173 research outputs found
Ke-ko : one step [pour piano] / Mats E. Berg
No full textTitre uniforme : Berg, Mats E. (18..-19.. ; compositeur). Compositeur. [Ke-Ko. Piano]Piano, Musique de -- +* 1900......- 1999......+:20e siècle:One-steps (piano) -- +* 1900......- 1999......+:20e siècle
Spaces of imagination : associational life and the state in post-war, urban Liberia
Full text linkThis ethnography explores social imaginaries in post-war, urban Liberia – a physical and social context dominated by intricacies of past oligarchic rule, dictatorship, brutal civil war and post-war reconstruction. Against this challenging backdrop, this thesis asks: How do Liberians imagine the social to be and how do such imaginaries translate into social practice? Embedded in a political anthropology of the state and conceptually drawing on agency as defined by the interrelated temporal-structural dimensions of the past, present and future (Emirbayer and Mische 1998), this ethnography analyses three political associations and their interrelations with the state. Based on twelve months of empirical field research between 2009 and 2012 in urban Liberia, this thesis shows how ordinary people engage in meticulous social practices of “hustling”, “trying”, studying and maintaining social relations to economically or politically influential persons to forge a living in this insecure, unpredictable setting. Associations create social spaces in which imaginaries are uttered and shared, and inform individual and collective action.
The first association, the Unconstitutionally Disbanded Armed Forces of Liberia (UDAFOL), is a particular group with claims towards the central and sensitive post-war issue of national security. UDAFOL represents the grievances of soldiers that have been disbanded in the implementation of the Security Sector Reform. They consider their disbandment unconstitutional and a political decision. The disgruntled ex-servicemen regularly take to the streets, and address specific state images and practices in various forms of collective action.
The second association is the Concerned Mandingo Society of Liberia (COMASL), a group representing the temporally and situationally marginalized and instrumentalized ethnic group of Liberian Mandingo. As traders and late comers in Liberia, their belonging to the nation-state is contested. Though lawfully placed in the field of formal citizenship according to the constitution, in everyday life, their participation is challenged by discursively formed social boundaries. These boundaries are countered by COMASL on the basis of claims of belonging.
The third association is the West Point Women for Health and Development Organization (WPHD), a women’s association in a Monrovian slum. The association presses for political action in regards to the delivery of public goods and services such as security, justice, sanitation or health care. This association flexibly navigates the donor-sphere as a quite formalized NGO, directly addresses some of the neighborhoods’ problems, and situatively works in cooperation with state actors or mounts pressure on them.
These three associations highlight some particularities and complexities of post-war intricacies and how social spaces create an environment for collective action in response these problems. As the three case studies show, the state plays a central role and is ascribed major responsibility. The associations make claims towards political actors to initiate and catalyze change.
This ethnography shows that state and civil society are not monolithic black boxes but composed of individual actors with various experiences, knowledge and interests, and are very closely interwoven into a “state in society”(Migdal 2001), formed and shaped by multifaceted relationships of claims and state responses. Often overlooked, and highlighted in this thesis, is the existence of official norms that underlie the expectations towards the powerful political leaders that give the state a concrete imagery (Olivier de Sardan 2008). These norms do not emerge randomly, but from the political history of the Liberian state, and through experiences from other states.
