This dissertation is an ethnography on Filu, officially certified as maroon group since 2005, with a population of 42 families of approximately 200 inhabitants. It is geographically located in Água Fria village, municipality of Santana do Mundaú – in the state of Alagoas. In this setting, my attention focused mainly on the fact of a high rate of albinism among them. This phenomenon , considered pathological by Western medicine has become, over the recent years, a distinguishing feature in the construction of their identity as quilombola population. Thus, it is a study that takes into account mainly the understanding on how albinism among Filu is perceived by themselves. It is also focused on how albinism is defined by the health care system and by the Western medicine. These data complement the objective of this work. The main focus therefore is to observe the social factors that are related to this phenomenon of albinism and how different actors observe and act in various settings. I also seek to understand, through the bond of solidarity and analysis of their speeches , how these interlocutors affirm their quilombola identity and how albinism becomes a border demarcation mechanism among the Filu. / Esta dissertação é uma etnografia sobre os Filú, grupo certificado como quilombola desde o ano 2005, composto por 42 famílias, com população de aproximadamente 200 habitantes. É situado geograficamente no povoado de Água Fria, município de Santana do Mundaú, estado de Alagoas. Nesse contexto, minha atenção se voltou, principalmente, ao fato de eles possuírem um alto índice de albinismo. Esse fenômeno, considerado patológico pela medicina ocidental, tornou-se, ao longo dos últimos anos, um marco diferencial na construção de sua identidade de população quilombola. Trata-se, assim, de um estudo que leva em consideração compreender principalmente como o albinismo entre os Filú é percebido por eles mesmos. Também é focalizado como o albinismo é definido pela assistência médica e pela medicina ocidental. Esses dados serão complementares ao objetivo desse trabalho. O foco principal, no entanto, é observar os fatores sociais que estão relacionados a esse fenômeno do albinismo e como os diversos atores se observam e atuam em variados contextos. Busco compreender também, por meio dos laços de solidariedade e da análise de seus os discursos, a forma como esses interlocutores autoafirmam sua identidade quilombola e como o albinismo torna-se um mecanismo de demarcação de fronteiras entre os Filú.

Ce doctorat lie les vestiges lithiques fragmentés et dispersés par des décennies de labours des terrasses marines constituant le site de La Martre (Gaspésie, Québec, Canada), pour y dégager certaines limites d’intelligibilité et de perceptibilité, et en tracer de nouvelles. Les labours forment un palimpseste archéologique spécifique : ils ont créé un effet de décontextualisation des pratiques lithiques contenues dans les bords de chaque biface et éclat lorsque les contextes de déposition permettant de rapprocher certains vestiges et d’en éloigner d’autres, et permettant d’exercer un contrôle chronologique sur ces vestiges ont été perturbés. Les seuls repères chronologiques disponibles sont (i.) un plancher d’habitabilité suivant la déglaciation du versant nord de la Gaspésie ; (ii.) l’exondation de terrasses marines dues au retrait de la mer de Goldthwait ; (iii.) des pointes de projectile dites « Plano » ayant permis d’affilier dans des travaux antérieurs une partie de La Martre au « Paléoindien récent » (entre 11 600 à 8000 cal BP dans le Nord-est américain). Conséquemment, les repères chronologiques de La Martre flottent dans une marée lithique mouvante formée de bifaces et d’éclats dans les labours sans le contrôle permis par les contours que des contextes de déposition mieux préservés permettraient. Ce contrôle préalable est indispensable pour pouvoir délimiter les échelles justifiant l’utilisation de certaines théories et méthodes d’analyse. Il est considéré que ces problèmes contextuels ne justifient aucunement l’exclusion des labours d’une narration archéologique, à condition d’opérer un renversement de nos pratiques. Les labours permettent d’exacerber des problèmes théoriques, épistémologiques et méthodologiques, constitutifs de toute pratique archéologique et que des contextes non labourés rendent invisibles. Ces problèmes peuvent être ramenés à celui provoqué par la bifurcation du réel, un geste qui, en séparant l’esprit de la matière, sépare un réel en deux et maintient l’un attaché à ce qui en est déjà connu et en bloque le développement et la transformation. Les labours marquent une première étape d’émancipation de ce réel bifurqué en nous forçant à renverser notre