Cancer represents a major cause of human morbidity and mortality. There is no scientific consensus regarding cancer causality or prevention. Occupational exposure potentially remains a major contributor to the incidence of this group of diseases, but the data to assess its impact continues to elude researchers and public health advocates. Among women in industrialised countries, breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer. The known or suspected risk factors, including family history and lifetime oestrogen load, can account for less than 50 percent of the cases. New hypotheses about the role of xenoestrogens and endocrine disrupting compounds are challenging the previous scientific precepts regarding cancer causality. Within this context, the extent to which a community-based occupational history data collection initiative can contribute to advancing our scientific understanding of associations between cancer and work is explored. The possibility that occupational histories data can find associations missed in conventional breast cancer research that ignore occupation is also explored. More specifically, the extent to which data derived from an occupational history questionnaire can provide insight into the potential association between breast cancer risk and farming is examined. Occupational histories of cancer patients contain data that could help to elucidate and inform our understanding of cancer aetiology and prevention. In the community of Windsor, Ontario, Canada a local cancer treatment centre responded to community concerns by cooperating in a collaborative research project to collect the occupational histories of cancer patients. 'Computerised Record of Occupation Made Easy' (CROME) was an innovative method that allowed individual patients to document their lifetime work histories. This data collection process represented the first time a local Canadian cancer treatment center had undertaken such an initiative. Based on the hypothesis generated by CROME, a new research study was launched - Lifetime Occupational History Record (LOHR). Over a two-and-a-half year period, all female patients at the Windsor Regional Cancer Centre with new incident breast cancer were invited to participate in a population-based case-control study along with an equivalent number of randomly selected community controls. A comprehensive lifetime history questionnaire was administered to subjects by interview. Data gathered included known or suspected risk factors along with a complete occupational history of all jobs ever worked. An occupational history of farming alone produced an Odds Ratio (OR) = 2.8 (Cl, 95%, 1.6-4.8). These findings are important for our understanding of cancer causality with implications for resolving the current scientific conflict regarding the role of occupationally caused carcinogenesis. Such collaborative, community-based studies also demonstrate the importance of community participation in the scientific research process.

There are limitations to conventional occupational health and safety research approaches and practices and numerous barriers to overcome in order to achieve progress. Occupational health and safety is impacted by the broader social-political environment. Corporatism affects the directions, ideas and practice of regulators, educators, the labour movement, scientists, medical professionals, and society as a whole, thus inhibiting workers' power to influence change. The thesis therefore explores both the wider influences and barriers to occupational health and safety advances, focusing particularly on the Canadian situation, through the general research questions: What has influenced occupational health and safety policies and practices, especially in Canada? What are some of the limitations of conventional occupational health and safety research and practices? To what extent can participatory action research and mapping address identified limitations? These questions are explored from the perspective of the population potentially at risk. New theories and approaches to occupational health and safety research are then applied in this thesis in order to explore a more specific multi-part research question: Can mapping within worker-based participatory action research be used to explore occupational health and safety conditions? In particular, can mapping contribute to occupational health and safety improvements at a local level and beyond; establish workers' previous exposures for compensation purposes; support efforts to bring about justice through compensation for workers affected by unsafe working conditions; and raise worker and public awareness of health and safety? These questions are explored through two different case studies, which examine, in depth, occupational health and safety action and possible remedies. Casino gaming workers in Windsor, Ontario, Canada undertook a collaborative study to investigate and improve current health and safety conditions. Former Holmes foundry and asbestos insulation workers in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada undertook a collaborative study to provide evidence of exposures and ensuing health problems to support claims for compensation. The outcomes of the case studies shed light on the bigger Canadian health and safety picture and demonstrate that mapping as a data collection method used within a participatory action research approach can accomplish a broad range of objectives. Mapping can raise workers' awareness, facilitate communication, build solidarity and cohesiveness, foster community support, mobilise workers to take action to reduce hazards or win compensation, in turn influencing employers, the compensation board and government agencies. The case studies accomplished the shared objective of raising worker and public awareness. The casino workers also gained occupational health and safety improvements and the Holmes workers were successful in gaining compensation.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the exchange-rate exposure of the electronic firms in Taiwan. Particularly, we consider the potential correlations between the market returns and the changes in exchange rates, which are two important variables when we examine the exchange-rate exposure, and try to examine the exchange-rate exposure via nonlinear model. In contrast to previous results which used U.S. data; however, the movements of the value of the electronic firms in Taiwan, as reflected in the stock returns, seem highly sensitive to changes in the exchange rates. Examining the effects of possible determinants on the exchange-rate exposure measured as NT dollars against US dollar, the ratio of long-term debt has significant effects, but the sign is not consistent with the hypothesis. Besides, further examining the effects of possible determinants on the exchange-rate exposure measured as NT dollars against Japan Yen, we found there are only showing weak evidence for the influence of the possible determinants.

