The mining industry has remained Zambia's dominant industry for almost a century. According to the report by International Council for Mines and Minerals (ICMM) for 2013, Zambia is highly dependent on copper mining as the core productive industry. Mining contributes to direct employment (approximately at 1.7%), foreign direct investment (approximately at 86%), gross domestic product (more than 12%) and government revenue (more than 25%). Regardless of these economical enactments, the accident frequency across the mines is very significant. In general, the mining industry is perceived to be a high-risk industry. The increase in the number of mining accidents is extremely costly, whether measured in terms of medical expenses and disability compensation, loss of production and wages or damage to plant and equipment. The human cost, in terms of death and suffering, is beyond calculation. In recent years, there has been some innovations in terms of technology regarding mining methods, and this has resulted in decreased accident occurrence in the mines. The human factors involved in the mine accidents need to be addressed further to reduce these rates. Therefore, the best approach is first to understand mine accident causality, and then this will be a foremost step in a pursuit to diminish the high rate of accidents. Effective remedies and measures can be designed if only accident process is properly understood. The understanding and interpretation of causes of accidents at workplaces can only be achieved by accident modelling techniques. The effective way of analysing industrial accidents has been proven by the Swiss Cheese Model, which is also applicable to this study. The Swiss Cheese Model describes an accident as an event which happen within organization due to the combination of different unsafe acts which may include latent conditions and front-line operators. The purpose of this study was to determine how systemic factors contribute to accidents at a copper mining company in Zambia. The analysed results were compared with those of other local mines as well as mines from developed and developing countries. The approach in this study involves using the existing framework developed by Bonsu (2013). The framework had used the concepts from the Mark III of the Swiss Cheese Model, Incident Cause Analysis, safety management principles and the Nertney Wheel. The sections involved in the existing framework of Bonsu (2013) are metadata, accident barrier analysis and causal analysis. The accident causality section is designed and described in the same way as the Mark III version of the SCM. This section is used for analysis of accident causality and is categorized into proximal, work place and systemic factors. The metadata section offers explanations on different factors that influence the happening of accidents at this copper mining company in Zambia. Metadata section captures the information on accidents analysed under the barriers and causing agency section of the framework. The variables under the metadata are time and date of accident, place of the accident, accident type, activity involved which resulted in the accidents, task schedule of the accidents, age of the victim, experience of the victim, job status, etc. The last section of the existing framework is the agency and barrier analysis and was designed by Bonsu (2013) to capture data on the safety barriers which were breached and accident causing agents in the accident report. The accident reports collected from the copper mining company in Zambia were used in the existing framework and the analysed results were presented as unsafe acts, workplace and systemic factors with linkages to each other. The most prominent type of unsafe acts recognized were routine violation (recognized in 38% of all the accident analysed), closely followed by slips and lapses (identified in 30%) and then mistakes (21%). Exceptional violation and non-human cause were the lowest at 9% and 2% respectively. Systemic and workplace factors were involved in 78.2% of the accident reports that were analysed. The most prominent workplace factor recognized was behavioural environment (25.8% of all cases analysed), closely followed by physical environment (23.4% of all cases analysed), then unsafe work practices (18.8% of the accidents analysed), then fit-for purpose equipment (16.4% of the accidents analysed) and finally competent people (15.6% of the accidents analysed). In general, under the category of accident analysis on workplace factors, all the five factors were significantly contributing to the causes of accidents at the mine site that was investigated as demonstrated by the closeness in percentages. In the case of systemic factors, inadequate supervision or leadership was the most prominent factor identified (22.6% in all accidents analysed). It was also found that physical environment (23.4% of all cases considered) was the second most dominant workplace factor recognized. The results obtained also revealed that some systemic factors were associated with specific workplace factors more than others. For instance, the result of behavioural environment (workplace factor) was usually due to poor leadership problem (systemic factor), problems seen in housekeeping (systemic factor), hazard identification (systemic factor), risk management (systemic factor), and designs (systemic factor), these were also the causes of poor physical environment. In the unsafe work practices (workplace factor), hazard identification was the most common systemic factor that was recognized whereas in fit for purpose equipment (workplace factor) the most common associated systemic factors were risk management, leadership, hazard identification and design. The results obtained in this study were compared to those obtained in the study of Mwansa (2021), which also applied the framework used in this study to the analysis of accident reports from another mine site of the same mining company in Zambia as used in this study. Similarities and differences were obtained under the accident characterization and causation sections. The operations in both studies are different in terms of mining methods and metallurgical processing plants. This may be responsible for some of the differences in the results obtained in both studies. For instance, in Mwansa's (2021) study, the most dominant unsafe act recognized was also routine violation (36% of all cases considered) whereas the most prominent workplace factors recognized were physical environment (36% of all cases considered) and unsafe work practices (27% of all cases considered). In Mwansa's (2021) study, the most prominent systemic factors recognized as contributing to physical environment were hazard identification, work schedule, risk management, maintenance management, leadership, housekeeping, and contractor management. The results obtained in this study were also compared with previous studies from different commodities across the globe. This was done to have broader picture when dealing with mine accidents. The causes of accidents identified in this study are of significance to the safety of the industry. Overall, based on the analysis carried out in this study for the copper mining site investigated, it can be concluded that systemic factors are the main causes of accidents rather than human error and violations.

