Grey water reuse has attracted more and more attention among researchers and professionals in recent years. As most of the Chinese cities are undergoing the process of fast urbanization and economic development, many water-related problems have occurred and urban water resources management has become a strategic issue. The urge to reconsider the conventional ways of utilizing water and discharging the wastewater in cities is calling. As a relatively simple and flexible way, decentralized grey water reuse system can help to make the first step in achieving a sustainable urban water management. However, whether it is feasible in China is still a question. This paper aims at looking for the answer based on a survey and interviews with professionals in the fields from different Chinese cities. The result shows “reuse” as one of the solutions of solving water shortage and achieving sustainable water management is not as simple as one may think. In general, decentralized urban grey water / wastewater reuse is not easy to flourish in China in the near future though most of the respondents hold a positive attitude about reuse itself. To explain this difference between attitude and actual planning we need more historical, political and social-economic understanding with a touch of “Chinese characteristics”.

No description available.

<p>Pesticides are designed to control or eliminate pests such as insects, rodents, weeds,<br /> bacteria, and fungi. They are used at a global scale for agricultural produce. Although<br /> pesticides play a significant role in increasing food production and eliminating diseases,<br /> exposure to pesticides may be harmful to non-target organisms. As a result concern over<br /> safety and resistance to pesticides has increased and there is pressure to reduce use and<br /> search for more environmentally and toxicologically safe and efficacious pesticides. Most<br /> pesticides currently in use are synthetic / therefore an alternative to synthetic pesticides is<br /> the use of naturally occurring products/ botanicals with pesticidal properties.</p> <p>Two plants indigenous to South African with pesticidal properties were chosen for this<br /> study. Dicerothamnus rhinocerotis (D. rhinocerotis) and Galenia africana (G. africana)<br /> have potential antifungal properties thus, may have potential use on agricultural produce<br /> as fungicides. Galenia africana and D. rhinocerotis extracts inhibit growth of B. cinerea<br /> (a fungal pathogen) at concentrations greater than 31.25 mg/ml and 125mg/ml<br /> respectively. A major consideration in approving pesticides for use is whether they pose<br /> an unreasonable risk to humans and to the environment. Toxicity studies are required to<br /> determine the safety of the plant extracts.</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to evaluate potential toxicity of ethanol extracts of D.<br /> rhinocerotis and G. africana, which is important when designing practices to reduce or<br /> eliminate excess exposure to them. Natural plant products with pesticidal properties could<br /> provide an alternative to synthetic pesticides and may thus effectively reduce resistance<br /> levels.<br /> <br /> <br /> &nbsp / </p>

Obligate brood parasites rely solely on other species, the hosts, to incubate their eggs and raise their offspring, which often reduces the host’s reproductive output. This reproductive cost has led to the evolution of anti-parasite adaptations among hosts, which in turn, has led to better trickery by parasites, a process termed an evolutionary arms race. The objective of this thesis was to investigate host-parasite coevolutionary arms races to address questions of host-use diversity. Host diversity varies dramatically among brood-parasitic species, but reasons for variations in host-use among brood parasites are not well understood. In Chapter 2, I address questions on host diversity specifically, whereas I address questions about coevolutionary interaction between hosts and parasites in Chapters 3, 4 and 5 using two host-parasite systems, one in New Zealand and one in North America. Chapter 2 investigates if host diversity is constrained by aggressive nest defence behaviour. I compared the nest defence behaviour of the exclusive host of the shining cuckoo Chrysococcyx lucidus lucidus on the main islands of New Zealand, the grey warbler Gerygone igata, to two other potentially suitable hosts that are not currently parasitised, the fantail Rhipidura fuliginosa and the silvereye Zosterops lateralis. The results suggest that grey warblers are as aggressive as fantails and silvereyes towards shining cuckoos at the nest and thus, host specialisation in shining cuckoos in New Zealand, at least, does not appear to be the result of nest-defence constraints imposed by potential but unused host species. Chapter 3 investigates if red-winged blackbirds Agelaius phoeniceus, a species that typically accepts the eggs of parasites, recognises, as indicated by changes in incubation behaviour, when they have been parasitised by brown-headed cowbirds Molothrus ater. Recognition without rejection suggests that rejection may be context-dependent but the results suggest that red-winged blackbirds do not recognise when their nests have been parasitised by brown-headed cowbirds, at least at the egg stage. This study was the first to investigate if hosts that almost invariably accept the eggs of parasites recognise when they have been parasitised. Chapter 4 investigated the possibility of coevolutionary arms races occurring through olfactory channels in contrast to earlier work that focussed only on visual and auditory cues. Recent research has revealed that olfactory abilities in birds are more common than previously thought. Uropygial gland secretions are posited to be a key source of avian body odour and its composition has been found to vary among species and individuals as well as between the sexes. I compared gas-chromatography (GC-FID) traces of shining cuckoo preen wax to the GC-FID traces of the grey warbler, the only host of the shining cuckoo in mainland New Zealand, as well as the preen wax of seven other species for evidence of mimicry. Preliminary results suggest there is evidence for mimicry and the potential for odour-based nestling discrimination in grey warblers. Further tests recording the response of grey warblers to odour-manipulated nestlings are necessary. Finally, in Chapter 5, I investigated the response of the song thrush Turdus philomelos, a species that rejects the eggs of the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus and conspecifics at intermediate and low frequencies, respectively, to nest-odour manipulations using the preen wax of conspecifics and heterospecifics. The results suggest song thrush do not use odour to assess the risk of parasitism at least as indicated in terms of changes in incubation behaviour. Investigations of the role of olfaction in avian brood parasite systems can provide a better understanding of brood-parasite coevolution. Only by considering all channels of communication can we be sure to completely understand the coevolutionary dynamics between brood parasites and their hosts.

