The document examines Hugo Distler’s organ solo works within the context of performance. Chapter One contains relevant biographical information primarily based on the work of Ursula Herrmann. Chapter Two discusses the cultural, academic, and career influences on Distler’s compositional output. Chapter Three has analyses of select organ works and a discussion as to how these relate to performance. Chapter Four provides information about the playing and physical execution of Distler’s music at the organ console, with much of the information coming from primary sources written by Distler himself. Distler was born out of wedlock in Nürnberg. His early childhood was fraught with bad experiences. Under the guardianship of his maternal grandparents, he attended a Gymnasium and a music academy. When he was later unable to complete his studies at the Leipzig Conservatory, his teachers provided him with excellent recommendations, and Distler became the new organist at St. Jakobi in Lübeck in 1931. In this new environment, he became famous as a church musician, organist, conductor, and composer - the par excellence of German music. His other positions were in academia in Stuttgart and Berlin, and he eventually became a full professor. Due to the repression by the Nazi party, constantly being overworked, and the impact of his early childhood upon his psyche, Distler committed suicide on All Saints Day, November 1, 1942. Distler became the first person to compose music for the organ in a modern style that was suited for the sound of the Baroque organ. His organ music is based on vocal techniques, experiments with rhythm, uses a variety of scales and modes, and is generally pentatonic. The ideology of clarity in Distler’s works is of utmost importance. It should be apparent that this dictates the performer’s choices regarding how to interpret them. Registration, tempi, and articulation are servants to the composition. Performers of his music need to remain cognizant of this.

This study investigates the influence of Marshallian neo-classical economics on management accounting in South Africa and considers the impact this might have on the relevance of the subject. The investigation finds that whilst emerging management accounting theory is not based on Marshallian neo-classical economics, more traditional perspectives are. This observation results from a review of literature in the English-speaking world. Management accounting practice in South Africa appears to be based on Marshallian neo-classical economics. This conclusion is drawn from empirical work undertaken amongst management accounting practitioners from companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The inquiry indicates that South African management accounting education is based on Marshallian neo-classical economics. This finding emerges from an analysis of the textbooks and syllabi prescribed by South African education institutions. The investigation into the nature of Marshallian neo-classical economics reveals its shortcomings as a basis for management accounting practice. This form of economics accepts premises of limited government intervention and much free competition in the market, and assumes that decision-makers are rational, utility maximising individuals with access to perfect and freely available information. The focus of Marshallian neo-classical economics is limited. It disregards social, cultural and historical circumstances and restricts decisions to a moment in time. Such assumptions are unrealistic and cannot be used as a basis for a subject that aims to provide relevant information for decision makers in today’s business environment. / Thesis (DCom (Financial Management))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Financial Management / unrestricted

Harold Shapero’s Sonata for Trumpet in C and Piano is a significant work that it is rarely performed and studied. Shapero’s composition contains musical attributes that demand artistically accurate choices if the style of this jazz-influenced sonata is to be achieved. Written in 1940 in dedication to Aaron Copland, the Sonata for C Trumpet and Piano makes use of a variety of stylistic influences, blending those of early 20th century jazz with Stravinsky-influenced neo-classicism. The intent of this study is to examine the unique performance practice implications and musical considerations of Harold Shapero’s Sonata for C Trumpet and Piano in correlation to the composer’s implementation of jazz idiomatic elements within the constructs of neo-classicism. The first section of this study examines the historical context necessary for understanding the social and musical conditions of the early to mid 1940s. The second section addresses the musical elements that characterize this work; the primary focus of this section is an exploration of Harold Shapero’s implementation of jazz idioms into his first composition for trumpet. The final section of the study interprets the utilization of idiomatic jazz elements within the work so as to allow the trumpet player with little jazz experience to accurately perform the piece.

Diss. Uppsala : Uppsala universitet, 2005.

This thesis discusses one of the most serious security challenges faced by the Baltic states since regaining their independence. This security challenge is a product of Russia’s assertive foreign policy towards its western neighbours, which has intensified after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. In order to understand the rationale behind the Kremlin’s policy in the region, the thesis aims to analyse how internal and external factors shape the foreign policy of Russia towards the Baltic states. By taking neo-classical realism as its theoretical framework, the thesis uses mixed research methods for collecting data and applies qualitative content analysis to analyse the three main factors that shape Russia’s Baltic policy. The thesis identifies that NATO’s actions in the anarchic international system raise security threats towards Russia. This shapes Putin’s threat perceptions and compels him to react with counteractions, and since the foreign policy in Russia is concentrated mainly in the hands of the president, his perceptions are decisive. Nevertheless, Putin is dependent on Russians’ support and exploits nationalist feelings of the Russian population to pursue his foreign policy. The thesis concludes that the combination of these three factors makes Russia’s foreign policy towards the Baltic states more aggressive.