Few health studies of psychological stress have examined individual socio-environmental stressors in the field at a daily path scale. An individual's conception of a stressful experience is inextricably linked to the process of cognitive appraisals, which are the meanings assigned to social situations and environments. Directly assessing individual stress exposures in the field as they are experienced requires mobile measures that are people-based, rather than using place- or activity-based proxies. The integration of time geography and psychology's theory of daily hassles/uplifts allow for the measurement of stressors from a geographic perspective. This study advances research on socio-environmental health exposures by (1) focusing on measuring a cognitive health exposure; (2) using mobile methods to acquire quantitative and qualitative field data; and (3) geo-referencing physiological responses to examine daily path patterns and commonalities in stress exposure. In this study, spatiotemporal paths linked with physiological measurement are combined with individual narratives on stress, place, and social situations to examine socio-environmental factors that influence stress exposures. Mobile measurement tools include wristwatch Global Positioning System (GPS) units with synched heart rate monitors and digital audio recorders. Stress as operationalized in this study is a negative cognitive appraisal and related physiological reaction to internal dialogues and the surrounding socio-environment assessed through heart rate reactivity (HRR) and individual accounts. Measuring geographically referenced physiological responses and personal accounts is a novel field approach that captures the acute stressful episodes that are a part of daily life. Results show that there is a difference between measuring stress through a static metric like the Student-Life Stress Inventory (SSI) and assessing stress with mobile self-report and monitored measures. The negative correlation between HRR and SSI total score appears to highlight the divide between fundamentally different measurement methods for stress exposures; active versus passive. Regardless of the relation with previous psychometrics the mobile measures used in this research produced a 75 percent concordance between the participants self-reported stress episodes and monitored heart rate (HR) logs. HRR episodes that build in intensity and then ebb toward the end are more common than those that have an abrupt beginning and ending point. The incorporation of ethnographic audio diaries and the participant survey provided insight about the influence of academic pressures on socio-environmental contexts relating to stress experiences.

Forskning kring tillväxten av leasing har idag resulterat i att leasing omfattas av en femtedel av den totala externa finansieringen företag väljer att anskaffa tillgångar på. Ett företags finansieringsmöjligheter sätter prägel på huruvida företag överlever på marknaden idag. Då leasing är ett av de mest attraktiva finansieringsalternativen var det högaktuellt att undersöka vad leasing var samt hur redovisningen skiljer sig åt av leasing mellan företag och länder. Den stora frågan som företag måste ta hänsyn till är om de ska lånefinansiera eller leasa sina tillgångar. Rent teoretiskt är dessa förfaringssätt likartade vad gäller kostnader och betalningsansvar. I praktiken återfinns dock vissa skillnader, vilka användare av redovisningen påverkas av. Skillnaderna består i att redovisningskraven ser annorlunda ut när det handlar om leasing. I IAS 17 baseras främsta kritiken på att leasing kan hanteras och avtalas genom två olika former, som operationella- och finansiella. Eftersom operationella inte tas upp i balansräkningen till skillnad från de finansiella avtalen, valde vi att forska vidare kring vilka effekter detta medför samtidigt hur ett nytt förslag till ny leasingstandard kommer att påverka leasingen redovisningsmässigt.Syftet med uppsatsen var att försöka få oss en djupare förståelse kring hur redovisningen av leasing går till i praktiken samtidigt se vilka konsekvenser det nya förslaget får på redovisningen. Kommer problematiken med sättet att redovisa leasing på att lösas eller kommer det uppstå nya problem? För att inte få en alltför generell bild på vad leasing är valde vi att undersöka problemet utifrån ett redovisningsmässigt perspektiv.Tillvägagångssättet i arbetet har varit en kvalitativ forskningsansats där intervjuer genomfördes med revisorer och redovisningsspecialister samtidigt som elektroniska artiklar användes för att skapa den teoretiska referensramen för att sedan använda tidskrifter, intervjuer och elektroniska dokument för den empiriska delen av studien.Ändringarna i IAS 17s regelverk kommer att kommer att leda till att komplexiteten inom redovisningen ökar. Samtidigt kommer efterlevnadskostnaderna att nå nya höjder då en ny standard innebär ny kunskap därmed enbart insatta personer kommer att ha den kunskapen till en början. Allteftersom kommer nya rutiner att uppstå och därmed en anpassning till en ny standard.Resultatet som erhölls i detta arbete är av värde för externa intressenter då de får ett mer begripligt material som underlättar beslutsfattande med hjälp av finansiella rapporter. Det har framgått att en ny standard kommer att öka komplexiteten inom redovisning av leasing men samtidigt som missbruket av leasingavtalen kommer till en viss del att upphöras. Dock är det viktigt att ha i åtanke att en ny standard inte enbart innebär positiva effekter utan även negativa effekter och dessa i form av att nya problem kommer att uppstå.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / The northern Central Highlands region of Tasmania extending north from Cradle Mountain to the Middlesex Plains shows evidence of three glacial stages, with the final stage consisting of several ice advance phases. From oldest to youngest these have been named the Middlesex Glaciation, the Sunshine Glaciation and the Cradle Glaciation. Cosmogenic exposure-age dating of boulders and ice-abraded bedrock, radiocarbon dating of post-glacial organic deposits, and relative dating techniques have resulted in assignment of the following ages for the events: Middlesex Glaciation, MIS 10; Sunshine Glaciation, MIS 6 and the Cradle Glaciation having MIS 3 and MIS 2 phases. The Cradle Glaciation correlates with the global Last Glaciation. Exposure-age dating of three of the Cradle Glaciation ice advance phases indicates that the Pencil Pine Phase predates 38.9±4.0 ka, the Dove Phase occurred ca. 29.2±1.4 ka, and the Cradle Valley Phase occurred between >19.7±1.1 – 17.6±1.0 ka. At least two undated retreat/readvance phases followed the Cradle Valley Phase. Deglaciation of the area was probably complete considerably before 11.2 ka. The recognised glacial events decreased in areal extent in each successive advance. Using the 0°C summer mean isotherm as the base for the altitude of the equilibrium line altitude, the regional snowline, regional snowline depression and temperature depression for each of the events were: Middlesex Glaciation, 942 m/1616 m/10.5°C; Sunshine Glaciation, 984 m/1574 m/10.23°C; Pencil Pine Phase, 1010 m/1548 m/10.06°C; Dove Phase, 1050 m/1508 m/9.8°C; and the Cradle Valley Phase, 1060 m/1498 m/9.74°C. The geomorphic evidence and dating of several phases of the Cradle Glaciation indicates a complex history of ice advances for Tasmania during the Last Glaciation.