This qualitative study aims to study how sexuality is constructed in web articles on the movie Fifty Shades of Grey. The study is based on a social constructivist perspective where language is seen as constitutive of reality. The study is based on a Foucauldian discourse analysis which is used in order to see what is excluded and included in the articles’ construction of normal sexuality. The result shows that there are similarities in how the web articles produce normal sexuality. Firstly, sexuality is constructed as partner violence, where men are depicted as superior to women and heterosexual sexuality depicted as normal, resulting in homosexual sexuality being constructed as abnormal. Secondly, sexual subject positions are used to enhance sexuality and to construct the woman as subordinate. Thirdly, media tends to produce an inaccurate picture of BDSM practitioners, resulting in a depiction of these practioners as being abnormal. The conclusion of the study emphasizes the importance of examining how sexuality is produced by media, since sexual norms constructed in media discourses affect us humans and the prevailing norms existing in society.

With the emergence of new imaging techniques, researchers are always eager to push the boundaries by examining objects either smaller or further away than what was previously possible. The development of image analysis techniques has greatly helped to introduce objectivity and coherence in measurements and decision making. It has become an essential tool for facilitating both large-scale quantitative studies and qualitative research. In this Thesis, methods were developed for analysis of low-resolution (in respect to the size of the imaged objects) three-dimensional (3D) images with low signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) applied to images from cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) and fluorescence microscopy (FM). The main focus is on methods of low complexity, that take into account both grey-level and shape information, to facilitate large-scale studies. Methods were developed to localise and represent complex macromolecules in images from cryo-ET. The methods were applied to Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies and MET proteins. The low resolution and low SNR required that grey-level information was utilised to create fuzzy representations of the macromolecules. To extract structural properties, a method was developed to use grey-level-based distance measures to facilitate decomposition of the fuzzy representations into sub-domains. The structural properties of the MET protein were analysed by developing a analytical curve representation of its stalk. To facilitate large-scale analysis of structural properties of nerve cells, a method for tracing neurites in FM images using local path-finding was developed. Both theoretical and implementational details of computationally heavy approaches were examined to keep the time complexity low in the developed methods. Grey-weighted distance definitions and various aspects of their implementations were examined in detail to form guidelines on which definition to use in which setting and which implementation is the fastest. Heuristics were developed to speed up computations when calculating grey-weighted distances between two points. The methods were evaluated on both real and synthetic data and the results show that the methods provide a step towards facilitating large-scale studies of images from both cryo-ET and FM.

No description available.

