Contaminated sites are a common problem across municipalities in the Greater Vancouver Regional District. These problems are complicated and multi-dimensional, and raise fundamental concerns about the risks to human and environmental health. This thesis shows however, that there are no easy answers to how much risk is "acceptable", and no one right way to decide. How the acceptable risk problem is structured is important, because fact and value issues, a source of controversy and dispute, are variously interpreted depending on how the problem is cast. The literature generically categorizes acceptable risk as either a technical, social or decision problem, and each of these have implications for the types of decision-making approaches and solutions that are considered appropriate in resolving acceptable risk. This thesis investigated how acceptable risk in contaminated site problems is handled in British Columbia by reviewing the provincial decision-making framework, and by surveying municipalities in the Greater Vancouver Regional District for their views on contaminated site problems and acceptable risk decision-making. The underlying goal of the thesis is to question the use of the current approach, the Pacific Place site criteria, as a model for acceptable risk decision-making in the province, and to explore the implications for urban communities. The Ministry of Environment is the central authority for contaminated sites in British Columbia and has generally taken a scientific and technical approach to the problem. Although the municipal survey suggests that the Pacific Place site criteria has a broad base of support in the GVRD, the technical emphasis has implications for urban communities. The approach is expert-oriented and largely excludes local and public involvement in the acceptable risk debate. The major concern is that important social value issues have been neglected, relative to the engineering and technical aspects of the problem. The research also finds however, that the majority of individuals in the municipal survey are willing to explore other methods of determining acceptable risk, and support in principle, local government and public involvement in deciding what these methods should be. This thesis suggests that British Columbia can benefit from a more comprehensive view of acceptable risk in contaminated site problems. Resource limitations at the provincial and local level, and the high stakes in contaminated site problems for urban communities point to the growing importance of incorporating a broad range of value issues and understanding the trade-offs in acceptable risk decisions. The Ministry of Environment can improve the current decision-making approach by: incorporating structured value assessments that elicit stakeholder values and address trade-offs; involving a wider range of stakeholders in standard setting and risk assessment, including the forthcoming review of the Pacific Place site criteria; creating forums to explore other decision-making approaches; and by encouraging private sector involvement in risk assessment and risk management. The province can also encourage and support community-based institutional networks, both at the municipal and regional level.

Thesis (M.S.)--Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 2005. / Typescript (photocopy).

As empresas de manufatura necessitam integrar seus processos internos digitalmente para se tornarem mais competitivas e entregarem produtos com maior qualidade ao mercado consumidor. Informações definidas nas primeiras etapas de projeto precisam ser recuperadas em todas as fases do ciclo de vida de um produto. Para alcançar este objetivo são necessários modelos de informação que incorporem inteligência e permitam a representação do mundo real. Por outro lado, fabricantes de produtos eletroeletrônicos precisam cumprir requisitos ambientais presentes em marcos regulatórios, como a Diretiva RoHS, para poderem vender seus equipamentos em diversos países. O presente trabalho propõe a aplicação de modelos semânticos para ajudar as empresas a cumprir os requisitos estabelecidos pela Diretiva RoHS. O modelo, criado usando uma ontologia de referência, estabelece relações semânticas entre entidades que representam fases do ciclo de vida do produto, estruturas de produtos e objetos de negócios. Processos de negócio modelados permitem identificar fluxos de informação, bem como atividades que estão ligadas aos requisitos RoHS, percebidas por meio da geração de relatórios disponíveis no framework denominado Projeto Essential. O modelo semântico resultante é, portanto, útil para converter as necessidades relacionadas com o meio ambiente, endereçando requisitos através de um processo de desenvolvimento de produtos que aborda a diretiva RoHS. Um produto eletroeletrônico fabricado por indústrias nacionais foi selecionado para demonstrar a viabilidade da solução proposta. / Manufacturing companies need to integrate their internal processes digitally to become more competitive and deliver higher quality products to the consumer market. Information defined at early design stages needs to be recovered at all stages of the life cycle of a product. To accomplish this, information models that incorporate intelligence and enable the representation of the real world are necessary. On the other hand, electronic products manufacturers need to comply with environmental requirements present in regulatory frameworks as the RoHS Directive in order to offer their products in several countries. The present work proposes the application of semantic models for helping companies meet the requirements established by the RoHS Directive. A model, created using a reference ontology, establishes semantic relationships between entities that represent product lifecycle stages, product structure and business objects. Business processes, modeled in the form of activity and information flows, are linked to RoHS requirements that can be viewed through the reports in the Essential Project open source framework. The resulting semantic model is, therefore, useful for converting environment-related needs to design requirements through a product development process that addresses the RoHS Directive. A consumer electronics product has been selected for demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed solution.

