A automação do manejo da irrigação é uma alternativa para maximizar a eficiência de uso da água e a produtividade de culturas irrigadas. Entretanto, a maioria dos controladores de irrigação automatizados é ativada eletricamente e inapropriada para uso em propriedades rurais onde não há disponibilidade de energia. Nesta pesquisa, foi desenvolvido e avaliado um controlador de irrigação acionado mecanicamente pela tensão da água no solo. O equipamento usa a variação de tensão dentro do tensiômetro, instalado na zona radicular da cultura, para acionar mecanicamente uma válvula de três vias (válvula de atuação hidráulica), que por sua vez, opera sobre uma válvula de suprimento da irrigação (válvula hidráulica). O controlador foi projetado e construído utilizando conexões de PVC e outros componentes de PVC construídos em tornos mecânicos. Foram construídos dois protótipos de controlador, denominados protótipo I e II. A tensão da água no solo requerida para acionar o sistema de irrigação é regulada pelo ajuste de uma mola. O desempenho de seis amostras do protótipo I e protótipo II foi avaliado em campo e laboratório, respectivamente. O equipamento foi capaz de ligar e desligar o sistema de irrigação tanto na avaliação em laboratório quanto no campo. Entretanto, variações (desvios padrão de até 5 kPa) nas tensões para acionar e desligar a irrigação foram observadas entre as amostras dos controladores. Porém, a calibração tanto do acionamento quanto do desligamento para cada controlador individualmente é possível e mostrou-se capaz de reduzir a variação para < 1 kPa. Simulações de água no solo foram conduzidas utilizando-se o programa SWIMv2.1 para avaliar o efeito da acurácia do sensor, tipo de solo, taxa de aplicação de irrigação e a profundidade de instalação do sensor no desempenho da irrigação. O controlador apresentou os melhores desempenhos quando instalado em profundidades maiores que 15 cm e para tensões de acionamento maiores do que 15kPa. Em situações em que maior precisão é requerida no acionamento do SI (irrigação de culturas com sistema radicular raso) e/ou é necessário maior flexibilidade na definição lâmina de água a ser aplicado é recomendada a utilização de dois controladores, um para ligar e outro para desligar o SI. As melhores eficiências de aplicação da irrigação e de armazenamento da água no solo foram verificadas com o controlador instalado em profundidades de 30 a 40% da profundidade efetiva do sistema radicular. / The automation of irrigation scheduling is critical to maximizing water use efficiency and productivity in irrigated crops. However, the majority of automated irrigation controllers are electrically actuated and inappropriate for use by small-plot holders where there is no electricity. This research has developed and evaluated a mechanical irrigation controller actuated by soil-water tension for use by small-plot holders. The device uses the energy fluctuations inside a tensiometer located in the active root zone of the crop to mechanically actuate a switch valve which in turn operates the irrigation supply valve.The controller was designed and construced using readily available irrigation fittings and other components constructed in a lathe. It was constructed two prototypes, called prothotype I and II. The performance of six irrigation controllers from the prototype I and prototype II were evaluated in laboratory and in field experiments, respectively. The controller was able to turn on and off irrigation system both in field and laboratory conditions. However, variations (up to 5 kPa standard deviation) in the irrigation actuation and cut-off soil tensions were indentified between individual controllers. However, the calibration of either the actuation or the cut-off soil tension for individual controllers is possible and shown to reduce the variation between controllers to < 1 kPa for the calibrated function. Soil-water simulations were conducted using SWIMv2.1 model to evaluate the effect of sensor accuracy, soil type, irrigation application rate and the installation depth of the sensor on irrigation performance. The controller was shown to perform best when placed in depths bigger than 15 cm and soil-water activation bigger than 15 kPa. In the situation where more precision is required in the actuation of the irrigation system (irrigated crops with shallow root system) and/or is necessary more flexibility in the water depth to be applied, it is recommended utilize two controllers, one to turn on the irrigation and another to turn it off. The best application and soil water storage efficiencies were verified in controller placement depths between from 30 to 40% of the active root system of the crop.

