De-icing agents such as road salts is one of the most commonly used winter road management strategies employed in Canada and the United States. However, the use of chloride has caused negative impacts on aquatic habitats and drinking water supplies. The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology using readily available GIS data to identify salt vulnerable areas, through evaluating the impact the application of road salts have on areas of interest and quantifying the vulnerability to the area in order to prioritize implementation of best management practices. The proposed methodology for assigning a vulnerability score to a given watershed has been divided into two receiving receptors; surface water and groundwater recharge. The methodology employs a chloride mass balance approach. The vulnerability assessment was performed on seven sites in four watersheds in the Greater Toronto Area and validated using Hanlon Creek watershed in Guelph, ON.

Given that depression risk intensifies in adolescence, examining the course of depressive symptoms during the shift from childhood to adolescence is important for expanding knowledge about the etiology of depression. From a cognitive-developmental perspective, this study examined the stability of both positive and negative schemas in adolescence and whether these schemas could prospectively predict depressive symptoms and resilience in youth. One hundred ninety-eight participants (48 percent boys, 52 percent girls) between the ages of 9 and 14 were recruited from 4 elementary schools to complete measures of youth depressive symptoms, resilience, and schema content and organization. Those who consented to be re-contacted for a follow-up study were contacted one to three years later to complete the same measures online. The Time 2 sample consisted of 50 participants (54 percent boys, 46 percent girls). Negative and positive schema content and structure were stable over time. Depressive symptoms at Time 2 were hypothesized to be predicted by strong negative and weak positive schema content, tightly interconnected negative schema organization, and loosely interconnected positive schema organization at Time 1. The opposite patterns of association were hypothesized between schema content and structure and resilience. After controlling for age, sex and depressive symptoms /resilience at Time 1, negative schema content was the only significant predictor of depressive symptoms and resilience at Time 2. Implications for cognitive theories and clinical practice are discussed. / Ontario Mental Health Foundation

Information technology (IT) is critical and valuable to our society. An important type of IT system is Supervisor Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. These systems are used to control and monitor physical industrial processes like electrical power supply, water supply and railroad transport. Since our society is heavily dependent on these industrial processes we are also dependent on the behavior of our SCADA systems. SCADA systems have become (and continue to be) integrated with other IT systems they are thereby becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyber threats. Decision makers need to assess the security that a SCADA system’s architecture offers in order to make informed decisions concerning its appropriateness. However, data collection costs often restrict how much information that can be collected about the SCADA system’s architecture and it is difficult for a decision maker to know how important different variables are or what their value mean for the SCADA system’s security. The contribution of this thesis is a modeling framework and a theory to support cyber security vulnerability assessments. It has a particular focus on SCADA systems. The thesis is a composite of six papers. Paper A describes a template stating how probabilistic relational models can be used to connect architecture models with cyber security theory. Papers B through E contribute with theory on operational security. More precisely, they contribute with theory on: discovery of software vulnerabilities (paper B), remote arbitrary code exploits (paper C), intrusion detection (paper D) and denial-of-service attacks (paper E). Paper F describes how the contribution of paper A is combined with the contributions of papers B through E and other operationalized cyber security theory. The result is a decision support tool called the Cyber Security Modeling Language (CySeMoL). This tool produces a vulnerability assessment for a system based on an architecture model of it. / Informationsteknik (IT) är kritiskt och värdefullt för vårt samhälle. En viktig typ av IT-system är de styrsystem som ofta kallas SCADA-system (från engelskans "Supervisor Control And Data Acquisition"). Dessa system styr och övervakar fysiska industriella processer så som kraftförsörjning, vattenförsörjning och järnvägstransport. Eftersom vårt samhälle är beroende av dessa industriella processer så är vi också beroende av våra SCADA-systems beteende. SCADA-system har blivit (och fortsätter bli) integrerade med andra IT system och blir därmed mer sårbara för cyberhot. Beslutsfattare behöver utvärdera säkerheten som en systemarkitektur erbjuder för att kunna fatta informerade beslut rörande dess lämplighet. Men datainsamlingskostnader begränsar ofta hur mycket information som kan samlas in om ett SCADA-systems arkitektur och det är svårt för en beslutsfattare att veta hur viktiga olika variabler är eller vad deras värden betyder för SCADA-systemets säkerhet. Bidraget i denna avhandling är ett modelleringsramverk och en teori för att stödja cybersäkerhetsutvärderingar. Det har ett särskilt focus på SCADA-system. Avhandlingen är av sammanläggningstyp och består av sex artiklar. Artikel A beskriver en mall för hur probabilistiska relationsmodeller kan användas för att koppla samman cybersäkerhetsteori med arkitekturmodeller. Artikel B till E bidrar med teori inom operationell säkerhet. Mer exakt, de bidrar med teori angående: upptäckt av mjukvarusårbarheter (artikel B), fjärrexekvering av godtycklig kod (artikel C), intrångsdetektering (artikel D) och attacker mot tillgänglighet (artikel E). Artikel F beskriver hur bidraget i artikel A kombineras med bidragen i artikel B till E och annan operationell cybersäkerhetsteori. Resultatet är ett beslutsstödsverktyg kallat Cyber Security Modeling Language (CySeMoL). Beslutsstödsverktyget producerar sårbarhetsutvärdering för ett system baserat på en arkitekturmodell av det. / <p>QC 20121018</p>

