The Hartley site (FaNp-19) is a Late Precontact Period multicomponent habitation and bison kill and processing site located on the periphery of a sand dune environment surrounded by grasslands. The Hartley site, located within the Saskatoon city limits, was originally identified by Ken Cronk and members of the Saskatoon Archaeological Society in the 1950s. Subsequent excavations by Millenium Consulting Ltd., the University of Saskatchewan, Western Heritage Services Inc., and Stantec Consulting Ltd. have all added to the database of knowledge pertaining to this site. Radiometric dates and the recovery of artifacts characteristic of the Avonlea Horizon, the Old Womens Phase, and the Mortlach Phase have demonstrated that this region was a popular place for occupation and bison procurement during the Late Precontact Period. <p>A detailed analysis of the faunal remains recovered from the area known as the Wooded Hollow has demonstrated that this assemblage differs significantly from the remains recovered from the previously researched Brushy Depression. It appears that bison were being heavily harvested and that the use of secondary faunal sources was extremely limited. Determination of seasonality is based on cluster and discriminant function analysis of carpal, tarsal, longbone and phalange data. The resulting herd structure of almost equal numbers of males and females suggests an occupation during the rut, or the fall months. Some immature elements and non-bison remains suggest occupation may have occurred in the spring. It is therefore possible that this region was utilized over a period of time for the purposes of procuring animals from the spring to the fall months. The complete lack of foetal bone in this region suggests that, unlike in the Brushy Depression, the Wooded Hollow was not occupied during the winter months. <p>Taphonomic factors were considered in performing a complete faunal analysis of this thesis. Non-human agents and associated processes suggest that the assemblage was buried quickly after the site was vacated. The extremely fragmented nature of the assemblage, however, suggests that humans had a greater effect on the assemblage than the non-human agents. Based on breakage patterns it is determined that these remains were being processed for the purposes of both marrow and grease extraction. Application of a site determination model also suggests that it is likely that both kill and processing activities occurred in this area. <p>Location of the Hartley site within a dune environment is linked to the activities that occurred at this site. A review of ethnographic accounts of bison pounding and surrounding activities has revealed that availability of ecological resources such as wood and necessary topographic features characteristic of dune environments were essential to the success of bison procurement. Although it has been suggested that settlement of these regions is also linked to the variety and stability of resources in ecotones, or areas of resource overlap, between grassland and sandhill environments, a review of several faunal assemblages from various similar Northern Plains assemblages reveals that bison was by far the dominant species exploited. Variety in terms of faunal resources may not have been a factor at all. It is therefore suggested in this thesis that settlement on the periphery of sandhill environments is linked to the presence of bison in the surrounding grassland region, as well as to the stability of the resources in wetland areas supported by high water tables in the dune environments. Also known as ecological islands these regions may have been more stable in terms of essential resources such as wood and other botanical resources, in addition to providing areas of shelter during the colder winter months. It is concluded that settlement and large scale bison procurement activities in several sandhill environments on the Northern Plains is tightly linked to availability of bison, the availability of wood, a conducive topographic setting, and the stability of resources in these ecological islands.

Stress within healthcare environments can be the result of uncertainty, illness, or the environment itself. In order to promote better health outcomes for dialysis users, scientific literature advocates stress reduction within healthcare environments. Dialysis patients are subject to numerous stressors, including the threat of potential losses and lifestyle change. Studies have revealed that patients who suffer from chronic illness perceive different levels of quality of life than those who are considered healthy and because of these lifestyle changes they employ various coping mechanisms when dealing with stress. There is a rising movement to mitigate stress through the use of holistic healing, an approach that addresses a person’s mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual elements to create a total healing environment. In accordance with this growing movement, the intent of this practicum is to create an outpatient centre for Manitoba’s dialysis patients that increases their perceived quality of life. The inquiry process began by questioning dialysis patients and conducting observational research at the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre. Literature and precedent reviews were conducted, and the design programme was developed. The result of this research-based design proposal is an outpatient hemodialysis centre located within the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre that helps mitigate stress while patients attempt to cope with lifestyle changes. The resulting design is one that is warm, welcoming, home-like and comfortable, which is supported by the theories explained in the literature review. This environment provides a greater sense of control, creates positive distractions and allows spiritually evoking opportunities to take place for all users of this new facility. / February 2009

This thesis is a project carried out at the “Centre for RF measurements Technology“at the University of Gävle. The first aim was basically the characterization of different industrial indoor environments to get a model that describes dispersive features of each environment.   The results of previous measurements campaign on three industrial environments as steel mill, storage paper and industrial process mill are used. Also new Power Delay Profile (PDP) on corridor and laboratory has been developed.   Measurements for three frequency bands are done (183-683 MHz, 1640-2140MHz and 2200-2700MHz) and for line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) industrial and laboratory scenaries cases are presented.   All these models have been compared with other existing models as Saleh-Valenzuela Model, Two Cluster Model and Indoor Power Delay Profile Model (IPDP Model) and fit-line, typical deviation are shown.   Finally we present a study of the different systems used in the industry and the best suited system to the conditions is chosen.

