Submitted for the Degree of Master of Technology: Graphic Design, Durban Institute of Technology Durban, 2005. / This document discusses the motivation for and the process of making a 52 minute television Art documentary designed to inform and to create an awareness of the problem of modern culture and its impact on the environment. Drawing on qualitative research from a worldwide research journey, it investigates modern culture's socially conditioned state and how television has assisted to that end. It then explores the philosophical views and constructs behind the Sixties movement and Rainbow - an alternative social collective that evolved out of the Sixties Movement, and uses these findings to serve as the creative basis for the making of the film, The Search for Utopia. / M

This research is concerned with the practice of local partnerships in the promotion of rural development with particular reference to two case study areas, Newent in the UK and Sault in France. In recent years, local partnership working has become increasingly common in the promotion of rural development. It is presented by academics, politicians, policy makers and practitioners as 'inherent' and 'imperative' to the preparation and implementation of rural development programmes today. However, there still exists limited understanding and knowledge about local partnership working in practice and the validity and importance of such statements. To advance this understanding the present research had four main objectives organised around the identification and the exploration of four main issues: the reasons, the processes, the outcomes and the implications of the local partnership practice in rural development. The author has sought to elucidate the subject by means of a detailed exploratory study involving the longitudinal observation of two particular examples of local partnerships. Two case study areas were selected, both with an active history of rural development initiatives and partnership working at parish or commune level. Newent is a small town in the Forest of Dean, which has sought to address growing socio-economic decline in recent years by preparing and implementing a regeneration strategy through local partnership working. Sault is a village in Provence, which has had to respond to depopulation and various economic difficulties as well as the closure in 1996-98 of the military base of Albion. Qualitative data on local partnership evolution and operation, collected in both areas between 1998 and 2001, was assembled from documentary research, semi structured interviews and direct observation at meetings. This investigation has allowed the identification of various explanations for the recent increase in the practice of local partnership in rural development, explanations which are mainly associated with the underlying context of the rural development process today and with the meaning of the partnership concept itself. From this investigation local partnership working in rural development has emerged as a long-term, progressive, comprehensive and pragmatic process that is organised over time. Its existence and longevity depend primarily on the local context, the existence of opportunities, the issues to be addressed, a broad mobilisation of local/rural actors, a flexible local space, some local re-organisation as well as regular and concrete achievements. In this respect, the most commonly reported outcomes of local partnership working pertain to the process of partnership working more than to the tangible outputs that may have resulted from it. These meet the initial expected benefits from such a practice as for example broader participation, greater reciprocity between rural development actors and territories, and an increase in local capacity for development action.

Zero valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) are being used in environmental remediation of contaminants due to their reducing properties. Toxic chemicals such as hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) are released into environmental waters from industrial effluent and are capable of triggering life threatening diseases in humans. Solution phase Cr(VI) has can be converted to less harmful trivalent chromium (Cr(III)) using nZVI, which decreases the oxidation state. Cr(III) binds to iron and can be removed, thereby decreasing the concentration of solution phase Cr(VI). The nZVI have a high specific surface area though aggregate in solution which decreases specific surface area. In this study rhamnolipid surfactant capped nZVI of 50 nm were synthesized and were compared to nZVI without any incorporated surfactant using various characterization methods. At 10mg/L rhamnolipid incorporated nZVI and maintained a core size of 50 nm whilst raw nZVI z-average diameter increases from 341 nm to 1993 nm forming micron sized nZVI aggregates. It was determined that 1 gram of micro sized nZVI was able to convert 3 mg of Cr(VI) whilst 1 gram of nZVI was able to convert 36 mg in the same time period indicating that rhamnolipid was able to disperse particles and increase efficiency of the reaction.

