27 research outputs found
Women and Land Governance in Selected African Countries: A Review
No full textIn most African countries, land and land rights are governed by sociocultural norms, which have a significant impact on gender relations. Women are seldom involved in land decision-making from their homes and communities to land administration institutions and ministries. Gender concerns have featured prominently on the development platform, and the land management and policy responses of many countries have focused on gender inequities. Despite advances in gender equality provisions in land policy, the experiences of the countries reported in this article reveal that women have limited to no participation in land governance because of patriarchal sociocultural constructs. Progressive local and national policies do not assure women’s participation in land governance. The need to modify attitudes and practices is more closely tied to improving women’s participation in land governance than any other legal issue. Lobbying and awareness initiatives are therefore required to change the mindsets and customary behaviours of the stakeholders
Narrative Strategies in Benedikte Naubert's Neue Volksmarchen der Deutschen
No full textNo abstract available
'One equal music’: The royal college of music, its inception and the legacy of Sir George Grove 1883-1895
No full textThe establishment of the Royal College of Music (RCM) in 1883 represents the denouement of an eighteenth-century movement to found a conservatoire with a national remit in Britain. Whether motivated by the desire to rival Continental conservatoires to generate and develop an environment in which a worthy successor to Purcell could be nurtured or to create an indigenous musical workforce to obtain direct control of market forces, the RCM was seen as a panacea in the light of the demise of the experimental National Training School for Music (1876-1882) and the ineffectual Royal Academy of Music founded in 1822. The NTSM's financial concerns led Sir Henry Cole to approach the Royal Commission of 1851 for aid. In return for a meagre grant, the Commission insisted the NTSM remodel its management and constitution on pain of eviction from buildings on the Kensington Estate. Cole's approach to 1851 Commissionets precipitated the involvement of the Prince of Wales and other senior members of the Court that led directly to the establishment of the RCM in 1878.Attempts to institute the RCM as a quango to regulate the music profession alongside music education both at elementary school and university level were intended to provide ideal circumstances for inducing comprehensive treasury assistance where the NTSM failed. When this proved elusive, a contingency was provided by George Grove (first RCM Director from 1882) who, at the request of the Prince of Wales, imtiated a capital fund. The introduction of fee-paying students alongside scholars provided financial security that distanced the College & insolvency. Substantial growth in numbers during the first few years forced Grove and the Council to address the issue of a new building. Grove's appointment of an unrivalled professorial staff and the development of a rigorous curriculum, whose inspiration was to be found within the Continental traditions in France and Germany, had paid dividends. By 1894, the results of RCM's pedagogical methods were respected across Europe. The appointment of Grove's neighbour, Alexander Mackenzie, as Principal of the RAM heralded an environment for mutual co-operation between two rival institutions. The institution of local examinations under the Associated Board of the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music from 1889 marked the conclusion of further attempts to amalgamate the two institutions. The foundation of both the Associated Board was intended to provide a remedy to the shortage of suitably-qualified candidates entering for scholarships and to improve music tuition among school children as set out in the RCM's 1883 charter. The coalition created formidable opposition to Halle's proposal to establish a chartered Royal College of Music in Manchester (RMCM) in 1893 and Parliament's attempts to include music within the provision of the bill for the regulation and registration of teachers. The foundation of the Associated Board allowed Grove to begin implementing the RCM's remit to lead the music profession on both a national and imperial scale. The RCM's national and European reputation established by Grove was consolidated under the directorate of his successor, c. Hubert H. Parry, who confirmed the RCM's global reputation to which other, fledgling institutions, such as New York's Juilliard School of Music, came to aspke. Grove's initiatives, which began the process of emancipating composer and performer alike, went on to transform Britain's international musical reputation within a generation, the ramifications of which continue to affect us more than a century later
Analyzing the Dynamics of Residential Properties’ Rent in Ede, Nigeria