From the social actor’s point of view, hence, the Liberian state is not a failed, weak or absent state. Quite to the contrary, it is considered strong, yet its actors are considered to lack political will to meet the needs and to work in the interest of the ordinary people and implement policies that make a change
Avaliação da qualidade da água na Pateira de Fermentelos: caso de estudo na àrea de Projecto
Full text linkMestrado em Ciências das Zonas CosteirasUma das novas propostas da reorganização curricular do Ensino Básico foi a
implementação de uma área curricular não disciplinar denominada Área de
Projecto, que aspira o desenvolvimento de projectos através da articulação de
várias áreas curriculares, procurando a pesquisa e a intervenção em
problemas ou temas, que vão de encontro aos interesses ou necessidades dos
estudantes. No âmbito do tema “Sustentabilidade na Terra”, estudantes do 3º
Ciclo do Ensino Básico desenvolveram um projecto relativo à “Pateira de
Fermentelos”. Esta lagoa encontra-se inserida na bacia hidrográfica do rio
Vouga, na zona centro de Portugal. Actualmente, esta lagoa está a ser
afectada por diversos problemas de poluição e eutrofização, devido, sobretudo
à industrialização e às práticas agrícolas, que contribuem para o
enriquecimento da água em nutrientes. Este processo culmina na enorme
quantidade de Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms, uma planta infestante em
Portugal, que em alguns anos, chega a cobrir todo o espelho de água,
afectando a qualidade da água e todas as espécies autóctones. Preocupados
com esta problemática, os estudantes começaram por investigar aspectos
relativos à geomorfologia, biologia, actividades locais e história regional. O
desenvolvimento do projecto incluiu actividades no exterior da escola, para um
maior contacto com a problemática em estudo, e em sala de aula, de modo a
formularem questões-problema e metodologias, numa tentativa de resolver ou
atenuar alguns dos problemas que afectam a “Pateira de Fermentelos”. O
projecto culminou com campanhas de sensibilização públicas para a
comunidade escolar.
Paralelamente pretendeu-se avaliar os efeitos da presença de Eichhornia
crassipes em três espécies de algas (Chlorella vulgaris, Pseudokirchneriella
subcapitata e Pandorina morum), bem como em duas espécies de cladóceros
(Daphnia magna e Daphnia longispina). Os procedimentos experimentais
foram realizados utilizando diluições sucessivas de amostras de água colhidas
em dois locais na Pateira de Fermentelos: um local coberto por um tapete de
E. crassipes e um outro livre de E. crassipes. Ambas as amostras de água
foram analisadas relativamente a parâmetros fisico-químicos gerais. De um
modo geral, verificou-se o mesmo padrão de respostas para as espécies de
algas: o seu crescimento foi significativamente inibido pelos dois tipos de
águas. Por outro lado, o crescimento dos cladóceros foi estimulado pelos dois
tipos de águas, sendo este facto mais notório na água livre de jacintos. Os
resultados sugerem que a disponibilidade de nutrientes e a presença de E.
crassipes condicionam as respostas das algas e dos cladóceros.One of the new proposals of the curricular reorganization of the Basic School
was the implementation of a non disciplinary curricular area named “Área de
Projecto”, which aspires to develop projects through the articulation of several
curricular areas, and moves around research and intervention on problems or
themes, that are coincident with the students’ needs or interests. In the context
of the organizing theme “Earth Sustainability”, students of the eight grade of the
Basic School have developed an environmental project concerning the “Pateira
de Fermentelos”. This lake is inserted in the Vouga river hydrographical basin,
in the central zone of Portugal. Nowadays, this lake is being affected by several
problems of pollution and eutrophication especially due to the industrialization
and agricultural practices, which contribute to the enrichment of the water’s
nutrients. This process culminates with the huge amount of Eichhornia
crassipes (Mart.) Solms, an infesting plant in Portugal that, in some occasions,
covers the entire water surface, depletes the water quality and affects all
endemic species. Concerned with this problem, the students started to
investigate aspects concerning geomorphology, biology, local activities and
local history. This project as also included outdoor activities to a closer contact
with the problem. In the classroom they formulated problem-questions and
methodologies in an attempt to solve or attenuate some of the problems that
affect the “Pateira de Fermentelos”. The project had its upheaval with
environmental public campaigns for the school community.
This study also deals with the effects of the presence of Eichhornia crassipes in
three green algae species (Chlorella vulgaris, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata
and Pandorina morum), as well as in two cladocerans species (Daphnia magna
and Daphnia longispina). The experiments were performed by using
successive dilutions of water samples collected in two places of this
Portuguese shallow lake: one with E. crassipes bed and another free of E.
crassipes. Both water samples were characterized according to general
physical and chemical parameters. In general, the same pattern of responses
was verified within the algae responses: growth was significantly inhibited by
both water samples. On the other hand, the growth of cladocerans was
stimulated by both water samples, being it more noticeable in the hyacinth free
water. The results suggest that the availability of nutrients and the presence of
E. crassipes condition the algae and cladocerans responses
Experimental Investigation on Patterning of Anchored and Unanchored Aligned Carbon Nanotube Mats by Fluid Immersion and Evaporation
Full text linkPattern formation by capillary forces in a nanoscale system was studied experimentally. Densely packed, vertically aligned mats of order 100 microns in height comprised of 20 nm diameter multi-walled carbon nanotubes were fabricated and treated with various liquids. The carbon nanotubes deflected and rearranged under the action of surface tension as the liquids evaporated, and remained fixed once dried. The size analysis of the resulting patterns in these experiments and in the literature showed they are distributed within one standard deviation from the mean, and there are, in general, many more small sizes than large ones within a pattern.
