Effective antenna selection and deployment strategies are important for reducing co-channel interference in indoor wireless systems. Low-cost solutions are essential, and strategies that utilise simple antennas (such as directional patches) are advantageous from this perspective. However, performance is always an issue and the improvements achievable through clever antenna deployment need to be quantified. In this thesis, an experimental investigation of indoor propagation comparing the performance of directional antennas and multiple-element arrays (MEAs) with omni-directional antennas is reported. Estimation of the performance of a direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) system operating in a variety of deployment scenarios allows the identification of a range of performance-limiting factors and the optimal deployment strategies. It is shown that the orientation of single-element directional antennas can significantly impact on system performance compared to omni-directional antennas in traditional systems. The deployment of MEAs with an active diversity combining scheme can further improve system performance by more than one order of magnitude. From the perspective of system planning, the choice of antenna selection and deployment options depends on the current and future demand for system performance and the financial resources available. An evolutionary path has been proposed to provide a smooth transition from conventional (low-cost) to high-performance (high-cost) antenna systems as demand dictates. Other performance-limiting factors in indoor wireless systems include the physical environment and external interference. It is also shown that electromagnetically-opaque obstacles in the environment can amplify the effectiveness of the antenna deployment by acting as physical zone boundaries that restrict interference. External interference has been shown to cause a significant degradation to the performance of an indoor system when the carrier-to-external-interference ratio (CEIR) is below 30 dB. This performance degradation can be minimised by appropriate antenna deployment, although the optimum antenna orientations depends on the strength of the external interference.

La récente approbation en 2014 du plan de gestion du district hydrographique du basin Tage établit par la Directive Cadre sur l’eau en 2009 fut bloqué dans sa majorité par des tensions entre plusieurs communautés autonomes (régions) espagnoles autour la mise en place d'un débit minimum pour atteindre le bon état écologique des eaux en 2015. Ces rivalités de pouvoirs territoriales sont influencées par l’avenir du transfert Tage-Segura, symbole de la politique hydraulique espagnole et du développement agricole et touristique du sud-est espagnol. A leur part, le caractère international du Bassin du Tage entraîne l’accomplissement des engagements établis lors de la signature de la Convention de l’Albufera en 1998 entre l’Espagne et le Portugal. Le modèle territorial décentralisé, les choix économiques, la sècheresse, et l’omniprésence politique des discours identitaires accentuent en Espagne la conviction selon laquelle il y aurait des « propriétaires » de l’eau. Les résultats des négociations dépendent de stratégies locales et de leur articulation au niveau national et européen, autant que de considérations écologiques. / This year’s approval of Management Plan of the Hydrographical Basin of Tagus that was established by the Water Framework Directive in 2009 has been blocked due to political tensions about the future of the Tagus-Segura transfer. Several spanish autonomous communities (regions) are confronted with “a debit minimum” to improve the good ecological state of water by 2015. This transfer is actually one of the main symbols of the Spanish hydraulic policy and a promoter of regional development on agriculture and tourism for the south-eastern Spain. International Tagus Basin requires fulfilling the commitments under the Albufera Convention signed in 1998 between Spain and Portugal. A Decentralized territorial model, different economic choices, droughts and the omnipresence of regional identity discourses in politics strengths a tendency for Spanish politicians to wish to become « owners » of the water. The results of the negotiations depend on local policies and their articulation at national and European level, as well as environmental considerations. / La reciente aprobación en 2014 del plan hidrológico de la Cuenca del Tajo, establecido por ladirectiva marco del Agua en 2009, fue bloqueado principalmente por tensiones entre variascomunidades autónomas españolas en relación a la fijación de un caudal mínimo necesariopara alcanzar el buen estado ecológico de las aguas en 2015. Estas rivalidades de poderterritoriales están sujetas al futuro del trasvase Tajo-Segura, símbolo de la política hidráulicaespañola y factor determinante del desarrollo agrícola y turístico del sureste español. Por otrolado, el carácter internacional de la cuenca del Tajo implica el cumplimiento de loscompromisos adquiridos entre España y Portugal tras la firma de la convención de laAlbufeira. El modelo territorial descentralizado, los factores económicos, la sequía y laomnipresencia de discursos identitarios acentúan en España la convicción según la cualexistirían propietarios del agua. Los resultados de las negociaciones dependen tanto de lasestrategias locales y su articulación a nivel nacional y europeo como de consideracionesecológicas.

Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) involves the injection of water into an aquifer for subsequent recovery from the same well. Whilst ASR provides a competitive alternative to reservoir storage, a lack of precedence of successful schemes and uncertainties with respect to regulatory requirements, and abstracted water quality and quantity have limited its implementation in the UK. The ambition of this research is to improve understanding of these impediments with particular reference to the Sherwood Sandstone aquifer. Drawing on existing project review and risk management approaches, a decision support tool to help scheme designers scope ASR scheme potential and challenges was developed and tested. The tool provides practitioners with a systematic method for early stage evaluation of ASR schemes with testing confirming broad value and alignment with business processes. Limitations on the recovery of recharged water was investigated through a critical literature review on clogging with geochemical, biological, physical and gaseous binding processes identified as the most likely mechanisms to impact an ASR scheme in this aquifer. Water quality changes during storage and the impact of storage period on recovered water quality were investigated in the laboratory using ASR simulating columns, with storage times of 15, 20, 30 and 60 days. Water quality improvements such as biodegradation of disinfection by-products, denitrification and sulphate reduction were observed. However recovered water quality deteriorated with respect to iron, arsenic, manganese, total organic carbon and nickel. These results, together with the review of regulations conducted as part of decision support tool development, suggest that the current interpretation of the Water Framework Directive requirements is overly restrictive and is deterring wider implementation of ASR in the UK. Conclusions focus on the need for a more appropriate approach to regulating ASR schemes, in particular, one which adopts a risk based approach to determining water quality standards.

No description available.

The main purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study is to examine the current practices of developmental supervision in Saudi Arabia. This study focused on the three approaches of developmental supervision which are, directive informational approach, collaborative approach, and nondirective approach. The data were collected through a self-administered web-based survey on a 4-point Likert scale and subsequent semi-structured interviews. The sample contains male and female teachers from Makkah schools who have different levels of education and teaching experiences. A t-test and a one-way ANOVA were used to compare the participants’ responses. Coding method was used to analyze the qualitative data. The findings indicated that elementary school teachers in Saudi Arabia perceived their supervisors’ practice of developmental approaches to supervision as follows. Supervisors sometimes practiced the directive and collaborative approaches but rarely practiced the nondirective approach. Moreover, gender and years of teaching experience had no impact on participants’ responses regarding the three approaches to developmental supervision. Level of education also had no impact on their responses regarding the directive approach but did appear to affect responses about the collaborative and nondirective approaches. In qualitative phase, the themes were organized within the three approaches under study. The qualitative findings supported the quantitative results, which indicated that the most common supervisory practice has a directive nature. Recommendations were made for future research and for policymakers to establish an appropriate climate to effectively implement developmental supervision or other contemporary approaches to supervision.