The Hartley site (FaNp-19) is a Late Precontact Period multicomponent habitation and bison kill and processing site located on the periphery of a sand dune environment surrounded by grasslands. The Hartley site, located within the Saskatoon city limits, was originally identified by Ken Cronk and members of the Saskatoon Archaeological Society in the 1950s. Subsequent excavations by Millenium Consulting Ltd., the University of Saskatchewan, Western Heritage Services Inc., and Stantec Consulting Ltd. have all added to the database of knowledge pertaining to this site. Radiometric dates and the recovery of artifacts characteristic of the Avonlea Horizon, the Old Womens Phase, and the Mortlach Phase have demonstrated that this region was a popular place for occupation and bison procurement during the Late Precontact Period. <p>A detailed analysis of the faunal remains recovered from the area known as the Wooded Hollow has demonstrated that this assemblage differs significantly from the remains recovered from the previously researched Brushy Depression. It appears that bison were being heavily harvested and that the use of secondary faunal sources was extremely limited. Determination of seasonality is based on cluster and discriminant function analysis of carpal, tarsal, longbone and phalange data. The resulting herd structure of almost equal numbers of males and females suggests an occupation during the rut, or the fall months. Some immature elements and non-bison remains suggest occupation may have occurred in the spring. It is therefore possible that this region was utilized over a period of time for the purposes of procuring animals from the spring to the fall months. The complete lack of foetal bone in this region suggests that, unlike in the Brushy Depression, the Wooded Hollow was not occupied during the winter months. <p>Taphonomic factors were considered in performing a complete faunal analysis of this thesis. Non-human agents and associated processes suggest that the assemblage was buried quickly after the site was vacated. The extremely fragmented nature of the assemblage, however, suggests that humans had a greater effect on the assemblage than the non-human agents. Based on breakage patterns it is determined that these remains were being processed for the purposes of both marrow and grease extraction. Application of a site determination model also suggests that it is likely that both kill and processing activities occurred in this area. <p>Location of the Hartley site within a dune environment is linked to the activities that occurred at this site. A review of ethnographic accounts of bison pounding and surrounding activities has revealed that availability of ecological resources such as wood and necessary topographic features characteristic of dune environments were essential to the success of bison procurement. Although it has been suggested that settlement of these regions is also linked to the variety and stability of resources in ecotones, or areas of resource overlap, between grassland and sandhill environments, a review of several faunal assemblages from various similar Northern Plains assemblages reveals that bison was by far the dominant species exploited. Variety in terms of faunal resources may not have been a factor at all. It is therefore suggested in this thesis that settlement on the periphery of sandhill environments is linked to the presence of bison in the surrounding grassland region, as well as to the stability of the resources in wetland areas supported by high water tables in the dune environments. Also known as ecological islands these regions may have been more stable in terms of essential resources such as wood and other botanical resources, in addition to providing areas of shelter during the colder winter months. It is concluded that settlement and large scale bison procurement activities in several sandhill environments on the Northern Plains is tightly linked to availability of bison, the availability of wood, a conducive topographic setting, and the stability of resources in these ecological islands.

The purpose of this project is to develop a software framework, a 3D engine, which will generate images to be projected onto facets of a spatially immersive display (SID). The goal is to develop a software library to support the creation of images of specified 3D environments which are specific to the display geometries of a polyhedral class of SIDs. Part of this goal is developing auxiliary software to allow this library to be thoroughly tested. When properly working, the images being displayed on adjoining faces of the SID appear spatially and temporally consistent with one another, creating the illusion that the user is within a surrounding three-dimensional space.

Thesis (M.S. in Bio. E.)--School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004. Directed by Hanjoong Jo. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 46-58).

Thesis (M.U.D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 261-264).