Preexisting defects in the mats were found to play a significant role in the pattern formation process, both in this work and in the literature, whereas the properties of the specific liquid used and the height of the mats did not.
A novel method for anchoring the aligned mats within another material using spin-coating was developed. An anchored mat made in this way was successfully held in place even under the application of a 5.5 m/s water jet.
The anchoring method allowed the first known investigation of the role of boundary conditions in this pattern formation process. Under identical experimental conditions to cases where patterns are formed in the unanchored mats, it was found that no pattern formation occurs in the anchored mats.
A population balance model based on conservation of area was applied to the pattern formation process, but sufficient details are lacking to make predictions.
The anchoring method and its prevention of pattern formation is a very important finding, and is relevant to applications of the aligned mats, such as field emission displays, supercapacitors, tissue culture scaffolds, and friction drag reducing surfaces.</p
Avance del estudio contextual de los sistemas de canales prehispánicos “fosilizados” del Valle de Tehuacán, Puebla. 29. Arqueología
No full textCaran, S. C., B. M. Winsborough,
J. A. Neely y S. Valastro, Jr.
1995. “Radiocarbon age of carbonate sediments
(travertine, pedoconcretions, and biogenic
carbonates): a new method based on organic
residues, employing stable-isotope control of
carbon sources”, Current Research in the Pleistocene,
núm. 12, Corvallis, Oregon, pp. 75-77.Neely, James A., “Paleoecología, desarrollo cultural, y los usos
de aguas en el Valle de Tehuacán, Puebla,
Mexico”, en: Informe al Consejo de Arqueología
del Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia
de México, México, 1995, mecanuscrito.Neely, J. A., S. C. Caran
y F. Ramirez Sorensen, “The prehispanic and
colonial saltworks of the Tehuacan
Valley and vicinity, southern
Puebla, Mexico”, en: Paper
presented in the Salt II Session at
the 62nd Annual Meeting of the
Society for American Archaeology,
Nashville, Tennessee, 1997.Neely, J. A., S. C. Caran, B. M.
Winsborough, F. Ramirez Sorensen
y S. Valastro, Jr., “An early holocene hand-dug
water well in the Tehuacan Valley
of Puebla, Mexico”, Current
Research in the Pleistocene, núm. 12, Corvallis,
Oregon, 1995a, pp. 38-40.____, “A new approach in dating the prehistoric
‘fossilized’ canals of the Tehuacan Valley of
southern Puebla, Mexico”, Paper presented
to the 60th, Annual Meeting of the Society for
American Archaeology, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1995b.Winsborough, B. M., S. C. Caran,
J. A. Neely y S. Valastro, Jr., “Calcified microbial mats date prehistoric
canals: radiocarbon assay oforganic extracts from
travertine”, Geoarchaeology, núm. 11(1), New York,
John Wiley and Sons Publishers, 1996,
pp. 37-50Woodbury R. B. y J. A. Neely, “Water control systems of the Tehuacan
Valley”, en: R.S. MacNeish (ed.), The Prehistory of
the Tehuacan Valley, núm. 4, Austin, University of
Texas Press, for the R.S. Peabody Foundation, 1972,
pp. 81-153
Learning to extract a large inter-aural level difference in lag clicks
No full textMany blind people learn to use sound reflections to localize objects. However, precedence-effect research has reported evidence both for and against the possibility to improve lateralization of lag clicks preceded by lead clicks. This training study used stimuli more relevant to human echolocation than did previous training studies. One participant, the author, practiced lateralizing a lag-click inter-aural level difference (ILD) of 10 dB for 60 days, with performance measured in the lag-lead peak amplitude ratio at threshold. Clear improvements were observed at interclick intervals of 2-18 ms, suggesting that extracting a large lag-click ILD may improve with practice.</p
Ambivalent elites and conservative modernizers : studying sideways in transnational contexts ; paper for the conference 'Alltag der Globalisierung. Perspektiven einer transnationalen Anthropologie', January 16-18, 2003, Institute of Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main
