Atmospheric aerosols have been shown to have a significant impact on air quality and health in urban environments. Organic aerosols (OA) are one of the main constituents of submicron particulate matter. They are composed of thousands of different chemical species, which makes it challenging to identify and quantify their sources. OA sources have been previously studied; however quantitative knowledge of aerosol composition and their processes in urban environments is still limited. The results presented here investigate OA, their chemical composition and sources as well as their interaction with gases. On-line measurements of species in the particle and the gas phase were performed both from field-based and laboratory studies. Aerosol Mass Spectrometers (AMS) were used together with the Chemical Ionisation Mass Spectrometer (CIMS) and the Filter Inlet for Gases and AEROsols (FIGAERO). Two ambient datasets were analysed to develop methods for source apportionment, using the Multilinear Engine (ME-2), in order to gain new insights into aerosol sources in Manchester and London. Long-term measurements in London allowed the opportunity to perform seasonal analysis of OA sources and look into the relationship of hydrogen-like OA (HOA) and heavy- and light-duty diesel emissions. The seasonal analysis provided information about OA sources that was not possible to observe on the long-term analysis. During Bonfire Night in Manchester, with high aerosol concentrations, particularly biomass burning OA (BBOA), it was possible to identify particulate organic oxides of nitrogen (PON), with further identification of primary and secondary PON and their light absorbing properties. Through laboratory work, new insights into cooking organic aerosols (COA) were gained, a higher relative ion efficiency (RIEOA) value of around 3.3 for OA-AMS compared with the typical RIEOA of 1.4 was determined, which implies COA concentrations are overestimated when using the RIEOA value of 1.4. Dilution showed to have a significant effect on food cooking experiments, increasing both the gas/particle ratios and the O:C ratios. The data generated in this work, OA-AMS mass spectra and markers from both gas and particle phase identified with FIGAERO-CIMS, provide significant information that will contribute to the improvement of source apportionment in future studies. This work investigates OA, with a focus on primary organic aerosols originated from anthropogenic activities. These scientific findings increase our understanding of OA sources and can help to improve inventories and models as well as to develop plans and policies to mitigate the air pollution in urban environments.

O objetivo deste trabalho à identificar os custos envolvidos no gerenciamento de recursos hÃdricos no Estado do CearÃ, papel este de responsabilidade da Companhia de GestÃo dos Recursos HÃdricos. ApÃs o levantamento desses custos, discute-se sobre alguns mÃtodos de apropriaÃÃo de custos, identificando qual se adapta melhor ao cenÃrio do CearÃ. AtravÃs do rateio de custos, identificamos a alocaÃÃo adequada destes e se aplica um mÃtodo de tarifaÃÃo pelo uso da Ãgua. Neste valor de cobranÃa estÃo inclusos os custo de operaÃÃo, administraÃÃo e operaÃÃo e de infraestrutura, este Ãltimo, geralmente, ignorado nos mÃtodos utilizados para se calcular o valor da tarifa a ser cobrada. No levantamento de infraestrutura realizado neste trabalho, encontrou-se que no Estado do Cearà existe mais de 1 bilhÃo de reais investidos em obras voltados para o gerenciamento de recursos hÃdricos, sem contar os custos da transposiÃÃo do Rio SÃo Francisco. ApÃs o rateio de custos foi aplicado o MÃtodo da Tarifa MÃdia utilizada pelo ConsÃrcio Tahal â JP Meio Ambiente para calcular a Tarifa MÃdia por Setor (TMS) de cada bacia hidrogrÃfica. Como resultado, temos que o valor da tarifa cobrada atualmente està bem abaixa da tarifa necessÃria para cobrir os custos de operaÃÃo, administraÃÃo, manutenÃÃo e infraestrutura. / The objective of this study is to identify the costs involved in managing water resourcesin CearÃ, a role of responsibility of the Water Resources Management Company. After identifying these costs, some methods of settlement are discussed, identifying which is best suited to CearÃâs reality. Through cost sharing, we identify the appropriate allocation of these and apply a method of charging for water usage. In this valueare included the costs of operation, management, operation and infrastructure, the latter usually ignored in the methods used to calculate the value of the tariff to be charged. When learning about the infrastructure during this research, we found that there is more than a billion dollars invested in the state of Cearafocused on the management of water resources, not including the costs of thetransposition of SÃo Francisco River. After the cost sharing method, the Average Tariff used by the Consortium Tahal - JP Environment was applied to calculate the Average Tariff by Industry in each section. As a result, we have that the tariff charged is currently below the rate needed to cover operation costs, administration, maintenance and infrastructure.