<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> <p align="left">The aim of this study is to examine the community&rsquo / s perceptions of the factors that hamper the empowerment of women in post apartheid South Africa, particularly, women in Belhar community in the Western Cape. Of special interest is the community&rsquo / s perception of how different policies in post-apartheid South Africa have impacted on the socio-economic participation/discrimination of women&rsquo / s fight against disempowerment. It will also provide recommendations on how best community based systems can be structured to improve women empowerment.</p> </font></font></p>

Risks posed by geohazards to urban centres are constantly increasing, due to the continuous increase in population and associated infrastructure. A major risk to North Island urban centres is impacts from volcanic ashfall. This study analyses the vulnerabilities of selected New Zealand lifelines infrastructure to volcanic ash, to better understand and mitigate these risks. Telecommunications and wastewater networks are assessed, as is the vulnerability of Auckland Airport and grounded aircraft. The ability of vehicles to drive on ash covered roads is also tested, to determine the extent to which emergency services, utility providers and the public will be able to travel during and immediately after ashfall. Finally, air-conditioners have been identified as a significant vulnerability during ashfall, due to the high dependence on cooling for infrastructure and lifelines providers. These are examined to quantify the effects of ashfall on their performance. Each of the selected infrastructure types is assessed through a review of past impacts of ashfall, and experimentation either in the field or under laboratory conditions. Where appropriate, mitigation options that reduce identified vulnerabilities are considered. In most cases these options are operational rather than physical engineering solutions, and indicate pre-planning and response requirements. Key recommended mitigation options include the acquirement or strategic relocation of resources prior to ashfall, regular cleaning and maintenance of essential air conditioners during ashfall to enable their continued use, access to appropriate vehicles for utility providers to reach infrastructure, and discharge of untreated wastewater into Waitemata harbour at Orakei during ashfall on Auckland, to preserve the ability to continue treating wastewater at the Mangere treatment plant

This thesis employs a case study approach to investigate local implications of globally restricted mobility by examining Queenstown’s vulnerability to peak oil and climate change. Qualitative research methods are the principal means of inquiry. The research findings suggest that Queenstown is particularly vulnerable to peak oil and climate change at a broad scale because of its dependence on tourism and heavy reliance on air transport. However, Queenstown has fortuitously built up resilience to peak oil and climate change through tourism industry diversity, comparative advantage and an increasing proportion of short-haul visitors. A selection of key Queenstown tourism stakeholders interviewed as part of the research demonstrated some grasp of peak oil and climate change issues but lacked in-depth understanding. They generally considered the issues as being beyond their control although several suggested ways that Queenstown could strengthen resilience to peak oil and climate change. In terms of solutions, this research identifies three potential strategies. The first involves investing in a low carbon local transport system to increase destination level resilience to peak oil and climate change and enhance the uniqueness of the Queenstown brand. The second involves Queenstown promoters targeting the high-end niche tourism market in order to create a more resilient visitor profile. And the third involves the creation of new and expansion of existing industries not tied to tourism – preferably industries that are not excessively oil dependent and carbon intensive. But in order to successfully tackle the problem, it is imperative to first raise awareness. The research recommends implementing a framework that ensures an inclusive community-wide open dialogue process as the most effective way to achieve this.

