The Coast Guard has developed several systems to measure the performance of its engineering and logistics organizations. The development of these measures is based upon the need to show where and how the organization meets the American taxpayer’s needs. The use of multivariable regressions and determining the statistical distributions of the variables will show the adequacy of the measures and processes currently used. They will also determine a better way to measure the performance of the Coast Guard Small Boat Fleet. This research will analyze the 47 Motor Life Boat and 25 Response Boat-Small data from fiscal year 2011 to 2013. The focus will be on improving the measure used by the engineering and systems managers of the Coast Guard to manage assets and resources, as well as making recommendations on how to improve the processes involved in managing a robust engineering and logistics system.

Arsenic (As) appears in the environment as various As species, which may vary in plant uptake and toxicity. Moreover, As exposure may vary between habitat due to availability and speciation, both of which are influenced by redox potential. To decrease As uptake, addition of silicate may be a tool. The aim of the study was to investigate how the external factors As availability, plant habitats, silicon and oxygen level, influenced the accumulation and speciation of As in plants for food and phytoremediation in a temperate region. The external factors were chosen due to their previously showed influence on As in plants. The risks with dietary As was investigated by plant As accumulation and speciation in carrot, lettuce and spinach grown in alum shale and glassworks soils, and by the influence of silicon on As accumulation in lettuce in hydroponics. Suitable plants for As phytoremediation was investigated by analysing plants from various habitats, and by the O2 influence on phytofiltration. The results showed that vegetables accumulated more As in soils with higher As extractability, and the As extractability in the rhizosphere was higher than in bulk soil. Also, the As concentration in lettuce was higher in hydroponics than in soil, but silicon reduced the accumulation of As in lettuce in hydroponics. Also, the more toxic inorganic As were the main As species detected in vegetables, compared with the less toxic organic As. For phytoremediation, the results showed a low As accumulation in emergent and terrestrial plants. Submerged plants had had a higher shoot As concentration. In general, the habitat had a major influence on the As accumulation in plants. The results also showed that the As accumulation properties in Elodea canadensis was reduced at higher O2. In conclusion, consumption of vegetables cultivated in As polluted soils can result in an elevated intake of inorganic As, and E. canadensis is a promising candidate for As phytofiltration in a temperate region. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defence the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript; Paper 4: Manuscript; Paper 5: Manuscript.</p>

This study is a result of a participation in the Minor Field Study program where we interviewed inhabitants in Mahé, Seychelles, about environmental awareness and information sources and/or channels. Seychelles has a distinguished environment to preserve and protect for the sake of both human and nature and public awareness plays an important part in upholding this. Our aim with this thesis is to study the inhabitants' self-assessed awareness and perceptions regarding availability of information on environmental issues in Seychelles. Furthermore we hope that a by-product of our study will be an addition to the ongoing discussion and knowledge development regarding the global environmental and climate issues. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted and T. D. Wilson's information behaviour model from 1996 was used as theoretical framework when analysing the material. The results show a varied range of self-assessed awareness and perceptions regarding environmental issues and the availability of relevant information and information sources and/or channels.

Denna studie berör studenters preferenser när det gäller transporter som görs med cykel. Studien begränsas till området Öst på stan med universitetsområdet och centrum som start och målpunkt inom Umeå kommun. Studien bygger på en fallstudie där ett 70-tal studenters resonemang och åsikter behandlas utifrån vad som är mer och mindre attraktiva inslag rörande cykelvägars utformning. Samt om det finns andra beståndsdelar som är viktiga vid val av cykelväg förutom utformningen. Deras åsikter preciseras både genom en kvantitativ enkätundersökning samt en kvalitativ gruppintervju. Vidare genomfördes en tematisering för att strukturera den data som framkommit från respondenterna.   Respondenterna utrycker att cykelvägarna bör erbjuda god framkomlighet och standard för att dessa ska anses värda att användas. Exempel på positiv utformning är: God sikt, underhåll av vägens hårda ytor samt hantering av snö och vatten. Även vägbredd och separering är attraktiva inslag för god utformning. Utöver utformning är kopplingar mellan målpunkter viktigt för att vägen ska anses användarvänlig. De slutsatser som dras inom studien är att Öst på stans fyra cykelvägar erbjuder olika standard sinsemellan. Kvalitén på vägarna anses ändå så pass bra att detta inte inverkar i valet av färdväg. Vad som spelar in i valet av färdväg för respondenterna är istället den upplevda kopplingen mellan de två målpunkter som behandlas för denna fallstudie. Samt den upplevda tid det tar att nyttja en väg. Den upplevda kopplingen är i sin tur baserad på den lokalkännedom som studenterna har om platsen. Detta innebär således att valet av cykelväg grundas främst på den kännedom studenter har om möjliga vägar och i andra hand vilka punkter dessa vägar kopplar samman för detta studieområde.