Evolutionary stability is a necessary condition for imitative dynamics of policy learning and innovation to come to a rest. We apply this concept to profit tax competition in a regime where a common and consolidated profit tax base for multi-jurisdictional firms is divided among governments by means of formulary apportionment. In evolutionary play, governments exhibit aggregate-taking behavior: when comparing their performance with others, they ignore their impact on the consolidated tax base. Consequently, evolutionarily stable tax rates are less efficient than tax rates in best-response tax competition. / Series: WU International Taxation Research Paper Series

With the ambition to reduce compliance costs for multinational enterprises within the European Union, but also in order to reduce the erosion of the tax base through transfer pricing and harmful tax competition among member states, the European Commission has promised to deliver a proposal for a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) by the end of 2008. A vast literature has since emerged on the advantages and disadvantages of a move towards formulary apportionment (CCCTB). Whilst no official proposal has yet been submitted by the European Union, several documents have since been released. It is the novel contribution of this paper to critically evaluate the proposal itself. We argue that the formula is overly complex and should be simplified to source and destination based revenue weights only. (author´s abstract) / Series: Discussion Papers SFB International Tax Coordination

Provincial electoral districts were first created in British Columbia in I869. At that time the criteria used to determine the ridings on the mainland were the existing mining division boundaries and on Vancouver Island the land district boundaries. Since 1869 many different sets of constituency boundaries have been used in the province. At all times the government has attempted to give the more settled areas the greatest number of electoral seats and yet provide each region of the province with legislative representation. Since electoral ridings were initiated, however, there has not been a stated policy by which the legislature has determined new constituency boundaries. In certain instances areal size has been the determining factor in deliniation, whereas in other cases electoral numbers were used. In 1965 the ratio of voting numbers between the largest constituency and the smallest was in excess of twenty-five votes to one. It was therefore believed that a major revision of British Columbia's electoral boundaries was due. There are three major methods by which new political boundaries may be determined; these being representation by population, by area, and by community of interest. Each method has certain qualities and liabilities. Representation by population is considered the best method of boundary delineation because the votes of all persons are then of equal weight. Since British Columbia contains such an uneven population distribution many constituencies created by employing this principle would be too large in area to be served effectively by one representative. As well, many urban constituencies would be extremely small. Therefore the thesis concluded that this method of boundary determination was not suitable for British Columbia. Representation by area was not considered to be practical for many ridings would contain only a few hundred voters while others over one hundred thousand. Therefore, representation by community of interest appeared to be the best method of determining legislative constituency boundaries. In this system the under-populated areas of the province would have few electoral representatives. Using this method of deliniation each riding would contain persons affected by similar problems and sharing common interests. Community of Interest regions were determined by isolating all territory which is primarily dependent upon a central settlement. Throughout British Columbia large settlements exist which serve the economic and social needs of the surrounding urban and rural population. The thesis recommended I that such regions would make good provincial constituencies since the rural and urban areas would have equal interest in both local affairs and development. To determine the sphere of influence surrounding each large settlement an examination of services provided by various sized communities was undertaken in order to determine which services were offered only by the larger nucleations. As this method of analysis was not applicable in the Lower Mainland area a study of shopping patterns and community activities was used as a basis for boundary determination. Each of these areas of common interest became the basis for the recommended urban constituencies. As a potential political instrument the value of a new set of electoral boundaries lies in the result which its employment would achieve. Using the 1963 provincial election statistics in the proposed constituencies, the results would have changed the political party representation in the legislature very little. Therefore more equable districts could be adopted without a shift in political party strength. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

