Silvicultural activities, particularly forest harvesting operations, have the potential to negatively impact water quality. In order to lessen the probability that water quality degradation will occur, a suite of best management practices has been developed and adopted by southeastern states. The Clean Water Act exempts silvicultural activities from the permitting process of Section 404 as long as federally accepted best management practices are implemented to control nonpoint source pollutants. To demonstrate that these practices are being implemented, states are now inspecting and reporting on best management practice usage on a state wide basis. The Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for executing the Clean Water Act and would like to use the information provided by the individual states to guide water quality protection programs at a regional scale since states have developed their own unique methods or reporting. Currently there it is difficult to compare the information provided by states, and this impedes further development of water quality protection programs. To address this issue, a state of the art review of current inspection and monitoring methods in the southeast was conducted. Forestry professionals were then surveyed to identify opportunities for standardization in the inspection and reporting methodologies employed by states. Using the information resulting from the review and survey, recommendations for standardization were made in the following areas: site selection criteria, field execution method, form design, best management practices evaluated and water quality threat assessment. A standardized form was also developed and tested across three physiographic regions. This information is helpful for future planning and modifications that state agencies can use to standardize their BMP implementation monitoring methods. / Master of Science

Aspect-Oriented Software Development (AOSD) is a new approach that addresses limitations inherent in conventional programming, especially the principle of separation of concerns by emphasizing the encapsulation and modularization of crosscutting concerns through a new abstraction, the "aspect." Aspect-oriented programming is an emerging AOSD programming paradigm that focuses on the modularization of concerns as appropriate for the host language and providing a mechanism for describing concerns that crosscut each other by congealing into a single textual structure behavior that conventional programming would otherwise distribute throughout the code. AspectJ is the most widely used aspect-oriented programming language to date and provides an extension of the Java language that includes several new concepts and constructs that differ from those in procedural and object-oriented programs. These include join points, pointcuts, advice, inter-type declarations, introduction and aspects. In AspectJ, as well as other aspect-oriented programming languages, "aspects" package pointcuts and advice into functional units in much the same way that object-oriented programming uses classes to package fields and methods into cohesive units but they offer a unique set of problems. Software inspections are considered a software engineering "best practice" for ensuring quality, but the introduction of new aspect-oriented programming language mechanisms drives the need for them to be tailored in a similar manner to how they were tailored to support object-oriented programs and the procedural programs. The identification of faults unique to aspect-oriented programming allowed for the design of an aspect fault model and the associated software inspection checklists criteria that provide a description of the typical faults associated with aspects and the clues that aid in betraying their presence. The proposed methodology for this research entailed a mixed methods approach based on a combination of descriptive and exploratory research methodologies using a normative case study. The proposed methodology resulted in the development of an understanding of the AspectJ primitive pointcut construct, identification of the typical faults associated with this construct and the subsequent development of a fault model, a set of programming rules and tailored software inspection checklist. A case study was conducted comparing defects detected by an inspection checklist tailored for AspectJ with one that was not tailored. The results of the case study demonstrated using software inspection checklists not tailored would result in many faults unique to aspect-oriented programming going undetected.

The diploma thesis deals with the issue of legal regulation of air protection against air pollution from unlisted sources. Unlisted sources are a group of stationary sources, that are not listed in Annex 2 of Act No. 201/2012 Coll., On air protection. It is a diverse group of minor sources of air pollution, which are generally subject to softer regulation than the sources listed. On one hand, unlisted sources are less polluting than listed sources, but on the other hand, their number is much higher. In total, they are even the largest polluters in terms of emissions of some substances. Unlisted sources can be divided into combustion and non-combustion sources. With regards to their frequency, the subject of the paper is mainly unlisted combustion sources. A typical example of such unlisted source is a solid fuel boiler designed to heat a building. The first part of the thesis focuses on air protection in general and its subject is also an explanation of how the sources of air pollution are divided. In the second part, the system of instruments of regulation of unlisted sources is described. The thesis aims to outline the possibilities of their practical application and to assess their impact on the state of the air. The third part contains the liability and supervision in field of air protection...

