published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

published_or_final_version / abstract / Geography / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Law / Master / Master of Philosophy

This study investigates the mechanical and geometrical attributes of egg–box energy absorbing structures as crash safety barriers in the automotive industry. The research herein was originated from the earlier work of Prof. Shirvani, patented and further investigated by Cellbond Composites Ltd. who has invested in further research, for developing an analytical tool for geometric optimisation as an enhanced resolution to various shapes and materials. Energy absorption in egg-box occurs through plastic deformation of cell walls, examined through non–linear finite element simulations using ANSYS® and ANSYS/LS–DYNA® FE packages. Experimental dynamic crash tests have been designed to verify the validity of the FE simulations. Geometrical models are defined as 3D graphical representations, outlined in detail. Further, the impact behaviour of commercially pure aluminium egg-box energy absorbers is studied to identify the optimum design parameters describing the geometry of the structure. A simulation-based multi-objective optimisation strategy is employed to find a set of Pareto-optimal solutions where each solution represents a trade-off point with respect to the two conflicting objectives: the maximum impact force and the energy absorption capacity of the structure. The aim is to simultaneously minimise the former and maximise the latter, in the attempt to find purpose–specific optimal egg–box geometries. In light of the associated outcomes, it is shown that egg–box geometries with < ω ), thin walls (t < 1mm), short inter–peak distances and small peak diameters. M – < ω ), thin walls (t < 1mm), lengthy inter–peak distances and smaller peak diameters. It is concluded that, egg–box structures combined in the form of sandwich panels can be designed per application to act as optimised energy absorbers. Results of the proposed optimised sandwich structure are verified using analytical techniques.

M.Sc. (Environmental Management) / The tourism industry is one of the fastest growing industries worldwide and its role as a fundamental contributor to the economic sector cannot be understated. However, this growth has led to an increase in negative environmental impacts. The success of tourism rests on the quality of the natural environment where it has been developed. Therefore should the natural environment and its resources be damaged or destroyed, the very resource that attracted tourists is destroyed, and the tourism industry will eventually collapse. The worldwide drive toward sustainable development and the growth in environmental awareness has placed pressure on tourism ventures to measure and mitigate their environmental impacts. This study was initiated to investigate the current sustainable performance of two safari camps owned by Wilderness Safaris. The primary reason for selecting these specific camps, relates to the fact that they are situated on the boarder of one of the most sensitive environments on earth the Namib Desert, and therefore demand effective management in order to ensure environmental degradation is prevented. The study engaged in the development of a list of sustainable tourism issues and their associated indicators, to assess the current sustainability of the two camps. The research also aimed to formulate baseline data for future comparisons. The camp's current sustainability was determined by applying the selected sustainability indicators, to assess the camp's environmental, social and economic impacts on the surrounding biophysical and socio-economic environments. A cross-case analysis was then conducted comparing the results of each camps performance. The results were also compared to the company's group environmental minimum standards. This was done to provide Wilderness Safaris with an external verification of their camps current sustainable performance and to provide baseline data for future comparisons. The chosen set of sustainable tourism indicators provided a time and cost-effective means of assessing the current sustainable performance of the two camps. Site specific recommendations were made for each camp to improve their sustainable performance. Future studies conducted by Wilderness Safaris can use this study as a benchmark to compare the sustainable performance of their camps. In addition this study can also be used as a benchmark for comparisons by other tourism ventures in other developing countries around the world. The study contributes to the academic body of knowledge in the field of study surrounding the application of sustainable tourism indicators to measure and operationalize sustainable development of tourism ventures. Conclusions recounting the sustainable performance of the two camps are made as well as recommendations for further research.

