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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In the United States extreme heat events have grown in size and stature over the past 20 years. Urban Heat Islands exacerbate these extreme heat events leaving a sizable portion of people at risk for heat related fatalities. The evidence of this is seen in the Chicago heat wave of 1995 which killed 500 people over the course of a week and the European heat wave of 2003 which killed 7,000 people in the course of a month. The main guiding questions then become how government and the media can most effectively warn people about the occurrence of extreme heat events? Should extreme heat warnings be issued by T.V., newspaper or by radio? Even if warnings are issued will the population at large still change their behavior? Another possible question is whether people most vulnerable to extreme heat will change their behavior? A survey in 2010 by NASA will be the main basis for this analysis. This survey set out to see how well people in Phoenix, Philadelphia, and Dayton responded to extreme heat alerts by changing their behavior.

Inbreeding depression is one of the factors that can increase the risk of extinction of small populations, and therefore understanding its effects is currently an important issue in conservation biology. Until recently, few studies on inbreeding depression were carried out in wild populations. These recent studies have highlighted the variability in detecting inbreeding depression among natural populations and the multitude of factors that can influence its expression. Many of the factors affecting inbreeding depression in wild populations remain largely unexplored and most of the recent studies in this area have tended to focus on incidents of inbreeding in populations with a history of large population size. The aim of this study is to investigate the relative importance inbreeding depression has had on individual fitness parameters in a population of New Zealand's Stewart Island robins Petroica australis rakiura introduced to Ulva Island. This island population has historically gone through several population bottlenecks. Four main factors that potentially influence the rate of inbreeding and the extent of inbreeding depression, were investigated: environmental variability, life history stage, genetic load and dispersal. Generalized Linear Mixed Modelling was first used to determine how weather affected nest survival. Weather effects were then incorporated into models containing demographic factors to control for environmental variability, and finally parental, maternal and paternal inbreeding co-efficients (=f) were added to models to determine the relative importance of inbreeding depression. Interactions between inbreeding depression and environmental factors were explored. Three different life history stages were compared to determine the differences in inbreeding depression at each stage as well as cumulative effects over time. The genetic load of the population was estimated using lethal equivalents allowing for standardised comparison of inbreeding depression with other species. The likelihood of inbreeding in the population was also explored by investigating the factors affecting dispersal patterns and evaluating evidence for inbreeding avoidance. Inbreeding depression was found to be mild in the robin population. Weather did not have strong effects on nest survival or interactions with inbreeding. Female age was the only factor interacting with inbreeding, with younger inbred females experiencing significantly reduced offspring juvenile survival. Parental and paternal f did not significantly affect brood survival at any life history stage, however, maternal f showed significant effects on nest juvenile survival with the strongest effect occurring when survival was examined cumulatively over all life history stages. The Stewart Island robin had a relatively low lethal equivalent value compared to the closely related North Island robin and other avian species. This difference was associated with the Stewart Island robin having a low genetic load, most likely due to historical genetic purging during periods of population bottleneck. The Ulva Island robin population did not appear to be avoiding inbreeding through dispersal. Dispersal distance was most strongly influenced by the location of the natal nest of the dispersing offspring. In conclusion, the genetic history of the population was likely to have had the strongest impact on the severity of inbreeding depression in the Ulva Island robin population. The results of the thesis highlight the need to examine a number of factors to be able to explain variability in inbreeding depression among populations.

Since the 1970s, the Tucson Basin has been the focus of an increasing number of research and cultural resource management archaeological projects. A vast body of data has been accumulated relevant to the prehistoric environment and culture history of the basin. One research area that has received special attention in the last two decades is Hohokam settlement patterns. This study was designed to examine that issue, in addition to producing an overview of the cultural and environmental setting of the basin. The study area consists of a 5-kilometer-wide corridor along the Santa Cruz River between the towns of Marana and Continental. In order to provide the necessary background for the settlement pattern research, data first were compiled on the environmental setting of the basin, including geological, climatic, biotic, and hydrological aspects. The environmental overview that is provided in Chapter 2 is the first such study, of this scale, to be produced for the Tucson Basin. In conjunction with the environmental overview, a cultural overview was developed that encompasses the Paleo-Indian through Protohistoric periods. Current thoughts relevant to the Tucson Basin temporal sequence were synthesized to produce a chronology and culture history, which is presented in Chapter 3. The culture history is accompanied by a research history of Tucson Basin archaeology in Chapter 4, which classifies prior research into four major periods and discusses current research trends. The main body of the study, presented in Chapters 5 and 6, contains Hohokam site distribution and settlement pattern data, which are discussed in relationship to the environment and other relevant factors. The study area as a whole is examined in Chapter 5, whereas a subset of the data, consisting of southern Tucson Basin Hohokam sites, is discussed in Chapter 6. The study concludes with a comparative review of cultural-environmental studies that have been conducted on the Colorado Plateau. A settlement pattern model, known as the AnaAnzi adaptation model, that uses a dynamic disequilibrium approach to understanding settlement pattern change, is examined and its applicability to an analysis of Hohokam settlement patterns is discussed.

