The toxic, persistent pesticide dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD) was used liberally prior to and during the World Exposition of 1967 (Expo 67) on Île Sainte-Hélène in Montréal to reduce the population of nuisance Trichoptera insects (also called caddisflies or shadflies) in the area. Sixteen thousand kilograms were applied over six periods in two years. Despite reports by the project leaders that the practice was not detrimental to the ecosystem and that DDD was not detected downstream in significant concentrations following applications to the river, further investigation was required to determine the occurrence of the pesticide, and its concentrations. Given the large volume of pesticide that was applied to the river, I hypothesized that there would be a strong DDD signal in sediments downstream of the Expo 67 site. I obtained a sediment core from the bay of Île de Grâce at the mouth of Lac St Pierre in the St. Lawrence River, downstream of Montréal. The core was sliced, dated radioisometrically, and analysed for the presence of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and related pesticides using gas chromatography. The isotopes cesium-137 (137Cs), radium-226 (226Ra), and lead-210 (210Pb) were used to establish dates of sediment deposition. Loss on ignition was used to determine organic carbon content. Stable lead content was analysed because it may also support sediment ages. Concentrations of DDT, DDD, and dichlorodiphenylethylene (DDE) ranged from below the detection limit to 3.3 parts per billion (ppb), 57.7 ppb, and 17.1 ppb, respectively. Adjusting the concentrations to reflect organic carbon content did not significantly affect the trend in concentration by depth. Peaks in DDD concentrations and related compounds were discovered that correspond to the Expo 67 applications. These findings demonstrate that DDD was present in unusually high concentrations (well above the probable effect level of 8.51 ppb (Ontario Ministry of the Environment)) in the St. Lawrence River in 1967, potentially exposing a wide variety of organisms. This finding may also be used to inform future decisions regarding the management of the St. Lawrence Seaway. I also investigated the role of fragmentation, specialisation, and interdisciplinarity in this research, and critically examined the historical context of this project in order to pursue knowledge of this field with as full an understanding of it as possible. / Thesis (Master, Environmental Studies) -- Queen's University, 2012-05-31 02:27:28.215

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between personal factors and perceived built environmental factors and walking behaviour among middle-aged and older adults. The sample consisted of 647 people aged 45 years and above. Walking behaviour was assessed using pedometers. Decreased walking was significantly associated with increased age (r=-0.366, p<0.001). Education level (F=4.13, p=0.016) and self-rated health status (t=6.07, p<0.001) were positively associated with walking. When considering the effect of age, education level was no longer associated with walking. Better perception of general safety (F=3.105, p=0.005) and fewer safety concerns (F=7.531, p=0.001) were positively associated with walking. Age and self-rated health status jointly contributed to the walking behaviour (p<0.001), explaining 16.2% of the variance. These findings may suggest future neighbourhood interventions for age-friendly communities in Winnipeg, and help to accommodate changes through addressing perceived neighbourhood safety concerns and facilitating increased physical activity among middle-aged and older adults.

This thesis presents the design of a personal computer (PC) based needle insertion robotic manipulator for biopsy. The robot was designed and built using materials available in the research laboratory. The robot is intended primarily for use inside the confined area of a cylindrical magnetic resonance (MR) scanner. Selection of the robot geometry and novel locations for drive actuators allowed placement of actuators outside the MRI bore. The robot is modeled using Denavit-Hartenberg transformations. Custom developed software control is developed to test the functional aspects of the robot. The robot performs to the tolerance required for the stated clinical application. This thesis addresses only proof of concept chosen for the manipulator design and is not ready for any clinical trials. The work also addresses MRI compatible and safety issues and recommends appropriate materials for future development. Traditionally, neurosurgical navigation has relied on preoperative images and the assumption that anatomical structures of interest remain in the same position with respect to each other and the fiducial markers used for registration. However, during surgery, tissue deformation and shift disrupt the spatial relation between the patient and the preoperative image volumes. This results in localization errors. Developing a manipulator that works inside an imaging machine guided by real time images is expected to minimize the problem of “tissue shift” during the surgery.

The behavior of U in near surface sedimentary environments has changed throughout geologic time. There is a marked shift in U (IV) mineral stability and deposit style at approximately 2200 Ma due to changes in the concentration of O in the atmosphere. For example, prior to 2200 Ma, fluvial U deposits could form and U(IV) were stable in surface and near-surface environments. In modern, anthropogenic sedimentary systems such as U tailings, U (IV) minerals are not stable and readily oxidize to U (VI) minerals. In addition, U is much more mobile in modern sediments relative sediments that were deposited prior to 2200 Ma.

