Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Transformation of periphery'

With the increasing numbers of resource-dying cities in China, the conflict between city’s sustainable development and basic mining industry has been more and more sharp. It is emergency to find a suitable way of future for those cities in danger. This study is based on a special resources - magnesium. By analyzing the magnesium city, Dashiqiao, it is possible to generate a workable future direction for this city and a prompt for other resource-based cities in China. The focus lies in the transformation of the city, and also the transformation of magnesium mining industry. Because the city’s developing is quite relevant to its supporting industry, the magnesium industry in the city is largely influenced the step of urbanization. As we all known that the mining industry caused serious environmental pollution, which restrict the possible land use in those preindustrial land. In another word, the mining industry now is restricting the urbanization. To make sure the transformation happened smoothly, it is important to ease the restrict. And it is where this study started with. Through the study of magnesium industry, it is possible to adapt industrial transformation with city’s urbanization by exploring ignored resources buried in old mining industry, at the meanwhile, reducing the pollution of existing magnesium industry. With the new resources and better environmental condition, the city have a much wider choice for its further development. According to the research of Dashiqiao city’s development, it is now the best time to make a transformation of magnesium industry otherwise it would be late and causes more time and resource to keep the city alive. This study is providing a much more flexible future.
published_or_final_version
Architecture
Master
Master of Landscape Architecture

Taking into account historical as well as sociological differences, the author distinguishes between different modes of socialism. On the periphery of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the combination of modern and traditional elements led to the establishment of hybrid political forms. They could be characterized as bureaucratic-patrimonial and associated with a specific type of state: the „peripheral socialist state“.

On 4 October 2016, three black female students at the University of Witwatersrand (hereafter Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa staged a naked protest to call for a ceasefire during the peak of the #FeesMustFall (FMF) protests. The FMF movement emerged in late 2015 as a student revolt against costly higher education fees especially for black students in South Africa. Armed police fired rubber bullets, stun grenades, and teargas to stop ongoing FMF protests which shut down university operations as students vowed to protest until all their demands were met. Within this context, the three female students at Wits University stood topless and formed a buffer zone between mostly male protesting students and the police. The method of protest was however mostly received with condemnation by the public and received widespread attention on social media platforms where the focus shifted from the central issues that sparked the naked protest to predominantly body shaming the women and questioning their morality (Ndlovu, 2017:68). This response to the naked protest therefore raised questions around the continuous policing of women's bodies and the patriarchal structure of public space where naked protests are performed. This thesis will use the 2016 naked protest that took place during violent FMF clashes between the police, private security, and students at Wits University as a lens to explore the ways in which naked protests have been used as an empowering tool to challenge men and authorities in violent contexts. It will draw on the 1990 naked protest in Soweto in South Africa, the 2002 naked peace protest in Liberia, and the 2002 anti-oil naked protest in Nigeria to illustrate the trajectory of naked protests in different African societies and the unique ways in which women's nakedness and undress has been perceived with apprehension in these societies. The central question that this thesis intends to explore is why do naked protests by women in African societies trigger apprehension in bystanders and black authoritarian male figures? I argue that it is a powerful form of protest, beyond cultural symbolisms attached to senior black women's bodies, as it subverts patriarchal mores underpinned in public space that delineates when and how black women can be seen in the public domain. I argue that it also provides the space for black women to assert their presence in protest movements and broader society which is typically unappreciated and overlooked. The point is to illustrate how naked protests ultimately undermines patriarchal mores and essentially invalidates colonial ideologies that renders the black female body socially invisible.