Genetic counselors are healthcare professionals who work with patients and families affected by or at risk for conditions with a genetic cause or component. They act as purveyors of genetic and genomic testing and support the translation of test results into targeted and personalized medical care. Innovations, which arise and are introduced into practice continuously, compel genetic counselors to update their skills, knowledge, and approach quickly to ensure adequate and appropriate care of patients. The purpose of this study was to explore the professional learning strategies utilized by genetic counselors, with particular attention to learning which occurs in response to innovation. Utilizing critical incident questionnaires, interviews, and a database of credits accrued for continuing education, this study sought to contribute to a detailed understanding of genetic counselors’ professional learning and how strategies may vary by specialty or years of experience. Genetic counselors were found to utilize reflection to identify learning needs arising within uncertain, complex, and ambiguous circumstances of practice, and match those needs to appropriate learning strategies. Prized learning strategies included reading to gather information, discussion with colleagues to curate alternative perspectives and past experiences, and experimentation to actively test ongoing apprehension. Through strategies which were permeable, complementary, and active, genetic counselors demonstrated their abilities to synergize learning, practice, and novel, complex, ambiguous, and uncertain environments.

This dissertation is a collection of three essays on price and welfare. The first chapter investigates the optimal price index for central banks to stabilize in a model economy where volatile prices are harmful to welfare through monetary friction. The second chapter estimates the impact of recent technological innovation, namely the internet, on the dynamics of prices and welfare through a variety of real mechanisms. The third chapter analyzes the impact of financial regulation on the prices of financial assets and the welfare of the financial market participants. There is currently a debate about what price index central banks should target when economies are open and exposed to international price shocks. Chapter 1 derives the optimal price index by solving the Ramsey problem in a New Keynesian small open economy model with an arbitrary number of sectors. This approach improves on existing theoretical benchmarks because (1) it makes an explicit distinction between the consumer price index (CPI) and the producer price index (PPI), and (2) it allows exogenous international price shocks to play a role. Qualitatively, I use the analytical expression of the optimal price index to discuss that popular indices, such as the PPI and the core/headline CPI, are suboptimal because they ignore the heterogeneity in price stickiness and the effect of inflation on the trade surplus. Quantitatively, I calibrate a 35-sector version of the model for 40 countries and show that stabilizing the optimal price index yields significantly higher welfare than alternative indices. In Chapter 2, which is joint work with Yoon J. Jo and David Weinstein, we estimate the impact of e-commerce on Japanese prices and welfare. First, we consider the possibility that e-commerce may have lowered prices by driving down the average prices of goods available online. Second, we compute the welfare gains due to the ability of e-commerce to enable consumers to purchase goods from other regions. Third, we compute the gains that arise through e-commerce's ability to arbitrage intercity price differences. We find that all three channels produced welfare gains in Japan, but our estimates suggest that the first and second channels are by far the most important, with welfare gains through these channels being eleven to sixteen times larger than through the price arbitrage channel. Overall, we find that increased inter-city arbitrage raised Japanese welfare by 0.12 percent, the gains due to new varieties available through online shopping raised welfare 0.7 percent, and the gains due to overall price reductions for goods available online raised welfare by 1 percent. In Chapter 3, which is joint work with Sakai Ando, we analyze the impact of dealer regulation on price quality (informativeness and volatility) and its implications for the welfare of market participants. We argue that although price informativeness, volatility, and the dealer's profitability all deteriorate, against conventional wisdom, other market participants are better off due to the dealer's risk-shifting motive. A static model is used to clarify the main intuition, and the robustness of the welfare results, as well as the fragility of the conventional wisdom about price quality, are discussed by incorporating dynamics and endogenizing information acquisition.