Les hydrocarbures aromatiques polycycliques (HAP) sont des composés organiques présents dans l’ensemble des compartiments environnementaux. Dans l’atmosphère, leurs sources sont à la fois naturelles (feux de biomasse, éruptions volcaniques) et anthropiques (industrie, transport, chauffage résidentiel). Une fois émis, sous forme gazeuse ou adsorbés à la surface de particules atmosphériques, les HAP sont susceptibles d’être impliqués dans des processus physico-chimiques tels que la photodégradation et/ou des réactions d’oxydation avec différentes espèces radicalaires. Du fait de leur toxicité avérée, ces composés font l’objet de différentes réglementations, législations françaises et européennes. Concernant le compartiment atmosphérique, seul le benzo(a)pyrène présente aujourd’hui des seuils d’émission à respecter. Afin de faire évoluer ces textes et de mettre en place des mesures de réduction d’émissions, diverses approches ont été développées dans le but de différencier leurs sources dans l’atmosphère. L’approche moléculaire, basée sur les profils moléculaires et les rapports de concentrations, permet d’apporter des informations quant à leurs origines. En revanche, elle souffre de biais induits par les conditions de formation des HAP (température, conditions environnementales…) et par les processus physico-chimiques dans lesquels ils sont impliqués. L’objectif principal de ce travail est de mettre en place une méthodologie de traçage de sources des HAP particulaires par une approche isotopique. Le développement du protocole analytique a été réalisé pour déterminer la composition isotopique moléculaire des HAP particulaires par GC/C/IRMS. Il a été montré que la réactivité des HAP sous l’action d’oxydants (O3, NO2, OH) et/ou de la lumière solaire n’induisait pas de variation significative de la composition isotopique moléculaire des HAP. Cette méthodologie a ainsi pu être appliquée sur des échantillons naturels, prélevés sur des sites caractérisés par des sources spécifiques. Il a été montré que les 13C/12C des HAP, en complément de données moléculaires, permettent de différencier les origines de ces composés. Par exemple, les caractéristiques moléculaires et isotopiques de HAP issus de la combustion de plusieurs espèces de bois d’origine méditerranéenne ont été déterminées en appliquant cette méthodologie à des échantillons collectés directement à l’émission. Enfin, dans le cadre de l’étude de la pollution et de ses impacts dans le Bassin d’Arcachon, les apports atmosphériques en HAP ont été mesurés par l’approche moléculaire couplée à d’autres outils (rétrotrajectoires, oxydants, roses des vents…) afin de compléter le diagnostic environnemental. / Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) are carcinogenic compounds, present in all the compartments of the Environment. In the atmosphere, their sources are both from natural (biomass burning, volcanic emissions...) and anthropogenic (transport, industry, residential heating...) origins. Once emitted in the atmosphere, PAH are distributed between the gaseous or particulate phases and may be involved in different physico-chemical processes such as photodegradation, radical-initiated oxidations... Due to their carcinogenicity, PAH emissions are nowadays subjected to various regulations from France and more largely, European Union. In the atmosphere, benzo(a)pyrene has been selected as representative of the PAHs because of its high toxicity. In order to improve regulations involving emission reductions, several methodologies have been developed to perform source apportionment. The most commonly used in the literature is the molecular approach, based on molecular profiles and particular ratios. Nevertheless, conditions of PAH formation and physico-chemical processes affect these characteristic values. The main objective of this work was to develop a new methodology of particulate-PAH source tracking based on the molecular isotopic composition. The development of analytical procedure was performed to determine 13C/12C of PAHs by GC/C/IRMS. The study of the impact of PAH reactivity in the presence of O3, NO2, OH and/or solar radiations shows that no significant isotopic fractionation is induced on their isotopic compositions. Molecular isotopic approach was applied on natural particles, collected at different specific sites: 13C/12C of PAHs and molecular data allow differentiating particulate-PAH sources. Therefore, determinations of molecular and isotopic characteristics have been undertaken by applying this methodology on particulate-PAHs emitted during the combustion of fifteen Mediterranean woods. Finally, molecular approach coupled with different parameters (back-trajectories, oxidant concentrations, wind roses...) enables to measure the levels of PAH concentrations in the atmosphere in order to evaluate their impacts as a source of pollution in the Arcachon Bay.