Since the end of the Cold War, the political development and democratisation of the post-communist countries to the east of the EU has drawn considerable attention from academic scholars. Initially, this was characterised by optimism, with scholars praising the EU for exporting institutional democracy through its mechanism of conditionality. This research, however, has given little attention to the micro-level foundations of the process. Yet the recent increase in Euroscepticism and anti-democratic, extremist tendencies have pointed to the importance of individual attitudes, even leading academics to argue that a democratic backsliding is taking place in Central and Eastern Europe. This thesis intends to re-examine the case of the EU's transformative power, focusing specifically on its micro-level impact on the political attitudes of citizens and elites. The research question thus asks: to what extent does the EU have a transformative power on political attitudes? The thesis consists of three research papers that use quantitative and qualitative methods to examine EU influence on two types of actors, the general population and bureaucratic elites, focusing on two types of attitudes: support for democracy and support for the EU. The overall findings show that the Union does have a micro-level impact on attitudes both at the elite and citizen levels, though this is contingent on the nature of the relationship with the EU, as well as individuals' support for the Union. In the first paper, the thesis demonstrates that the EU can affect attitudes towards democracy among the post-communist population, although this is contingent on the state's association with the Union: when this is simply economic or political, the effect is positive; however, when the association involves integration as a candidate or member state, a rise in Euroscepticism among the population can in fact lead to lower levels of democratic support. This finding shows that Euroscepticism has an important role in altering the EU's transformative influence on individuals in states integrated within the EU. Indeed, the consequences of this could be highly significant, especially when it comes to political and bureaucratic elites whose daily job affects the politics and policy of their countries. As a result, the second paper examines the EU's effect on the attitudes of civil servants working in the national bureaucracies of the new member states. Using international socialisation theory, the paper shows that civil servants generally tend to support the EU, and this is higher among officials whose daily work brings them into contact with it. In addition, the analysis further explores the scope conditions that facilitate socialisation, revealing that both the quantity and quality of contact with EU-related issues - in terms of prolonged exposure as well as interpersonal contact - matter in explaining the sources of variation in levels of support. Lastly, to examine more closely how bureaucrats see the EU, the third paper uses a more in-depth qualitative study to explore the perceptions of Brussels-based diplomats on the economic, political and security dimensions of the Union. Through a comparative analysis, the paper once again shows that the state-level relationship with the EU can affect the perspectives formed by elites. Using original interview data, the research develops a typology of four types of "perspectives of the EU", based on two dimensions: expectations from the EU and evaluation of the EU. The paper's main argument is that the state-level relationship between the Union and the home country can greatly affect how elites representing those states perceive the Union. The main contributions of the thesis relate to a deeper understanding of the EU's individual-level transformative power, through a discussion of its objects (citizens and elites), its mechanisms (direct and indirect), its scope (internal and external) and its outcomes (attitudes towards democracy and the EU). First, it demonstrates that the EU has a real and measurable effect in changing the perceptions of both citizens and elites in post-communist states. Second, it highlights that its impact works both through indirect mechanisms of a state-level political association, as well as direct mechanisms of international socialisation. In addition, it also reveals that Euroscepticism can act as a moderator, turning the EU's positive democratising effect into a negative one, thus bringing together the literature on the transformative power of Europe with research on attitudes towards the EU and Euroscepticism. Third, it demonstrates that the EU has a transformative power both internally and externally, including non-accession third states. Lastly, it shows that the EU's transformative power can influence attitudes towards democracy and the EU. Ultimately, the overall findings show that the Union has an impact on the attitudes of both elites and citizens, though this is contingent on the nature of the relationship with the EU, as well as individuals' support for the Union.

This thesis describes the use of copper and palladium to mediate transformations of carboranes, especially p-carborane.

1-(1-p-carboranyl)-N-methyl-N-(2-butyl)-3-isoquinolinecarboxamide, a carborane containing analogue of the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBR) ligand PK11195, has been synthesised. A key step in the reaction is the copper (I) mediated coupling of p-carborane with ethyl 1-bromo-isoquinoline-3-carboxylate.

p-Carborane has been arylated on the 2-B-atom in high yields, using the Suzuki–Miyaura reaction. Thus the reaction between 2-I-p-carborane and various arylboronic acids [1-naphthyl-, phenyl-, 4-MeO-C₆H₄-, 3-CH₃CONH-C₆H₄-, 4-NC-C₆H₄-, 3-NO₂-C₆H₄-], gave the corresponding 2-aryl-p-carboranes in DME solution when reacted in the presence of cesium fluoride and the catalytic Pd₂(dba)₃–dppb system. Under the same conditions, the boron-boron bond forming reaction of two p-carboranylboronic esters (2-[(pinacolato)boron]-p-carborane and 2-[(neopentyl glycolato)boron]-p-carborane) was also shown feasible.

p-Carborane has been vinylated on the 2-B-atom in high yields by use of the Heck reaction. The coupling between 2-I-p-carborane and various styrenes [4-H-, 4-C₆H₄-, 4-Cl , 4-Br-, 4-NO₂-, 4-CH3O- and 4 CH₃ ] resulted in the formation of the correspondingtrans-β-(2-B-p-carboranyl) styrene in DMF solution when reacted in the presence of silver phosphate and the palladacycle Herrmann´s catalyst. The reaction was shown to proceed at higher rate with electron rich than with electron deficient olefins.