This dissertation is a study of the social dimensions and implications of the smart city, a new kind of urbanism that augments the city’s existing infrastructures with sensors, wireless communication, and software algorithms to generate unprecedented reams of real-time data. It investigates how smartness reshapes civic ties, and transforms the ways of seeing and governing urban centers long-plagued by racial and economic divides. How do the uneven adoption of smart technologies and data-driven practices affect the relationship between citizens and local government? What mediates the understanding and experience of urban inequalities in a data-driven city? In what ways does data-driven local governance address or exacerbate pervasive divides? The dissertation addresses these questions through three years of ethnographic fieldwork in Kansas City, where residents and public officials have partnered with Google and Cisco to test a gigabit internet service and a smart city program respectively. I show that the foray of tech companies into cities not only changes how urban problems are identified, but also reproduces civic divides. Young, middle-class, white residents embrace the smart city with the goal of turning the city’s problems into an economic opportunity, while already-vulnerable residents are reluctant to adopt what they perceive as surveillance technologies. This divide widens when data-driven practices of the smart city compel public officials and entrepreneurial residents to feign deliberate ignorance against longstanding issues and familiar solutions, or explore spurious connections between different datasets due to their assumptions about how creative breakthroughs surface in the smart city. These enthusiasts hope to discover connections they did not know existed, but their practices perpetuate existing stereotypes and miss underlying patterns in urban inequalities. By teasing out the intertwined relationships among tech giants, federal/local governments, local entrepreneurial groups, civic tech organizations, and nonprofits, this research demonstrates how the interests and cultural techniques of the contemporary tech industry seep into age-old practices of classification, record keeping, and commensuration in governance. I find that while these new modes of knowledge production in local government restructure the ways public officials and various publics see the city, seeing like a city also shapes the possibilities and limits of governing by data.

從微藻提煉的生物燃料，是化石燃料和其他生物燃料的優良替代品。藻類生物燃料屬碳中性，因為微藻為光自養生物，能經光合作用吸收二氧化碳，並將之轉化成碳氫化合物和脂肪。碳氫化合物和脂肪可用以提煉生物燃料。此外，微藻可以吸收廢水中的污染物作生長的營養，同時作污水處理。 / 本研究項目的目的為透過下述方法，降低藻類生物燃料的生產成本，並提高藻株的脂肪含量： (1) 篩選可以在污水自養培育，並有高產油量的微藻菌株，(2) 以兩階段培養方法，用處理過的污水作培養，從而提高油脂產，(3) 透過微藻毒理測試，和水質化學分析，研究處理後的污水中影響微藻生長的污染物和有毒物質。 / 這個研究中使用從沙田污水處理廠收集的二級處理污水，其水質亦被研究。幾種微藻菌株分別為小球藻 (Chlorella pyrenoidosa)，叢粒藻 (Botryococcus braunii) 和微綠球藻 (Nannochloropsis oculata)，從鰂魚池水分離出的小球藻 (Chlorella sp.1)，及兩種從處理污水中分離出的小球藻(Chlorella sp. 2, Chlorella sp. 3)。微藻菌株分別在培養基和處理污水中培養，並比較在兩種情況下的脂肪，脂肪酸，碳水化合物，蛋白質含量，生物質量和總有機碳。結果發現，雖然經處理的污水中營養成分非常低 (<0.11 mg / L活性磷，<9.68 mg / L硝酸根，<0.5 mg / L鉀離子)，所有研究的微藻菌株都能存活。在兩階段培養法下，首先以「氮含量充足階段」(培養基)提高生物質量，然後以「氮含量不足階段」(經處理污水) 培養，培養成本可以降低，同時提高脂肪生產率。在兩階段培養法下，叢粒藻的脂肪生產率比在人工培養基和經處理污水高2.6倍和7.13倍。 / 沙田污水處理廠處理的污水水質良好，並無驗出有害重金屬，雙酚A(BPA)，四溴雙酚A(TBBPA)和2,3,7,8-四氯二苯並二噁英(TCDD)。從藻類產生的生物燃料將不含有重金屬。 / 在這個研究中的叢粒藻 (Botryococcus braunii)，微綠球藻 (Nannochloropsis oculata)和小球藻 (Chlorella sp.1)都可以容忍雙酚A(BPA)，四溴雙酚A(TBBPA)，二氯苯氧氯酚 (TCS)和2,3,7,8-四氯二苯並二噁英(TCDD)。他們可以培育在其他來源的經處理污水。 / 利用經處理污水於兩階段培養法，是一種新的、更經濟的增加微藻油脂產量方法，亦可以配合任何其他方法，以減低藻類生物燃料的製造成本。 / Biofuel from microalgae can be an excellent substitute of fossil fuel and other biofuels. Algal biofuel is carbon neutral as microalgae are photoautotrophic. Through photosynthesis, microalgae can capture and convert carbon dioxide to hydrocarbons or lipids which can be used for biofuel production. Besides, microalgae can use pollutants from wastewater as nutrients for growth, which can serve as a wastewater treatment process. / The aims of the project are to lower the cost of algal biofuel production and boost up lipid content of algal strains by (1) screen a microalgal strain that can be cultivated in treated sewage autotrophically and give high oil yield, (2) use two phase cultivation, with treated sewage as medium, to boost up lipid productivity, (3) investigate heavy