Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2003. / Advisor: Dr. Carl Aaron McNeece, Florida State University, School of Social Work. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Oct. 29,2003). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Com.(Financial Management))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

In the past decades, while many countries planned and undertook more and bigger infrastructure megaprojects, poor performance has marred their delivery, for example through cost overruns, delays, disputes, and shortfalls in expected benefits. It is therefore important to improve performance levels, especially in infrastructure megaprojects that can considerablely influence the economy, society and environment. Project evaluation is an effective tool in project performance management as it provides stakeholders with a management process through which they can learn from the past and perform better in the future. Most of the traditional evaluation approaches emphasize the three basic success criteria of time, budget and quality. However, with the increasing importance of sustainability criteria and concerns, as well as the growing imperatives for stakeholder engagement, it has already been suggested to reconsider and redefine value by also evaluating other factors, such as those related to the environment and society. Therefore, an integrated whole life cycle value (WLCV) evaluation framework is proposed in order to improve infrastructure megaproject WLCV performance. In this study, whole life cycle (WLC) evaluation has a two-fold meaning: (i) the evaluation is based on a set of value factors drawn from a WLCV system; and (ii) this evaluation is a systematic continuous process from the start to the end of the project. However, considering the unique characteristics of every project, a totally fixed or static structure and content framework is neither sufficient nor suitable for the various types of infrastructure megaprojects. The recommended solution is to develop a semi-flexible framework that enables a pre-determined step by step dynamic structure formulation and a flexible WLCV system. In order to measure project WLCV derived from stakeholders’ expectations, from more objective and persuasive perspectives, the relevant value objectives/criteria/indicators, their weightings and targets will be identified, integrated and developed through this WLCV system. Cross-criteria relationships which have not been addressed adequately before, will be dealt with by assigning appropriate weightings. It is also proposed to build a database to store completed project information including various stakeholders’ expectations expressed in the form of value objectives. In order to develop the above proposed framework, a basic literature review was conducted to reveal and analyze the significant evaluation problems, identify trends in stakeholder engagement and develop the concept as well as typical criteria and indicators of project WLCV. Meanwhile evaluation practices, stakeholder engagement in the process of evaluation and WLCV perspectives in the Hong Kong construction industry were examined through a first round of interviews and the first of two focus group meetings. The first focus group meeting, second round interviews and the second focus group meeting were conducted to improve the proposed framework by investigating the importance of assigning an appropriate weighting to each value objective and each group of stakeholders; elaborating the various value criteria to measure value objectives at appropriate points of a project WLC. The findings from literature reviews, interviews, focus group meetings and a case study were integrated and injected into developing the aforementioned framework for building and administering the evaluation of project WLCV in ways that could improve desired project WLC performance. The outputs of the current research are expected to assist clients of infrastructure megaprojects to build a sense of ownership among all the key stakeholders at the outset, and to help motivate all stakeholders to be more co-operative, with a view to jointly targeting and monitoring an agreed project WLCV, thereby helping to achieve better WLC performance on infrastructure megaprojects. The main contributions to knowledge from this research are in developing a comprehensive evaluation methodology which combines and refines relevant components from existing evaluation approaches as well as injects the WLCV concept and criteria into a more holistic approach that is expected to identify and address current inadequacies in infrastructure megaproject delivery. / published_or_final_version / Civil Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

Sustainability is a hot topic for years and sustainability assessment has been generally used as an approach to assess the level of sustainability. For the effect of general products to the development of sustainability, there are existing assessment frameworks in use. However, they are either environmental-focused, or relied mainly on life cycle assessment approach, which has many deficiencies especially in the social aspect. In this paper, history of development of sustainability and relevant principles related to sustainability are extensively reviewed. Those relevant in the context of product assessment, like the nested model of sustainability, strong sustainability, precautionary principle, design of environmental sustainability and sustainability assessment and measurement principles (BellagioSTAMP), are chosen as the foundation theories of development of the new product sustainability assessment framework. Even though the focus is put into assessment of social aspect of sustainability, the framework is designed for the assessment of overall sustainability. The framework comprises of a list of guiding principles, vision and goals and an assessment process. It is suitable for the evaluation of any product, no matter it is in conceptual stage, design stage or already in the market. It can be used for company in any level of maturity in sustainability assessment through allowing them to define their own position and targets. A standard list of measurement is defined and can be used for any product, while product-specific measurement can be defined within the process. A case study is done using iPad2and every step in the process is gone through. The pilot study proves that the framework is logical, easy to use and practical enough to help identifying what needs to be done to contribute into sustainability. Issues are identified in the process of pilot study, including the lifecycle for some products is too short for a meaningful review and remediation follow up; social impacts could be associated with the whole series of product or the general technology instead of specific product under assessment; the comment given by participants in survey or focus group meeting may come from perceived impact instead of actual impact; knock-on effect to other existing products and services may be neglected; and the potential for companies to pretend they are contributing to sustainability but actually not. Nevertheless, these issues are not difficult to be resolved. Future research agenda includes handling of cumulative effect from sales of the product, formalizing the professional qualification of sustainability assessor and improving the practicality of economic and environmental sustainability assessment through the proposed framework. Through this paper, with the creation of a new and practical product sustainability assessment framework, it is believed that the effect of products on sustainability can be evaluated and actions can be identified for them to contribute into sustainability development. / published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