The chemical speciation of trace metals controls their potential bioavailability and therefore toxicity to exposed organisms. Despite previous studies demonstrating the ameliorative effects of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) on metal toxicity, the effectiveness of ligands from varying sources and of potentially variable composition in controlling speciation has not been studied in detail in estuarine waters. In addition, the effect of DOC on radionuclide contaminants in combination with trace metals has not been investigated in any waters. This is of particular interest in the estuarine environment, where both anthropogenic and natural ligands, and contaminants that pose a potential threat to ecosystem health, can be present. Competitive ligand exchange adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (CLE-AdCSV) with complexation capacity titrations was employed to determine the speciation of dissolved Cu and Zn, two metals that possess revised environmental quality standards (EQS) which now account for potential metal bioavailability. Dissolved metal concentrations in the < 0.4 and < 0.2 μm filter fractions of samples from the Tamar Estuary were determined during seasonal transects made over a calendar year. Samples were taken over a full salinity range (0-35) and from locations thought to contain DOC from a variety of sources (e.g. terrigenous, biogenic, sewage). No seasonal trends in metal speciation were identified, but a semi-quantitative assessment of DOC type using 3-D fluorimetry showed domination of humic and fulvic type ligands in the upper estuary, and biogenic-type ligands in the lower estuary, the former appearing the most important in controlling Cu and Zn complexation. Filter size fraction differences showed a major portion of the dissolved metal is associated with the 0.2 ≥ 0.4 μm fraction, indicating an importance of larger molecule ligands in controlling potentially bioavailable metal. Sample ligand concentrations ([L_x]) ranged from 1-372 nM (Cu) and 3-412 nM (Zn), and metal-ligand conditional stability constants (log K_(ML_x )) from 10.5-13.5 (Cu) and 7.5-10 (Zn), which are similar to reported literature. Calculated free metal ion concentrations ([M2+]) of 0.3 – 109 nM (Zn) and 1.4 x 10-13 – 7.3 x 10-11 M (Cu) compared well (92% showed no significant differences (P = 0.02)) with direct measurements of [Zn2+] made for the first time in estuarine waters using “Absence of Gradients and Nernst Equilibrium Stripping” (AGNES) after optimisation for estuarine waters. AGNES fully complements CLE-AdCSV in terms of analytical capability and shows that methods are now available that are capable of directly determining [Zn2+] in estuarine waters for use in environmental monitoring studies. Calculations made using the chemical equilibrium speciation programme Visual MINTEQ (VM) showed [Cu2+] and [Zn2+] could be predicted to within one order of magnitude of measured values when log K_(ML_x ) and [L_x] are determined and input into the model. This was in contrast to poor agreement between measured and predicted [M2+] when VM was used with the NICA-Donnan complexing model, which assumes a set portion of the total DOC concentration input is fulvic acid that actively complexes metals. These results corroborate a lack of identification of a relationship between metal speciation in the Tamar samples and DOC concentration, highlighting that knowledge of DOC type, log K_(ML_x )and L_x are important when assessing environmental risk, setting EQSs and for accurate modeling of [Cu2+]. Finally, a combined chemical and biological study investigating the effects of mixtures of DOC, Zn and the radionuclide tritium (3H) on the marine mussel presents the first evidence of a protective effect of Zn on DNA damage caused by 3H. The association of 3H with DOC remains elusive and an assessment of DOC type is recommended for future research, but the study emphasises the importance of investigating mixture effects in order to avoid inaccurate risk assessment and potentially costly site remediation.

This Ph.D. thesis focuses on the characteristic of littoral vegetation in reservoirs with a storage function and on the factors that may affect it. The current state of the littoral vegetation in different types of biotopes was detected by a detailed survey of the littoral in Lipno reservoir. Complexes of environmental factors characteristic for different types of biotopes were described. The dynamics of littoral vegetation in response to changes in water level fluctuations was monitored in a protected bay during three years. Based on the results, the vegetation zonation was described in the eulittoral zone of an aquatic ecosystem with irregular fluctuations in water levels. The thesis also deals with the use of a breakwater structure to protect littoral vegetation in erosion exposed biotopes. The results of all three studies are used as a basis for proposals for supporting the development of littoral vegetation in the eulittoral zone in reservoirs as defined in the Water Framework Directive.

Bruttoavverkningen har accelererat de senaste decennierna och i takt med detta har kraven inom skogsbruket ökat. Idag behöver en omfattande miljöhänsyn tas. Detta ställer även högre krav på entreprenörerna. För att entreprenörerna ska klara av att leva upp till kraven är det viktigt att beställaren av tjänsten överlämnar en arbetsinstruktion i samband med avropande av traktuppdrag. Denna arbetsinstruktion och arbetsorder skapas i form av ett traktdirektiv. Ett kvalitativt traktdirektiv betraktas vara viktigt för Fiskarhedens Trävaru AB och för deras entreprenörer. En fallstudie har genomförts för att utvärdera och beskriva företagets nuvarande traktdirektiv. Resultatet visar att dagens traktdirektiv stundtals är bristfälliga genom att de är dåligt ifyllda. Viktigt innehåll kommuniceras därmed ej som det behövs. Ett förslag på nytt, förbättrat traktdirektiv, där innehållet är tänkt att fyllas i bättre, har därför tagits fram. Med hjälp av detta traktdirektiv kan Fiskarheden upprätthålla ett hållbart skogsbruk. / Gross felling has accelerated in recent decades, and as a consequence, the requirements for forestry have increased. Today a comprehensive environmental consideration needs to be taken. This also imposes higher demands on the contractors. In order for contractors to be able to live up to the requirements, it is important that the customer of the service hands over a work instruction in connection to the removal of region assignments. This work instruction and work order is created in the form of a region directive. A qualitative region directive is considered important for Fiskarhedens Trävaru AB and for their contractors. A case study has been conducted to evaluate and describe the company's current region directive. The results show that the current region directive is sometimes inadequate due to that they are poorly completed. Important content is therefore not communicated as needed. A proposal of a new improved region directive, where the content is intended to be filled in better, has therefore been developed. With the help of this region directive, Fiskarheden can maintain sustainable forestry.

