration and refugee crisis. The efforts to establish EU relocation plan were extremely controversial since the European Commission adopted legislation directly related to territorial integrity and state sovereignty through qualified majority. The main opponents of the relocation scheme are the Visegrad group (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia). This paper concluded that Ian Manner’s theory on Normative Power Europe is limited in explaining the Member States resistance, rather Adrian Hyde-Price’s theory on neorealism is more accurate in explaining the resistance.

Актуальность темы диссертации обусловлена расширяющимся сотрудничеством с представителями многочисленных культур, необходимостью учитывать культурные особенности стран в различных профессиональных контекстах. В то же время, данная тема недостаточно представлена в имеющихся информационных источниках. Работа состоит их двух глав, в которых детально проработаны теоретические и практические аспекты проблемы. Работа выполнена на высоком профессиональном уровне с учетом основных современных направлений исследования в представленной сфере. Особую значимость имеет сравнение трех различных культур (русской, английской и японской), выявление общих и специфических черт межкультурной коммуникации. Полученные данные возможно использовать при подготовке переговоров, визитов, организации выставочной деятельности. / The relevance of the topic of the thesis is due to expanding cooperation with the representatives of many cultures, the need to take into account the cultural characteristics of countries in various professional contexts. At the same time, the topic is underrepresented in the available information sources. The thesis consists of two chapters in which the theoretical and practical aspects of the problem are elaborated. The thesis is executed at a high professional level considering the main directions of contemporary research in the field provided. Of particular importance is the comparison of three different cultures (Russian, English and Japanese), identifying common and specific features of intercultural communication. The data obtained may be used in the preparation of negotiations, visits and organization of exhibition activities.

PhD (African Studies) / Centre for African Studies / African authors play a significant role in passing on African folklore. Their writing is often influenced by their lived experiences and the social context embedded within folklore. Folklore houses the cultural beliefs, customs and traditions of a society and is passed on from one generation to the next through oral and written literature. Many African authors’ works instil an appreciation of people’s African identity, customs and beliefs. The aim of this study was to explore the extent to which folklore had influenced the writings of four selected African authors: Chinua Achebe, a renowned author from Nigeria, Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʹo from Kenya, Es’kia Mphahlele and Andrew Nkadimeng, both from South Africa. These African authors, who chose to write their stories in English rather than in their African language, were influenced by the folklore they were exposed to in their upbringing. The objective of the study was to identify various aspects of folklore and demonstrate how folklore had remained entrenched in the writings of these African authors, despite the fact that they were telling their stories in the English language. The research was qualitative in nature and a hermeneutic research method was used to describe and interpret the meaning of texts as used by the authors and to explore the influence of folklore in the text. The study will be a useful resource for teachers in the Further Education and Training (FET) band in schools (grade 10 to 12) which includes folklore studies as part of its syllabus. Currently, folklore is studied in schools only in terms of Oral Literature. However, Oral Literature is just one aspect of folklore, as is discussed in this study. The study will also contribute towards efforts to re-establish Africans’ dignity and identity / NRF