The feasibility of palladium-catalysed isotopic exchange of an iodinated closo-carborane with a radioisotope of iodine has been studied. 2-I-p-carborane was selected as a model compound. It was shown, that such isotopic exchange is possible and provides a high yield (83 ± 4.2 %) during 40 min long reaction. The reaction conditions were optimised, and it was demonstrated that presence of the tetra n-butylammonium hydrogensulphate is important in order to stabilise catalyst and provide reproducibility of labelling. In this work we have modified the methodology and extended the application to a wider range of iodinated carboranes. By the use of Herrmann’s catalyst in toluene at 100 °C this [¹²⁵I]-iodide labelling could be improved and extended. 2-I-p- 9-I-m-, 9-I-o-, 3-I-o-carborane, 1-phenyl-3-I-o-carborane and 1,2-diphenyl-3-I-o-carborane could be [¹²⁵I]-iodide labelled in high to excellent yields within 5 minutes.This reported palladium catalyzed radio-iodination of the uncharged closo-carboranes might find use in pharmacokinetic studies of carborane derivatives.

Dans le present travail, il a ete question de mener une reflexion sur l'organisation, la transformation de l'espace en afrique sahelienne (notamment au burkina faso) et sur la situation conflictuelle qui en resulte. La these examine plus precisement l'influence de la ville de bobo-dioulasso (au burkina faso) sur les campagnes peripheriques de sa banlieue. Deux villages (kiri et kodeni) qui sont appeles dans l'avenir a s'incorporer dans la ville (a travers des lotissements) sont particulierement etudies grace a des enquetes realisees sur le terrain. Ces enquetes font apparaitre les enjeux de l'appropriation fonciere avant l'execution des lotissements et les diverses manifestations des strategies qui en decoulent; strategies qui sont souvent representatives des principaux groupes sociaux. L'interet de la these est de chercher les voies et moyens pour faciliter l'acces des populations au processus d'urbanisation de leurs villages et pour assurer ainsi leur avenir. Ceci est lie au developpement des activites (agriculture maraichere et fruitiere, commerce, artisanat. . . ) que les populations exercent. La these comprend trois parties: la premiere traite de la problematique de l'organisation de l'espace et des hypotheses de travail ainsi que des methodes d'analyse des informations. La seconde partie examine, selon une approche theorique, les divers processus qui contribuent a transformer les zones rurales, periurbaines et urbaines. La derniere partie est consacree d'une part, aux problemes poses par la croissance urbaine de la ville de bobo-dioulasso et d'autre part, aux strategies d'action pour aider a un meilleur developpement des campagnes peripheriques
This thesis discusses transformation and organization of space in sahelien africa - precisely in burkina faso-and, the conflictual situation deriving from that. The study revolves around bobo-dioulasso's influence on its outlying countries and outskirts. Two villages- kiri and kodeni- soon to be integrated to the city- through city extension- are particularly scrutinized, thanks to on the ground investigations. The latters show land ownership stakes before carrying out the plot and the different consequences. Consequences often representative of the main social groups. This thesis aims at suggesting ways and means, able to make easier the access to urbanization process for country people and thus secure their future. A future linked to the development of various activities- market gardening or fruit farming, commerce, handicraft- caried on by these people. The first of that three-folded study, considers space organization, suggestions ways to implement that and analysing methods used for information. The second fold transformations. The last one, discusses urban growth in bobo-dioulasso and urbanization strategies able to improve its outlying countries