As empresas de manufatura necessitam integrar seus processos internos digitalmente para se tornarem mais competitivas e entregarem produtos com maior qualidade ao mercado consumidor. Informações definidas nas primeiras etapas de projeto precisam ser recuperadas em todas as fases do ciclo de vida de um produto. Para alcançar este objetivo são necessários modelos de informação que incorporem inteligência e permitam a representação do mundo real. Por outro lado, fabricantes de produtos eletroeletrônicos precisam cumprir requisitos ambientais presentes em marcos regulatórios, como a Diretiva RoHS, para poderem vender seus equipamentos em diversos países. O presente trabalho propõe a aplicação de modelos semânticos para ajudar as empresas a cumprir os requisitos estabelecidos pela Diretiva RoHS. O modelo, criado usando uma ontologia de referência, estabelece relações semânticas entre entidades que representam fases do ciclo de vida do produto, estruturas de produtos e objetos de negócios. Processos de negócio modelados permitem identificar fluxos de informação, bem como atividades que estão ligadas aos requisitos RoHS, percebidas por meio da geração de relatórios disponíveis no framework denominado Projeto Essential. O modelo semântico resultante é, portanto, útil para converter as necessidades relacionadas com o meio ambiente, endereçando requisitos através de um processo de desenvolvimento de produtos que aborda a diretiva RoHS. Um produto eletroeletrônico fabricado por indústrias nacionais foi selecionado para demonstrar a viabilidade da solução proposta. / Manufacturing companies need to integrate their internal processes digitally to become more competitive and deliver higher quality products to the consumer market. Information defined at early design stages needs to be recovered at all stages of the life cycle of a product. To accomplish this, information models that incorporate intelligence and enable the representation of the real world are necessary. On the other hand, electronic products manufacturers need to comply with environmental requirements present in regulatory frameworks as the RoHS Directive in order to offer their products in several countries. The present work proposes the application of semantic models for helping companies meet the requirements established by the RoHS Directive. A model, created using a reference ontology, establishes semantic relationships between entities that represent product lifecycle stages, product structure and business objects. Business processes, modeled in the form of activity and information flows, are linked to RoHS requirements that can be viewed through the reports in the Essential Project open source framework. The resulting semantic model is, therefore, useful for converting environment-related needs to design requirements through a product development process that addresses the RoHS Directive. A consumer electronics product has been selected for demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed solution.

Contaminated sites are a common problem across municipalities in the Greater Vancouver Regional District. These problems are complicated and multi-dimensional, and raise fundamental concerns about the risks to human and environmental health. This thesis shows however, that there are no easy answers to how much risk is "acceptable", and no one right way to decide. How the acceptable risk problem is structured is important, because fact and value issues, a source of controversy and dispute, are variously interpreted depending on how the problem is cast. The literature generically categorizes acceptable risk as either a technical, social or decision problem, and each of these have implications for the types of decision-making approaches and solutions that are considered appropriate in resolving acceptable risk. This thesis investigated how acceptable risk in contaminated site problems is handled in British Columbia by reviewing the provincial decision-making framework, and by surveying municipalities in the Greater Vancouver Regional District for their views on contaminated site problems and acceptable risk decision-making. The underlying goal of the thesis is to question the use of the current approach, the Pacific Place site criteria, as a model for acceptable risk decision-making in the province, and to explore the implications for urban communities. The Ministry of Environment is the central authority for contaminated sites in British Columbia and has generally taken a scientific and technical approach to the problem. Although the municipal survey suggests that the Pacific Place site criteria has a broad base of support in the GVRD, the technical emphasis has implications for urban communities. The approach is expert-oriented and largely excludes local and public involvement in the acceptable risk debate. The major concern is that important social value issues have been neglected, relative to the engineering and technical aspects of the problem. The research also finds however, that the majority of individuals in the municipal survey are willing to explore other methods of determining acceptable risk, and support in principle, local government and public involvement in deciding what these methods should be. This thesis suggests that British Columbia can benefit