M.Sc. (Environmental management) / An environmental impact assessment (EIA) is one of the most important tools used all over the world to ensure that the impacts of developments are addressed and the principles of sustainable development are applied. Since the promulgation of EIA Regulations in South Africa in 2010, there has been limited empirical research on the quality of authorized environmental impact statements (EISs). To determine the effectiveness of the EIA process, it is important to determine the quality of EISs performed under the new EIA system. This research investigated the quality of selected EISs in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. Most of the coal reserves in South Africa are found in Mpumalanga and it is a province from which electricity is generated and transmitted to different parts of the country. Therefore, the potential for developments to have significant impacts on the environment is high. Eighteen (18) EISs were assessed using the Lee and Colley Review Package (Lee et al., 1999). The results showed that 67% of the EISs achieved a satisfactory grade; however, the analysis revealed that several key areas of the EIS did not receive sufficient attention. This leaves the effectiveness of EISs in question and the study offers several suggestions that could potentially improve the EIA process.

MSc. (Geography) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science by Coursework and Research Report. Johannesburg 2014. / Climate change is an issue of global significance resulting in trans-boundary environmental and socio-economic impacts. South Africa is involved in the international efforts to address climate change, has accepted the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report and developed a National Climate Change Response Policy, listing the impacts of climate change on the sustainable development in South Africa. The main causes of climate change are Greenhouse Gases (GHGs), which have been emitted from different development activities over temporal and spatial scales. In order to reduce the emissions of GHGs and protect proposed development projects from climate change impacts, climate change mitigation and adaptation measures should be incorporated into Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This research aimed to describe climate change incorporation into the EIA legal regime and practice in South Africa, based on climate change impacts on sustainable development and the role of EIA in considering climate change. The methodology involved reviewing EIA regulations and related legislation, EIA case studies from Gauteng province conducted between 2010 and 2013, key informant interviews with Environmental Assessment Practitioners (EAPs), and discussion on the linkedin group of the International Association for Impact Assessment of South Africa (IAIAsa). The study concluded that climate change is not explicitly incorporated into the EIA regime, but it is implied in the EIA regulations and related legislation. Largely as a result of the lack of climate change incorporation in the EIA legal regime, climate change is not adequately considered in the EIA practice. In order to support the contribution of EIA to sustainable development in South Africa, It is recommended that climate change should be incorporated into EIA regulations in the next amendment of NEMA. This can be done through including listed activities that require climate change incorporation into the EIA based on type of an activity and/or specific receiving environments. It is also suggested that EIA guidelines for climate change consideration be developed. Further recommendations include supporting the role that Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Environmental Management Framework (EMF) play, in conjunction with the EIA, in considering climate change; increasing the availability of accurate, local climate change data and modelling technology; developing staff capacity and awareness about climate change, and building EAP’s ability to incorporate climate change in the EIA through the support of government related authorities and associations such as IAIAsa and EAPSA. Key words: climate change, EIA, mitigation, adaptation, EIA legal regime, EIA practice.