O presente estudo tem por objetivo examinar e refletir sobre a natureza, a origem e a construção conceitual do Hip-Hop. Para tanto, recorreu-se à metodologia de abordagem qualitativa, valendo-se da pesquisa de campo realizada por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas, com representantes e ativistas reconhecidas(os) do HipHop e analisadas à luz da literatura acadêmica e não acadêmica (teses, dissertações, artigos, livros, revistas), além de outros materiais (documentários, filmes, palestras) produzidos sobre o Hip-Hop. Este trabalho problematiza a caracterização clássica desse fenômeno que, tradicionalmente, aponta quatro elementos como dimensões constitutivas do movimento: DJ/MC, Breaking, Graffiti e Rap. Contrapondo-se a essa descrição rígida, a hipótese desta pesquisa afirma que, por demonstrar um caráter dinâmico e recriador, esse fenômeno cultural, em seu processo histórico, gestou outras dimensões, até o momento, invisibilizadas, ou pouco discutidas pela literatura acadêmica. No processo de investigação, foram identificados outros elementos constitutivos do Hip-Hop, como as gírias, os vestuários, o Streetball e a literatura marginalizada que, assim como os demais, carregam, representam e revelam questões identitárias, políticas e ideológicas, como as étnico-raciais e de gênero, que envolvem a juventude das periferias, evidenciando um Universo em contradição, transformação e reconstrução constantes e em estreita relação com a Educação em seu sentido mais amplo. Desta forma, por sua natureza e condição dialéticas, o HipHop constitui-se em processos marcados por tensões entre os avanços das novas tendências e as resistências a esses avanços, razão pela qual o trabalho foi intitulado O Universo Hip-Hop e a fúria dos elementos.
The present study aims to examine and reflect on the nature, origin and conceptual construction of Hip-Hop. To do so, we used the qualitative approach, using field research conducted through semi-structured interviews with representatives and activists recognized by Hip-Hop and analyzed in the light of academic and nonacademic literature (theses, Dissertations, articles, books, magazines), as well as other materials (documentaries, films, lectures) produced on Hip-Hop. This work problematizes the classical characterization of this phenomenon, which traditionally points to four elements as constitutive dimensions of the movement: DJ / MC, Breaking, Graffiti and Rap. Contrary to this rigid description, the hypothesis of this research affirms that, because it demonstrates a dynamic and recreational character, this cultural phenomenon, in its historical process, has spawned other dimensions, so far, invisibilized or little discussed by academic literature. In the process of investigation, other elements of Hip-Hop were identified, such as slang, clothing, streetball and marginalized literature, which, like the others, carry, represent and reveal identity, political and ideological issues, such as ethnic- Racial and gender, involving the youth of the peripheries, showing a Universe in constant contradiction, transformation and reconstruction and in close relation with Education in its broadest sense. In this way, by its dialectical nature and condition, Hip-Hop is constituted by processes marked by tensions between the advances of the new tendencies and resistances to these advances, reason why the work was titled \"The Hip-Hop Universe and the fury of the elements\".