Animals must balance multiple, fitness-related traits in environments that are complex and characterized by co-varying factors, such as co-variation in temperature and food availability. Thus, experiments manipulating multiple environmental factors provide valuable insight into the role of the environment in shaping not only important traits (e.g., dispersal capacity or reproduction), but also trait-trait interactions (e.g., trade-offs between traits). We employed a multi-factorial design to manipulate variation in temperature (constant 28°C vs. 28±5°C daily cycle) and food availability (unlimited vs. intermittent access) throughout development in the sand field cricket, Gryllus firmus. We found that fitness-related, life-history traits and trait trade-offs can be developmentally plastic in response to variation in temperature and food availability. Variability in temperature and food availability influenced development, growth, body size, reproductive investment, and/or flight capacity, and food availability also affected survival to adulthood. Further, both constant temperature and unlimited food availability promoted investment into key components of somatic and reproductive tissues while reducing investment into flight capacity. We develop an experimental and statistical framework to reveal shifts in correlative patterns of investment into different life-history traits. This approach can be applied to a range of animal systems to investigate how environmental complexity influences traits and trait trade-offs.

The aim of this study was to examine the protruding school concept NPF-säkring at the public school Källbrinksskolan in Sweden. Pupils with neuropsychiatric disabilities are particularly at risk to not reach the goals of the education and to have high school absence, which can lead to social exclusion later in life. The school in this study are well-known through Swedish media and claim that they have a solution to the challenges the Swedish school system face today therefore they have formed their concept specifically to the pupils with neuropsychiatric disabilities. The aim of this study was to perform a case-study to examine what the concept implies, it’s main logics and how it affects the institution. Using triangulation while studying various documents connected to the school concept, as well as one observation at the school after school hours, five main logics of the school concept became distinguishable. The analysis were divided into two parts where the first part focus on the main logics of the concept analyzed through Universal design of learning as a theoretical perspective and the second part consists of the theory of the Institutions three pillars to understand the institutional function and its relation to its context of the society. As a conclusion it came apparent that the main logics consists of physical environment, flexible structure, relational approach, encouragement for students' self-determination and overall approach at the school. The institutional function of the concept is distinctly connected to the increased awareness regarding the consequences of neuropsychiatric disabilities throughout society and by developing a new school concept, the institution there-by question the traditional Swedish school-system.

Syftet med kandidatuppsatsen är att undersöka hur kvinnliga och manliga chefer upplever möjligheten att kombinera föräldraskapet och chefskapet samt hur könsrelaterade mönster kan förstås i förhållande till föräldraledighet och karriäravancemang utifrån ett genusperspektiv. Resultaten visar på att chefer uppfattar svårigheter med att kombinera föräldraskap och chefskap genom den höga grad av tillgänglighet som krävs av chefskapet. Vidare fastställer resultatet att flertalet chefer som intervjuats ångrar omfånget av sin uttagna föräldraledighet och skulle vid ett nytt ställningstagande tagit ut en längre sammansatt period av föräldraledighet. Resultatet påvisar vidare att könsrelaterade mönster framkommer i form av hur föräldraledigheten tagits ut samt vilka förutsättningar män och kvinnor anses är nödvändiga för att kunna kombinera chefskapet och föräldraskapet. För att förklara de könsrelaterade skillnaderna används genusrelaterade teorier som ett teoretiskt verktyg. Studien genomförs med en kvalitativ forskning där tio semistrukturerade intervjuer representerar en jämn uppdelning av kvinnor och män då ett jämförande perspektiv genomförs i analysen av det empiriska materialet. På svenska stora företag vittnar tidigare forskning om att en ekonomisk aspekt är en av orsakerna till att arbetsgivare inte arbetar främjande för att underlätta föräldraledigheten. Genom detta kan resultatet av denna kandidatuppsats verka som ett komplement till den tidigare forskningen genom att denna studie har fokuserat på små och medelstora företag. Vidare kan uppsatsen användas som ett praktiskt underlag vilket beskriver de ekonomiska, etiska och strukturella överväganden som kan uppkomma vid situationer som rekrytering, kompetensförsörjning och organisatoriska besluttaganden i förhållande till föräldraledighet. / The essay aims to examine how male and female managers experience the possibilities to combine parenting with their manager