The United States infrastructure, e.g. roads and bridges, are in a critical condition. Inspection, monitoring, and maintenance of these infrastructure in the traditional manner can be expensive, dangerous, time-consuming, and tied to human judgment (the inspector). Non-contact methods can help overcoming these challenges. In this dissertation two aspects of non-contact methods are explored: inspections using unmanned aerial systems (UASs), and conditions assessment using image processing and machine learning techniques. This presents a set of investigations to determine a guideline for remote autonomous bridge inspections.

Hurricane Charley was the third named storm and the second major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. At that time, it was also the strongest hurricane to strike the US coast since 1992. Charley made landfall on Friday, August 13, 2004 on the barrier islands off Lee County, Florida whence it moved rapidly inland towards Port Charlotte, DeSoto and Hardee counties. The purpose of this study was to understand the performance of undamaged residential home in Punta Gorda Isles (PGI) in Port Charlotte County that was crossed by Charley’s eye shortly after it made landfall. To achieve this goal, a representative sample of 20 undamaged residential homes (out of 210 identified in an earlier study) in PGI were selected from aerial photographs for detailed analysis. Unfortunately, information on dimensions of these buildings could not be obtained despite repeated attempts over a 6-month period. Consequently, a parametric study was conducted using an idealized building following procedures consistent with current practice. In the analysis, parameters such as wind velocity, exposure and building geometry were varied to assess the range of design forces. The maximum wind velocity was taken as 160 mph, based on findings reported in FEMA 488. Two idealized roof systems – a gable and hip – on a rectangular plan form were analyzed using ASCE 7-98’s Method 2. Both Main Wind Force Resisting System (MWFRS) and Components and Cladding (C&C) were evaluated. The results showed that forces resisted were significantly (over 70%) higher than those designed for. Since 210 out of 425 homes studied earlier were undamaged it suggests that properly constructed structures automatically have adequate reserve capacity to withstand higher-than-designed for lateral loads. If changes are needed, it should focus on inspection and construction rather than wind provisions in existing code.

It is widely acknowledged that international trade is a major pathway for the spread of invasive species. International agreements and domestic legislation aim to reach a balance between facilitating trade and providing nations with the right to protect their environmental, public and economic health. This is achieved through the development of standards that prescribe procedures that must be followed before a commodity is imported. Under Section 22 of the Biosecurity Act (1993) Biosecurity New Zealand of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) develops import health standards for the importation of commodities and sea containers and for the approval and management of transitional facilities. Under current regulations, before being allowed to enter New Zealand, a sea container must first be accompanied by appropriate documentation for the sea container itself and any contents (this includes cargo manifests, any required treatment certificates for the cargo and cleaning certificates for the sea container itself). Upon arriving in New Zealand the sea container is transported to a transitional facility for inspection and unloaded once biosecurity clearance has been obtained. There are approximately 7,000 transitional facilities (both on and off wharf) throughout New Zealand and inspections are conducted by persons that have obtained accreditation from MAF for inspections (MAF accredited persons). Based on current importation procedures and other information made available, mathematical models were developed for three sea importation pathways (sea containers, woodpackaging and used vehicles) that involved the inspection of imported units by MAF accredited persons. These models were designed to predict the effectiveness of the current border inspection policies and procedures. Inspection accuracy was found to have the most influential impact on slippage (the rate at which contamination passes through border procedures undetected) along the measured pathways. Under current conditions, an estimated 5.75% of all sea containers, 4.12% of all sea containers containing woodpackaging and 1.63% of all used vehicles that enter New Zealand annually are contaminated in some manner despite having biosecurity clearance. A 3% increase in inspection efficiency reduced slippage to 0.5% of sea containers, 2.16% of woodpackaging and 0.001% of used vehicles entering New Zealand annually. Given that the accuracy of the inspection was the most influential aspect of the border management procedures, mathematical models were develop to predict the cost of compliance recovered by MAF if all inspections were conducted by MAF inspectors as apposed to MAF accredited persons. Under current regulations the cost of compliance (if MAF inspector conducted inspections of all imported units) was estimated to be $117.36 million for sea containers, $35.16 million for woodpackaging and $5.44 million for used vehicles. Increasing the inspection accuracy to the ideal 100% increased the cost of compliance by 75.36%, 61.96% and 61.92% for sea containers, woodpackaging and used vehicles respectively. These findings indicate that Government investment in the training of inspectors throughout New Zealand would improve current border detection rates. Under current regulations, the cost incurred by MAF inspectors inspecting all imported units is recoverable. Currently the cost of compliance is approximately 1% of the value of annual imports. These costs are seen by the import sector as part of their daily business and understand that these measures are in place for the long term sustainability of their businesses (Anon. 2005).