rapport à lui pour partir d’un réel mouvant et dispersé dans lequel une conscience perçoit et pense. Raconter des histoires lithiques dans les labours de La Martre, c’est donc prolonger ce renversement initié par ces labours en suivant ses mouvements constitutifs : ceux d’une conscience, de la taille de la pierre, des labours et de nos descriptions. C’est développer de nouvelles histoires qu’un ancrage dans un réel bifurqué inhibe. Il est proposé ici que ce renversement soit prolongé par un mouvement descriptif par lequel quinze surfaces de dispersion sont progressivement tracées : (i.) des terrasses labourées, les stations 15 et 16 de La Martre ; (ii.) des supports transformés ; (iii.) des chaînes opératoires ; (iv.) un échantillon de 447 supports transformés ; (v.) un continuum de réduction ; (vi) l’intégrité d’un support ; (vii.) les compétences ; (viii.) la matière première ; (ix.) les objectifs de taille ; (x.) les groupes techniques ; (xi.) des flux lithiques ; (xii.) une combinatoire de compétences ; (xiii.) des évolutions possibles ; (xiv.) des lieux ; (xv.) des séquences de production. Ces surfaces permettent de diversifier la taille de la pierre plutôt que de l’épurer ; de changer les conditions dans lesquelles des outils méthodologiques tels que la chaîne opératoire ou les stades d’une séquence de réduction peuvent être utilisés ; de repartir de mouvements et de rapports constitutifs de La Martre plutôt que de groupes ou d’individus préalablement définis ; de différencier les terrasses marines pour circonscrire un lieu, 16-ouest, structuré par des dynamiques socioculturelles d’apprentissage et de distinction dont émergent diverses séquences de production capturant des compétences et des objectifs divers ; de reconnecter La Martre au paysage du Nord- est paléoindien pour en diversifier les histoires lithiques et archéologiques ; de travailler dans un entre-deux : entre deux lieux, entre deux paysages, entre deux formes émergeant de nos histoires sans que ces histoires ne s’y arrêtent. Raconter des histoires lithiques dans les labours de La Martre, c’est donc effectuer un quadruple travail narratif qui ailleurs n’aurait pas eu besoin d’être fait : (i.) explorer les façons dont les tailleurs et tailleuses de La Martre s’engageaient avec leur paysage en taillant la pierre ; (ii.) analyser les conditions permettant de raconter ces histoires anthropologiques ; (iii.) créer de nouvelles conditions permettant de raconter de nouvelles histoires ; et (iv.) raconter ces histoires lithiques. / This thesis binds various lithic remains fragmented and scattered by decades of plowing at La Martre (Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec, Canada). Plowing creates a specific type of archaeological palimpsest. It erases units allowing for: the comparison of lithic practices contained within each biface and flake that make up a context; the chronological control of said units; and using various methods and theories according to an archaeological unit’s appropriate scale. A maximum chronological boundary following the deglaciation of the northern Gaspé Peninsula, the exposure of La Martre’s higher terraces by the receding sea, and the production of Plano projectile points (dated to between 11 600 and 9000 cal BP in northeastern America) provide archaeologists with some chronological control that floats within La Martre’s hundreds of thousands of lithic remains. Yet, it is argued that plowing cannot preclude archaeologists from telling lithic and other stories, provided that some practices and habits are changed. Indeed, plowing points to theoretical, epistemological and methodological problems that elsewhere may have remained invisible. These problems pertain to the bifurcation of reality inhibiting its development by laying down a ready- made and unchanging reality prior to any engagement with it. Plowing requires for this specific engagement with reality to be turned upside down, starting from a moving and dispersed reality that a consciousness perceives and thinks with. Telling lithic stories at La Martre requires that this turn be extended by following its movements: that of a conscience, of knapping and of plowing; thus telling new stories that a bifurcated relationship to reality had inhibited. It is suggested here that this turn be extended using description along fifteen dispersion surfaces: (i.) two plowed terraces, stations 15 and 16; (ii.) shaped blanks; (iii.) chaînes opératoires; (iv.) a sample of 447 shaped blanks; (v.) a reduction continuum; (vi.) shaped blank integrity; (vii.) skill; (viii.) raw material; (ix.) knapping objectives; (x.) technical groups; (xi.) lithic fluxes; (xii.) skill combinatorics; (xiii.) possible