This research explores the discursive formations involved in two environmental conflicts during which organisations were not permitted to carry out their proposed extractive activities. The conflicts were based on the West Coast of the South Island in New Zealand. The first involved sustainable native logging and the second was over the siting and extension of a gold mine. Extensive archival and media searches were carried out to generate data on the conflicts. Interviews were also conducted to investigate the community position in more depth. The discourse theory of Laclau and Mouffe (2001 [1985]) is drawn upon as a framework to make sense of the conflicts. This framework was particularly useful as it enabled a close and careful examination of the antagonisms and addressed some of the ideological and power concerns with stakeholder analysis. The analysis involved identifying nodal points, subjectivity, subject positions and floating signifiers, which enabled certain hegemonic constructions. The two conflicts were considerably different. The hegemonic constructions were quite similar and the notion of �being green� emerged as an antagonism that was at the heart of the conflicts and a key to understanding why these business organisations were unsuccessful. That is, who or what is given meaning as �being green� negates and de-legitimates other activity that is not deemed to be green. In these conflicts business organisations extracting natural resources and subjects supporting these organisational activities could not be green - when being green was constituted in terms of the clean green discourse operating economically and socially within New Zealand (see Bell, 1996). Consequently, not being green was deemed to be outside of what we see as New Zealanders as being important and thus should not occur in this country. This research has implications for business organisations in New Zealand dealing with greening issues, especially as external stakeholders can have considerable influence on organisational activities. Theoretically it argues for a discursive approach to organisational stakeholder analysis in order to address power and subjectivity and for the organisation and natural environment literature to recognise the possibility of multiple meanings of nature. In particular, this thesis contributes to current organisation studies literature by explicitly focusing on �nature� as a concept. It shows that the meaning attributed to nature is a political process which can have consequences for preventing or enabling significant business organisational activities.

The legend of Governor Grey is a major feature of nineteenth century New Zealand historiography. This thesis seeks to understand Grey as a real person. Acknowledging the past as a strange and foreign place, it argues that Grey (and previous interpretations of him) can only be understood in context. The intellectual milieu of liberal Anglicanism and Victorian structures of imperial authority are crucial to understanding Grey�s policies of racial amalgamation. Focusing on Grey�s first governorship of New Zealand, 1845 - 1853, this thesis begins by exploring the imperial networks within which he operated. The members of Grey�s web gathered and shared information to further a range of different agendas - scientific, humanitarian, and political. Grey�s main focus was native civilisation. His ideas about race were informed by liberal Anglican theology, scientific investigation and personal experience. Grey believed in the unity and improvability of all mankind. His mission as governor was to elevate natives to a state of true equality with Europeans so that all could progress together still further up the scale of civilisation. This model formed the basis of Grey�s 1840 plan for civilising native peoples, in which he proposed a range of measures to promote racial amalgamation in Australia. Between 1845 and 1853 Grey implemented those measures in New Zealand. He used military force and British law to establish peace and enforce Crown authority. He used economic policies to encourage Maori integration in the colonial economy. He built schools and hospitals and enacted legislation to encourage the best features of British culture and limit the effects of its worst. He also augmented his power and encouraged amalgamation through personal relationships, official reports and the structures of colonial authority. Grey was driven by complex, sometimes contradictory motives including personal gain, economic imperatives and political pressures. His policies have had ongoing, often devastating effects, on Maori and on race relations in New Zealand. This thesis brings to light the ideas and attitudes which formed them. Grey understood himself as a Christian governor ordained to civilise Maori and join them with British settlers in accordance with God�s divine plan for improving humankind.