Physical activity in youth has many benefits, but parallel to these benefits, sport related injuries pose considerable risks.  It is important to public health to address sport related injuries, particularly those affecting young people, who comprise the majority of participants in organised sport in Sweden.  The first study in this research showed that inspections of local sport environments, where injuries often occur, did not occur uniformly. Two additional studies pointed out the need for better surveillance of injuries, and described the use of ambulance attendance reports as a possible improvement to current surveillance systems, with a possibility to improve safety for youth and other sport participants. Two other studies identify risk factors that were specific to football and climbing sports, which can be used to guide targeted safety interventions for the young participants of these sports.  The studies, taken as a whole, provide new information about the factors associated with sport related injuries, particularly for young people, and point out the need for better sport injury surveillance, improved inspection strategies for fields maintained by organised sport clubs in local communities, and the need to address risk factors specific to different sport activities.

This dissertation contains two essays on the analysis of market imperfections. In the first essay, I empirically test whether in a three-level hierarchy with asymmetries of information, more competition among intermediaries leads to more deception against the principal. In this setting, intermediaries supervise agents by delegation of the principal, and compete among themselves to provide supervision services to the agents. They cannot be perfectly monitored, therefore allowing them to manipulate supervision results in favor of the agents, and potentially leading to less than optimal outcomes for the principal. Using inspection-level data from the vehicular inspection program in Atlanta, I test for the existence of inspection deception (false positives), and whether this incidence is a function of the number of local competitors by station. I estimate the incidence of the most common form of false positives (clean piping) to be 9% of the passing inspections during the sample period. Moreover, the incidence of clean piping -- passing results of a different vehicle fraudulently applied to a failing vehicle -- per station increases by 0.7% with one more competitor within a 0.5 mile radius. These results are consistent with the presence of more competitors exacerbating the perverse incentives introduced by competition under this setting. In the second essay, we test whether electricity consumption by industrial and commercial customers responds to real-time prices after these firms sign-up for prices linked to the electricity wholesale market price. In principle, time-varying prices (TVP) can mitigate market power in wholesale markets and promote the integration of intermittent generation sources such as wind and solar power. However, little is known about the prevalence of TVP, especially in deregulated retail markets where customers can choose whether to adopt TVP, and how these firms change their consumption after signing up for this type of tariff. We study firm-level data on commercial and industrial customers in Texas, and estimate the magnitude of demand responsiveness using demand equations that consider the restrictions imposed by the microeconomic theory. We find a meaningful level of take-up of TVP ? in some sectors more than one-quarter of customers signed up for TVP. Nevertheless, the estimated price responsiveness of consumption is still small. Estimations by size and by type of industry show that own price elasticities are in most cases below 0.01 in absolute value. In the only cases that own price elasticities reach 0.02 in absolute value, the magnitude of demand response compared to the aggregate demand is negligible.