from a more comprehensive view of acceptable risk in contaminated site problems. Resource limitations at the provincial and local level, and the high stakes in contaminated site problems for urban communities point to the growing importance of incorporating a broad range of value issues and understanding the trade-offs in acceptable risk decisions. The Ministry of Environment can improve the current decision-making approach by: incorporating structured value assessments that elicit stakeholder values and address trade-offs; involving a wider range of stakeholders in standard setting and risk assessment, including the forthcoming review of the Pacific Place site criteria; creating forums to explore other decision-making approaches; and by encouraging private sector involvement in risk assessment and risk management. The province can also encourage and support community-based institutional networks, both at the municipal and regional level. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

MPH / Department of Public of Health / The occupational health and safety of coal mine workers is one of the major occupational challenges in the mining industry. Coal mine workers face the looming perils of potential falls of volatile rocks, the ergonomic challenges caused by bending and lifting heavy objects in their daily work, the challenges caused by inhaling coal mine dust which can cause coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) and a plethora of other hazards in both underground and open cast mines on a daily basis. The aim of the study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of coal mineworkers pertaining to occupational health and safety at the Leeuwpan mine in Mpumalanga province of South Africa. The study adopted a quantitative, cross sectional descriptive design. Self-reported questionnaires with closed-ended questions were administered to the eligible participants. The study targeted the 3200 coal mineworkers who were employed at the Leeuwpan mine in Lephalale. A sample of 356 mineworkers was used as derived from Slovin’s formula and data was collected over a period of 5 days at the Leeuwpan mine. Measures to ensure validity and reliability were ensured and ethical considerations were observed. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 was used to analyse the data. Results and recommendations are based on the findings of the study. / NRF

MPH / Department of Public Health / Health and safety issues pertaining to workers are global concerns and a major priority to the employers and government respectively. Employees in general across industries are faced with various health and safety risks. Epidemiological research has shown consistently that waste handlers are mostly exposed to various risks and hazards during their work as compared to other professions globally. This study focused on waste handlers employed by the Thulamela Municipality in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study employed qualitative explorative design and targeted all municipal waste handlers. Municipal waste handlers were sampled using non probability purposive sampling. In-depth interviews, using an interview guide, were conducted by the researcher and a voice recorder was used to record data from the participants after obtaining permission from them. The sample size comprised of 18 participants and was determined by data saturation. A thematically analysis technique was used to analyse data. Data from the participants were clustered into main theme, categories and sub-categories. The following themes emerged from data analysis: physical hazards, psychological hazard, biological hazards and chemical hazard. The study revealed that the municipal waste handlers are exposed to various occupational risks and are experiencing shortage of personal protective equipment, ranging from hand gloves, safety helmets, rain coats, overall uniforms, safety jackets and boots, to keep themselves safe from health problems and occupational injury when collecting waste. It is recommended that the Thulamela municipality should prioritise the working conditions for municipal waste handlers, by distributing suitable personal protective equipment such as hands gloves, safety helmet, rain coats, safety jackets and boots) and overalls / NRF

PhD (Public Health) / Department of Public Health / Medical waste is a special type of hazardous waste generated from healthcare facilities. Mismanagement of this waste has a negative impact on healthcare workers, patients and their relatives, medical waste handlers and the community. South Africa, like many other developing countries, is resource-constrained in the management of medical waste and poor practices have been reported across the country, especially in the urban health facilities that have received more attention from researchers. This study was conducted to explore the practices and challenges of medical waste management in Vhembe District, a largely rural district in Limpopo province and develop intervention strategies for better management of the waste in the District. A convergent parallel approach of mixed method design was adopted to achieve the objectives of this study. The target population included the main stakeholders of medical waste management in the district: the