No full textRental movement is an important parameter in real estate investment and can influence the supply of rental accommodations in the property market. This study empirically analyzed the trend in rents and growth rates of five residential property categories comprising tenement room, one room self-contained, room and parlour self-contained, two bedroom flat and three bedroom flat to determine the property with highest trend and growth rate; and whether the growth rates across the five property categories differ significantly in the study area between 2002 and 2017. The study utilized residential properties’ annual rent as primary data. The primary data was collected through questionnaire administered on landlords who rented their properties within the study period and comprised rental values of five residential property categories between 2002 and 2017. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques such as frequency table, chart, ANOVA and linear regression were used to analyze the data collected. The results revealed that annual rental values of all the selected residential properties maintained upward trend over the period studied. Three bedroom flat had the highest trend in rent and highest R2 value (0.89) implying it is the property whose rental values can be most ascertained with each successive year under study. The findings furthermore revealed that the average yearly growth rates of the selected residential properties ranged from 17.01% to 20.83% during the study period with three bedroom flat having the highest growth rate. The ANOVA result however suggested that the mean rental growth rates across the selected residential property categories at 95% confidence level were not significantly different F (4, 70) = 0.345 P = .847 > .05. This study brings to fore the localized rental income levels and the impacts they have on rental growth rates, which is necessary in the process of understanding investment returns in the residential submarket
Evaluating the attitudes of real estate students toward property valuation
No full textProperty valuation is a capstone course for real estate professionals and an essential component of core knowledge in real estate education. The prominence of real estate in the investment market and information asymmetries have created a demand for property valuation all around the world. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that real estate students rarely have positive attitudes toward property valuation. This condition can hinder understanding the contents and acquiring the requisite valuation skills as attitudes are critical for learning. It has been contended that developing positive attitudes should be the desired course goal. This study employs quantitative research designs to evaluate the attitudes of real estate students toward property valuation to determine whether the desired goal has been achieved. A self-administered questionnaire containing a modified SATS-36 attitudes assessment scale was distributed to all 87 Higher National Diploma (HND) I students after the first semester's valuation course. The findings suggested that the sampled students' attitudes toward property valuation were not negative. The students recognise the importance of property valuation for their careers, are ready to put up the effort to understand and acquire valuation skills, and believe they can learn property valuation. This study recommends that the pilot instrument used in this study be expanded to other polytechnics, universities, and nations in order to gather general data that may be used to guide the development of positive attitudes
Barthes, Bakhtin, Structuralism: A Reassessment
No full textPhDThe thesis is a comparative analysis of the shared ideas and concerns in the works of
Mikhail Bakhtin and Roland Barthes from the point of view of differences between
French and Slavic literary structuralisms. Its background argument is that the
structuralism developed in the later works of the Russian Formalists and by Prague
Structuralists and Soviet Semioticians is more historically and socially oriented than its
French version, defining the structure of a literary work as a system of all of its
elements and effects (even those that take us outside of the text, like literary tradition
and historical and political circumstances). In this sense, Bakhtin can be seen as a part
of the Slavic structuralist tradition (and not opposed to it as is often claimed), and
Barthes (seen throughout his career) is on the whole perhaps closer to the Slavic
structuralism than he is to the French.
The particular problems discussed are those of the relationship between
literature and ideology, the notions of intertextuality, heteroglossia, dialogism and
polyphony and the differences between them, and the role of the author.
Barthes and Bakhtin shared a lifelong interest in the role of ideology in literature
and the influence of authoritarian language or myth on culture in general and the literary
text in particular. They looked for ways in which the deadening effect of the
mythological (epic, monological) thought and word can be counteracted through
literature, and different versions of what Kristeva termed 'intertextuality' played an
important part in their treatment of the subject. They also both discussed the role of the
author and their voice in the literary text, and the question of their power over the text,
its characters (Bakhtin) and the reader (Barthes).
The main thread of Barthes and Bakhtin's thought focuses on the problem of
counteracting authoritarian language through literature, and the solutions they proposed
can fruitfully be seen in the light of Slavic structuralism's notions of literary structure
Boundless Venus: the Crossover of the Conscious and Unconscious in the Works of Haruki Murakami
No full textThe objective of this thesis, Boundless Venus, is to examine consciousness in the
works of the contemporary Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. Principally the
discussion concerns itself with the unconscious, its conduits, its benefits upon the
conscious; which lead to the transformation of the self and structure of the literature.
Although the subject has been touched upon before, the conscious and unconscious
have previously been examined as exclusive concepts in Murakami. This research
will be looking at the recent change in the ‘crossover’ between these concepts,
which makes the concepts no longer two mutually exclusive concepts but ‘inclusive
concepts’. This is vital to understanding Murakami’s more recent works and the
nature of his influence on literature.
