No description available.

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Thesis (M.S.)--Wisconsin. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-89).

Thesis (M.Arch.A.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1980. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: p. 69. / by Ghazi Sahal Al-Otaibi. / M.Arch.A.S.

No description available.

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The global increase in the number of mass gatherings and crowded events has brought with it new emergencies and unintended consequences for public administrators and first responders. Crowd managers attempt to overcome these challenges by enhancing operations, alleviating financial losses, keeping event organizers safe from liability and, most importantly, keeping the attendees safe. Effective communication among and between officials and guests has been identified as a key element in this process. However, there is a lack of risk communication studies, especially about heterogeneous crowds that congregate at religious events. With this gap in mind, this research aims to investigate the use of major communication channels available and/or preferred by Muslim pilgrims in Makkah, Saudi Arabia during Hajj to gauge their effectiveness in communicating risk information. This annual religious pilgrimage was chosen because it attracts over 2 million pilgrims from more than 140 countries, most of whom speak different languages and belong to different cultures but perform the same rituals at the same time. This dissertation seeks to answer three broad research questions: “what are the most popular communication channels used by pilgrims,” “what are the weaknesses of the current communication strategies,” and “what can be done to improve risk communication among pilgrims, and between pilgrims and authorities to enhance crowd control and crowd management strategies.” The protective action decision model (PADM) is used as the theoretical framework to understand the influence of six factors (environmental cues, social cues, information sources, channel access and preferences, warning messages, and receiver characteristics) on risk communication. In collaboration with the Transportation and Crowd Management Center of Research Excellence (TCMCORE) of Saudi Arabia, a convenience sampling strategy was employed to interview 348 pilgrims in the Prophet’s Mosque area, during the Hajj of 2013. The surveys were conducted in Arabic and English and included pilgrims from different backgrounds and countries. Data analysis included an evaluation of the correlation between the use of risk communication channels and receiver characteristics, message content, and information sources. Findings highlight low percentages in the overall use of communication channels. It also demonstrated an over-dependence on channels that foster the passive top-down communication strategy (such as TV stations, messages at mosques, billboard, text messages, and pamphlets), while marginalizing channels that foster the horizontal and bottom-up strategies (such as bilingual staff outreach and social media). The findings also show the differences in risk communication channels used by pilgrims from different socio-demographic groups. The study concludes that adopting bottom-up and horizontal strategies is key to effective risk communication. Additionally, crowd managers must recognize the importance of social media and use this medium more proactively. They can also work towards increasing the overall effectiveness of risk communication channels by addressing the impact of information sources, channel access, and receiver characteristics to better suit the needs of pilgrims. Finally, the study states the limitations and future research directions.

Seismogenically active faults (those that produce earthquakes) are very complex systems that constantly change through time. When an earthquake occurs, the rocks surrounding a fault (the “fault rocks”) become altered or damaged. Studying these fault rocks directly can inform what processes operated in the fault and how the fault evolved in space and time. Examining these key aspects of faults helps us understand the earthquake hazards of active fault systems. The Mecca Hills, southern California, consist of a set of hills adjacent to the southernmost San Andreas Fault. The topography is related to motion on the San Andreas fault, which poses the largest seismic hazard in the lower forty-eight United States. The southernmost San Andreas fault, and the Mecca Hills study location may be reaching the end of its earthquake cycle and is due for a major, potentially catastrophic earthquake. The seismic hazards of the region, coupled with its proximity to major populated areas (Coachella Valley, Los Angeles Basin) make it a critical research area to understand fault zone evolution and the protracted history of fault development. The goal of this thesis was to directly examine the fault rocks in the Mecca Hills to understand how San Andreas-related faults in this area have evolved and behaved through time. This study integrates a variety of field and laboratory techniques to characterize the structural, geochemical, and thermal properties of the Mecca Hills fault rocks. The results herein document two distinct phases of deformation in the rocks exposed in the Mecca Hills, one around 24 million years ago and the other in the last one million years. This more recent phase of deformation is characterized by fault block exhumation and fluid flow in the fault zones, likely related to changing dynamics of the southernmost San Andreas Fault system. The older event informs how and when these rocks came close to Earth’s surface before the San Andreas Fault initiated.

This study examines the ways in which Black gay men in Atlanta create and experience community and culture every day, notwithstanding those discursive sources that situate life for Black gay men as particularly troubled. Drawing on ethnographic methods, including participant observation and interviewing, I attempt to show the complexity of Black gay men by exploring their world in Atlanta, Georgia, a city that has increasingly become known as a Black Gay Mecca. Qualitative research examining the ways Black gay men create and experience community has the potential to broaden academic discourses that have increasingly medicalized the Black gay male experience, and complicate popular social sentiment which (when recognizing the existence of Black gay men) often posits their life as one dimensional or dimensionless.

This study examines the unique pre-and post hajj traditions of the Cape Muslims in the 19th and 20th centuries. It explores the origin and historical development of these traditions and describes the changes in the mode of transport used to travel to Arabia for the performance of hajj and in the financial aspect of hajj since the 19th century. The study identifies the difficulties that hajjis experienced in the 19th and 20th centuries and explains the special status accorded to hajjis at the Cape, including its use as a status symbol. Much attention is given to the management of the hajj enterprise, including the role of hajj agents and operators. The study analyses the difference between the earlier and current system of managing the hajj, and provides an overview of the regulating body appointed by the South African government to oversee the hajj industry. Finally, it investigates the problems that the pilgrims have been experiencing over the many years. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.