evolutions; (xiv.) places; (xv.) production sequences. Such surfaces allow for several things: first, for knapping diversification rather than refining; second, for changing the condition of use of the chaîne opératoire or the reduction sequence; third, for starting from movement and relationships rather than defined groups or individuals; fourth, for differentiating La Martre’s plowed terraces; fifth, for delimiting a place, 16-West, structured by the sociocultural dynamics of learning and distinction; sixth, for growing several production sequences; seventh, for reconnecting La Martre to the northeastern Paleoindian landscape and multiplying its lithic and archaeological stories; and eighth, for working within the “in between” places, landscapes and shapes that grow from such stories. Thus, telling lithic stories within La Martre’s plowed fields is a fourfold narrative: (i.) exploring how past people engaged with their landscape through knapping; (ii.) deconstructing conditions allowing for such an exploration; (iii.) creating new conditions allowing for new stories to be told; and (iv.) telling these new stories.

Public and private incentive programs have encouraged conversions to high efficiency, low emissions wood heating systems as a strategy to promote renewable energy and support local economies in the Northeastern US. Despite these efforts, the adoption of these systems remains slow. The study that is the subject of this dissertation examines several social, economic, policy and environmental factors that affect the decisions of individuals and small-scale institutions (local business and community facilities) to transition to automated wood pellet boilers and furnaces (AWPH) utilizing local fuel sources. Due to the complexity and risk associated with conversion, the transition to these systems can help further both a practical and theoretical understanding of the global transition to non-fossil fuel technologies. Chapter One of this dissertation examines this notion in more detail, as well as spells out the research questions of this study. Chapter Two delves into the research methods and their implications for other studies of energy transitions. These methods include interviews with 60 consumers, technology and fuel suppliers, and NGO and state agency personnel. These provided in-depth qualitative data which are complemented by a four-state survey (New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, and Maine) of adopters and informed non-adopters of AWPH systems (n=690; 38% response rate). Interview and survey questions, as well as subsequent coding, was developed through use of diffusion of innovation theory, the multi-level perspective on sociotechnical transitions, as well as through collaboration with industry experts and research partners. Chapters Three and Four offer a discussion of the results and their implications. Specifically, Chapter Three examines the complex system actors, elements, and interactions that are part of the transition from fossil fuel technology to AWPH. Chapter Four focuses on the data surrounding state and private programs that encourage the use of AWPH and the implications that this data has for effective climate mitigation and energy policy. Data show that AWPH consumers, who should be considered “early adopters” due to the small number of AWPH adopters in the region, are largely value-driven but are also concerned about upfront costs and lack of available technical support and fuel delivery options. Both environmental values (e.g. desire to find alternative to fossil fuels, concern for air quality and belief in climate change) and social values (e.g. support for the local economy and wood products industry) influenced consumer decisions, especially when fuel oil prices were low. Financial incentives, which are offered by all four states in the study region, were highly influential, but additional decision support offered by a non-profit (e.g. site visits, informational workshops, local print media) were rated highly by consumers where they were available. These additional supports, as well as the community-based nature of the non-profit program, enabled a broader range of people (lower income, more risk averse) to choose AWPH as well as created more efficiency in the supply chain. This approach created a reinforcing feedback loop between broader early adopters of AWPH, normalization of AWPH technology and its associated infrastructure, and increased levels of technical support and fuel availability. These findings suggest that efforts to increase adoption of renewable technologies that use locally harvest fuels take a community-based and system-wide approach, targeting both consumer and supplier motivations and barriers.