Esta pesquisa tem como tema as relações entre a restrição espacial e de acesso a recursos naturais historicamente vivenciadas pelos moradores de uma Comunidade composta por índios Macuxi e Wapichana, localizada em paisagem de savana em Roraima, suas estratégias de subsistência e seu perfil antropométrico. Consistiu de um estudo de caso em Ecologia Humana sobre o tema da adaptabilidade humana, desenvolvido a partir de pesquisa documental e de campo. A pesquisa está teoricamente fundamentada em diferentes contribuições que tratam dos estudos sobre interações humano-ambiente, além daquelas destinadas a discutir adaptabilidade humana no contexto amazônico. Como resultados, identificou-se que a população pesquisada desenvolveu estratégias de adaptabilidade necessárias à sobrevivência em condições socioambientais hostis, marcadas por fatores limitantes que operam em escalas micro e macroestruturantes. O impacto biocultural destas restrições desencadeou respostas adaptativas nesta Comunidade, em dimensão coletiva, doméstica e individual. Na dimensão coletiva, a maior parte das respostas adaptativas decorreu da incorporação de indivíduo externo ao grupo por meio de união conjugal com mulher do Anzol, o que trouxe diversas melhorias para todos e reverteu o processo de restrição espacial progressiva. Na dimensão doméstica, ocorreu o aumento do ingresso de recursos monetários oriundos de programas sociais e, consequentemente, o maior consumo de ailmentos industrializados, o que caracteriza um dos aspectos da transição nutricional. Na dimensão individual, contam o aumento do consumo de alimentos cultivados localmente e a pressão sobre instituições de direitos coletivos e defesa de direitos indígenas para a obtenção de melhores condições de saúde e para a demarcação de maiores extensões de terras, para que haja melhores condições nutricionais para cada um dos atuai e futuros moradores do Anzol. A despeito das estratégias de adaptabilidade desenvolvidas para fazer frente às restrições socioambientais macro e microestruturantes, foram identificados riscos para o desenvolvimento e a saúde destes índios / This research discuss the relations between the spatial restraint and of access to natural resources historically experienced by the inhabitants of a community composed of Macuxi and Wapichana indians, located in a savanna landscape in Roraima, their subsistence strategies and their anthropometric profile. It consisted of a case study in Human Ecology on the subject of human adaptability, developed from documentary and field research. The research is theoretically based on different contributions that deal with studies on human-environment interactions, besides those aimed at discussing human adaptability in the amazonian context. As results, it was identified that the researched population developed strategies of adaptability necessary for survival under hostile socioenvironmental conditions, marked by limiting factors that operate at micro and macrostructuring scales. The biocultural impact of these restrictions has triggered adaptive responses in this community, in collective, domestic and individual dimension. In the collective dimension, the majority of the adaptive responses resulted from the incorporation of an individual external to the group through a conjugal union with an Anzol woman, which brought several improvements for all and reversed the process of progressive spatial restriction. In the domestic dimension, there was an increase in the inflow of monetary resources from social programs and, consequently, the higher consumption of industrial food, which characterizes one of the aspects of the nutritional transition. In the individual dimension, they count on the increase of the consumption of locally grown food and the pressure on institutions of collective rights and defense of indigenous rights to obtain better health conditions and for the demarcation of greater extensions of land, so that can reach better nutritional conditions for each of the current and future residents of Anzol. Despite the adaptability strategies developed to deal with socio-environmental constraints, risks to the development and health of these Indians were identified

