Thesis (M.D)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-124) Also available in print.

By the end of the twentieth century, and after a long line of conflicting case law, the question about the basis of liability in nuisance was settled: in Scotland, damages are awarded only upon proof of fault (RHM Bakeries (Scotland) Ltd v Strathclyde Regional Council 1985 SC (HL) 17). Fault, in turn, can adopt many forms: malice, intention, recklessness, negligence, and conduct causing a special risk of abnormal damage (Kennedy v Glenbelle Ltd 1995 SC 95). Many aspects of this seemingly clear picture, however, remain problematic. On the one hand, the way in which this model is interpreted and applied gives place to particular forms of liability that can actually be characterised as strict. On the other hand, two other areas of the law of neighbours that overlap with the scope of nuisance do not fit entirely this model, namely the regulation of disputes over uses of water and of those arising from withdrawal of support. The main argument of this thesis is that damages claims in the context of neighbourhood are governed by two distinct rules: a general fault-based liability rule for nuisance, and an exceptional strict liability rule for abnormally dangerous conduct. For the first of these rules, the thesis offers an evaluation of the fault model adopted in Kennedy v Glenbelle Ltd, explaining the interaction between its different elements and highlighting the developments that can result in forms of strict liability. For the second of these rules, the thesis develops an analysis of its elements and nature, as well as a proposal that delineates its scope of application. This two-rule model offers a justification for the current structure of the law applicable to disputes over uses of water. The strict liability rule applicable to interferences with the natural flow of watercourses, traditionally explained as based upon the infringement of property rights, is better explained as danger-based. The regulation of disputes arising from withdrawal of support, however, is not consistent with this model, even though they have also been characterised as nuisances. It is argued that this framework entails unjustified inconsistencies, both internal and by reference to the model proposed, and that it should be adjusted accordingly.

Title: Pet-Keeping and its Importance Autor: Bc. Kristýna Šlajchrtová Supervisor: Prof.RNDr. Lubomír Hanel, CSc. The thesis deals with the issue of the importance of domesticated animal breeding in households focusing in Central Bohemia and Prague. The theoretical part discussed the issue of domesticated animal breeding in our country and abroad, history of breeding, venomous and dangerous species breeding and breeding of endangered species. The thesis also describes issues of animal shelters, the negatives of transmittable diseases to humans and the positives of human contact with nature (canistherapy, felistherapy). That research was collected via anonymous questionnaires. In the research part the obtained conclusions were evaluated by questionnaire survey. The aim was to determine which domestic animals are the most popular and most frequently breeded in certain types of families (children's influence on breeding, comparison of housing and animal husbandry in the town and village). Keywords Pets, home, family, livestock, standardized questionnaires, zootherapy

Class of 2011 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: To determine if knowledge and confidence of third year pharmacy students would increase after an education session presented by the Poison Control Center about scorpions, snakes, Gila Monsters and spiders of the southwest. METHODS: A pre-test/post-test study design was implemented around the presentation from the Poison Control Center utilizing third year pharmacy students at The University of Arizona as the study population. The two tests were than analyzed to determine if there was any statistically significant improvement in quantifiable knowledge and comfort level associated with imparting knowledge regarding venomous stings and bites. RESULTS: Out of an available 95 students, 67 completed the pre and post-tests. Overall, the pharmacy student’s knowledge increased with statistical significance (p<0.05) by 10% with a corresponding statistically significant (p<0.05) increase in comfort level in talking to patients about bites and stings. CONCLUSION: Both knowledge and confidence increased in third year pharmacy students after an education session about scorpions, snakes, Gila monsters and spiders.

This thesis deals with the problems of exploration and map construction of a dangerous network by mobile agents, and it introduces new general mechanisms for inter-agent communication, which could be applied to other mobile agents' problems. A dangerous network contains a harmful process called Black Hole that destroys all agents entering the node where it resides, without leaving any observable trace. The task for the agents, which are moving asynchronously, is to construct a map of the network with edges incident on the black hole unambiguously identified. Two types of communication mechanisms are considered: whiteboards and tokens. In the whiteboard model every node provides a shared memory on which agents can read and write. When communication occurs through tokens, instead, the agents have some pebbles that can be placed on and picked up from the nodes. Four different costs for comparing the efficiency of the protocols are taken into account: the number of agents required, the number of moves performed, the size of the whiteboard (or the token capacity at a node), and time. The black hole search problem is considered first in ring networks with whiteboards, and optimal exact time and move complexities are established improving all existing results. The same problem is then studied in arbitrary unknown graphs and it is solved in the token model by using a constant number of tokens in total. The protocol improves on existing results and is based on a novel technique for communicating using tokens. Finally, the new method of communicating using tokens described in the context of black hole search is generalized to propose a novel communication mechanism among the agents that could possibly be employed for any distributed algorithm by mobile agents.

The goal of the Thesis is the analysis of maritime transportation of dangerous goods. Thesis is divided into 4 Parts. Chapter 1 describes development of dangerous goods regulations with the emphasis on maritime safety and environmental aspects. Chapter 2 is based on the analysis of IMDG Code, whose regulations have the fundamental importance for the carriages of dangerous goods by sea. Chapter 3 is dedicated to the basic duties of the parties included in the maritime transportation of dangerous goods- carriers on the one side and shippers on the other side. Final Chapter is related to the maritime carriage of oil - one of the dangerous substances with the strategic importance.