The Permian Meade Peak Member of the Phosphoria Formation was examined at four localities in this investigation. Fossils were collected at each locality. The four collecting localities visited in this investigation are: Brazier Canyon, Utah, Montpelier Canyon, Idaho, Coal Canyon, Wyoming, and Cokeville, Wyoming. The environment of deposition of the Meade Peak Member in the study area is inferred to have been an outer shelf or basin characterized by moderately deep and quiet water. This has aided reconstruction of life habits, population dynamics, and growth characteristics of the examined species. The articulate brachiopod Leiorhynchoidea weeksi is inferred to have attached itself to the substrate by means of a pedicle. The observed variability in the sulcus of this species is assumed to have been influenced by intraspecific competition, which may reflect partitioning of nutrient resources at different levels in the water above the substrate. The articulate brachiopod Lissochonetes ostiolatus probably assumed an unattached existence, lying free on the substrate. Several population samples exhibited stunted growth relative to the L. ostiolatus population sample from Montpelier Canyon. Two environmental variants possibly contributed to the inhibition of growth. These are negative Eh, inferred from the associated organic matter in the lithologies, and competition for space. Lingula carbonaria an inarticulate brachiopod, is thought to have had an infaunal mode of life. A population sample of L. carbonaria from Cokeville exhibits substantially larger morphologic mean sizes than two other population samples. These differences can be explained by the fact the sandy lithology from which the larger collection was taken was associated with conditions which facilitated growth. Also, availability of phosphate, inferred from the P2O5 content of the lithology, probably accelerated growth because inarticulates utilize calcium phosphate as shell material. Orbiculoidea missouriensis is an inarticulate brachiopod. It is inferred to have been attached to the substrate by a pedicle. OF the three population samples of O. missouriensis analyzed, the sample from Brazier Canyon displays larger morphologic mean sizes. This is interpreted as indicating that reducing conditions, inferred from associated organic matter, were milder in that environment. The gastropod bablyonites ferrieri displaysa a low, expanded from, and is thought to have crawled over the surface of the sediment. The food source of this gastropod is not known, but may have been algae, carrion, detritus, or soft-bodied invertebrates. Two bivalves collected are assumed to have been shallow burrowing, labial palp feeders. Both Nuculopsis montpelierensis and polidevcia obesa represent this mode of life. Of the two population samples of P. obesa examined, the one from Cokeville displays larger morphologic means. The environmental stimuli proposed for this difference is competition and an inferred softer substrate in the montpelier assemblage. The bivalve Edmondia phosphatica is inferred to have been a shallow burrowing, siphonate species. Streblochondria montpelierensis and Aviculopecten phosphaticus are bivalves related to modern pectenoids. S. montpelierensis is assumed to have been a byssally attached epifaunal bivalve. The environmental factors influencing the morphologic variation are also inferred to have affected size-frequency distributions and survivorship curves. The effects of reducing conditions have resulted in higher juvenille mortality and/or inhibited growth. Coarser substrates have yielded population samples that exhibit negatively skewed distributions, whereas finer-grained substrates have yielded positively skewed distributions. Growth curves constructed for each population sample generally show a decline in growth rate with age. Some linear trends are noted. Growth lines were used to infer an approximate life span for each species. Conservative approximations of the life spans of the examined species are: L. weeksi, 9 years; L. ostiolatus, 5 years; L. carbonaria, 8 years; A. phosphaticus, 4 years; O. missouriensis, 2.3 years; P. obesa, 5 years; and B. ferrieri, 3.4 years.

Tropical cyclone (TC)-spawned tornadoes in Florida were analyzed to determine patterns of occurrence based on storm and geographic features. Tornadoes were determined to be associated with a landfalling or nearby TC if a tornado occurred within 800 km of the TC’s center of circulation. TC-tornadoes were analyzed for patterns based on distance and angle from TC’s center, topographic influences, population biases, and influence based on time of landfall. Most TC-Tornadoes tend to occur more often before landfall than after. It was discovered that tornadoes have occurred in different areas with respect to the bearing from the center depending on the landfall location and time of landfall. It was also discovered that land use type, and elevation had little to do with TC-Tornado occurrence. The results do suggest some population bias. The findings will be a guide for operational meteorologists to aid in forecasting likely tornadogenesis from TCs.