positions; as well as examining how patterns between their relationships to parental leave and career advancement can be explained based on gender studies. The result presents that parents holding a manager level position are experiencing difficulties with combining this with parenting, especially based on the high level of accessibility required at such position. Furthermore, the results states that the majority of managers who were interviewed regret their scope of parental leave taken and, in the case of a new position, would have taken a longer subsequent period of parental leave. The results also presented that the gender related pattern is attendant in terms of how the parental leave has been utilized; and what prerequisites women and men are considered essential in order to be able to combine managerial advancement with parenting. Gender related theories has been used to analyze and explain the gender related differences. The study was conducted with a qualitative research where ten semi structured interviews were conducted. Both genders were equally represented in the interviews, as a comparative perspective was implemented in the analysis of the empirical material. Previous research on large Swedish corporations, has shown that the financial aspect is one of the underlying factors for why employers are not promoting to facilitate parental leave. The results presented in this essay, can operate as a complement to the previous research; since this study has focused on small and medium-sized companies. Furthermore, this thesis can be used as a practical basis, which describes the financial, ethical, and structural considerations that may arise during recruitment, provision of skills, and organizational decisions in relationship to parental leave.

Região Metropolitana de São Paulo, onde a disponibilidade hídrica foi classificada como \"Crítica\", durante os anos de 2014 e 2015 ocorreu um período de seca que originou a denominada \"crise hídrica\", agravando a situação dos mananciais que abastecem a região. Os estudos sobre mudanças climáticas demonstram não ser um fenômeno isolado e, diante disso, a adoção de tecnologias para reúso de água é essencial para aumentar a disponibilidade hídrica de locais que enfrentam cenários de escassez, como a RMSP. A recarga de aquíferos com efluentes tratados para reúso de água é uma técnica que, se adotada corretamente, pode trazer benefícios como o aumento do volume de água subterrânea disponível para a população. Para estudo da tecnologia, buscou-se como referência as plantas de Shafdan (Israel), Atlantis (África do Sul), Sabadell (Espanha), Adelaide (Austrália), avaliando principalmente os processos de tratamento, métodos de recarga e características qualitativas dos efluentes utilizados para recarga de aquíferos. Foram consultadas as legislações de Estados Unidos e da Espanha sobre o assunto e, com base nestas referências, foram adotados os seguintes requisitos de qualidade do efluente para recarga de aquíferos: sólidos suspensos (35 mg/L), carbono orgânico dissolvido (125,0 mg/L), DBO5,20 (25,0 mg/L), nitrato (25,0 mg/L) e Escherichia coli (1000 UFC/100 mL). A partir dos estudos de caso e das legislações, foi definido que o requisito mínimo de tratamento para recarga é o tratamento terciário para remoção de nitrogênio. Foi avaliada a replicabilidade desta técnica na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo através de comparativos entre os requisitos definidos e as características do efluente e da água de reúso produzida na RMSP em quatro cenários: legislação aplicável ao lançamento de efluentes tratados, características do efluente tratado a nível secundário de uma das ETEs da RMSP, características da água de reúso produzida na RMSP para usos urbanos e características da água de reúso produzida para uso industrial na planta Aquapolo. Verificou-se que atualmente apenas a água de reúso produzida no Aquapolo é submetida a tratamento terciário e atende aos requisitos qualitativos para recarga adotados neste trabalho. O custo de operação de um sistema de produção de água de reúso e recarga de aquíferos foi estimado em US$ 1,41/m³, valor superior à tarifa de água potável comercializada para residências na RMSP, atualmente US$ 0,75/m³. Concluiu-se que há potencial para adoção da tecnologia de recarga de aquíferos com água de reúso na RMSP, visto que há tecnologia disponível para produzir água de reúso na qualidade requerida. Ainda assim, é necessária a avaliação da hidrogeologia local antes de praticar a recarga. Em relação ao custo, o valor da tarifa de água potável vigente é expressivamente menor quando comparado ao valor caso a tecnologia proposta nesse trabalho fosse implantada. Entretanto, deve-se avaliar a importância da adoção de alternativas para disponibilização de água para a população. Ou seja, mesmo que em primeira vista seja mais onerosa, esta técnica é uma oportunidade para obtenção de água para diversos usos em situações de extrema seca, quando o valor da água passa a ser inestimável. / In the São Paulo metropolitan region, where water availability was classified as \"critical\", during the years of 2014 and 2015 there was a period of drought that led to the \"water crisis\", aggravating the situation