Strong evidence exists to support the use of a continuous (>8hr/day) hypoxic stimulus (either geographical altitude or simulated hypoxia) for enhancing the physical performance of endurance athletes. However, evidence supporting the use of acutely intermittent hypoxia (<1hr/day) for enhancing performance is less clear. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of acutely intermittent hypoxic exposure on physiological and physical performance measures in team sport athletes. Using a single-blind controlled design, 14 trained basketball players (HYP = 7, CON = 7) were subjected to 15 days of intermittent hypoxia or normoxia. Each exposure was 37 minutes in duration (four cycles of 7min on, 3min off) and achieved using a nitrogen dilution device (Airo Ltd, Auckland, NZ). Prescribed peripheral oxygen saturation levels (SpO2) were maintained using an automatic biofeedback system and were progressively decreased from 86-89% on Day 1 to 75-78% on Day 15. A range of physiological measures and performance tests were conducted seven and two days before, and ten days after the intervention. The tests were: an incremental treadmill test to establish peak oxygen consumption ( peak) and running economy (RE), Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test (YYIRT), and the Repeated High-Intensity Endurance Test (RHIET). Whole-blood samples were taken to assess a range of haematological measures. At 10 days post-intervention the HYP group, relative to the CON group, exhibited the following percent changes (±90% confidence limits, CL), and effect sizes (ES; ±90% CL); YYIRT running speedpeak (4.8; ± 1.6%, ES: 1.0 ± 0.4; benefit almost certain), RHIET total sprint time (-3.5; ± 1.6%; ES: -0.4 ± 0.2; benefit very likely), RHIET slowest sprint time (-5.0; ± 2.4%; ES: -0.5 ± 0.2; benefit very likely), soluble transferrin receptor (9.2; ± 10.1%; ES: 0.3 ± 0.3; benefit possible) running economy (11km.hr-1) (-9.0; ± 9.7%; ES: -0.7 ± 0.7; benefit likely, probable), and running economy (13km.hr-1) (-8.2; ± 6.9%; ES: -0.7 ± 0.5; benefit likely, probable). Changes to running economy (9km.hr-1), peak, maximum heart rate and lactate and all other blood measures were unclear. In conclusion, acutely intermittent hypoxia resulted in worthwhile changes in physical performance of trained basketball players in tests relevant to competition. However, the lack of clear change in physiological and haematological measures makes it difficult to determine the underlying mechanism for such enhancement.