Sistemas redundantes sujeitos à inspeção periódica são amplamente utilizados nas indústrias, especialmente naqueles processos que envolvem alto risco operacional. Inspeções periódicas são realizadas a fim de identificar e recuperar eventuais falhas de componentes antes da falha do sistema. Inspeções frequentes melhoram a confiabilidade e disponibilidade do sistema, mas envolvem maiores custos de manutenção preventiva. Por outro lado, períodos longos entre inspeções diminuem os custos com inspeções, mas aumentam os riscos de falha do sistema. Desta forma, o principal objetivo deste trabalho é a análise de confiabilidade e a otimização do intervalo entre inspeções de sistemas redundantes sujeitos a inspeções periódicas, a fim de garantir a confiabilidade desejada, juntamente com o menor custo possível. Para analisar a confiabilidade de sistemas redundantes aplicados na prática, inicialmente é realizada uma pesquisa para a identificação dos tipos e características de sistemas redundantes utilizados pelas empresas e dos métodos empregados para a manutenção desses sistemas. Identificadas suas deficiências, um modelo inicial de fácil aplicação que melhore a confiabilidade dos sistemas redundantes estudados é determinado. Na sequência, são desenvolvidos modelos mais sofisticados para a otimização do intervalo entre inspeções, através da minimização dos custos totais envolvidos na manutenção, a fim de garantir a competitividade do processo sem sacrificar a sua confiabilidade. Visto que o reparo imediato é uma suposição que não reflete totalmente a realidade, a próxima etapa envolve a consideração do tempo de reparo para a incrementação do modelo. Por fim, o aprimoramento do modelo envolve a introdução de degradação nos componentes do sistema, que passam a envelhecer com o tempo, aumentando sua taxa de falha. Como resultados têm-se: a elaboração de um quadro comparativo de tipos de redundâncias e métodos de análise de confiabilidade e gestão da manutenção utilizados e recomendados, o desenvolvimento de tabelas e gráficos de simples utilização que permitem a determinação do intervalo entre inspeções mais adequado e o desenvolvimento de um método para otimização do intervalo entre inspeções de sistemas com e sem tempo de reparo e que sofrem ou não degradação, através da minimização dos custos totais de manutenção. / Redundant systems subject to periodic inspections are utilized to decrease high levels of operational risk across different industries. Periodic inspections are utilized to identify and rectify component failures before complete system failure. Frequent inspections improve the system reliability and availability, but require higher preventive maintenance costs. On the other hand, long periods between inspections decrease inspection costs while also increasing the risk of system failure. The main objective of this thesis is to optimize the time intervals between periodic inspections of redundant systems to ensure the required reliability at the lowest cost possible. To analyze the reliability of redundant systems used in real situations, interviews were conducted with maintenance managers from industry leading companies. These interviews identified the types, characteristics, and maintenance methods of the redundant systems that are actually used at these firms. Once their deficiencies were identified, an initial model to improve the redundant system’s reliability was created. Next, more sophisticated models were developed to optimize the time interval between inspections which minimized maintenance costs. Given that instantaneous repair cannot be assumed in many situations, the next step integrated time to repair into the model as a random variable. Finally, the model was further improved by taking into consideration systems comprised of components that degrade over time, thus increasing their failure rate. Redundant systems subject to periodic inspections are utilized to decrease high levels of operational risk across different industries. Periodic inspections are utilized to identify and rectify component failures before complete system failure. Frequent inspections improve the system reliability and availability, but require higher preventive maintenance costs. On the other hand, long periods between inspections decrease inspection costs while also increasing the risk of system failure. The main objective of this thesis is to optimize the time intervals between periodic inspections of redundant systems to ensure the required reliability at the lowest cost possible. To analyze the reliability of redundant systems used in real situations, interviews were conducted with maintenance managers from industry leading companies. These interviews identified the types, characteristics, and maintenance methods of the redundant systems that are actually used at these firms. Once their deficiencies were identified, an initial model to improve the redundant system’s reliability was created. Next, more sophisticated models were developed to optimize the time interval between inspections which minimized maintenance costs. Given that instantaneous repair cannot be assumed in many situations, the next step integrated time to repair into the model as a random variable. Finally, the model was further improved by taking into consideration systems comprised of components that degrade over time, thus increasing their failure rate