Department of Health, healthcare facilities and the waste management company responsible for the treatment and disposal of medical waste in Limpopo Province. The study population from the Department of Health included representatives from the medical waste management section while the waste management company was represented by the manager of the company in Limpopo Province. The samples for the healthcare facilities were drawn from fifteen randomly selected healthcare facilities in the district and included the administrative heads, medical waste generators and medical waste handlers. The study was conducted in three phases. Phase 1 was a qualitative study during which the administrative heads of the selected healthcare facilities, personnel directly involved in medical waste management at the healthcare facilities as well as the representatives from the Department of Health and waste management company were engaged in in-depth interviews. This phase also involved voice recording, observations, field documentation and taking of relevant pictures. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the data obtained. During phase 2 (quantitative study), a semi-structured questionnaire was employed for data collection from medical waste generators and handlers at the healthcare facilities. A total of 229 questionnaires were retrieved from the participants and were analyzed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25.0. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed; Chi-square and Cramer’s V tests were used to determine the associations between dependent and independent variables, as well as the strength of association where significant relationships exist. Statistical significant level was set at p<0.05 and the results are presented in tables and graphs. The results from both phases were interpreted and discussed simultaneously. Respondents and participants were assured of anonymity of their identities and confidentiality of the information they provided. They were given adequate information about the study and only those who volunteered participated in the study after appending their signatures on the informed consent form. In phase 3, the Medical Research Council Framework was used to develop intervention strategies for improved medical waste management in Vhembe District based on the Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat (SWOT) and Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal (PESTEL) analysis techniques. The study revealed inefficient practices of medical waste management in all the healthcare facilities. Rate of medical waste generation was 338.15kg/day, 19.2kg/day and 15.5kg/day of HCRW from the hospitals, community health centers and clinics respectively. Segregation practices were poor, and only 28.4% of respondents rated their healthcare institutions as being excellent with medical waste segregation. The type of occupation was found to be significantly associated with exposure to training (p=0.000) and the level of knowledge about medical waste management (p=0.000). Also, the use of personal protective equipment was found to be significantly associated with training (p=0.011). Transportation and temporary storage were not done according to the recommendation in the guidelines and incineration was the main means of treatment of the waste. The final product of waste treatment is being disposed into an hazardous waste landfill. The challenges encountered in the process of managing medical waste include lack of adequate funding and budget for medical waste management, ineffective and irregular training of healthcare workers, non-compliance to medical waste management guidelines, insufficient bins, substandard central storage rooms, insufficient personal protective equipment and unavailability of Hepatitis B vaccine. The strength, weakness, opportunities and threats of medical waste management in Vhembe District were analyzed and specific intervention strategies were developed to improve on the strength, minimize the weakness, take advantage of the opportunity and combat the threats. The developed strategies were validated. This study provides the evidences of poor management of medical waste in Vhembe District, and shows the need for urgent intervention measures to be put in place. We therefore recommend that the intervention strategies proposed here be evaluated and implemented to mitigate the untoward effects of poor medical waste management among healthcare workers and the community as a whole. / NRF