[pt] A região de São Pedro da Serra tem uma tradição de cultivar a terra com dois tipos manejo principalmente: o pousio, que é baseado na rotação de pequenas áreas, alternadas por um período de descanso da terra e o cultivo tradicional com a utilização de agrotóxicos. Esta pesquisa pretende entender a fixação e mobilização do herbicida ácido diclofenoxiacético (2,4-D) a partir das características do solo e seu tipo de manejo. A área de estudo foi dividida em quatro, classificadas a partir de seu uso: sistema 1 (pousio de 4-7 anos), sistema 2 (pousio de 10-12 anos), sistema 3 (plantio convencional), e sistema 4 (área de floresta). E em três profundidades que variaram de 0-10cm, 10-20cm e 25-40cm. O estudo constituiu em um comparativo entre os resultados dos ensaios de caracterização mineralógica, micromorfologia dos solos, fracionamento físico e fracionamento químico da matéria orgânica do solo e quantificação do herbicida escolhido através de cromatografia líquida. Os dados de cromatografia determinaram a presença do herbicida 2,4-D em todos os sistemas estudados. A concentração de 2,4-D teve uma correlação positiva com o teor de argila presente nos sistemas e negativo com a concentração de Al 3+ e H +. O estudo constatou ainda, que o manejo de pousio é o mais apropriado, pois regenera as propriedades físicas e químicas do solo, dando os subsídios necessários para a sua boa utilização agrícola, além de não necessitar da utilização intensa de agrotóxicos, evitando deste modo a possível contaminação dos mananciais hídricos. / [en] The São Pedro da Serra Region has two types of tillage for the sowing soil, the shifting cultivation is based on the soil area rotation and the traditional utilize high amount of agro-toxics products. The aim of this work is to study the 2,4 D herbicide fixation and mobilization from the soil characteristics and the tillage. The cultivated areas were divided depending of the sow time as: system 1 (shifting cultivation 4-7 years), system 2 (shifting cultivation 10-12 years), system 3 (traditional sow), system 4 (forest area). Three different depths were selected (0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, 25-40 cm). The four different systems were compared using the mineralogical characterization, the soil micro morphology, the physic and chemic fractionation for the organic material and the herbicide quantification by the HPLC technique. The semi quantitative results using the HPLC verify the 2,4- D herbicide contains for all the studied systems. The 2,4-D concentration have correlation with the amount of clay of the soil, and have correlation negative with the amount of Al3+ and H+. The relation depends on the herbicide and soil chemical characteristics. The study found that the shifting cultivation had the best 2,4-D elimination, The shifting cultivation soil management permit the better soil regeneration of the chemical and physical properties and the agro-toxic use reduction and the hydro source contamination.

Orientador: José Eduardo Zaine / Banca: Antonio Roberto Saad / Banca: Julio Cezar Rubin de Rubin / Resumo: O presente trabalho consiste no estudo e avaliação das alterações no meio ambiente decorrentes da presença de depósitos tecnogênicos na bacia hidrográfica do ribeirão Anicuns, na região sudoeste da cidade de Goiânia, Goiás. Os depósitos tecnogênicos são testemunhos da ação geológica humana e revelam características da transformação do ambiente natural pelas diferentes formas de apropriação do espaço. A pesquisa compreendeu as seguintes etapas: delimitação de unidades geoambientais; caracterização e mapeamento dos depósitos tecnogênicos presentes nas planícies e canais fluviais da bacia, destacando-se a dinâmica de formação e evolução dos depósitos, a influência da ação humana nesse processo e sua relação com os depósitos naturais; e a integração dos dados obtidos, evidenciando-se as principais alterações da bacia. A análise integrada do meio físico, biótico e do uso e ocupação do solo resultaram na delimitação de nove unidades geoambientais. A análise dos depósitos tecnogênicos implicou na determinação de cinco tipos de depósitos, classificados em construídos e induzidos. A avaliação da bacia indica os altos índices de impacto do meio ambiente decorrentes do processo de produção do espaço. A metodologia adotada se mostrou eficaz no estudo das alterações da bacia do ribeirão Anicuns e permitiu a compreensão da relação entre o homem e o meio / Abstract: This work consists in the study and evaluation of environment changes arising from the presence of technogenic deposits in the Anicuns river basin, in southwestern of Goiania city, Goiás. Technogenic deposits are witness of human geological action and reveal's features of the natural environment transformation through various forms of space appropriation. The research included the following steps: definition of geoenvironmental units, characterization and mapping of the technogenic deposits placed in floodplains and river channels, highlighting the formation dynamics and evolution of the deposits, the influence of human action in this process and its relationship with the natural deposits; the integration of data, evidencing the main changes of the basin. The integrated analysis of the physical, biotic and land use and occupation resulted in the delineation of nine environmental units. The analysis of technogenic deposits resulted in the determination of five types of deposits, classified as constructed and induced. The basin assessment indicates high levels of environmental impact resulting from the process of space production. The methodology was effective in the study of changes in the Anicuns basin and allowed the understanding of the relationship between man and environment / Mestre