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005.
Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xvi, 156 p.; also includes graphics (some col.) Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-156). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Lorsqu’un médecin diagnostique une pathologie chronique tel un diabète ou une artérite, pathologies choisies dans cette recherche, le patient entame, de fait, un processus d’apprentissage de la pathologie et de sa nouvelle vie avec ce diagnostic.Pourtant, ce processus diffère d’un patient à un autre et aboutit à des conduites diverses malgré des recommandations médicales consensuelles. Les professionnels de santé, en effet, ont des objectifs communs pour ces pathologies chroniques qui sont que les patients arrivent à avoir une alimentation équilibrée, pratiquent une activité physique quotidienne, s’abstiennent de tout comportement tabagique et prennent le traitement médicamenteux prescrit. Dans ce but, un certain nombre d’actions sont mises en place,de la campagne de santé publique au travail médical dans un cabinet libéral en passant par des programmes construits d’éducation. Ce que le patient fait grâce (ou malgré)cette éducation est l’objet de cette recherche.À la croisée des domaines de la santé et de l’éducation, nous avons choisi une méthodologie variée pour rendre compte à la fois de l’aspect anthropologique de cet apprentissage en considérant ce qui ne dépend pas du patient et à la fois de l’aspect didactique en observant le résultat des différentes situations sollicitées pour faire changer les patients. La première partie, centrée sur les aspects théoriques, montre la nécessité de considérer le corps dans l’éducation lorsqu’elle est dite thérapeutique.Pour comprendre ce qui est généralement peu ou pas interrogé par les acteurs de l’éducation thérapeutique, nous avons examiné l’ancrage historique des rapports entre le corps, la santé et l’éducation pour mieux étudier le « devenir malade » des patients considérés dans notre étude. Après un approfondissement historique du soin, de l’éducation puis du corps, les rapports actuels entre le corps et la santé ont été observés à l’aide des proverbes usuels, des livres en sciences humaines et sociales, de l’image publicitaire ainsi que des articles de presse. Les processus de transformation des corps malades pouvaient alors être compris selon cet ancrage et l’environnement éducatif dans lequel se situent actuellement les patients. Dans la troisième partie nous avons utilisé les récits des patients rencontrés. La mise en récit de la maladie est le dernier temps méthodologique. Grâce à l’histoire, à la compréhension du monde environnant les patients et à leur récit de vie, nous avons pu dégager des styles de discours. Trois grands styles sont repérés : celui des « experts » qui présentent une centration sur les savoirs,celui des « actifs » avec une centration sur l’activité physique et celui des « mangeurs »avec une centration sur l’alimentation. La compréhension de ces différents styles de discours est à mettre en lien avec les changements de conduites considérés sur le temps long de la pathologie chronique, dans le cadre de la dernière partie de ce travail. Ces modes de changements, tout au long du reste de la vie des patients, prennent différentes formes caractéristiques que nous avons pu dégager selon certains chemin explicatifs.L’ensemble des résultats permet de montrer l’intérêt d’interroger l’éducation thérapeutique actuelle et ses programmes ainsi que les concepts qui y sont attachés en utilisant le corps comme entrée
As soon as a doctor diagnoses a chronic disease such as diabetes or arteritis, pathologies on which we shall focus in our research, patient begins a learning process of the pathology and their new life with this diagnosis. However this process differs from one patient to another and leads to diverse behaviours despite consistent medical recommendations. In fact, health professionals do seek common objectives: a balanced diet, daily physical activities, tobacco abstinence and a treatment medical that is followed. To reach this goal, various actions are put in place such as public health campaigns, work in the doctor’s office or Therapeutic Patient Education (TPE) programs. Our research focuses on how patients may react to (and benefit), from such education. At the junction of the health and education domains, we choose a diverse methodology to account for both the anthropological side of this learning experience, considering what does not depend on the patient, as well as its, the didactic side, thus observing the outcome of different pedagogical activities. The first part, focused on theory, demonstrates how considering the body is essential in education, especially in therapeutic education. To understand what is typically rarely considered, if not at all by TPE’s actors, we explore the historical roots of relationships between body, health and education to then better understand “becoming ill” as it relates to patients considered as part of our studies. After a historical investigation of cure, education and then the body, actual relationships between body and health are examined with using usual saying, books of Human and social sciences, advertisement pictures and newspaper articles. The transformation processes of sick bodies can then be understood from this viewpoint as well as through the patient’s educational environment. In the third part we used disease narratives from patients we have met. The disease storytelling within life stories is the last methodology step. In light of history, and through the patients’ environment and life stories, we could extract different speech styles that make sense when body speech is analysed in light of various anthropological data. Three major style types are identified: “experts” with centration on knowledge, “actives” with centration on physical activities and “eater” with centration on food. Understanding these style types requires considering behaviour changes in the long time of chronic pathologies, as done in the last part of our work. These different modes of change throughout the patients’ life present different characteristics, which we have been able to discern from various explanation paths. All results together allow us to demonstrate the value there is in questioning current TPE programs and its related concepts using the body as an input

Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN) is one of the most common types of diabetes that can affect the cornea. An accurate analysis of the corneal epithelium nerve structures and the corneal endothelial cell can assist early diagnosis of this disease and other corneal diseases, which can lead to visual impairment and then to blindness. In this thesis, fully-automated segmentation and quantification algorithms for processing and analysing sub-basal epithelium nerves and endothelial cells are proposed for early diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy in Corneal Confocal Microscopy (CCM) images. Firstly, a fully automatic nerve segmentation system for corneal confocal microscope images is proposed. The performance of the proposed system is evaluated against manually traced images with an execution time of the prototype is 13 seconds. Secondly, an automatic corneal nerve registration system is proposed. The main aim of this system is to produce a new informative corneal image that contains structural and functional information. Thirdly, an automated real-time system, termed the Corneal Endothelium Analysis System (CEAS) is developed and applied for the segmentation of endothelial cells in images of human cornea obtained by In Vivo CCM. The performance of the proposed CEAS system was tested against manually traced images with an execution time of only 6 seconds per image. Finally, the results obtained from all the proposed approaches have been evaluated and validated by an expert advisory board from two institutes, they are the Division of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha, Qatar and the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Centre for Endocrinology and Diabetes, UK.