The main focus of this report is to establish a comparative study of traditional and biodegradable vest-plastic bag production through the utilization of a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. The measurements were made for the Ukrainian limited liability company “Polymer”, as a representative manufacturer, in order to calculate the environmental impact of plastic bag manufacturing, and identify the more environmental friendly item. This research is based on a literature review of the special characteristics of life cycle assessment and its methods and methodologies, a field study, which included two semi-structure interviews, and measurements and comparison of the harmfulness of traditional and biodegradable bag production. The software SimaPro 7.3.2 and IMACT 2002+ method were chosen in order to accomplish the research purpose. The results of the study show that traditional vest-bags produced by the researched enterprise are less environmentally friendly. Their production process has a bigger impact on environment and human health than that of the biodegradable bags. Moreover, a list of recommendations for possible improvements was developed based on the results of the research. It was sent to the directors of LLC “Polymer” as a suggestion for creating a “green strategy” of further development.

Greenhouse tomatoes are the most widely grown greenhouse vegetable in Ontario, with southwestern Ontario having the largest concentration of greenhouse tomato operations in North America. However, there is little data concerning the environmental impacts of producing greenhouse tomatoes in Ontario. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of greenhouse tomato production in southwestern Ontario by using a life cycle assessment (LCA). Data were collected from greenhouse tomato growers in Leamington, Ontario via a survey, with additional data from documents and databases. The major source of environmental impact came from the energy and source (i.e. fossil fuels) required for heating the greenhouse, followed by fertilization, electricity use, and if included, liquid CO2. Different modelling scenarios proved effective in revealing the benefits and detriments of using various heating sources. This study revealed that energy saving methods should be investigated to mitigate the environmental burdens caused by heating the greenhouse.

Natural Fibre Composites (NFCs) offer new opportunities to mitigate negative impact of engineering activities on the environment. Due to their lost cost, light weight and environmental benefits, they find applications in building, furniture and automotive industry. This study seeks to improve mechanical properties of composites made from waste recyclable plastics and natural fibres from agricultural byproduct sources such as Agave americana leaves, corn, wheat and seed flax straws. The approach used is a holistic one which includes investigating the availability and properties of natural fibres and their composites with waste plastic for use in Canada and Lesotho, a small country in Southern Africa. The social and environmental implications of using these materials are also investigated. In both Lesotho and Canada, there are enough raw materials which can be used in NFCs if the necessary environment is developed. The unique microstructural and interfacial behaviour of Agave americana fibres were investigated and their possible impact on the composites forecasted. Composites made with a variety of underutilized natural fibres: Agave americana, corn, seed flax and wheat were also manufactured and tested. The addition of natural fibres and milled straw to the waste plastic improved mainly the tensile and flexural moduli of the composites. The environmental properties of NFCs were also analyzed through a case study using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as tool. The results suggest that NFCs could be seen as a more environmentally friendly alternative than conventional composites. / Thesis (Ph.D, Chemical Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2008-12-03 12:32:23.095

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis investigates information systems development with special regard to the area of Geographical Information Systems. It addresses the area through the investigation of the software life-cycle development model and its augmentation by the use of prototyping. Observations are made on empirical experiments conducted to assess the usefulness of the new techniques of hypertext and hypermedia and their suitability within this field of study. This investigation is complemented by a case study, the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Authority. The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads are designated by statute with similar status to the National Parks of Great Britain, and are managed by the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Authority. Through cooperation with the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Authority, a prototype information system was created. This system makes use of geographical data from the Broads Authority. The development stages of this system were used to conduct experiments for this thesis. The tools and techniques used for the development of this system are described. These include a hypertext tool called FIELD (Fully Integrated Environment for Layered Development) which has been especially designed for the complete storage of all information for each stage throughout this development. The use of this tool and hypertext for the development of the geographically based information system for the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Authority are discussed.