The effects of differential irrigation treatments on the water use of broccoli (c.v. Indurance) and carrots (c.v. Stefano) were studied in the rainy, winter season from July to September 2006 and in the dry, summer period from November 2006 to March 2007, respectively. Broccoli and carrots are produced on the Swan Coastal Plain region on Grey Phase Karrakatta Sand. Such soils generally have water holding capacities as low as 10 to 13%. This soil is typical to the Swan Coastal Plain and requires irrigation to be applied at rates of up to 150% of class A pan evaporation (Epan) to optimise growth and quality. / High spatial uniformity (an average of 90%) of water distribution (DU) was achieved with the sprinkler irrigation system. The average irrigation water use efficiencies (Eu) in both the experiments were relatively high, at 78% and 95% in broccoli and carrot trials, respectively. The numerous rainy days during the winter season affected the results of water application efficiencies (Ea) of the broccoli experiment, which ranged from 35% to 43%. This contrasted with the carrot experiment where the water application efficiencies (Ea) of the 100% Epan and Crop Factor (CF) treatments were 81% and 78%, respectively. For the carrot experiment the water application efficiencies for the 100% Epan and crop factor treatments were 14% higher than the 150% Epan treatment. These results indicate that the sprinkler irrigation systems in both experiments showed good performance makes the system suitable for experimental purposes and also for vegetable production on soils of this nature. / Despite the differences in irrigation volume, soil water contents remained very high and did not differ among treatments in both the experiments. The differential soil water stress index (DSWSI) for the 100% Epan (T1) and variable water replacement (VR) (TVR) treatments ranged from 0.74 to 1.71 for both broccoli and carrot trials. There were only small soil water tension differences among all the irrigation treatments and ranged from -2.4 kPa to -7.6 kPa, which was within the range between saturation and field capacity for sandy soil (0 to -10 kPa). / In the broccoli experiment, even though the 150% Epan (T2) irrigation treatment received 46% and 61% more irrigation than the 100% Epan (T1) and variable water replacement (TVR) irrigation treatments respectively, the treatments appeared to be largely negated by the high incidence of rainfall during the growing season. For example, the total depth of water application at 150% Epan was 13.9% and 17.2% greater than 100% Epan and TVR treatments respectively. As such the yield, biomass components and nutritional value (ascorbic acid and carotenoid content) did not vary among the treatments. However, irrigation was still required based on the set scheduling parameters and when considered in isolation of rainfall the irrigation crop water use efficiency (WUEi) on T1 and TVR treatments increased by 1.6-fold compared to T2 treatment. / For the carrot experiment the total depth of water application (rainfall and irrigation) for the 150% Epan treatment was 33% and 23% greater than at 100% Epan and Crop factor (CF) treatments, respectively. The yield (carrot roots) on a fresh weight basis (FW) for plants irrigated with the 150% of Epan and Crop factor (CF) treatments were 16% and 20% higher than the yield for plants irrigated with the 100% Epan treatment. Total (root and shoot) fresh weight of carrot plants irrigated For the carrot experiment the total depth of water application (rainfall and irrigation) for the 150% Epan treatment was 33% and 23% greater than at 100% Epan and Crop factor (CF) treatments, respectively. The yield (carrot roots) on a fresh weight basis (FW) for plants irrigated with the 150% of Epan and Crop factor (CF) treatments were 16% and 20% higher than the yield for plants irrigated with the 100% Epan treatment. Total (root and shoot) fresh weight of carrot plants irrigated with the CF treatment was 17% higher than the total fresh weight of plants irrigated with the 100% Epan treatment. However, there were no significant differences between irrigation treatments for root and total (root and shoot) mass on a dry weight basis and the ratio of carrot root to shoot, on a fresh and dry weight basis. The root lengths for plants grown with the CF and 150% Epan irrigation treatments averaged 30 cm, and were 14% larger than the root lengths for the 100% Epan treatment. The plant height for plants grown with the CF irrigation treatment was 6% higher than at the 100% Epan irrigation treatment and leaf length at the CF irrigation treatment was 12% greater than at the 150% Epan irrigation treatment. The root diameter and leaf width of carrots were not significantly different for all treatments. There were no significant differences in ascorbic acid and total carotenoid content of carrot roots among the three irrigation treatments. The average values of antioxidant content from diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging, ARP (anti radical power) and total trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity were 44.83%, 0.8789 and 1.056μmol TE/g, respectively. The reduction of the irrigation level treatment from the 150% Epan water replacement to the 100% Epan water replacement increased the percentage of the DPPH scavenging by 1.55%, and total antioxidant capacity (AOC) and ARP activities by 4.19%. / On a dry weight basis, the crop water use efficiencies (WUE) (irrigation plus rain water) of carrot plants irrigated with the 100% Epan and CF treatments, were the same (0.013 g/mm). However, these were 30% greater than the WUE values of carrots irrigated with the 150% Epan treatment. On a fresh weight basis, the WUE of carrot plants irrigated with the 100% Epan and CF (0.120 and 0.132 g/mm) treatments were 14% and 26% greater than the WUE of carrot plants irrigated with the 150% Epan treatment, respectively. / An example of the diurnal trends of the carrot’s physiological responses to the irrigation treatments showed that on average, the rate of photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and intercellular CO2 for carrot plants grown with the 150% Epan treatment was higher than the rate of photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and intercellular CO2 at both the 100% Epan and CF treatments. However, not all the physiology measurements showed a significant difference among all the treatments. The variation in the physiological measurements was predominantly influenced by the change of temperature during the diurnal hours. / This study has proven the hypothesis that, on a free draining sandy soil, the irrigation treatments did not affect the growth and yield. However, there was a potential to reduce irrigation volumes from standard industry levels to maximise the WUE without decreasing the yield and crop quality, especially for broccoli and carrot, in Western Australia.