Identifying connections between land use, population change, and natural and human-induced environmental change in ancient societies provides insights into the challenges we face today. This dissertation presents data from archaeological research at the ancient Maya center of Uxbenká, Belize, integrating chronological, geomorphological, and settlement data within an ecological framework to develop methodological and theoretical tools to explore connections between social and environmental change or stability during the Preclassic and Classic Period (~1000 BC to AD 900). High-precision AMS 14C dates from Uxbenká were integrated with stratigraphic information within a Bayesian framework to generate a high-resolution chronology of sociopolitical development and expansion in southern Belize. This chronology revises the previous understanding of settlement and development of Classic Maya society at Uxbenká and indicates specific areas of investigation to elucidate the Late and Terminal Classic periods (AD 600-900) when the polity appears to disintegrate. A geoarchaeological record of land use was developed and interpreted with respect to regional climatic and cultural histories to track landscape transformations associated with human-environment interactions at Uxbenká. The first documented episode of landscape instability (i.e., erosion) was associated with farmers colonizing the area. Later, landscape stability in the site core parallels Classic Period urbanization (AD 300-900) when swidden agriculture was likely restricted in the core. Another erosional event followed political disintegration as farmers resumed cultivation in and around the abandoned city. Maize yields derived from contemporary Maya farms in the area were used to estimate the maximum population size of Uxbenká during its Classic Period peak. The maximum sustainable population is estimated between 7500 and 13,000, including a potential population of ~525 elites in the core, assuming low levels of agricultural intensification. This accords well with the lack of archaeological evidence for intensive land management during the Classic Period (e.g., terraces). An ecological model developed using maize productivity and other environmental/social datasets largely predicts the settlement pattern surrounding Uxbenká. Settlements in marginal areas may be evidence of elite intra-polity competition during the Late Preclassic Period (ca. AD 1-300), though it is possible that marginal areas were settled early as garrisons to mediate travel into the site core.

Excessive nitrogen loading to surface water bodies has resulted in serious environmental, economical, ecological, and human health problems, such as groundwater contamination and eutrophication in surface water. One important source of nitrogen in the environment, especially in densely populated coastal areas in Florida, is due to wastewater treatment using onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems (OSTDS) (a.k.a., septic systems). Moreover, due to the population expansion, nitrogen loads from septic systems are expected to increase. Therefore, sustainable decision-making and management of nitrogen pollution due to septic systems are urgently needed. In this thesis, two software are used to simulate the whole process of nitrogen (ammonium and nitrate) transport starting from septic systems to finally reach the surface waterbodies. One software is VZMOD, and the other one is the ArcGIS-based Nitrogen Load Estimation Toolkit (ArcNLET). VZMOD is seamlessly integrated with ArcNLET in the way as follows. VZMOD is firstly used to simulate the flow and nitrogen transport in the vadose zone, which is between drain field infiltrative surface and water table, based on the assumption of steady-state, one-dimensional vertical reactive transport with constant incoming fluxes of water, ammonium, and nitrate. The ammonium and nitrate concentrations, given by VZMOD at the water table, are then used as the inputs to the modeling of ammonium and nitrate fate and transport in groundwater in ArcNLET, considering heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity and porosity as well as spatial variability of septic system locations, surface water bodies, and distances between septic systems and surface water bodies. In addition, the key mechanisms controlling nitrogen transport, including advection, dispersion, and denitrification, are also considered in ArcNLET. The study sites of this thesis research are the Main-South Canal (MSC) drainage basin and the City of Sebastian located in Indian River County in southeast Florida. Surface water bodies (e.g., rivers and streams) and groundwater at the two site discharge to the Southern Indian River Lagoon, where the ecological and biological integrity has deteriorated in the last several decades due to the decline in water quality caused in part by nitrogen pollution. There are in total 12,741 septic systems in the MSC area, while in the City of Sebastian, the number of septic systems is 4,883. The process of simulating nitrogen reactive transport from septic tanks to surface water bodies consists of the following three steps: (1) based on the site-specific data, such as DEM, waterbodies, septic locations, hydraulic conductivity and porosity, forward models of VZMOD and ArcNLET is developed, (2) based on the measured data of system state variables, such as water level and nitrogen concentration, the forward models are calibrated, and (3) the calibrated models are used to simulate nitrogen plumes and to estimate nitrogen load from the septic systems to surface water bodies. Considering the modeling ability and the site complexity, two questions, (1) what are the nitrogen characteristics of these two sites, (2) can my model be able to capture these nitrogen characteristics, have been investigated in this study, and the major findings are as follows: (1) The simulated nitrogen plumes and load estimates exhibit substantial spatial variability in the both sites, and the depth from drainfields to water table is important to nitrogen reactive transport, especially the ammonium nitrification to nitrate. (2) Ammonium and nitrate loads for the Main-South Canal drainage basin are largely located in the south to the South Canal drainage basin. Along the ditches and canals, the ammonium concentration is lower due to the small distance between water table and drainfields. There exists a region located in the southeast drainage basin where ammonium loading is high. (3) Incomplete nitrification process is exposed under the vadose zone while the denitrification process is mostly complete in the saturated zone in the Main-South Canal area. (4) The nitrification process is largely complete under the unsaturated zone while the denitrification process is incomplete in the saturated zone in the City of Sebastian area. (5) Reduction ratio is lower while nitrogen loading to surface waterbodies per septic system is larger in the City of Sebastian area than in the Main-South Canal area. (6) The flow model calibration in the City of Sebastian area is not as satisfactory as in the Main-South Canal area, because of the simplified assumption that water table is a subdued replica of topography used in ArcNLET is not satisfied at the study site. These results can be used to support the on-going Basin Management Action Plan. More efforts, such as investigating the soil condition (e.g. micro-bacteria content, dissolved oxygen or dissolved organic carbon and pH) and specific septic system environment, are also needed to verify these results and to develop more insights about the nitrogen processes in the study areas. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Scientific Computing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Fall Semester 2017. / November 08, 2017. / ArcNLET, Calibration, Nitrification/Denitrification, Nitrogen load estimation, Septic systems, Surface waterbody / Includes bibliographical references. / Ming Ye, Professor Directing Thesis; Xiaoqiang Wang, Committee Member; Sachin Shanbhag, Committee Member.

