Arsenic is a prevalent contaminant at a large fraction of US Superfund sites. Therefore, establishing techniques for accelerating As remediation could benefit many contaminated sites. Remediation of As contaminated groundwater by conventional methods, i.e. pump and treat (P&T), can be impeded by slow desorption of As from Fe and Al (hydr)oxides in aquifer solids. Through experimentation at different physical scales (grain, bench, and field scale), the potential for chemical additions to increase As release from sediments and possibly accelerate P&T remediation is examined. The work described here focuses on As contamination and remediation at the Vineland Chemical Co. Superfund site in southern NJ. The site is extensively contaminated with As resulting from decades of poor chemical storage and disposal practices by the Vineland Chemical Co., which manufactured As-based biocides from 1949-1994. Despite significant intervention, including groundwater remediation by P&T and treatment of solids via soil washing, sufficient site clean up could require many decades with current technologies. Chemical amendments that either compete with As for sorption sites or dissolve Fe and Al (hydr)oxides can increase As mobility and potentially improve P&T remediation efficiency. Simple extrapolations from bench scale column experiments based on pore volumes suggest that treatment with 10 mM oxalic acid could lower the time necessary for clean up at the Vineland site from 600 years (with current techniques involving just groundwater) to potentially on the order of 4 years. Small scale (<1 mm2) X-ray fluorescence maps from columns performed within the synchrotron beamline showed As release during oxalic acid treatment that was consistent with the bulk column materials and suggested that microscale processes can be predictive of the larger system. Finally, during a 3-month pilot study at the Vineland site, oxalic acid was injected into a section of the aquifer via an injection manifold system that was designed and built for the experiment. Groundwater samples indicate that introduction of oxalic acid led to increased As release at a sampling well and pump and treat recovery well in the study area. Addition of oxalic acid shows promise for accelerating treatment of a highly contaminated site.

Sjukfrånvaron har ökat i Sverige sedan år 2010. Tidigare studier visar att en ökning av sjukfrånvaron inte enbart kan förklaras av att individers hälsa och arbetsmiljö har försämrats. Nationalekonomiska studier pekar istället på att en förklaring till variationen i sjukfrånvaro är ekonomiska incitament. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur visstidsanställningar påverkar korttidssjukfrånvaron bland kommunalt anställda. Studien tar sin utgångspunkt i teorier om att sjukfrånvaron delvis bestäms av kostnaden för att vara sjukskriven. Kostnaderna för sjukfrånvaro bör vara högre för individer som har en visstidsanställning då dessa riskerar att inte få sin anställning förlängd om de har en hög sjukfrånvaro. Undersökningen har genomförts med en statistisk modell med kommunfixa och tidsfixa effekter samt ett mindre antal tidsvarierande kontrollvariabler. Resultaten visar på ett negativt men litet och insignifikant samband mellan visstidsanställningar och korttidssjukfrånvaron. Studien kan således inte konstatera att visstidsanställningar har någon effekt på korttidssjukfrånvaron bland kommunalt anställda.

The impetus for this research was the increasing threat of catastrophic wildfires resulting from the accumulation of fuels across the West. Guided by the priorities, goals, and guiding principles outlined by the national fire plan (NFP), the objective was to identify those areas within a pinyon-juniper woodland-dominated landscape with the highest hazard of catastrophic wildfire. The intent was to help managers prioritize proactive fuels management efforts outside of the wildland urban interface (WUI). Based on a management paradigm, constraints were placed on the data collection, analysis, and model development. A geographic information system (GIS) was used to create a hazard assessment at a landscape scale in Tintic Valley, Utah. Hazard categories were a classification of fuels based on crown cover of pinyon-juniper trees, utilizing remotely sensed data. The data set consisted of digital orthophoto quadrangle (DOQ) images from 1993. The methods were developed in three phases. Phase One resulted in a hazard assessment protocol. In Phase Two, data layers were created to further divide the hazard categories into more tractable management units. Phase Three, through the retrospective examination of recent wildfires, indicated the limitations and utility of the assessment technique. The protocol presented provides a relatively fast, inexpensive, and timely hazard classification technique for pinyon-juniper woodlands at a watershed level. It is intended to be used for coarse-scale assessments of fuel hazards for strategic planning purposes. While not appropriate for fire behavior predictions, this assessment can focus managerial efforts for additional tactical planning.

Current karst hazard maps in Kentucky reflect the general lithology of the state and ignore or significantly reduce the impact of the actual sinkholes present within these areas. These maps rely on equal weighting, by area, of the Karst Potential Index (KPI) map and the sinkhole inventory map. The KPI is based on a 1:500,000 geologic map and less than 500 data points of carbonate rocks. The sinkhole inventory is derived from topographic maps updated in the 1970s with approximately 10-foot resolution. This method gives a preferential weighting of the KPI over the sinkhole data. Consequently, the current method is broad in scope and ineffective in hazard assessment. There is a need for a reliable karst hazard map for land use planners, government emergency planning agencies, and other stakeholders. In this study, more detailed geology information and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data are applied to three counties (Bullitt, Logan, and Woodford) to generate a more accurate assessment of karst hazard. An assessment method based on sinkhole density is also tested. By refining the hazard score to more precise areas of concern, future stakeholders will find this data useful in emergency planning and land assessment.