In this study the practical work with the EU Water Framework starts on the island of Gotland. 33 lakes and 32 streams have been characterized and classified regarding to their ecological status. The aim with the characterisation is to create a uniform discription of all waterbodies and a comparable estimation for the future. The aim with the classification is both to study the waterbodies ecological status and to gain knowledge of where the resources should be concentrated so that the ecological status in all waterbodies will be good in 2015. The characterisation has been done according to the EU Water Framework Directive, and the factors that have been applied are the mean depth and area of the lake. The length and size on the catchment area are the factors that have been used on streams. The classification is issued from biological, chemical and hydromorphological elements. The biological elements in both lakes and streams are fish and benthic macroinvertebrates. The chemical elements in lakes consist of total phosphorus, total nitrogen, quotient total nitrogen/total phosphorus, chemical oxygen demand, alkalinity and pH-value. The chemical elements in streams consist of area-specific losses of total phosphorus and total nitrogen, chemical oxygen demand, alkalinity and pH-value. The hydromorphological elements are lakes that are regulated, streams that have been straightened out and streams that have something stopping sawing fish. The result of the characterisation shows five different sea types: large and deep seas, meanlarge and deep seas, meanlarge and shallow seas, small and deep seas as well as small and shallow seas. The result from the classification shows that 26 lakes have high or good ecological status. However, this still means that the seven lakes Asträsk, Bogeviken, Bondansträsk, Fridträsk, Inre Stockviken, Mjölhatteträsk and Paviken have moderate ecological status. 15 streams have good or high ecological status, while nine have moderate status. These nine streams are Burgsvikenån, Gothemsån, Ireån, Halorån, Lummelundaån, Närkån, Snoderån, Vägumeån as well as Västergarnsån. The ecological status could not be decided in eight streams, due to the low number of facts. All lakes and streams with moderate ecological status, except Bondansträsk, have recieved this estimation as a result of the high substance of nutrients. While fish in Bondansträsk is not good, the lake recieved the estimation moderate status. / I detta examensarbete inleds det praktiska arbetet med ramdirektivet för vatten på Gotland. I enlighet med vattendirektivet har 33 gotländska sjöar och 32 gotländska vattendrag karakteriserats och klassificerats utifrån ekologisk status. Syftet med karakteriseringen är att skapa en enhetlig beskrivning av samtliga vattenförekomster, vilket ger ett jämförbart underlag inför fortsatta bedömningar av sjöar och vattendrag på Gotland. Syftet med klassificeringen är att dels ta reda på den ekologiska statusen för gotländska ytvatten, dels att få kunskap om var resurserna bör läggas för att en god ekologisk status skall uppnås till år 2015. Karakteriseringen utfördes enligt vattendirektivets system B, och de faktorer som användes är maxdjup och sjöarea för sjöar samt längd och avrinningsområdets area för vattendrag. Detta resulterade i fem sjötyper: stora och djupa sjöar, stora och grunda sjöar, mellanstora och grunda sjöar, små och djupa sjöar samt små och grunda sjöar. Vattendragen indelades i fyra typer: långa vattendrag med stort avrinningsområde, långa vattendrag med mellanstort avrinningsområde, korta vattendrag med mellanstort avrinningsområde samt korta vattendrag med litet avrinningsområde. Klassningen utgick, i enlighet med vattendirektivet, från biologiska, kemiska och hydromorfologiska faktorer. Den biologiska klassningen i både sjöar och vattendrag gjordes med utgångspunkt från fisk och bottenfauna. Den kemiska bedömningen i sjöar gjordes utifrån totalfosfor, totalkväve, fosfor/kväve-kvot, kemisk syreförbrukning, alkalinitet och pH-värde. För vattendrag har arealspecifik förlust av fosfor och kväve, kemisk syreförbrukning, alkalinitet och pH-värde använts. Den hydromorfologiska bedömningen gjordes med hänsyn tagen till rätning av vattendrag, vandringshinder i vattendrag samt reglering av sjöar. Resultatet av klassificeringen visar att hela 26 av de 33 undersökta gotländska sjöarna har hög eller god ekologisk status, och sju sjöar, Asträsk, Bogeviken, Bondansträsk, Fridträsk, Inre Stockviken, Mjölhatteträsk och Paviken, har måttlig ekologisk status. 15 av de 32 undersökta vattendragen har hög eller god ekologisk status, medan nio vattendrag, Burgsvikenån, Gothemsån, Ireån, Halorån, Lummelundaån, Närkån, Snoderån, Vägumeån samt Västergarnsån, har måttlig ekologisk status. Vidare har ekologisk status inte kunnat bestämmas för åtta vattendrag, då inte tillräckligt med data funnits för att kunna genomföra en rättvis bedömning. Samtliga sjöar och vattendrag som har måttlig ekologisk status, förutom Bondansträsk, har erhållit denna bedömning på grund av alltför höga halter respektive transporter av näringsämnena kväve och fosfor. Bondansträsk har fått detta omdöme eftersom tillstånd och avvikelse från jämförvärde för fisk inte är helt bra.