Thesis deals with the transport of dangerous goods. It is divided into theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part is presented by European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road, the obligations of individual participants in the transport, class of dangerous substances and articles, the documents required for carriage, used packaging and safety signs as well as provisions for loading, unloading and handling. The practical part describes the specific case which occurred during the transport of dangerous goods, their assessment and propose preventive measures.

The aim of this study is to further establish the validity and reliability of the Dula Dangerous Driving Index (DDDI). The reliability and validity of the instrument was investigated by comparing data from a US university sample, a US community sample, and a sample of Belgian traffic offenders. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported the presence of a four-factor structure with items for Drunk Driving forming a separate scale apart from items for Risky Driving, Negative Cognitive/Emotional Driving and Aggressive Driving. A multi-group confirmatory factor analysis with model constraints supported the validity of the DDDI. Inter-correlations revealed that the DDDI subscales are closely interrelated and uni-dimensionality of the measure was found in all three samples. This suggests the DDDI Total score can be used as a composite measure for dangerous driving. However, the validity of the subscales was demonstrated in the Belgian sample, as specific traffic offender groups (convicted for drunk driving, aggressive driving, speeding) scored higher on corresponding scales (Drunk Driving, Aggressive Driving, and Risky Driving, respectively), indicating that it is clinically meaningful to differentiate the subscales.

In 2018-2019, 35.5% of people with a Dangerous Offender designation were Indigenous (Public Safety Canada, 2020, p. 117). While the disproportionate number of Indigenous people with the designation corresponds to the broader trend of overincarceration of Indigenous people in Canada, very little research has addressed the use of the designation on Indigenous people. This thesis provides a critical discourse analysis of 15 case law reports of Dangerous Offender designation hearings guided by settler colonial theory to examine why the designation disproportionately targets Indigenous people. I specifically examine the ways in which discourse enables the erasure of settler colonialism, and at time Indigeneity, in the decision-making process of Dangerous Offender designation hearings. The analysis found that the juridical framework for the application of the Dangerous Offender designation does not allow the courts to consider the impacts of settler colonialism at the designation stage. As such, the social locations of the individuals that demonstrate how settler colonialism may have contributed to their offending are not discussed in the decision-making process thereby creating a form of erasure of settler colonialism in the designation process. Additionally, the juridical framework gives psych experts much authority in the decision-making process. Thus, risk discourse dominates much of the case law reports and the impacts of settler colonialism as thereby translated in individual risk factors. Many of the risk factors that justify the application of the designation are in fact symptoms of settler colonialism. In sum, I conclude that the juridical framework of the Dangerous Offender designation is designed in a way that contributes to disproportionately targeting Indigenous people because their unique experience of settler colonialism and the role in played in their offending is erased or translated in risk which makes them more of a target.

The design of rural interchanges is of critical concern due to the need for the safe transition of vehicles from one high speed roadways to another and vice versa. This transition is accomplished by entry and exit ramps of various forms. The southbound entry loop ramp at the US 27/ US 192 trumpet interchange in Polk County, Florida does not provide such safe transition since historically there has been a high incidence of vehicular off-tracking. The geometry of the southbound entry ramp coupled with high approach speeds are two of the contributing factors. Due to the high cost of interchange modification and ramp realignment, one approach to increasing safety at the interchange is to decrease approach speeds (assumes that speed is a surrogate measure of safety) utilizing a Dynamic Speed Monitoring (DSM) system. The objective of this thesis was to test the effectiveness of such a DSM system at reducing vehicle speeds at the rural US 27/ US 192 trumpet interchange in Polk County, Florida. The system tested was a solar powered, radar based, wireless speed warning system which potentially could be used at traffic locations where it is difficult to secure power and to extended wires. The Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs) for the system were the reduction in mean and variance of speed along with the proportion of vehicles in the higher speed ranges after system implementation. This thesis describes the testing of the DSM effectiveness and involves the documentation of the experiments conducted, the data collected and the analysis of the results. Speed data was collected Before and After installation of the DSM system at two points preceding the southbound entry ramp. Approach speeds were collected at a point 250 feet in advance of the southbound entry ramp curve (also the detection zone of the DSM system radar) and PC speeds were collected at the Point of Curve of southbound entry ramp. Various data sets were analyzed in order to ascertain the systems effectiveness during the day and night, weekdays and weekends, various time periods during the day, and within various speed ranges. The Approach and PC data analysis indicated that the DSM system significantly (at the 95% confidence level) reduced speed mean and variance and increased speed limit/ advisory speed compliance. The Approach mean speed was reduced by 3.58 mph and the PC mean speed was reduced by 1.57 mph. The Approach speed variance was reduced by 3.34 and the PC speed variance was reduced by 0.70 mph. Approach speed limit compliance was increased by 22.27% and PC advisory speed (35 mph) + 5 mph compliance was increased by 11.56% (it was apparent that motorist were utilizing speeds above the advisory speed to navigate the curve). In general, the effectiveness of the DSM system was diminished on weekends as well as during the late night and early morning (12 AM to 7 AM) time periods. This suggested that when there were lower volumes and when motorists' perceived that speed limit enforcement was not as likely, the DSM system effectiveness was reduced. The DSM system resulted in a reduction in the percentage of vehicles utilizing the higher speed ranges (≥ 45 mph). There was a 62% average reduction in the vehicles that utilized the speed ranges above 57 mph for the Approach data and there was a 36% average reduction in the vehicles that utilized the speed ranges above 45 mph for the PC data. The DSM system resulted in a shift in the distribution of speeds from the higher speed bins to the lower speed bins Before and After installation.