Agriculture is one of the major economic drivers and the production is highly dependable on the climatic conditions and very sensitive to the natural hazards like the flood. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of United States developed Hazard-US model (HAZUS), a tool to estimate the loss to several sectors due to natural hazards like floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes. The study assesses the influence of input model parameters for HAZUS flood loss to crops. This thesis analyzes different combinations of input parameters for the Middle Cedar River Watershed in Iowa. The parameters have been modified based on the cropping pattern of the study region and the pricing trends. The results include the computation of the loss distribution and the determination of the most influential parameters. The study has found that some parameters are more influential in the loss estimation. The influence of parameters for the average annual loss (AAL) calculation is similar. Floods at the end of the cropping season are much more severe than floods at the beginning of the cropping season. Corns are more at risk than soybean because of the longer cropping season. Some counties experience more loss than others based on AAL. The results indicate that the agricultural sector is more vulnerable to floods at the end of the cropping season. The estimation of loss can help emergency planning for floods affecting agriculture, and optimize the agricultural resource management. The inclusion of additional parameters like flood velocity and water quality in the model can increase the accuracy of the estimation.

Recent evidence in the road safety research literature indicates that skills in hazard perception, visual search and attention may be developing executive functions in young novice drivers before the age of 25 years, contributing to their unintentional risk taking behaviour and subsequent high crash rates. The present research aimed to investigate these skills, whether they are predictive of each other, and whether hazard perception can be improved through road commentary training. Twenty-two young novice drivers and eight experienced drivers were recruited as participants in this study. The experienced drivers performed significantly better than the novice drivers on the hazard detection task that was specifically designed for the study. Their visual search skills were also examined and compared using the Visual Search and Attention Test, with the experienced drivers performing significantly better than the novice drivers. Interestingly, a significant positive correlation was found between the scores of the participants on the hazard detection task and the Visual Search and Attention Test which may indicate that the hazard detection skills can be predicted. The novice driver group who received 12 trials of video based road commentary training significantly improved in their hazard detection skills, suggesting that video based road commentary could be an effective road safety intervention for young novice drivers and if developed into a more comprehensive programme, holds promise for future implementation into the New Zealand Graduated Driver Licensing System. The results also hold promise for future investigation into the use of the Visual Search and Attention Test as a predictor of hazard perception skills in novice drivers.

The aim of this thesis is to examine the resilience and vulnerability of Taranaki communities to volcanic hazards, and to propose a strategy to ensure the safety and longevity of Taranaki residents in the event of an eruption. Mt Taranaki is a dormant volcano that is surrounded by a ring plain populated by over 100,000 people. The volcano has had an average eruptive cycle of 330 years, with the last eruption dated at ~1755 AD. Hazards include ash fall, lahars, debris avalanches and pyroclastic density currents. Inglewood, Stratford and Opunake are the largest population centres located in moderate to high hazard zones, and for this reason were chosen as the study communities. Resilience is defined as the capacity to respond to a hazard event by physically and psychologically recovering, adapting to, or changing to similar or better conditions than those experienced before the event. Vulnerability is defined to be people�s incapacity to cope with a hazardous event as a result of their personal characteristics. A person�s vulnerability and resilience is influenced by demographic variables, socio-cognitive variables and preparedness. Inglewood, Stratford and Opunake adults have good self-efficacy and action-coping use, fair risk perceptions, outcome expectancy and response efficacy, but poor understanding of event timing relative to eruption probability, critical awareness, preparedness and information-seeking intentions and preparedness levels. Preparedness is found to be influenced by residents� intentions to prepare, which in turn are influenced by critical awareness, action-coping and outcome expectancy. Taranaki students have a fair awareness of hazard and knowledge of correct response behaviours to various hazards. Preparedness, in terms of preparedness measures undertaken, emergency plans made and emergency practices in place, is low. Students who have participated in hazard-education programmes have a better knowledge of response behaviours, lower levels of hazard-related fear, and reported higher level of preparedness. Spatial analyses, carried out to determine the geographic distribution of at-risk groups within the study communities, showed that the areas most at-risk tend to be those with the highest population densities. The spatial analysis was not as beneficial as expected, due to small data sets, but did provide some results to be considered as a basis for further research. Effective public education can be achieved when delivered to a set of guidelines, such as providing information regularly through multiple media and sources, ensuring consistent messages, targeting information to at-risk groups and monitoring programme effectiveness. Community capacity building projects decrease aspects of vulnerability and build resilience by working at a local scale and targeting at-risk groups. Psychological preparedness education helps citizens to mentally prepare for an event and should be a component of all projects. The proposed strategy calls for (a) forming partnerships with relevant stakeholders to assist with public education, research, and funding, (b) further research into the characteristics of Taranaki communities and effective public education campaigns, (c) the development and implementation of a public education schedule and projects that build community capacity, and d) long-term planning, periodic revision of programmes and consistent public engagement.