Strong evidence exists to support the use of a continuous (>8hr/day) hypoxic stimulus (either geographical altitude or simulated hypoxia) for enhancing the physical performance of endurance athletes. However, evidence supporting the use of acutely intermittent hypoxia (<1hr/day) for enhancing performance is less clear. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of acutely intermittent hypoxic exposure on physiological and physical performance measures in team sport athletes. Using a single-blind controlled design, 14 trained basketball players (HYP = 7, CON = 7) were subjected to 15 days of intermittent hypoxia or normoxia. Each exposure was 37 minutes in duration (four cycles of 7min on, 3min off) and achieved using a nitrogen dilution device (Airo Ltd, Auckland, NZ). Prescribed peripheral oxygen saturation levels (SpO2) were maintained using an automatic biofeedback system and were progressively decreased from 86-89% on Day 1 to 75-78% on Day 15. A range of physiological measures and performance tests were conducted seven and two days before, and ten days after the intervention. The tests were: an incremental treadmill test to establish peak oxygen consumption ( peak) and running economy (RE), Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test (YYIRT), and the Repeated High-Intensity Endurance Test (RHIET). Whole-blood samples were taken to assess a range of haematological measures. At 10 days post-intervention the HYP group, relative to the CON group, exhibited the following percent changes (±90% confidence limits, CL), and effect sizes (ES; ±90% CL); YYIRT running speedpeak (4.8; ± 1.6%, ES: 1.0 ± 0.4; benefit almost certain), RHIET total sprint time (-3.5; ± 1.6%; ES: -0.4 ± 0.2; benefit very likely), RHIET slowest sprint time (-5.0; ± 2.4%; ES: -0.5 ± 0.2; benefit very likely), soluble transferrin receptor (9.2; ± 10.1%; ES: 0.3 ± 0.3; benefit possible) running economy (11km.hr-1) (-9.0; ± 9.7%; ES: -0.7 ± 0.7; benefit likely, probable), and running economy (13km.hr-1) (-8.2; ± 6.9%; ES: -0.7 ± 0.5; benefit likely, probable). Changes to running economy (9km.hr-1), peak, maximum heart rate and lactate and all other blood measures were unclear. In conclusion, acutely intermittent hypoxia resulted in worthwhile changes in physical performance of trained basketball players in tests relevant to competition. However, the lack of clear change in physiological and haematological measures makes it difficult to determine the underlying mechanism for such enhancement.

This thesis presents the findings of a combined geomorphological, sedimentological and geochronological investigation into the glacial history of the Clearwater Basin, Mid Canterbury, New Zealand. The study demonstrates that a thick wedge of glacial and paraglacial sediments are preserved in the valley. These are >100m thick and preserve evidence of at least 3 glacial phases (>180ka). The study presents a new and detailed geomorphology map for the Clearwater valley and adjacent areas and has added 17 new recessional positions to the local glacial record. Surface Exposure Dating (SED) has been used to directly date the moraines of the Clearwater Basin providing the first detailed chronology for glacial moraine in this area. In total 31 cosmogenic ages from 9 separate moraines are presented. The results demonstrate that the LGM advance is the Trinity moraine of Mabin (1980) and not the Hakatere moraine as previously assumed and that the LGM was achieved at or about 23ka. The Clearwater glacier receded up valley between 23 and 13ka with some indication of accelerated retreat after c.16ka. The correlation to the adjacent Lake Heron Valley is also revised.

Previous research into the subsequent effects of prenatal methadone exposure has primarily focused on neurological changes and short term physical development. While there have been some studies of behavioural development, only short term effects have been investigated. The present research therefore aimed to assess longer term behavioural development of offspring exposed to methadone gestationally, lactationally or both. Methadone was provided in the drinking water of drug-treated rat dams during gestation (2.39mg/kg/day) and lactation (2.86mg/kg/day). The four conditions were: non-exposure/control (N = 24), gestational-exposure (N = 20), lactational-exposure (N = 24), and combined-exposure (N = 21). As well as several measures of pregnancy characteristics, offspring postnatal physical development was assessed at 30, 60 and 120 days after birth. Behavioural assessments were also made at these ages by means of an open-field, Y maze and emergence apparatus. There were no significant differences in physical development. Maternal methadone exposure during gestation reduced the number of rat dams that became (or remained) pregnant. In the offspring, there was increased activity in lactationally-exposed rats through into adulthood. Anxiety was increased in the combined-exposure condition, primarily in adolescent males. The significant longer term effects of earlier methadone on the rats’ behavioural development supported the need for more research into this hitherto relatively neglected area. More information about effects of methadone exposure on anxiety and activity, as well as on social functioning and motor coordination could be useful for understanding potential risk factors in the ever growing methadone-exposed population, and thus suggesting best practice for methadone maintenance programmes.