The aim of the Master's thesis is to analyze the growing interest of the global economic system centers in the region of developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa with the account on weakening position of the West in relation to this region. The thesis will be structured into two sections. The first part will focus on the relationship between the West and countries of the African continent and the circumstances allowing not only the access of new challengers, but also alternative development models. In this respect the thesis will use the theoretical works of Adrian Leftwich and Claus Offe dealing with the issues of democratization and economic development and their mutual incompatibility. The second part of the thesis will analyze relations with these emerging, non-western power centers and their alternative development models. The research question of the thesis is formulated whether these alternative centers of the global economic system in the region of sub-Saharan Africa propagate their own conception of development models, with proclaimed respect for local conditions, as a challenger to the Western concept of development policy. The hypothesis assumes a certain degree of autonomy in case of developing countries in choosing "their" partner center. These centers are forced to offer certain...

This paper focuses on the social, political and economic transformations that have taken place in the existing mail order marriage industry prior to the development of, and throughout the rise of International Marriage Brokers (IMBs) or “mail-order marriage agencies”. A socio-historical analysis on transnational marriage is examined, as well as a content analysis of ads placed by consumer-husbands. Findings in this study show that there is a distinct permeability among brokers who deal in mail order marriage in terms of sex tourism, prostitution, domestic and care-related forms of work, reflected in migration patterns from periphery to core, and how this reflects the growing demands for traditional values expressed through “care” in western culture.

Due to the changing demographics of South African organisations after the 1994 elections and the subsequent sub-cultural diversification, the working environment is becoming the primary place where the different South African sub-cultural groups, with their different value systems, are in interaction with each other. The consequent lifting of sanctions exposed South African organisations to globalisation and international competition. This forced managers to improve organisational processes and operations, not only to protect their own domestic markets, but also to become internationally competitive. At the same time, they had to adhere to newly created labour legislation, which dramatically changed the face of the South African labour market. The complex combination of several sub-cultures in the South African work environment can adversely affect organisational effectiveness if not properly understood and managed by effective transformational leaders. The concept of cultural values was used to explore the differences, as well as the similarities, between the various sub-cultural groups in the South African environment. This study examined cultural differences and similarities between 477 junior and middle managers in the financial services sector, who belonged to the four South African sub-cultural groups (Black, Coloured, White, and Indian), and between South African male and female managers. It also investigated whether cultural values change indiscriminately during the acculturation process, or whether certain cultural values, labelled peripheral values, change easier or before other cultural values, labelled core values. Due to the importance of transformational leadership in the work environment, this study also explored the differences and similarities of South African managers on Bass and Avolio’s Full Range Model of Leadership. (Avolio&Bass, 1999; Bass, 1985, 1997). A moderate social constructionist theory was used as a framework for this study, to analyse and describe quantitative results obtained with the various measuring instruments. Firstly, it was found that although there were statistically significant differences between most of the cultural value dimensions of the various sub-cultural groups, not all of these differences were practically significant. Results indicated that these groups could often be clustered together on specific cultural value dimensions, sometimes consisting of a Black, White, and Coloured cluster, sometimes as a Black, Coloured, and Indian cluster, and so forth. Secondly, independent variables other than sub-cultural group, gender, and age also showed practically significant relationships with some of the cultural value dimensions. Thirdly, the results indicated that the cultural values are very stable, even in the dynamic and multi-cultural South African environment, and as such, no core or peripheral values could be identified. Finally, the results also indicated that the transformational-transactional leadership model is cross-culturally endorsed within the South African financial services sector. It pointed out that irrespective of gender, junior or middle management level, age, educational level, number of years full-time work experience, number of years as manager, or having been exposed to formal Western management training, all managers evaluated themselves as more transformational than transactional.
Thesis (PhD (Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007.
Psychology
unrestricted