Post-socialist states have increasingly adopted rural governance and resource management policies framed around the concepts of decentralization, devolution, and de-concentration in which formerly central state powers are transferred to lower, more local levels of governance. In more recent incarnations, these policies have become inspired by neo-liberal discourses of minimal government, self-rule, and personal responsibility. Increasingly, the social science literature has argued that such forms of neo-liberal governance lead to a variety of unforeseen and diverse consequences. This dissertation attempts to understand the impact of these political transformations on household vulnerability in the context of hazardous events called zud. I do this through an ethnographic study of institution-building and risk management in a pastoral district of eastern Mongolia where I explore contemporary transformations in the management of critical resources such as livestock, labor, and land. As this dissertation shows, differential mobility practices are strongly correlated to zud-based livestock mortality rates. In particular, households that are more capable of practicing otor, a kind of non-customary and irregular migration strategy, are less susceptible to the conditions that threaten herd loss. Households with a greater capacity for conducting otor are able to move greater distances, in shorter time spans, and to regions with less severe conditions, thereby escaping the possibility of facing high loss rates. Differential capacity to mitigate the risk of zud conditions also was found to be deeply affected by previously under-studied institutional transformations surrounding rights and access to livestock, labor, and land. Primarily, this study demonstrates that decentralization and other neo-liberal models of governance not only open space for significant reconfiguration of the institutional landscape in ways that support social inequality, but also subsequently lead to increased differentiation in vulnerability to disaster. Theoretically, this work contributes to critical understandings of political ecology by uncovering circulations of power through constellations of actors (human and otherwise), institutions, and meanings as well as through bio-physical landscapes. In addition, this study contributes to work in vulnerability studies by shedding light on how administrative governance, local institution-building, and property-making shift the apportionment of entitlements to produce hazardous conditions and unequal distributions of risk and vulnerability.

This study followed two similarly affected, but socio-economically disparate suburbs as residents responded to and attempted to recover from the devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck Christchurch, New Zealand, on February 22, 2011. More specifically, it focuses on the role of local churches, community-based organisations (CBOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), here referred to broadly as civil society, in meeting the immediate needs of local residents and assisting with the longer-term recovery of each neighbourhood. Despite considerable socioeconomic differences between the two neighbourhoods, civil society in both suburbs has been vital in addressing the needs of locals in the short and long term following the earthquake. Institutions were able to utilise local knowledge of both residents and the extent of damage in the area to a) provide a swifter local response than government or civil defence and then help direct the relief these agencies provided locally; b) set up central points for distribution of supplies and information where locals would naturally gather; c) take action on what were perceived to be unmet needs; and d) act as a way of bridging locals to a variety of material, informational, and emotional resources. However the findings also support literature which indicates that other factors are also important in understanding neighbourhood recovery and the role of civil society, including: local leadership; a shared, place-based identity; the type and form of civil society organizations; social capital; and neighbourhood- and household-level indicators of relative vulnerability and inequality. The intertwining of these various factors seems to influence how these neighbourhoods have coped with and taken steps in recovering from this disaster. It is recommended that future research be directed at developing a better understanding of how this occurs. It is suggested that a model similar to Yasui’s (2007) Community Vulnerability and Capacity model be developed as a useful way to approach future research in this area.

The urban centres are becoming more vulnerable to climate change because of the rapid urbanization and the inequality of urban development. This study assesses the urban vulnerability in an integrated approach focusing the slum people as the targeted group. The slum people are severely exposed to climate risks in terms of city‟s overall development. The negative indications of the indicators of person‟s vulnerability represent their high sensitivity to the adverse impact of climate change. The determinants of adaptive capacity also confirm that the slum people are more vulnerable to climate change with having lower adaptive capacity; though, the city is possessing high development indexes. In this context, an institutional structure is developed to build multi-level urban climate governance with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders based on the case study and literature review to integrate the vulnerable group in development planning for climate change adaptation.

One of the most serious phenomena plaguing families and societies worldwide is teenage pregnancy. In South Africa teenage mothers are permitted to return to schools after giving bith however, not much is done to support these mothers in order to ensure that they are not psychosocially vulnerable and not drop out of school due to possible stress, frustration and lack of scholastic progress. This is where this study is located. This was a Qualitative study that used symbolic drawings accompanied by short descriptive narratives and individual, semi-structured interviews as data collection methods. The study involved 10 teenage mothers who had been re-admitted to schools after giving birth. The participants were aged 15 and 16 and is grades 9 and 10. The findings show that teenage mothers enjoyed family support, had dreams for the future, were anchored in religion and spirituality, had determination and that they had abilities to learn from mistakes. I could not locate a study that had focused on the typical vulnerabilities and empowerment of teenage mothers. Therefore, this study provides useful insight into the factors that are known to render young girls vulnerable to teenage pregnancy and the resultant motherhood and the personal and exological processes that combine in complex ways in order to enable young mothers to cope resiliently. The findings add to theory and have implications for practice / Thesis (MEd (Learner Support))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013