Manual lifting tasks are the predominant means of transporting materials in industry with many of these tasks being performed in confined spaces. Research has tended to focus on the biomechanical implications of working in small spaces with a decided lack of information about the physiological and perceptual responses in these environments. This holistic study therefore investigated the manner in which the human operator responded to conditions where the ceiling height was lowered and reach demands increased. Thirty-two young physically active male subjects (age: 21.55yr; stature: 1810mm) were recruited to complete a 2-way repeated measures experiment during which four lifting protocols where different combinations of ceiling height (‘normal’ or reduced to 1460mm in height) and reach demands (400mm or 800mm) were tested. A crude postural analysis was conducted while physiological responses were detailed and continuously monitored. Perceptual responses were also assessed. The tasks with a ‘normal’ ceiling height (mean compression forces: 2615N; mean shearing forces: 388N) and the greatest reach distance (mean compression forces: 3655N; mean shearing forces: 386N) placed individuals under the highest strain. Mean heart rate (HR) responses were significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the URN condition when compared to the RF condition. Furthermore, HR responses were statistically significantly affected by the height of the ceiling and the reach depth. Statistically significant differences (p< 0.05) in mean tidal volume (VT) occurred in the least (URN) and most (RF) restrictive conditions. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in mean VE were evident between URN and URF, between URN and RF and between RN and RF. Ceiling height and reach demands had a statistically significant effect on all respiratory responses. There was a statistically significant difference in mean oxygen consumption (VO2) between the URN and all other conditions, and between the most restricted task (RF) and all other conditions. Both the effect of ceiling height and reach demands had a statistically statistically significant impact on VO2. Respiratory quotient (RQ) was significantly higher when loads were moved over 800mm compared to 400mm yet ceiling height did not have a statistically significant effect on RQ. Mean energy expenditure was significantly higher in the RF condition compared to the two least restrictive conditions (URN and RN). Statistically significant differences in EE were also evident between URN and RN, and between URN and URF. EE was significantly affected by reductions in ceiling height and increases in reach demands. Perceptually, the RF task (mean ‘Central’ RPE of 11) was perceived to place significantly greater cardiorespiratory demands on the operator compared to the URN (CRPE: 10) and RN (CRPE: 10) conditions. Statistically significant differences in perceived musculoskeletal strain only occurred between URN and RF. The effect of reach was perceived to have a statistically significant effect on both cardiovascular and musculoskeletal demands whereas ceiling height only had a statistically significant effect on musculoskeletal demands. The greatest discomfort was experienced in the lower back with the most intense discomfort occurring in the RN condition.

As the global energy crisis continues to have an impact on developing countries such as South Africa, stakeholders form an increasingly significant role especially around the concerns of development and the impact on the environment. Environmental conflicts have risen to the forefront in many areas in South Africa. Environmental conflicts fall under public disputes, which often occur as a result of human needs. This study is an attempt to explore the environmental conflict surrounding the proposed Nuclear Power station at Thyspunt, Oyster Bay in the Eastern Cape. Stakeholders are an integral part of environmental conflicts, and analyzing interests of stakeholders is vital in understanding environmental conflicts. This explorative study, seeks explore and to describe the interests of homeowners who are one of the key stakeholders involved the environmental conflict at Thyspunt, Oyster Bay in the Eastern Cape. The homeowners are represented by the St Francis Residents/ Ratepayers Association. The researcher conducted extensive face-face interviews with these homeowners. The organizations official documents, minutes of their meetings, letters to the media and various publications in which homeowners expressed their feelings were also made use of by the researcher in order to triangulate findings, as well as for data collection methods. The major themes were constructed from the study include: Security, Trust, Power and the various sources thereof, as well as a need for self-actualization based on values, and a final theme of the positive functions of conflict. The challenges facing the homeowners in terms of human security and environmental impact of the nuclear development are highlighted. Further recommendations for a more in-depth study are also made.