<p><p>All around the world the global climate change has become an important issue and its impact has been widely discussed. In the Everest region the environment is extra sensitive to changes due to the numbers of glaciers in the area. When glaciers are melting and ground temperature is rising it is likely to affect the area by causing more hazards. The area also has an extreme relief and high seismic activity, which also contribute to the numerous hazards. An increasing number of hazards could be a danger both to local people and to tourists visiting the area. Local people are forced to build houses in high risk areas due to limited supply of land suitable for farming and living in the mountains.</p><p>We made a field trip to Khumbu valley, in the Everest region. On the field trip we mapped the location of hazards and examined where there was a risk of future hazards to occur. The hazards were surveyed with GPS. Maps and analyses were generated with GIS software at the Himalayan environmental research center in Kathmandu, ICIMOD. We digitalized the hazards and hyperlinked photos to them. We also did an image difference analysis, where we compared satellite images from different years to see whether the number of hazards had increased. The result indicated that from 1976 to 2000 the number of hazards have increased, especially along the river. The photo documentation provides a basis for follow-up studies of the future development of the hazardous areas.</p><p>A number of diagrams were made to visualize results from the field trip. It can be seen that there are many hazards close to where people are living and close to trails. We also compared our digitalized hazards to risk maps (from 1985 and 2005) to see which risk zone our hazards belonged to. A slope map of the area was created with hyperlinked photos from the sites.</p></p> / <p><p>Frågan om hur klimatförändringar kommer att påverka vår miljö har blivit ett stort samtalsämne i hela världen. Everestområdet i Nepal är extra känsligt för förändringar på grund av att det finns många glaciärer i området. När glaciärerna smälter och marktemperaturen stiger kommer det troligtvis att påverka antalet skred i området.</p><p>En ökning av antalet skred kan medföra större risker för lokalbefolkning och turister, som vistas i området. Det är därför viktigt att informera och utbilda lokalbefolkningen om var det är säkert att bygga nya hus m.m.</p><p>Vi har gjort ett fältarbete i Khumbudalen som ligger i Everestområdet. Under fältvistelsen kartlade och fotograferade vi skredens utbredning och undersökte var risken för skred är som störst. Skreden och sluttningarna mättes in med hjälp av GPS. Efter fältvistelsen gjorde vi kartor och analyser med hjälp av GIS, på ett forskningscentrum i Kathmandu, ICIMOD. Vi digitaliserade skred och länkade foton till dem. Vi gjorde också en förändringsanalys där vi jämförde satellitbilder från olika år (1976 till 2000) för att se om förekomsten av skred har ökat.</p><p>Resultatet visar en ökning av antalet skred särskilt utmed floden. Fotodokumentationen utgör en grund för uppföljningsstudier av utvecklingen av skred i området.</p><p>Ett antal diagram skapades för att visa resultaten från fältvistelsen. Det framgår att det finns många skred där människor lever och vid vandringsstigar. Vi jämförde också våra digitaliserade skred med riskkartor från 1985 och 2005 för att se i vilken riskzon skreden ligger i.</p><p>En sluttningskarta över området skapades med foton länkade till kartan.</p></p>

<p>Denna litteraturstudie avser reda ut den eventuella kopplingen mellan bonus och dagens finanskris samt undersöka om ett bonusstopp för bankanställda kan minska risken för en framtida finansiell kris. Uppsatsen inleds med en förklaring av bankväsendets särart och vikten av ett statligt skyddsnät. Senare avhandlas relevant bonusteori och moral hazard, därefter en redogörelse för bonusens betydelse i finanskrisen. Vidare utreds bonusprogrammens inverkan i svenska bankers expansion i Baltikum. Vi har kommit fram till att belöningsstrukturen inom finansbranschen har varit felaktigt utformad då dessa belönat kortsiktiga vinster på riskfyllda affärer. Detta har varit en av orsakerna till subprimekrisen. Ett bonusstopp minskar därför risken för liknande finansiella kriser men kan däremot inte helt eliminera risken för finanskriser.</p>

<p>Vi har studerat arbetsgivarinträdets (1992) och medfinansieringsansvarets (2005) påverkan på</p><p>sjukfrånvaron i Sverige. För att göra detta har vi använt oss av sjukfrånvarostatistik från</p><p>Svenskt Näringsliv ”Tidsanvändningsstatistik” vilket är genomsnittstal baserat på ungefär</p><p>210 000 arbetstagare. På detta material har vi skattat regressionsmodeller för kort och lång</p><p>sjukfrånvaro samt med och utan arbetslöshet, som är tänkt att fungera som indikator för</p><p>konjunkturläget, vilken i Sverige tycks påverka sjukskrivningstalen. Vi får fram att</p><p>arbetsgivarinträdet verkar ha minskat de korta sjukskrivningarna samtidigt som arbetslösheten</p><p>i samtliga fall är en signifikant förklarande del i sjukfrånvaron. Vi ser å andra sidan tecken på</p><p>att arbetsgivarinträdet 1992 kan ha förlängt frånvarotiden hos de långtidssjukskrivna.</p><p>Medfinansieringsansvaret tycks ha minskat sjukskrivningarna på både kort- och</p><p>långtidsfrånvaron.</p>