of the water sources that supply the region. Studies on climate change demonstrate not be an isolated phenomenon and, given this, the adoption of technologies for reuse of water is essential to increase the water availability in areas facing drought situations, like SPMR. The aquifer recharge with treated wastewater to water reuse is a technics that, if properly implemented, can bring benefits as increasing the volume of groundwater available to the population. For the study of the technology, the reference plants were Shafdan (Israel), Atlantis (South Africa), Sabadell (Spain), Adelaide (Australia), survey the treatment processes, recharge methods and qualitative characteristics of effluents to aquifer recharge. The legislation of the United States and Spain was consulted and, based on these references, the following aquifer recharge effluent quality requirements were adopted: suspended solids (35 mg/L), organic solved carbon (125,0 mg/L), BOD5,20 (25,0 mg/L), nitrate (25,0 mg/L) e Escherichia coli (1000 UFC/100 mL). From the case studies and legislation, it was defined that the minimum treatment requirement for recharge is the tertiary treatment for nitrogen removal. The replicability of this technics in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo was survey through comparisons between the defined requirements and the characteristics of the effluent and the reuse water produced in the RMSP in four scenarios: applicable legislation to treated effluents discharge, effluent characteristics at secondary level treated, reuse water produced in the SPMR for urban uses and characteristics of the reuse water produced for industrial use in Aquapolo. It was verified that currently only the reuse water produced in Aquapolo is subjected to tertiary treatment and meets the qualitative requirements for recharge adopted in this study. The operating cost of a reuse and aquifer recharge water production system was estimated at US$ 1,41 / m³, which is higher than the drinking water tariff traded for residences in the RMSP, currently US$ 0,75 / m³. It was concluded that there is potential for the adoption of recharge water reuse technology in the RMSP, because the technology is available there to produce reuse water in the required quality. Nevertheless, it is necessary to study the local hydrogeology before the recharge. About cost, the value of the current drinking water tariff is significantly lower when compared to the value in case the technology proposed in this work was implemented. However, the importance of adopting alternatives for water availability to the population should be study. That is, even if it is more expensive at first sight, this technique is an opportunity to obtain water for various uses in situations of extreme drought, when the water value becomes inestimable.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar a utilização dos minerais orgânicos - Cu, Fe, Mn, Se e Zn - na dieta de frangos de corte visando avaliar o desempenho, rendimento de carcaça e o efeito no poder poluente dos resíduos da avicultura. Foram realizados dois experimentos nas estações do inverno e verão, empregando seis dietas experimentais: T1 - Tratamento controle - suplementação de minerais inorgânicos; T2 - Suplementação de minerais orgânicos; T3 - Redução de 1/3 de T2; T4 - Redução 2/3 de T2; T5 - Aumento de 1/3 de T2 e T6 - Aumento de 2/3 de T2. Para os ensaios de desempenho, 1.080 animais foram alojados em 36 boxes com 30 aves cada, sobre cama de maravalha. Na análise de excreção, utilizou-se 144 animais para coleta total das excretas nos períodos de 19 a 22 e 33 a 36 dias de idade. As características de desempenho avaliadas foram peso corporal, ganho de peso, consumo de ração, conversão alimentar, viabilidade criatória, índice de eficiência produtiva, além de características de carcaça e análises dos microminerais nas excretas e na cama de frango. Para avaliação do efeito da estação do ano, análises ambientais (temperatura e umidade relativa) e fisiológicas (temperaturas retal e superficial - imagem termográfica) foram mensuradas. Além disso, foi realizado estudo da viabilidade econômica do uso dos minerais. Os dados foram avaliados por meio da análise de variância, utilizando o PROC GLM do SAS. A comparação entre tratamentos foi realizada por regressão e a comparação entre as fontes de minerais (orgânico e inorgânico) feita por contraste. Nos estudos do inverno e verão, não houve diferença entre as fontes e níveis de suplementação para desempenho no período total de criação e no rendimento de carcaça. No inverno, entretanto, os resultados de excreção com a fonte orgânica foram superiores. Além disso, os minerais orgânicos apresentaram custo mais elevado e rentabilidade inferior. Ao se comparar as estações do ano, verifica-se um efeito negativo do verão no desempenho, nas variáveis fisiológicas e na análise econômica. Em relação às fontes e níveis de microminerais empregados, os resultados indicam que a suplementação deve estar de acordo com as condições ambientais da criação, proporcionando, assim, melhor efeito produtivo, ambiental e econômico para a atividade avícola. / The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of organic minerals - Cu, Fe, Mn, Se and Zn - in the diet of broiler chickens on performance, carcass yield and the effect on polluting power of poultry waste. Two experiments were conducted in the winter and summer seasons, employing six experimental treatments: T1 - Control - Inorganic Minerals Cu, Fe, Mn, Se, and Zn according to Rostagno et al. (2011), T2 - Organic Minerals, T3 - Reduction of 1/3 from T2, T4 - Reduction of 2/3 from T2, T5 - Increase of 1/3 from T2, and T6 - Increase of 2/3 from T2. 