Gram-negative bacteria possess an asymmetric outer membrane in which the inner leaflet is composed primarily of phospholipids while the outer leaflet contains both phospholipids and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). LPS forms a structural barrier that protects Gram-negative bacteria from antibiotics and other environmental stressors. The lipid A anchor of LPS is a glucosamine-based saccharolipid that is further modified with core and O-antigen sugars. In addition to serving a structural role as the hydrophobic anchor of LPS, lipid A is recognized by the innate immune system in animal cells and macrophages. The enzymes of Lipid A biosynthesis are conserved in Gram-negative bacteria; in most species, a single copy of each bio-synthetic gene is present. The exception is lpxH, which is an essential gene encoding a membrane-associated UDP-2,3-diacylglucosamine hydrolase, which catalyzed the attack of water upon the alpha-phosphate of its substrate and the leaving of UMP, resulting in the formation of lipid X. Many Gram-negatives lack an lpxH orthologue, yet these species must possess an activity analogous to that of LpxH. We used bioinformatics approaches to identify a candidate gene, designated lpxI, encoding this activity in the model organism Caulobacter crescentus. We then demonstrated that lpxI can rescue Escherichia coli deficient in lpxH. Moreover, we have shown that LpxI possesses robust and specific UDP-2,3-diacylglucosamine hydrolase activity in vitro. We have developed high-yield purification schema for Caulobacter crescentus LpxI (CcLpxI) heterologously expressed in E. coli. We crystallized CcLpxI and determined its 2.6 Å x-ray crystal structure in complex with lipid X. CcLpxI, which has no known homologues, consists of two novel domains connected by a linker. Moreover, we have identified a point mutant of CcLpxI which co-purifies with its substrate in a 0.85:1 molar ratio. We have solved the x-ray crystal structure of this mutant to 3.0 Å; preliminary comparison with the product-complexed model reveals striking differences. The findings described herein set the stage for further mechanistic and structural characterization of this novel enzyme.

In this work, we also isolate and characterize LpxB, an essential lipid A biosynthetic gene which is conserved among all Gram-negative bacteria. We purify E. coli and Hemophilus influeznea LpxB to near-homogeneity on a 10 mg scale, and we determine that E. coli LpxB activity is dependent upon the bulk surface concentration of its substrates in a mixed micellar assay system, suggesting that catalysis occurs at the lipid interface. E. coli LpxB partitions with membranes, but this interaction is partially abolished in high-salt conditions, suggesting that a significant component of LpxB's membrane association is ionic in nature. E. coli LpxB (Mr ~ 43 kDa) is a peripheral membrane protein, and we demonstrate that it co-purifies with phospholipids. We estimate, by autoradiography and mass-spectrometry, molar ratios of phospholipids to purified enzyme of 1.6-3.5:1. Transmission electron microscopy reveals the accumulation of intra-cellular membranes when LpxB is massively over-expressed. Alanine-scanning mutagenesis of selected conserved LpxB residues identified two, D89A and R201A, for which no residual catalytic activity is detected. Our data support the hypothesis that LpxB performs catalysis at the cytoplasmic surface of the inner membrane, and provide a rational starting-point for structural studies. This work contributes to knowledge of the small but growing set of structurally and mechanistically characterized enzymes which perform chemistry upon lipids.

Dissertation

碩士
國立屏東科技大學
企業管理系碩士班
93
Researches on the relationships of organizational learning and leadership are rare. This comparative empirical research explores the relationships of organizational learning , transformational leadership and transactional leadership among the financial, semiconductor and computer peripheral industries. Research results show that(1)Organizational learning and transformational leadership of semiconductor industry are higher than computer peripheral and financial industries. (2)Organizational learning, transformational leadership and transactional leadership are significantly different among three industries in unmanagerial position level. (3)Transformational leadership and transactional leadership affect organizational learning in three industries respectively. (4)Organizational learning affects transformational leadership and transactional leadership in three industries respectively. (5)Organizational learning and transformational leadership are significantly correlated in three industries respectively. (6)Organizational learning and transactional leadership are significantly correlated in three industries respectively. (7)In demographical and corporate variables, organizational learning, transformational leadership, and transactional leadership are the same in three industries respectively. Only organizational learning in different position levels are significantly different in the financial industry.