In 2001 a Northern Climatic Test House (the House) was constructed to demonstrate appropriate and novel building techniques and materials for the upper Midwest region of the USA. The House is a 2,300-square-foot, two-story structure located on the grounds of the USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) in Madison, Wisconsin. It is considered a research structure and not part of the FPL’s building inventory. Following construction, the House was heated and cooled but not occupied. Regular (sometimes daily) tours were conducted from it’s opening until about 2008, when tours had diminished to less than one per week. Since eliminating regular tours, the house has been used occasionally for special events, intermittent tours, and storage. In May-July 2023 a visual and minimally invasive condition assessment was performed on the House. This report details the findings of this assessment. This report focuses on existing or potential problem areas.

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Planning in the context of urban sustainability is very challenging as it requires simultaneous integration of a large number of conflicting objectives pertaining to economic, environmental and social dimensions. It also involves multiple stakeholders with opposing views, and a high level of uncertainty. In addition, the process should be transparent, participatory and understandable by all participants. Existing literature has called for exploring new analytical methods to support decision-making for urban sustainability. This research introduces a structured decision support framework underpinned by Multi-objective Decision-Making (MODM) and Multi-attribute Decision Making (MADM). The framework provides systematic guidance to decision-making starting from problem structuring to generating a wide range of alternatives until the selection of the final solution. The developed framework is tested in two different decision-making situations pertaining to real urban problems. In the first case study, the framework is examined in the situation where the decision-maker is available to interact with the planner at the design stage. The framework is used to find a sustainable distribution of healthcare centers taking into consideration conflicting objectives including cost, efficiency of service and accessibility. The optimal solution is reached through an interactive process with stakeholders. In the second case study, the framework is examined in the situation where the decision-maker is unavailable for interaction at the design stage. The framework is used to develop planning scenarios for transit-oriented development (TOD) around a transit station. The optimal intensification of land use and land use mix is achieved taking into consideration the conflicting objectives of various stakeholders. Large number of non-dominated alternative solutions has been generated. An interactive tool has been developed by which the stakeholders can identify the alternative that best reflects their preference. The quality of the outputs for both case studies has shown that the developed planning methodology outperforms conventional approaches. The developed framework has proved to be a flexible and practical approach to assist decision-making in the context of urban sustainability / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Achieving sustainable urban development is a very challenging task for planners. It requires simultaneous integration of a large number of conflicting objectives pertaining to economic, environmental and social dimensions. It also involves multiple stakeholders with opposing views, and a high level of uncertainty. In addition, the decision-making process should be transparent, participatory and understandable by all participants. This research introduces a decision-support framework, underpinned by mathematical modeling techniques, to assist in achieving sustainable solutions for urban development problems. The framework is examined through two case studies. First, it is used to find a sustainable distribution of healthcare centers taking into consideration conflicting objectives including cost, efficiency of service and accessibility. Second, the framework is used to develop planning scenarios for transit-oriented development (TOD) around a transit station. The developed framework has proved to be a flexible and practical approach to assist decision-making in the context of urban sustainability