O presente trabalho é dedicado ao estudo do direito à intimidade do empregado e busca definir o papel do empregador diante de conflitos entre esse direito e outros direitos fundamentais no ambiente de trabalho. No primeiro capítulo examina-se o poder diretivo, dando-se ênfase à sua natureza jurídica, ao seu fundamento jurídico e aos limites que lhe são impostos, a fim de delimitar o âmbito de atuação legitimamente reconhecido ao empregador. No segundo capítulo analisa-se a teoria geral dos direitos da personalidade, a fim de compreender as características gerais aplicáveis ao direito à intimidade. O terceiro capítulo é dedicado exclusivamente ao estudo do direito à intimidade: sua origem, evolução histórica, conceito, alcance, características específicas, limitações e regime jurídico. No quarto capítulo o direito à intimidade é examinado enquanto direito fundamental. Nesse capítulo também é estudada a eficácia horizontal dos direitos fundamentais, a fim de compreender de que forma eles devem ser observados nas relações de trabalho. São apresentadas, ainda, duas propostas de solução para a colisão entre esses direitos: a de José Joaquim Gomes Canotilho e a de Virgílio Afonso da Silva. Por fim, são avaliadas algumas situações hipotéticas em que frequentemente se observa o conflito entre o direito à intimidade e outros direitos fundamentais no ambiente de trabalho e propostas soluções para esses conflitos com base nas ideias dos constitucionalistas mencionados. / This work is devoted to the study of the right to the employees intimacy and its attempt is to define the role of employer before the conflicts between this right and other fundamental rights in the working environment. The first chapter examines the employers directive power, emphasizing their legal nature, legal base and the limits imposed, in order to delimit the scope of action legitimately acknowledged the employer. The second chapter analyzes the general theory of the personality rights, in order to understand the general characteristics applied for the intimacy rights. The third chapter is exclusively devoted to the study of the intimacy rights: their origin, historical evolution, concept, scope, specific characteristics, limitations and legal regime. In the fourth chapter the intimacy right is examined as a fundamental right. In this chapter is either studied the horizontal effectiveness to the fundamental rights, in order to understand how they should be observed in working relationships. There are, in addition, two proposals presented as the solution to the collision between these rights: José Joaquim Gomes Canotilho and Virgílio Afonso da Silva. Finally, some hypothetical situations are assessed where the conflict between the intimacy right and other fundamental rights can be frequently observed in the work environment and it is proposed various solutions to these conflicts based on the ideas of the scholars mentioned.