Small-Scale Farmers Land Use and Socioeconomic Situation in the Mount Elgon District in Northwestern Kenya : A Minor Field Study - Combined Field Mapping and Interview

This Minor Field Study was carried out during November and December in 2011 in the Mount Elgon District in Western Kenya. The objective was to examine nine small-scale farming household´s land use and socioeconomic situation when they have joined a non-governmental organization (NGO) project, which specifically targets small-scale farming households to improve land use system and socioeconomic situation by the extension of soil and water conservation measures. The survey has worked along three integral examinations methods which are mapping and processing data using GIS, semi structured interviews and literature studies.   This study has adopted a theoretical approach referred to as political ecology, in which landesque capital is a central concept. The result shows that all farmers, except one, have issues with land degradation. However, the extent of the problem and also implemented sustainable soil and water conservation measures were diverse among the farmers. The main causes of this can both be linked to how the farmers themselves utilized their farmland and how impacts from the climate change have modified the terms of the farmers working conditions. These factors have consequently resulted in impacts on the informants’ socioeconomic conditions. Furthermore it was also registered that social and economic elements, in some cases, were the causes of how the farmers manage their farmland. The farmer who had no significant problem with soil erosion had invested in trees and opportunities to irrigate the farmland. In addition, it was also recorded that certain farmers had invested in particular soil and water conservation measures without any significant result. This was probably due to the time span these land measures cover before they start to generate revenue.  The outcome of this study has traced how global, national and local elements exist in a context when it comes to the conditions of the farmers´ land use and their socioeconomic situation. The farmers atMt.Elgon are thereby a component of a wider context when they are both contributory to their socioeconomic situation, mainly due to their land management, and also exposed to core-periphery relationships on which the farmers themselves have no influence.

Gudinnan Hathor : en studie ur metallurgiverksamhetens perspektiv som belyser auktoritära strukturer i forna Egypten

Denna studie undersöker gudinnan Hathors funktion i forna Egypten med utgångspunkt från metallurgiverksamheten som Hathor var beskyddare över. Studien undersöker vad för behov som uppstår i metallurgikontexten och hur denna kan ha påverkat och speglats i förställningar kring gudinnan Hathors funktion i forna Egypten. Studien stödjer sig på William Padens teori om religiösa Världar för att därigenom belysa hur behov i en specifik kontext kan spelgas i den Religiösa Världen. Undersökningen baseras på tolkningar av en rad olika forskningsrapporter. Dels etnografiska dokumentationer om metallurgikontexter ifrån Afrika söder om Sahara, arkeologiska utgrävningar från gruvområdet i Timna i Sinai och forskares interpretationer kring gudinnan Hathors funktion i forna Egypten. Ifrån metallurgiverksamheten studerades dels hur den äldre teknologin fungerade och hur den inverkade på religiösa föreställningar och den auktoritära strukturen i Afrika. Därtill vad för sorts belägg som finns för metallurgiverksamhet i Timna i Sinai och hur gudinnan Hathors kults närvaro i gruvområdet kom till uttryck. Dessutom studeras forskares interpretationer som rör gudinnan Hathors kults funktion, auktoritära struktur och kultens förhållande till konungen i forna Egypten. Dessa uppgifter analyserades därefter och studien visar starka indikationer på att gudinnan Hathor skapades och användes i syfte att gagna en begränsad grupps intresse i forna Egypten. Att gudinnan Hathors funktion och de offentliga festivalerna var till för att upprätthålla en auktoritär struktur och vidmakthålla smidessläktets och prästerskapets makt.

The impact of high latitudes on the optical design of solar systems

Irradiation distribution functions based on the yearly collectible energy have been derived for two locations; Sydney, Australia which represents a mid-latitude site and Stockholm, Sweden, which represents a high latitude site. The strong skewing of collectible energy toward summer solstice at high latitudes dictates optimal collector tilt angles considerably below the polar mount. The lack of winter radiation at high latitudes indicates that the optimal acceptance angle for a stationary EW-aligned concentrator decreases as latitude increases. Furthermore concentrator design should be highly asymmetric at high latitudes.