No / Whilst sustainable livelihoods thinking is potentially valuable in advancing our understanding of the complexity and socially embedded nature of people's lives, sustainable livelihoods frameworks and principles are too eager to codify this complexity and to produce toolboxes and techniques to change the internal management of development interventions. Drawing on research in Tanzania, this paper offers an analysis of two interventions that apply aspects of sustainable livelihoods approaches (SLA). Whilst both interventions demonstrate much good practice, both are fundamentally limited in their potential for sustainable impact. This paper demonstrates the importance of the external context within which an intervention exists and explores some of the limitations faced by development agencies in trying to manage sustainability.

The relation between water and sugarcane is a topic that has been greatly discussed, but on which there are few theoretical writings. To try to help with the small existing literature, this work presents a series of four studies. The first study researches the beginnings of the activity of sugarcane in Brazil and its dependence on water resources, for, without water, the plant could not live, neither the wheels of the royal mills, the first units of sugar production in the country, moved byhydraulic power, could work. The second study describes the effects of changes in the industrial production system of sugarcane by-products on the banks of the rivers where the first plants were installed, which followed the trends of the Industrial Revolution. The third study examines the technical changes that took place in the agricultural techniques of the sugarcane agribusiness as a result of the industrialization of agriculture, and its impacts on the bodies of water. The fourth study discusses the problems related to water availability and water use by the sugarcane agribusiness in São Paulo, currently the largest State producer of sugarcane and its by-products in Brazil. The objective of the work is to study the way in which water resources are being used by the sugarcane agribusiness over the years and to evaluate the quality of the relationship between water and sugarcane. The conclusion of the study indicates that water is being used carelesly by the sector, being consumed excessively in the stages of industrial processes and contaminated by effluents and agricultural waste.

The project evolved from a series of questions regarding the possibilities/interactions between building and site. The project consists of housing, a chapel and the relationship to the land they occupy. / Master of Architecture

Like much of the world, the United States is currently experiencing intense growth, especially in and around its cities. Unfortunately, this growth is often at odds with the natural environment. In order to reduce the demand of foreign energy resources designing with "green" or ecologically responsive design objectives in mind is vital. We may think of cars and factories as the most obvious enemies of the environment, but buildings consume half of the energy used world wide. The idea of this thesis project was to explore the possibilities of sustainable strategies.That is to develop an energy intensive building based on ecological principles as design tools that demonstrate the economic value of sustainability, and to highlight an energy intensive building type as an example of energy-responsive-living that actually 'looks good'. / Master of Architecture

The green building market has seen tremendous growth in the past decade. Organizations such as the US Green Building Council have emerged to become a dominant leader in the building industry. Although the green building rating systems are cross-disciplinary, much of the focus has been directed towards design-related input. General Contractors play an important role in delivering successful sustainable construction projects. If an integrated project delivery method is chosen, the General Contractor may offer insightful preconstruction assistance by providing ideas on green construction methods and materials. As sustainable building practices become more prominent in the construction industry, General Contractors must remain knowledgeable on current green building standards in order to stay competitive. Two of the most important aspects of business for a General Contractor involve time and money. Through qualitative literature review and quantitative results from a case study, this research analyzes time and cost in sustainable construction projects from a General Contractor's perspective. The research also examines whether the management of a sustainable construction project is substantially different than a non-sustainable construction project for a General Contractor. Finally, because the green building process involves multiple parties, the collaboration effort from all parties involved in a green building project will be studied.

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