Sistemas redundantes sujeitos à inspeção periódica são amplamente utilizados nas indústrias, especialmente naqueles processos que envolvem alto risco operacional. Inspeções periódicas são realizadas a fim de identificar e recuperar eventuais falhas de componentes antes da falha do sistema. Inspeções frequentes melhoram a confiabilidade e disponibilidade do sistema, mas envolvem maiores custos de manutenção preventiva. Por outro lado, períodos longos entre inspeções diminuem os custos com inspeções, mas aumentam os riscos de falha do sistema. Desta forma, o principal objetivo deste trabalho é a análise de confiabilidade e a otimização do intervalo entre inspeções de sistemas redundantes sujeitos a inspeções periódicas, a fim de garantir a confiabilidade desejada, juntamente com o menor custo possível. Para analisar a confiabilidade de sistemas redundantes aplicados na prática, inicialmente é realizada uma pesquisa para a identificação dos tipos e características de sistemas redundantes utilizados pelas empresas e dos métodos empregados para a manutenção desses sistemas. Identificadas suas deficiências, um modelo inicial de fácil aplicação que melhore a confiabilidade dos sistemas redundantes estudados é determinado. Na sequência, são desenvolvidos modelos mais sofisticados para a otimização do intervalo entre inspeções, através da minimização dos custos totais envolvidos na manutenção, a fim de garantir a competitividade do processo sem sacrificar a sua confiabilidade. Visto que o reparo imediato é uma suposição que não reflete totalmente a realidade, a próxima etapa envolve a consideração do tempo de reparo para a incrementação do modelo. Por fim, o aprimoramento do modelo envolve a introdução de degradação nos componentes do sistema, que passam a envelhecer com o tempo, aumentando sua taxa de falha. Como resultados têm-se: a elaboração de um quadro comparativo de tipos de redundâncias e métodos de análise de confiabilidade e gestão da manutenção utilizados e recomendados, o desenvolvimento de tabelas e gráficos de simples utilização que permitem a determinação do intervalo entre inspeções mais adequado e o desenvolvimento de um método para otimização do intervalo entre inspeções de sistemas com e sem tempo de reparo e que sofrem ou não degradação, através da minimização dos custos totais de manutenção. / Redundant systems subject to periodic inspections are utilized to decrease high levels of operational risk across different industries. Periodic inspections are utilized to identify and rectify component failures before complete system failure. Frequent inspections improve the system reliability and availability, but require higher preventive maintenance costs. On the other hand, long periods between inspections decrease inspection costs while also increasing the risk of system failure. The main objective of this thesis is to optimize the time intervals between periodic inspections of redundant systems to ensure the required reliability at the lowest cost possible. To analyze the reliability of redundant systems used in real situations, interviews were conducted with maintenance managers from industry leading companies. These interviews identified the types, characteristics, and maintenance methods of the redundant systems that are actually used at these firms. Once their deficiencies were identified, an initial model to improve the redundant system’s reliability was created. Next, more sophisticated models were developed to optimize the time interval between inspections which minimized maintenance costs. Given that instantaneous repair cannot be assumed in many situations, the next step integrated time to repair into the model as a random variable. Finally, the model was further improved by taking into consideration systems comprised of components that degrade over time, thus increasing their failure rate. Redundant systems subject to periodic inspections are utilized to decrease high levels of operational risk across different industries. Periodic inspections are utilized to identify and rectify component failures before complete system failure. Frequent inspections improve the system reliability and availability, but require higher preventive maintenance costs. On the other hand, long periods between inspections decrease inspection costs while also increasing the risk of system failure. The main objective of this thesis is to optimize the time intervals between periodic inspections of redundant systems to ensure the required reliability at the lowest cost possible. To analyze the reliability of redundant systems used in real situations, interviews were conducted with maintenance managers from industry leading companies. These interviews identified the types, characteristics, and maintenance methods of the redundant systems that are actually used at these firms. Once their deficiencies were identified, an initial model to improve the redundant system’s reliability was created. Next, more sophisticated models were developed to optimize the time interval between inspections which minimized maintenance costs. Given that instantaneous repair cannot be assumed in many situations, the next step integrated time to repair into the model as a random variable. Finally, the model was further improved by taking into consideration systems comprised of components that degrade over time, thus increasing their failure rate