metals and some organic pollutants that may exist in treated sewage and can affect algal growth by performing algal toxicity test and chemical analysis of treated sewage. / The secondarily treated sewage used in this project was collected from the Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works. The quality of the secondarily treated sewage was monitored. Chlorella pyrenoidosa, Botryococcus braunii and Nannochloropsis oculata from commercial source, and Chlorella sp. 1 isolated from tilapia fish pond water, and two species of algae, Chlorella sp. 2 and Chlorella sp. 3, isolated from treated sewage were investigated. Microalgal strains are compared by investigating the content of lipid, fatty acid, carbohydrate, protein, biomass and total organic carbon when cultivated in culture medium and treated sewage. Results found that although nutrients in treated sewage were very low (<0.11 mg/L reactive phosphorus, <9.68 mg/L nitrate and <0.5 mg/L potassium ion), all the microalgae investigated could grow reasonably well. Using two phase cultivation, with an initial nitrogen sufficient phase (artificial media) for biomass production, followed by nitrogen limitation phase (treated sewage), cost of cultivation could be reduced and the overall lipid productivity could be increased. Under the two phase cultivation, the lipid productivity of Botryococcus braunii was 2.6 and 7.13 fold higher than cultivated in artificial medium and treated sewage respectively. / Treated sewage from the Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works was in good quality without harmful concentrations of heavy metal and BPA, TBBPA and TCDD. The microalgae could not absorb or adsorb significant amount of the harmful substances and the algal biofuel produced would not contain heavy metals. All the microalgae investigated in this project could tolerate BPA, TBBPA, TCS and TCDD. They could be cultivated in treated sewage from other sources. / Two phase cultivation using treated sewage is a new way for increasing lipid productivity from microalgae economically and can be combined with any other means for producing algal biofuel with lowest cost. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Kwan, Ka Ki. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-113). / Abstracts also in Chinese. / Acknowledgements --- p.i / Abstract --- p.iii / 摘要 --- p.Vi / Table of Contents --- p.viii / List of Figures --- p.Xii / List of Plates --- p.Xvi / List of Tables --- p.xviii / Abbreviations --- p.xx / Chapter 1. --- General introduction / Chapter 1.1 --- Fossil fuel, the major energy source nowadays --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Disadvantages of using fossil fuel --- p.3 / Chapter 1.3 --- Biofuel --- p.5 / Chapter 1.4 --- Disadvantages of traditional biofuel production --- p.8 / Chapter 1.5 --- Characteristics of microalgae --- p.9 / Chapter 1.6 --- Biofuel from microalgae --- p.14 / Chapter 1.7 --- Nutrients for microalgae related to lipid production --- p.18 / Chapter 1.8 --- Current research on algal biofuel --- p.19 / Chapter 1.9 --- Two phase cultivation as a new way for lipid production --- p.24 / Chapter 1.10 --- Objectives --- p.24 / Chapter 2. --- Biofuel production under two phase cultivation with artificial medium and treated sewage / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.26 / Chapter 2.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.28 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Algal strains collection and isolation --- p.28 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Artificial culture media --- p.29 / Chapter 2.2.2.1 --- Bristol’s Medium (BM) --- p.29 / Chapter 2.2.2.2 --- Modified Bold 3N medium (MBM) --- p.31 / Chapter 2.2.3.3 --- F/2 medium (F/2) --- p.33 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Water quality of treated sewage --- p.33 / Chapter 2.2.3.1 --- Chemical and biological condition --- p.34 / Chapter 2.2.3.2 --- Total organic carbon and total nitrogen (TOC/TN) --- p.35 / Chapter 2.2.3.3 --- Reactive phosphate --- p.35 / Chapter 2.2.3.4 --- Nitrate --- p.37 / Chapter 2.2.3.5 --- Ammonia --- p.39 / Chapter 2.2.3.6 --- Metal elements --- p.40 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Cultivation conditions --- p.40 / Chapter 2.2.5 --- Growth monitor of microalgae in artificial medium and treated sewage --- p.41 / Chapter 2.2.6 --- Comparison of microalgae cultivated in artificial media and treated sewage --- p.42 / Chapter 2.2.6.1 --- Large scale cultivation --- p.42 / Chapter 2.2.6.2 --- Cell morphology --- p.43 / Chapter 2.2.6.3 --- Cell harvesting --- p.44 / Chapter 2.2.6.4 --- Dried biomass --- p.44 / Chapter 2.2.6.5 --- Lipid content --- p.45 / Chapter 2.2.6.6 --- Fatty acid profile --- p.46 / Chapter 2.2.6.7 --- Extraction of carbohydrates and protein --- p.48 / Chapter 2.2.6.8 --- Carbohydrate content --- p.48 / Chapter 2.2.6.9 --- Protein content --- p.49 / Chapter 2.2.7 --- Two phase cultivation --- p.50 / Chapter 2.2.8 --- Statistical analysis --- p.50 / Chapter 2.3 --- Results --- p.51 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Water quality of treated sewage --- p.51 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Nutrient contents in artificial medium --- p.54 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Growth of microalgae in artificial medium and treated sewage --- p.54 / Chapter 2.3.3.1 --- Cell morphology and cell size --- p.57 / Chapter 2.3.3.2 --- Biomass --- p.59 / Chapter 2.3.3.3 --- Lipid content --- p.61 / Chapter 2.3.3.4 --- Fatty acid profile --- p.63 / Chapter 2.3.3.5 --- Carbohydrates content --- p.66 / Chapter 2.3.3.6 --- Protein content --- p.67 / Chapter 2.3.4 --- Two phase cultivation --- p.69 / Chapter 2.4 --- Discussion --- p.74 / Chapter 2.4.1 --- Water quality of treated sewage and nutrients in artificial medium --- p.74 / Chapter 2.4.2 --- Growth of microalgae in artificial medium and filtered treated sewage --- p.75 / Chapter 2.4.3 --- Microalgae cultivated in artificial media and treated sewage --- p.76 / Chapter 2.4.4 --- Two phase cultivation --- p.81 / Chapter 3. --- Possible toxic effect on algal growth from chemicals in sewage / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.84 / Chapter 3.2 --- Materials and methods --- p.85 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Analysis of dissolved metals by ICP --- p.85 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Organic compounds --- p.86 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Algal bioassay --- p.87 / Chapter 3.3 --- Results --- p.88 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Dissolved metals and metalloids --- p.88 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Organic compounds --- p.88 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Algal bioassay --- p.91 / Chapter 3.4 --- Discussion --- p.97 / Chapter 4. --- Conclusion and future prospectives --- p.99 / Chapter 4.1 --- Summary --- p.99 / Chapter 4.2 --- Genetic engineering --- p.100 / Chapter 4.3 --- Further study --- p.102 / Chapter 4.4 --- Conclusion --- p.102 / Chapter 5. --- References --- p.104

Although several sustainability implementation frameworks have been proposed, researchers have not yet proposed theories or models to help organisations speed up the rate of sustainability diffusion and narrow the gap between what is known and what is put into use. This study sought to fill this gap by proposing a sustainability diffusion model. The model was developed from an exhaustive review of the corresponding literature. It uses Rogers' (1962) diffusion of innovations theory and Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behaviour as a theoretical foundation. The model was tested and its structural architecture was validated in three different sustainability contexts; namely, duplex printing in UK universities; sustainable computing in service-based businesses; and sustainability culture in UK universities. The primary data was analysed statistically using SPSS, and structural equation modelling (SEM) in particular was used to validate the structural architecture of the proposed model. The SEM results indicate that the structural architecture of the theory of planned behaviour is well-founded. All the hypotheses that underline the theory's paths were supported. In contrast, the structural architecture of the diffusion of innovations theory was weakly supported. Some of the paths were rejected in at least two occasions. For example, the relationship between pro-sustainability knowledge and attitude was neither statistically significant nor directional. Moreover, several components of the 'verified' model turned out to be statistically insignificant or were