The Commonwealth of Dominica has acquired a reputation as the nature island of the Caribbean. This thesis sets out to explore how Dominicans perceive and relate to nature in their nature island. It considers these perceptions and relationships as consisting not only of people’s cognitive and intellectual constructions of nature, but as also comprising their practices in and embodied engagements with the natural world. A key premise underlying this work is that people’s ideas about and relationships to nature go beyond the discursive: they arise in and from historical, geographical and social contexts, but also emerge through particular personal encounters and experiences. So, for example, tourism and conservation are two prominent means by which Western constructs and discourse of nature are brought to bear in Dominica in the present day, but they also provide opportunities for engagement with the natural world and for the cultivation and expression of experiential knowledge. The focus on engagement and experience is consonant with Dominicans’ thoughts about what it means to know and understand nature, in which considerable emphasis is placed on practical knowledge and knowledge by acquaintance. Further investigation of ideas of nature, through the use of selected collateral concepts, shows how Dominicans think about nature and certain relationships with nature as being an integral part of “what Dominica is about”. Correspondingly, Dominica can be seen as providing the context and framework for their notions of what nature is about. The findings of this sort of place-based empirical investigation can be useful to the formulation of nature-related policies, in that such policies are more likely to have practical purchase if they are seen to be germane to local ideas of and relationships to nature. Research of this kind can also provide new answers to the interesting philosophical question: what is nature?

This thesis addressed the production of media literacy practices in physical environments. It reflects a specific trajectory through a design space. The work is founded on four studies including design sessions and expositions in primary schools and in an art museum. The focus is on how to devise practices and make sense of media literacy tasks. the thesis addresses research problems of interaction design and media studies by:(a)configuring interactive tangibles and audiovisual media, to give different perspectives on media literacy within the same physical environment; (b) developing a set of practices which are attuned to how participants collaborate when accessing and producing media texts; (c) developing the design method by employing practical knowledge from theatre practices. The thesis tackles some specific design problems. One is that the qualities of the practices and qualities of the tools need to be addressed at the same time. Also, aesthetic and technical aspects often are indistinct. The thesis seeks help in some specific traditions in the performing arts. Some terms such as 'participatory theatre' and 'masked performance' are redefined in order to address both aspects of practices and tools. Terms such as 'gendre', 'framing', 'packaging', 'authoring', 'deconstruction', 'media agenda setting' are also redefined frm literature on media studies, through the production and study of collective activities. The thesis aims to contribute to the integration of findings in interaction desugb abd nedua stydues by (1) applying advances from interaction design for the support of new media literact practice in the physical environment; (2) applying the perspectives on media literacy which emerge from these integrations in order to contribute to current reesearch on interaction design. The thesis applies practices from the performing arts in order to enable a participatory design of physical environments for media literacy. The focus is on the role played by audience groups when they adopt media contents and artifacts.

This action research study investigated the feasibility of building evaluation capacity into the design process of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service’s (GMFRS) community initiatives. GMFRS runs over 400 community initiatives every year and an appropriate evaluation framework is needed to provide evidence of their impact and effectiveness. Information that previous evaluation processes had failed to provide. The feasibility of establishing an evaluation framework for use by non-specialists users was explored, the development of a new evaluation system for GMFRS was examined critically, and the processes and challenges involved in embedding evaluation within a large public sector emergency service investigated. Mixed research methods -- document analyses, qualitative interviews, observations and focus groups -- were used in the three action research cycles conducted between April 2008 and April 2010. In cycle one, existing evaluation materials and key characteristics of the initiatives were assessed. GMFRS’s community initiatives were found to lack direction, and the existing evaluation tool lacked the detail required for use by personnel with no previous evaluation experience. Hence, new evaluation materials were developed and, in the second cycle, their use was observed, and interviews conducted to ascertain the barriers to evaluation practices. Lack of resources, organisational guidance, and support with evaluation activities were identified as barriers. In the third cycle focus groups were used to gain feedback on the usability of the new evaluation material and processes. The principal conclusions of the research are that there were no theoretical models and/or guidance to assist Emergency Services to develop internal evaluation capacity. Insufficient attention has been paid to organisational support processes to nurture individuals’ evaluation skills and abilities, and to assist complex organisations utilise evaluations. For evaluation to become an embedded and systematic activity, it has to be supported by a project management methodology that underpins evaluation processes.

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