This study will follow the development of the rules pertaining to apportionment of damages, with particular emphasis on the Apportionment of Damages Act 34 of 1956 (‘the Act”) and its applicability to contractual claims. It furthermore delves into the current legal position in England, Australia and New Zealand. In Thoroughbred Breeders Association v Price Waterhouse 1999 (4) SA 968 (W), the Court decided that the Act was applicable to contractual claims and apportioned the damages payable by the defendant to the plaintiff. However, the matter was taken on appeal with the decision of the Court a Quo overturned. It will be argued that, although the reasoning at first glance seems sound, upon closer examination, the application of the Act need not be limited solely to delictual claims. The best manner in which to remedy this lacunae in our law is an amendment to Section 1 (1) and 1(3) of the Act, to explicitly extend the application thereof to contractual claims. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Private Law / unrestricted

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This research uses Bayesian analysis of fluorescence spectroscopy results to determine if wastewater from the Heber Valley Special Service District (HVSSD) lagoons in Midway, UT has seeped into the adjacent Provo River. This flow cannot be directly measured, but it is possible to use fluorescence spectroscopy to determine if there is seepage into the river.Fluorescence spectroscopy results of water samples obtained from HVSSD lagoons and from upstream and downstream in the Provo River were used to conduct this statistical analysis. The fluorescence 'fingerprints' for the upstream and lagoon samples were used to deconvolute the two sources in a downstream sample in a manner similar to the tools and methods discussed in the literature and used for source apportionment of air pollutants. The Bayesian statistical method employed presents a novel way of conducting source apportionment and identifying the existence of pollution.This research demonstrates that coupling fluorescence spectroscopy with Bayesian statistical methods allows researchers to determine the degree to which a water source has been contaminated by a pollution source. This research has applications in determining the affect sanitary wastewater lagoons and other lagoons have on an adjacent river due to groundwater seepage. The method used can be applied in scenarios where direct collection of hydrogeologic data is not possible. This research demonstrates that the Bayesian chemical mass balance model presented is a viable method of performing source apportionment.

The expanding urbanisation, growing population, and industrial development are threatening global surface water quality. With increasing concern about surface-water quality, it is crucial to deeply understand the evolution of surface-water quality problems and comprehensively de-termine its fundamental driving forces. In this Dissertation, systematic work on the mechanisms of water pollution with trace elements has been carried out in three steps: i) to identify the sources contributing to surface water pollution by receptor-based models, ii) to determine the factors dominating the pollution risk transmission from sources to surface water by a source-based model, and iii) to capture the primary driving forces to the spatiotemporal variation in surface water pollution by Bayesian-based approaches. The following specific topics were ad-dressed based on five publications: a) The temporal trends of trace metal pollution in the surface water were characterised by the Mann-Kendall test and the Generalised Additive Model. b) The primary source contributors to the long-term trace metal pollution in a river system were determined by the Self-organised Map, Positive Matrix Factorization receptor model, and Bayesian multivariate receptor model. The distributions of the source contributions to trace metal pollution were estimated. c) The risk transmission of trace pollutants in the surface water was estimated by a source-based dynamic model. The sensitivities of the risk to human activities, characteristics of wastewater treatment plants, and river flow regimes were evaluated. d) The contributions of hydro-chemical factors, climate impact, and sampling methods to water pollution and data uncertainty were analysed by the Wavelet Analysis and Bayesian Net-work. Both the models’ accuracy and robustness were evaluated by statistical analysis. The methods and results provided herein could improve the standard of statistical rigour and support the authorities’ decision-making.