This study takes a spatial perspective to analyze traditional land-use and production systems in humid tropical environments, with emphasis on the agricultural dimension. The setting is the Pastaza River Basin in the Ecuadorian Amazon and the Achuar and Shiwiar indigenous groups are used to highlight the elements of these systems. This dissertation relies on land use/land cover change and agricultural change theories to analyze indigenous land use systems. The study uses empirical data to examine the linkages between decision making, the demand for land resources, and landscape change. Results suggest that the transition from nomadic-dispersed to permanent-nucleic villages leads to the implementation of a land-use zoning system that responds to changes in resource availability. This system can be represented by a concentric land-use-zones model that depicts an efficient distribution of land resources around service infrastructure such as landing strips, health centers, or schools. Overall, the demand for land resources varies with changes in household composition. At the beginning of the household’s life cycle, the demand for farmed land is relatively low because the family’s food requirements are minimal. As households grow, the demand increases and agriculture expands. As young adults leave the house for any reason, the demand for cultivated land decreases and the extent of agricultural land use contracts. In addition, the demand for land resources is associated with ecological conditions of the habitats in which production occurs and with distance to the community. Areas with good soils have smaller agricultural plots than areas with poor soils. People living in poor-soil environments manage larger fields but produce less food per unit of area than households with good soils. The probability of an area of becoming agriculture increases in sites farther away from existing cultivation fields, service infrastructure, and homes since areas closer to these features have already been used and are recuperating as fallows. Additionally, people are cultivating in areas that are relatively steeper than older agricultural fields. These findings suggest that indigenous people are expanding agriculture into areas with adverse pedologic and topographic conditions, which may be an indication of overall scarcity of land resources for food production. / text

Background: Health care settings are generally regarded as stress inducing environments. Stress can alter the immune response, impair wound healing and create a greater risk for asthma, diabetes, gastrointestinal disorder and myocardial infarction. Beginning in the 1980s and 1990s, there has been increasing interest in healing environments and evidence-based design concepts. Yet, there has been little progress developing healing environments and using evidence-based design for psychiatric inpatient units, a uniquely stressful environment. Psychiatric units today continue to use designs such as caged in outdoor patio areas that resemble facilities that incarcerate rather than facilities which reduce stress and facilitate healing. The purpose of this systematic literature review was to identify design features that are evidence-based which can be used to create an optimal inpatient psychiatric patient room by: (1) analyzing the research literature for evidence of architectural and design elements that could be used in the inpatient psychiatric care setting to reduce stress and improve the well-being; (2) identifying design elements that are consistent with accreditation and licensing standards for inpatient psychiatric units; and (3) designing a psychiatric inpatient room that has evidence-based elements to reduce stress and improve well-being. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify factors in the inpatient healthcare environment that support an optimal healing environment. The PICO question for this review was what design factors in the inpatient healthcare environment support an optimal healing environment? A search of five databases and a hand search of reference lists were conducted. The search included studies from 1980 to the present, original research conducted on inpatient units with adult patients that investigated an intervention with an outcome that promotes a healing environment. Experimental, quasi-experimental, non-experimental, systematic literature reviews and expert opinions were sought and evaluated using a scale to analyze scientific rigor and research quality. Results: A total of 6,874 articles were identified in the search. Seventy-six articles were eligible for full text screening. After review of the full text, 38 articles were determined to be eligible for evidence analysis. After removing 11 inadmissible articles due to poor quality, 27 articles were included in the final synthesis. The search found research on eight hospital design features which may support optimal healing environments: artwork (n = 7), building configuration (n = 2), finish materials (n = 7), interior details (n = 6), lighting (n = 11), nature and view (n = 8), noise (n = 10), room configuration (n = 6). More than 50% of the research on optimal healing environments used quasi-experimental and non-experimental designs with rare use of experimental research designs. Overall, the quality of the research on optimal healing environments is not high, but results were reasonably consistent across studies. Conclusions: Evidence suggests seven design features for healing inpatient psychiatric environments, including: (a) single rooms, (b) calm, naturalistic and domestic artwork or photographs, (c) east facing windows, (d) plants, (e) acoustic ceiling tiles, (f) patient rooms removed from noise producing unit areas and (g) a window view of nature. These seven recommendations were examined for consistency with existing Arizona statutes and industry standards for behavioral health care environments. Recommendations found to be inconsistent with these statutes and standards were modified to reach congruency with the statutes and guidelines, and then an evidence-based design of a psychiatric inpatient room design was formulated and is illustrated. Future research on interventions to create healing environments at the greatest scientific rigor is needed along with measurement techniques to quantify stress responses to the environment.

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