No full textSpacially dispersed transnational professional communities can be perceived of as cultural formations living in a global frame of reference, transgressing existing political and cultural boundaries. In their capacity as members of local technical and knowledgebased elites, they take part in circulating and connecting cultural meanings that are both locally produced, and continuously re-working non- local flows. I argue that those elites can be described as actors at cultural interfaces, taking part in shaping and mediating social change. The aim is twofold: one, to point to mutually opposed tendencies, and ambivalences in the framework of a „culture of change“, and two, to look into the question how such situations and groups can be methodologically approached
The relationship between periphyton, flow and nutrients in foothill rivers of the south-western Cape, South Africa
No full textIncludes bibliographical references.This thesis examines spatial and temporal patterns in periphyton community composition and biomass and the environmental factors responsible for shaping these communities in south-western Cape rivers. The study focused on two prennial foothill rivers in the south-western Cape: the Berg River, which is oligotrophic but has a large dam (The Berg Dam) situated in its upper reaches; and the Molenaars River, which has a natural flow regime but is moderately enriched by trout farm effluent. Two site on the Berg River (one upstream and one downstream of the Berg Dam) and two on the Molenaars River (one upstream and one downstream of the Du Toit's Kloof trout farm) were used to study temporal dynamics in periphyton communities over a 21-month period between September 2007 and May 2009
Chemistry of some model compounds related to fluorinated polymers
Full text linkThe work described in this thesis is concerned with three areas which are the generation of stable carbocations from saturated model compounds related to poly- vinylidenefluoride, the development of synthetic routes to fluoro-organo-phosphazenes with intention of obtaining some potential additives for perfluoropolyether fluids operating at elevated temperatures, and pericyclic reactions involving fluorinated olefins.1. We reported that some remarkable conjugated cations, and di-cations (4a) are obtained by reaction of hydrofluorocarbon precursors (4) with an excess of antimony pentafluoride. Cations (4a) bear the fluorine atoms at the charged sites, which of course, leads to stabilisation of the systems We investigated the effect of both re-hybridisation and charge on (^13)C, (^19)F, (^1)H n.m.r. chemical shifts and we applied the empirical criterion of (^13)C chemical shifts additivity to these systems to confirm the structure of some carbo-mono-cations and.-di- cations.2. The mechanism of displacement reactions in halophosphazenes was rationalised by reacting the systems in study with selected nucleophiles in competition reactions. Some fluoro-organo-phosphazenes were synthesised using halophosphazenes as starting materials. Different methodologies were used and their effectiveness was limited by the reactivity of the halophosphazenes towards the fluoroalkylating agents. The methodologies used include nucleophilic displacement of the halogen with fluorinated alcohols (R(_F)CH(_2)OH), and perfluoroalkylating agents (eg.: CF(_3)SiMe(_3)); perfluoroalkylation of organo-phosphazene using hexafluoropropene under gamma ray irradiation. Potential stabilising agents for perfluoropolyether fluids were synthesised and their effectiveness was tested.3. Some pericyclic reactions of heptafluorobut-2-ene and hexafluorobut-2-ene with dienes have been studied in an attempt to synthesise a series of benzenoid and heteroaromatic compounds containing two trifluoromethyl groups in high yields
The social lives of lived and inscribed objects: a Lapita perspective
No full textAs James Cook and his men on the Resolution and Discovery sailed through Polynesia and the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America, they were treated to a number of welcome rituals and ceremonial performances. In this paper the author looks beyond the immediate face value of objects to a more rounded understanding of objects and their agency. The author suggests rethinking objects as social interventions and possible events rather than as portals to archaeological information. To do this I will develop a distinction drawn by feminist philosopher Elizabeth Grosz (1994) between lived and inscribed bodies and employ this distinction as a conceptual tool for thinking about the agency of objects, particularly Lapita pottery
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