A method was developed and validated for GC/MS analysis of PBDEs in a variety of matrices (soil, dust, sediment, and 10 types of foodstuffs), represented by a total of 313 samples. Extensive environmental contamination by PBDEs is shown to arise as a result of improper e-waste handling in Guiyu, China, with open burning and circuit boards shredding operations identified as the most significant sources of PBDEs to soil and sediment. Elevated concentrations of selected key pollutants, including legacy and novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and metals/metalloids, were detected in a number of dietary samples from Taizhou e-waste recycling sites, confirming the hypothesis that improper e-waste handling is an important source of toxic contaminants to locally produced foods. Human exposure, of both adults and children, to key pollutants via diet was estimated, with results suggesting that children are particularly exposed to a range of toxic substances through a locally-sourced diet. This was especially evident in the case of PCBs, PBDEs, cadmium, and lead. Concentrations of, and/or routes of human exposure to, several contaminants (e.g., PBDEs in duck eggs, and compound-specific NBFRs in diet originating from Taizhou) are reported here for the first time. Application of a simple pharmacokinetic model to predict human body burden of PBDEs (based on estimated dietary intake) provided predicted PBDE body burdens that compared satisfactorily in most instances with those reported elsewhere in blood of adults from Taizhou e-waste sites.

This thesis deals with Taiwan as a post-colonial nation, with an identity that remains somewhat ambiguous, from both internal and external perspectives. Specifically, in this thesis, the complexities of its Taiwan’s multicultural legacies are explored through the presentation in industrial heritage sites. Industrial heritage in Taiwan is mainly the product of the Japanese colonial period between 1895 and 1945, which spans the first half of the twentieth century. This fifty-year colonial industrialisation is arguably Taiwan’s most influential industrial heritage because it began a rapid process of modernisation that is continuing today. The key to this process is the industrialisation that led to the development of main parts of the island, catalysed new communities and social patterns and structured daily life. These industrial locations have now become heritage sites for tourism and creative development, Moreover, the interpretation of these sites highlights the re-contextualisation of the Taiwanese legacy from both political and economic perspectives. However, these sites also reveal some highly problematic place-related aspects of the colonial narrative. This thesis examines how this heritage is produced in a society that remains connected to Japanese culture, a society in which industrial heritage is influenced by the increasing convergence between cultural tourism, museumification and commercialisation Furthermore, new relationships are identified, which reflect the patterns and trends of wider economic, social and cultural changes. The thesis concludes by offering a deeper understanding of the valorisation of industrial heritage in Taiwan and its influence on broader Taiwanese narratives of geopolitics and global heritage agenda.