rejected altogether. These were knowledge, perceived self interest, perceived persuader legitimacy, perceived consequences, perceived argument quality, trialability and perceived source credibility. Accordingly, once these constructs were removed and the model was restructured in accordance with the results of SEM analysis, an entirely new version of the 'sustainability diffusion model' emerged (See Figure IX-2). The architecture of the new model suggests that in order to speed up the rate of sustainability diffusion, change agents must emphasise the relative advantage, compatibility, subjective norm and the urgency of the pro-sustainability initiative under implementation and de-emphasise any complexities or risks associated with its operationalisation. Unexpectedly, the new version of the proposed model relies more on Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behaviour as a theoretical foundation than on Rogers' (1983) innovation-decision process model. In other words, the new model maintained almost all the features of the theory of planned behaviour, but it only absorbed some, but not all, of the components of Rogers' innovation-decision process model. Nevertheless, the new model maintained its holistic nature. It still takes into account both the person-specific and innovation-specific factors that influence the diffusion, adoption and actualisation of pro-sustainability behaviours/initiatives.

Thesis (M.S.V.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 53-55). / The optical videodisc is a publishing medium that permanently stores large amounts of visual and aural data. The technology needed to support videodiscs is understood and available. Digital augmentation of the optical videodisc can exploit this technology for data publishing. Not only can this data be used in raw form, it can also reference the video that it augments. Publishing requires an author to create the publishable material, and this thesis addresses the problem of authoring digitally augmented videodiscs. / by Steven Edward Yelick. / M.S.V.S.

No description available.

The field of media assistance has grown ever more complex with the inclusion of ‘new media’ networks, channels, tools and practices (such as the Internet, satellite television, mobile devices, social media and citizen journalism) to the media development mix. Adding to the ferment is the increasing convergence between the formerly discrete terrains of ICT for development, media for development and (mass) media development. Much of the discussion regarding the utility and objectives of media development in general and ‘new media’ in particular has been viewed through a modernist and techno-determinist prism which offers a limited ideological view of media development and its objects and consequently, a limited set of communication approaches and strategies. This study contextualises the assumptions of media development historically and critically, with particular focus on new media’s roles and relationships with the media environment, and its objectives democratisation and development. Through the application of literature, theory and various research studies, this thesis establishes a broader view of new media’s role and diverse consequences for media development, democracy and development. The study recommends greater collaboration, contextual research and theorisation of media development and new media as part of mixed media systems and cognisant of the multi-dimensional natures of its objects of democracy and development. One implication is the need for professionalisation of the media development and media assistance sector. In relation to the influences of new media on media use and the media as an institution, it motivates the need to address digital divides and emphasise the sustainability of the practice of journalism.

Xiao, Yao. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 32-33). / Abstract also in Chinese. / Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.Page 5 / Chapter 2. --- Literature Review --- p.Page 8 / Chapter 3. --- Model --- p.Page 12 / Chapter 4. --- Data --- p.Page 15 / Chapter 5. --- Regression results and comparisons --- p.Page 19 / Chapter 6. --- Sub-group tests --- p.Page 26 / Chapter 7. --- Conclusion --- p.Page 30 / Chapter 8. --- References --- p.Page 32 / Chapter 9. --- Appendix --- p.Page 34