由微笑曲線理論(施振榮1992年提出)知道企業應該朝高附加價值領域發展，而其中上游智財權(Intelligent Property)、知識經濟(Knowledge Economics)是我國OEM、ODM製造業將生產基地移到大陸後，為避免國內產業空洞化，必須在國內深耕的核心競爭力領域。要強化智財權、知識經濟則必須強化產品研發與創新能力，而產品研發與創新能力的提升必須藉助良好的「協同產品研發生命週期管理解決方案」(Collaborative product development lifecycle management solution) ；但是此解決方案尚在發展初期，不論企業或是個人對於它皆了解不夠，也不知如何利用此解決方案來提升產品研發能力。 因此本研究透過文獻的收集與探討，整理出PLM(Product Lifecycle Management)解決方案的定義、演進，並對PLM解決方案的架構進行探討，再針對市場上PLM解決方案系統廠商所提供的PLM系統產品進行說明，讓有意導入PLM解決方案的公司企業可以參考。另外由於知識管理可以讓PLM系統所收集的產品資料與產品研發經驗與知識得以分享、流通與再創造與加值，因此對於知識管理(Knowledge Management)與PLM的關係進行探討。2003年歐盟立法通過兩大環保法規—WEEE(Waste Electronics and Electrical Equipment)及RoHS(Restriction of Hazardous Substances)，要求製造廠商從設計開始即需考慮整個產品生命週期的環境保護觀念，此法規讓產品生命週期觀念有了具體的落實實施，因此本研究亦對綠色環保法規與PLM解決方案的關係進行探討與說明。 本研究為協助企業在導入PLM解決方案前，能夠深入了解PLM解決方案，因此以個案研究方式深入分析個案公司在協同研發產品生命週期中所面臨的問題，並針對這些問題提出PLM系統解決方案的建構策略，也提出PLM系統整合應用架構做為PLM企業策略方法施行的基礎；此PLM系統整合應用架構的特色包括以產品為核心，重視人員、流程及產品資訊；涵蓋從產品觀念的構思開始一直到產品生命結束為止的全生命期間的管理與支援；支援涵蓋跨部門、客戶、設計夥伴與供應夥伴等跨企業間的協同合作。並說明此整合應用架構在協同產品研發生命週期管理中的運作情境，最後再對導入PLM系統解決方案提出規劃重點與想法。 本研究在研究過程中有底下幾點重要發現，特別整理如下： 一、 因為綠色環保法規的規定而使得產品生命週期觀念能落實執行。 二、 PLM是一種企業策略方法，要成功導入必須從人員、流程、資訊科技三方面同時規劃。 三、 由於PLM系統架構的定義不同，且PLM系統廠商所提供的PLM系統解決方案亦有不同功能，企業必須根據自己的需求選擇適當的解決方案。 四、 PLM理念一直不斷變化與延伸，PLM系統已成為製造業不可或缺的系統。 對於後續研究者，本研究建議的未來研究方向如下： 一、 建議對於導入PLM要如何進行變革管理進行研究。 二、 建議對於如何利用知識管理來協助研發創新進行研究。 三、 建議對於PLM解決方案所帶來的協同產品研發績效的影響進行研究。 / Referring to the Smiling Curve Theory (Shih Chen-Rong, 1992), it is realized that enterprise should gradually lead the “High Value-Added” concept to its management system. Since recent years, Taiwan local OEM and ODM factories widely moved their production base to Mainland China, and so in order to avoid domestic industries being emptied, “Intelligent Property” and “Knowledge Economics” must be cultivated deep into our country. On the other hand, prior to strengthen Intelligent Property and Knowledge Economics, the premise is to strengthen the competency of Product Development and Product Innovation. In addition, to enhance the competency of Product Development and Product Innovation must follow by good “Collaborative product development lifecycle management solution”. However, the solution is still at initiation phase, therefore so far as now, either the enterprises or the individuals are not acquainted with it, and also do not know well how to utilize the solution to reinforce the Product Development competency. By means of the concept mentioned above, literatures are collected and investigated by this study to work up the definition and evolution of PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) Solution. In advance, the framework of PLM solution is discussed; and the PLM system, provided by supplier, is introduced by this research as well, in order to allow businessmen, who would like to lead PLM Solution into their organizations, to adopt them as a reference for developing their enterprises. Moreover, considering of that Knowledge Management enables the experience and knowledge of Product Development and Product Information, collected by PLM system, to be shared, circulated, recreated and value-added, the relation between Knowledge Management and PLM system is examined in this study. Also, the relation between the legislated rules of Green Environmental Protection and PLM Solution is researched and reported in response to the two regulations of WEEE (Waste Electronics and Electrical Equipment) and RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances), which were legislated by European Union (EU) in 2003. In accordance with the two statutes, manufacturers are requested to think of the concept of environmental protection for the entire Product Lifecycle, starting from product design begins. For the sake of assisting enterprises in understanding deeply about the PLM Solution, before introducing it into their organization, “case study” access is therefore adopted by the study to analyze in deep the problems on “Collaborative product development lifecycle management solution”, which might be incurred in each individual case. In line with the problems, a constructional strategy for PLM system as well as a framework of the application and integration of PLM system are proposed as a base of executing business strategic approach. Characteristics of the framework of the application and integration of PLM system include “strategic core by product”; “to value personnel, operation flow and product information”; “to manage and support the entire lifecycle from product concept to product lifespan being ended”; “the support covers collaboration between the divisions, customers, designing coworkers, suppliers. In addition, the running situation of this framework, which runs under the “Collaborative product development lifecycle management solution” is presented in the study. In the final part of the research, the key-points and strategies are presented for the proposal of introducing PLM systemic solution. During the researching process, some important conceptions are discovered, and are summarized as follow: 1. Owing to the rules of Green Environmental Protection is legislated, it therefore enables the concept of product lifecycle be executed accurately. 2. PLM is a business strategic approach, so to introduce into enterprise successfully must through a proposal with the factors of personnel, operation flow and information technology simultaneously. 3. Since PLM system has varied system as well as different solution function from different suppliers, enterprises should choose a proper PLM systemic solution based on actual needs. 4. PLM concept varies and extends consecutively, so today PLM has become to the only system for option. Hereunder suggestions from researcher to the latter in future as the researching direction reference. 1. Suggest proceeding study with how to run Reformation Management after the adoption of PLM system. 2. Suggest proceeding study with how to utilize Knowledge Management for assisting in developing innovation. 3. Suggest proceeding study with the subject of “Influence on the results of collaborative product development by PLM systemic solution”.