The end of 2006 was a milestone for the Government of Indonesia in the initiation of the disaster risk reduction program. The aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that hit the Aceh Province and Nias Island in the North Sumatra Province, in December 2004, had taken 2 years to deal with. From the start of 2005 until mid-2006 was a period of emergency, rehabilitation and reconstruction. Therefore, the government began publishing a national action plan for disaster risk reduction (2006-2009). It later became the beginning of the shifting paradigm of emergency, rehabilitation and reconstruction, to become the paradigm of disaster mitigation (disaster risk reduction). The initiative was also taken by the Indonesian government as part of integrating the international commitments of the United Nations and the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA 2005 -2015) about Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters. The Indonesian government then opened support from donors to support the implementation of the NAP-DRR program, while supporting the creation of instrument-instrument for disaster management activities for the government. Various support was received by the government to support the DRR program in Indonesia. Such support gave assistance, institutional strengthening, and also grant aid. A grant of 4.3 million pounds from DFID (the UK government) is the largest received by the Indonesian government to support the implementation of DRR in Indonesia. In the implementation of grant aid, the UK government has given an enormous influence on the governance of disaster management in Indonesia. The aim of this research is to explore and investigate the impact of the UKAid project in support of the DRR programme implemented by the Indonesian Government. The research objectives is : to explore and understand the context of UKAid in support of SCDRR project; to explore the SCDRR project as part of humanitarian aid; to analyse the obstacles affecting the impact of UKAid at governmental level and in optimising foreign assistance fund for DRR activities; and identify and assess the lessons and good practice learnt after DRR project in maintaining post project sustainability incorporating the lessons learnt into the government regulatory framework. This study needed to look at the long-standing problem of financial constraints of developing countries in the allocation of funding for disaster risk reduction, which has not been a top priority. The research gap identified with study through SCDRR performance as a government project, it indirectly gave a lot of feedback, initiatives and encouragement for the formation of institutions in the system of management of disaster, including the birth of various regulations related to disaster management in general and supporting disaster risk reduction programs as the impact of the DFID/UK Aid projects in Indonesia. This study adopts methodology a single case study of the SC-DRR project activities, which was implemented in seven provinces and one city in Indonesia. The strategy of the research is conducted by observing the effects produced after the implementation of the DRR project was implemented and categorized at the national and regional levels. A number of interviews with experts from government and non-government have been conducted in order to complement findings outcomes in seven scopes of impact: (1) Strengthening Aid influence in government institutions; (2) Challenges and lessons learnt post SCDRR activities; (3) Effect of humanitarian assistance for DRR in Indonesia; (4) Existence of Indonesian Disaster Data and information (DIBI); (5) Existence of DFID and UK Aid in Indonesia; (6) Optimizing of DFID grant through Project SCDRR; and (7) The influence of the SCDRR Project. The contribution to knowledge and practice through this study was demonstrate the models framework of impact analysis as a research tool for foreign aid to Indonesia (developing country), which was integrated with another framework analysis impact for humanitarian aid developed by Hoffman for detailed analysis. The integrating of aspect national and regional level into the models framework will useful analysis for the policy maker in particular at developing country.

Many studies have focused on ethnic entrepreneurship and Polish migration to the UK, but very little is known about Polish immigrant enterprises and established businesses in Western Europe in the post EU enlargement era. This thesis addresses this gap and contributes to the debate about Polish entrepreneurs by examining the trajectories of Polish immigrant entrepreneurs starting their own business in the West Midlands region of the UK. This research is based on the results of forty-eight in depth interviews with Polish entrepreneurs in the West Midlands, who migrated around the time of EU enlargement in May 2004. The analysis concludes that Polish entrepreneurs in the West Midlands made carefully constructed decisions regarding the timing of their migration in order to establish successful businesses. This is achieved through the use of translocal relationships, which become increasingly localised by adopting business adaptation strategies. There are some notable differences in the experiences of pre-accession and post-accession entrepreneurs. Since the research highlights the local element of Polish entrepreneurs in the UK, it provides the foundation for research into the local lives of these entrepreneurs in Poland, before they migrated to the UK.