Boundless Venus explores the entire works of Haruki Murakami, principally his
most recent novel 1Q84 (2011) and his novels Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the
End of the World (1991) and The Wind-up Bird Chronicle (1997). It approaches the
work from a psychoanalytic and critical point of view and focuses on significant
narrative techniques, character development, and themes such as sex, music, and
dreams, used by Murakami to explore the relationship between the conscious and
unconscious and to narrate the crossover between the two
Serum Midkine, estimated glomerular filtration rate and chronic kidney disease-related events in elderly women: Perth Longitudinal Study of Aging Women
No full text© 2020, The Author(s). Midkine (MDK), a heparin-binding growth factor cytokine, is involved in the pathogenesis of kidney diseases by augmenting leukocyte trafficking and activation. Animal models and small case control studies have implicated MDK as a pathological biomarker in chronic kidney diseases (CKD), however this is yet to be confirmed in prospective human studies. In a prospective study of 499 elderly, predominantly Caucasian women aged over 70 years the association between serum MDK collected in 1998, and renal function change and the risk of CKD-related hospitalisations and deaths at 5 and 14.5 years, respectively, was examined. Baseline serum MDK was not associated with 5-year change in estimated glomerular filtration rate using the CKD Epidemiology Collaboration creatinine and cystatin C equation (Standardised β = − 0.09, 95% confidence interval − 3.76–0.48, p = 0.129), 5-year rapid decline in renal function (odds ratio = 0.97, 95% confidence interval 0.46–2.02, p = 0.927) or the risk of 14.5-year CKD-related hospitalisations and deaths (hazard ratio = 1.27, 95% confidence interval.66–2.46, p = 0.470) before or after adjusting for major risk factors. In conclusion, in this cohort of elderly women with normal or mildly impaired renal function, serum MDK was not associated with renal function change or future CKD-related hospitalisations and deaths, suggesting that MDK may not be an early biomarker for progression of CKD
Scenography and new media technologies: history, educational applications and visualization techniques
No full textThe endemic presence of digital technology is responsible for numerous changes in contemporary Western societies. This study examines the role of multimedia within the field of theatre studies, with particular focus on the theory and practice of theatre design and education. In the cross-disciplinary literature review, I investigate such primary elements of contemporary media as interactivity, immersion, integration and hyper-textuality, and explore their characteristics in the performing arts before and during the digital epoch. I also discuss various IT applications that transformed the way we experience, learn and co-create our cultural heritage. In order to illustrate how computer-generated environments could change the way we perceive and deliver cultural values, I explore a suite of rapidly-developing communication and computer-visualization techniques, which enable reciprocal exchange between viewers, theatre performances and artefacts. I analyze novel technology-mediated teaching techniques that attempt to provide a new media platform for visually-enhanced information transfer.
My findings indicate that the recent changes towards the personalization of knowledge delivery and also towards student-centered study and e-learning necessitated the transformation of the learners from passive consumers of digital products to active and creative participants in the learning experience. The analysis of questionnaires and two case studies (the THEATRON and the VA projects) demonstrate the need for further development of digital-visualization techniques, especially for studying and researching scenographic artefacts. As a practical component of this thesis, I have designed and developed the Set-SPECTRUM educational project, which aims to strengthen the visual skills of the students, ultimately enabling them to use imagery as a creative tool, and as a means to analyze theatrical performances and artefacts. The 3D reconstruction of Norman Bel Geddes' set for The Divine Comedy, first of all, enables academic research of the artefact, exposing some hitherto unknown design-limitations in the original set-model, and revealing some construction inconsistencies; secondly, it contributes to educational and creative practices, offering an innovative way to learn about scenography. And, thirdly, it fills a gap in the history of the Western theatre design.
This study attempts to show that when translated into digital language, scenographic artefacts become easily retrievable and highly accessible for learning and research purposes. Therefore, the development of such digital products should be encouraged, but care should also be taken to provide the necessary training for users, in order to realize the applications' full potential
The inner journey : pilgrimage in South Africa and the modern world
No full textWord processed copy.Includes bibliographical references.At the heart of this thesis lies the argument that pilgrimage is a universal, longrooted, normal and vital aspect of human behaviour that shows no sign of abating in the modern world; that is is a fluid and flexible process, imbued with a multiplicity of meanings and functions that may fall inside or outside the authentication of large religious traditions and certainly existed before them; that the primary measure of pilgrimage should be that of intent or purpose and therefore pilgrimages can be categorised according to function; and that the inner journey is the most important feature of authentic pilgrimage but does not overrule obligation or traditional practice