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Underdevelopment has plagued Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), since independence the post-colonial African states have experienced extreme poverty, unemployment, and other economic ailments that have persisted in the region. The aim of this thesis is to critique the null hypothesis of dependency theorists that it is structural factors that cause underdevelopment instead this study proposes an alternative hypothesis through Neo-Classical Realism to explain that it is in fact state-level actors and domestic issues that are the true culprit of causing the dependent variable. The methodological approach is a single embedded case-study with an explaining-outcome process-tracing. The thesis found that the cause of the underdevelopment in Nigeria is firmly rooted in the domestic sphere and that it delves much deeper than the main factors; resource dependence, lax institutions, prebendalism, and Sino-Nigerian relations, but it is the socio-political culture that has produced the norms which the elites operate on and possibly contributing to the exasperation of the negative aspects of the main factors that have perpetuated and sustained underdevelopment in Nigeria and SSA.

The aim of this thesis is to gain improved understanding of the income convergence between Finland and Sweden 1950-2000 with a focus on catch-up growth, wage formation, productivity growth, migration and structural change in a setting of structural and institutional differences on the factor markets. Earlier studies of Finnish and Swedish convergence has overlooked the international perspective and therefore missed the general European – US convergence during the period. The results shows that Sweden converged to 80 percent of the US productivity level in the early 1970s and is following US productivity growth thereafter. The Finnish catch-up growth towards the US continues until the beginning of the 1990s. This corresponds well with the convergence of labour productivity between Finland and Sweden which took place around 1970 and the gap was closed in the beginning of the 1990s. The convergence between the countries can therefore be understood from the catch-up growth against the USA and if the countries growth rates are plotted against their income level 1950 one can see that the two countries are well in line with other West European countries. This means that either country is deviating in a positive or negative direction during the period. This is to some extent in contrast with the view that has been put forward in the countries national economic historical writing where Finland is often since as a growth miracle while Sweden especially since 1970s is seen as a case of falling behind.      In order to explain the convergence scenario structural and institutional differences on the countries factor markets is examined. One aspect concerns Barry Eichengreens hypothesis regarding wage moderation as cause of the Post-War European convergence. The wage setting system in Sweden has been put forward by Eichengreen as a raw model for the type of institutional setting that would promote wage moderation. One central finding in this thesis is that we can not find support for wage moderation for Sweden as the labour share of the national income rises during the phase of Swedish catch-up growth while the labour income share was constant and periodically falling in Finland. In contrast with the view of the Finnish low interest rate policy during the post- the actual real interest rate was lower in Sweden.      There has also been a significant migration flow from Finland to Sweden especially from the 1950s to mid 1970s.  In the thesis we find a positive and significant relationship between wage and productivity differences on industry level between the countries. This supports the conclusion that migration was leading towards factor price convergence between the countries.      The shift-share analysis shows that there were higher gains for the productivity growth in reallocating labour on the Finnish labour market than in Sweden. This could be explained by the higher share of the labour in the agricultural sector as predicted by Peter Temin.

This thesis attempts to throw light on the underlying reasons behind the economic ambivalence between EU countries. In this sense, Greece and Sweden will be posted at the center of my research interest. For this purpose, Intersectionality theory as well as Neo liberalism and Neoclassical economics will be used in such a way that will assist me to disclose the deep causes of this inequality and to further examine how intersections of gender, age/generation and class are intertwined and affect the youth and elderly in both countries. Furthermore, both qualitative and quantitative data will be applied in a way that will enable me to compare and contrast the two social groups chosen. Having demonstrated that, I will move a step forward by narrowing down my research focus on how the youth in both countries react against this kind of social exclusion.

This study was focused on reasons for ineffectiveness of agri-environmental measure, which is the policy in which the state compensates farmers for losses caused when participating at production of public goods. The work selected as a subject of the study agri-environmental contract and its characteristics and other institutions, of which maturity influence the effects of that policy. The main goal was to identify these characteristics of contract and assess their balance in relation to the purpose and subject of the contract and long term benefit of both sides of the contract. Attitudes on the maturity of the contract characteristics have been collected between farmers and state administrators in survey (as sites of the contract) on national level and also in four regional case studies. It was revealed that most of the contract characteristics were not mature enough to serve to long term benefit for both sides of the contract, which decreases potential effectiveness of the agri-environmental policy. These are for example: information availability, trust between sides of the contract, tendencies to strategic behaviour, power distribution in the contract, sharing risks in the contract, adequacy of compensation level. Control and penalty system was regarded as rather adequate. Not mature institutions and characteristics of the contract increase transaction costs of both sides of the contract and decrease willingness to renew the contracts in future. The results of the research are for the state administration a good base for improvement of the contract in order to increase effectiveness of the agri-environmental policy in question.