1.080 animals were housed in 36 boxes with 30 birds each, on a litter of wood shavings. In the analysis of excretion, 144 animals was used for total collection of excrement in the periods from 19 to 22 and 33 A 36 days of age. The performance characteristics evaluated were body weight, weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion, productive efficiency index, and carcass characteristics and analysis of trace minerals in the manure and poultry litter. To evaluate the effect of season, environmental analysis (temperature and humidity) and physiological (rectal and surface temperatures - Thermographic image) were measured. In addition, in this study was conducted economic feasibility of the use of minerals. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance using PROC GLM of SAS. The comparison among treatments was performed by regression and between the sources of minerals (organic and inorganic) was used contrast. In winter and summer studies, there was no difference between the sources and performance for supplementation levels and carcass yield in the total period. In winter, however, the excretion results with organic source were higher. In addition, the organic minerals showed higher cost and lower profitability. When comparing the seasons, there is a negative effect on the performance of the summer on physiological parameters and economic analysis. Regarding the sources and levels of trace minerals employees, the results indicate that supplementation should be in accordance with the environmental conditions of creation, thus providing better productive, environmental and economic effect for the poultry activity.

Este trabalho propõe uma heurística construtiva determinística e uma heurística construtiva probabilística para resolver o problema de programação de projetos com custo de disponibilidade de recursos e custo de penalidade por atraso no término do projeto (RACPT - Resource Availability Cost Problem with Tardiness). Os algoritmos combinam a flexibilidade da atividade com a flexibilidade do recurso para selecionar a próxima atividade a ser programada. A data de início de uma atividade é a data mais cedo em que sua execução não gera o maior pico de utilização dos recursos ou a data mais cedo na qual o custo total do projeto for menor. A melhor versão das heurísticas foi obtida após o teste de várias regras de prioridade, conforme a revisão bibliográfica realizada. As heurísticas propostas foram testadas em 360 instâncias de testes e seus resultados foram comparados aos obtidos pela formulação matemática baseada em strip packing e restrições disjuntivas implementada no programa CPLEX. A heurística construtiva determinística gera uma solução viável rapidamente, porém de baixa qualidade. Já a heurística construtiva probabilística gera soluções ótimas ou próximas da ótima para problemas pequenos ou para problemas fáceis e gera soluções muito melhores do que o CPLEX na metade do tempo computacional para os problemas médios e grandes ou para problemas difíceis. Dado os bons resultados obtidos e à implementação no programa VBA for Microsoft Excel, a heurística construtiva probabilística proposta é um método bom e prático para resolução do RACPT. / This work proposes a deterministic constructive heuristic and a probabilistic constructive heuristic for solving the resource availability cost problem with tardiness (RACPT). The algorithms combine the flexibility of an activity with the flexibility of a resource to select the next activity to be scheduled. The start time of the activity is the earliest date in which the activity\'s execution does not create resources usage peak or the earliest date with the lowest total project cost. We tested several priority rules according to the literature review and determined the best version of the heuristics. Afterwards, we tested the proposed heuristics in 360 instances and compared its results with the solutions obtained by the optimization software CPLEX. The RACPT implementation on CPLEX utilized a mathematical formulation based on strip packing concepts and disjunctive constraints. The computational results showed that the deterministic constructive heuristic generates feasible solutions of poor quality in low computational time. The probabilistic constructive heuristic achieved better results. For small instances or easy problems, it found optimal or near-optimal solutions. For medium and large instances or hard problems, it obtained better results than CPLEX in half-computational time. We believe that the probabilistic constructive heuristic is a good and practical method for solving the RACPT. The proposed algorithm produced good results in reasonable computational time and was implemented on the popular software VBA for Microsoft Excel.