The development of digital solutions has changed the way consumers complete purchases today. New distribution channels through internet and mobile applications have come to challenge the business of traditional retailers. Thus, retailers must find new ways of keeping customers loyal to the store. One way of retaining customers is to provide a more prominent customer experience. This study focuses on technological solutions for the food retail industry that enables the creation of this experience, more specifically self-scanning applications provided by the Swedish company Datema.The Swedish market, in which Datema acts, is among the most technologically advanced in the world regarding self-scanning solutions and has begun to reach a maturity phase. This, along with desires to expand the marketplace, has created an attraction to larger foreign markets such as North America. Similarities in business culture and a strong buying power have led to a certain interest in the Northeastern part of America. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate the need for self-scanning solutions in this specific area and to provide recommendations for how the market could be targeted.To create an overview of the market structure the consumer market has been studied through an in-depth literature review of the latest market investigations. Furthermore, the technological level of Northeastern supermarket chains was investigated through market observations and interviews with store managers in Boston, Massachusetts. To create the holistic view of the market, interviews with experts in the US retail market and with US IT-vendors were conducted. Additionally, interviews with management consultants and experts in market entries have contributed to answering the question of how the market should be entered. Finally, in order to provide conclusions and recommendations, the results have been analyzed with relevant literature and theories within marketing, change management and entry mode management.The findings in this master thesis indicates that there is a need for technological solutions that enhance the customer experience in the Northeastern American food retail market. Furthermore, the technological level of the existing supermarket chains in Boston is considered low and that the level and acceptance varies with the store concept. The previous resistance towards implementation of new technological solutions in the stores was found to mainly depend on a low knowledge, low trust in the consumers and fear of losing customer interaction.Datema is recommended to address the middle and high-end supermarket chains with a follower approach. Further recommendations include that the market should be entered through a joint venture with a local partner.

Since the 2019 territorial defeat of the Islamic State (IS) in northeastern Syria, thousands of foreign nationals affiliated with the Islamic militant group have been detained in refugee camps and prisons in the region - the humanitarian conditions of which have come under increased scrutiny. As a result, the repatriation of these individuals has become a contentious migration-related policy issue and has led to diverse state responses. In the North American context, there is a striking contrast between Canada’s ‘passive’ approach and the United States’ ‘active’ role in these repatriation efforts. Through a comparative critical discourse analysis (CDA) using Fairclough’s methodological three-step framework and Balzacq’s sociological securitization theory, the public rationale of Canadian-American policy diversion is explored. As a result, this study contributes new knowledge to the field, providing unique insights on how and why two closely-allied countries justify their engagement with IS- affiliated citizens in fundamentally different ways.

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La découverte du site Nepress (BiEr-21) en 2004 et les saisons de fouilles subséquentes ont permis de découvrir de nombreux vestiges archéologiques. Ce mémoire a donc pour objectif de déterminer l’identité culturelle des occupants qui ont fréquenté le site, en prenant en considération les activités rituelles et la stratégie d’approvisionnement en matière lithique. Pour y parvenir, une analyse morpho-métrique de l’assemblage lithique a été effectuée. La distribution intra-site des artéfacts a également été prise en considération lors de l’analyse. Une séquence chronologique du Nord-Est américain remontant au Sylvicole inférieur est présentée dans ce mémoire. Une période d’occupation semble dominer sur le site Nepress, soit le Sylvicole inférieur. Cette manifestation est caractérisée par la présence d’artéfacts diagnostiques de la culture Meadowood. Ces objets sont un grattoir triangulaire bifacial Meadowood, ainsi qu’une imitation de pointe de type box-base. / The discovery of the Nepress site (BiEr-21) in 2004 and the subsequent excavations have revealed many archaeological remains. This thesis has seeks to determine the cultural identity of the site’s occupants, taking into account their ritual activities and their lithic procurement strategy. To achieve this, a morpho-metric analysis of the lithic assemblage was undertaken. The intra-site artifact distribution was also taken into account. A chronological sequence for Northeastern North America going back to the Early Woodland is presented. The Early Woodland appears to dominate the occupation of the Nepress site. This is characterised by the presence of diagnostic artifacts of the Meadowood culture. These objects are a triangular bifacial Meadowood scraper, as well as an imitation of a projectile point.