Made available in DSpace on 2019-04-05T23:03:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2007-07-31 / The mediation is a form of solution of extrajudicial conflicts that searches to congregate indispensable pacific elements to reach itself, in an efficient way, the solution of problems between people. This solution, born of a good mediation, will be extracted respecting the interior, the feelings, the internal and external necessities of the own involved parts, that, many times, - due to a rich and more conscientious dialogue, where they have conditions to make a reflection of their life, their own acts, their errors, right, and, also, with chance to look the north of justice happened of the own Natural law, of Christian teachings, search, unnecessarily, the judiciary power to solve all sorts of deal, contributing for a judiciary full of processes, what provoke a wastage slowness of the conflicts judgments, and it is also submitted to a decision that is pronounced in the third person, the judge, who isn t more capable than the own parts to reach a balanced, satisfactory and fair solution. With mediation, the involved parts in the conflict search to decide their problems and tend to reach a better awareness of rights, to search new forms of relationship, to have a material access to Justice, and to perceive that they must be included in the society not as one weight for the State, but as a citizen with guaranteed constitutional laws and deserving to live and make a good use of the true social peace. The mediation shouldn t be seen, therefore, only as an instrument capable to help in the solution of conflicts, but as also efficient in providing people the chance to transform their capacity to get related, capacity to foment their own conscience relating to its real value, to contextualize better and manage themselves with more property inside of their own conflicts that the simple fact of the human existence make them submitted to. / A mediação é uma forma de solução de conflitos extrajudicial que busca reunir elementos pacíficos indispensáveis para se alcançar, de forma eficiente, a solução de problemas entre pessoas. Essa solução, nascida de uma boa mediação, será extraída respeitando-se o interior, os sentimentos, as necessidades internas e externas das próprias partes envolvidas, que, muitas vezes, - por falta de um diálogo rico e mais consciente, onde tenham condições de fazer uma reflexão sobre sua vida, seus próprios atos, seus erros, acertos, e, inclusive, com oportunidade de vislumbrar o norte de justiça advindo do próprio Direito Natural, dos ensinamentos cristãos, buscam, desnecessariamente, o poder judiciário para solucionar suas lides das mais diversas espécies, contribuindo para um judiciário assoberbado de processos, o que provoca uma morosidade desgastante nos julgamentos dos conflitos, e submetem-se também a uma decisão proferida por terceira pessoa, o juiz, que ao certo não é mais apta do que as próprias partes para alcançar uma solução equilibrada, justa e satisfatória. Com a mediação, as partes envolvidas no conflito buscam resolver seus problemas e tendem a alcançar uma maior conscientização de direitos, a buscar novas formas de relacionamento, a ter um acesso material à Justiça, e a perceber que devem se incluir na sociedade não como um peso para o Estado, mas como um cidadão com direitos constitucionais garantidos e merecedores de viver usufruindo da verdadeira paz social. A mediação não deve ser vista, portanto, só como um instrumento capaz de bem auxiliar na solução de um conflito, mas também como eficaz em proporcionar as pessoas a oportunidade de terem transformadas a sua capacidade de bem melhor se relacionar, capacidade de fomentar a própria consciência no que tange ao seu real valor, contextualizar-se melhor e administrar-se com mais propriedade dentro dos próprios conflitos que o simples fato de sua existência humana lhe faz submeter-se.

In the effort to restore historic landscapes, it is necessary to first specify spatially explicit target vegetation communities. Previously, botanists or other local experts have used landscape and environmental factors, historical evidence, and evidence from remnant vegetation to define presettlement vegetation communities on the landscape. Once these communities are defined, they must be mapped in order to be truly understandable and useful. Efforts to map the location of these presettlement communities on a particular landscape are often laborious and time consuming. In this study, we discuss a rapid method for assessing the location of these vegetation communities using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the current science of fire behavior modeling. Fire behavior models are proven predictors of fire intensities across a landscape, considering vegetation, slope, aspect, wind, and weather. Our hypothesis was that these fire behavior models could be used to make inferences about presettlement vegetation community distributions in former frequent-fire landscapes. GIS software was used to find simple combinations of variables associated with vegetation distribution, including soil type, aspect, slope, and orientation to gradient winds. A conventional fire model (FlamMap) was then used to find areas that are distinctly fire sheltered. In a survey of 78 fire sheltered community sites visited on the study landscape, 91% of the areas were considered to be correctly identified based on the presence of remnant presettlement vegetation indicator species. Success in finding a single community as related to a specified range of fire behavior outputs suggests that there is potential for expanded utility of fire models in making inferences about vegetative distribution on the frequent-fire landscape. The fire model adds to the utility of the GIS by considering the effects of fire spread direction and variation in fuel moistures in conjunction with terrain variables. The resulting fire intensity outputs represent environmental effects on vegetation distribution that cannot be modeled solely with a GIS. A final presettlement vegetation layer was completed for the study site, located at Fort Bragg on the Southeastern coastal plain of North Carolina, and compared to a layer generated by an extensive 2-year study considered to be definitive. The results showed an overall map accuracy of 78 percent for the proposed procedure. This output may be used as a preliminary map that, in conjunction with ground-truthing, will shorten the process of mapping presettlement vegetation for use in the restoration of historic fire dependent communities.

The growth characteristics and habitat of the rare shrub Amorpha georgiana var. georgiana were studied by examining 19 documented groups of this Federal Species of Concern. These 19 groups occur along the Little River on the Fort Bragg Military Reservation in Cumberland, Hoke and Moore counties, North Carolina. Systematic field studies located and monitored the plants, and a modified version of the North Carolina Vegetation Survey protocol produced an inventory of surrounding plant communities. Results were used to modify knowledge of A. georgiana var. georgiana and correct errors in previous accounts: flowering commences in mid-April and ends in mid-May; seeds may persist on the plants until the following April; tree canopy densities range above 75 percent; and the plant inhabits transition zones on the dry side of wetland boundaries. A key to guide searches for the plant is presented along with recommendations for further research to resolve remaining questions about the protection status of Amorpha georgiana var. georgiana.

Local land trusts in North Carolina protect land to conserve natural resources and biodiversity, and to provide public benefits, such as clean air and water. However the success of their efforts is commonly reported in terms of the amount of land protected or money raised in support of conservation rather than in measures that describe whether or not conservations goals have been achieved. In order to determine if the conservation lands protected by local land trusts are meeting the goals they were intended to serve, I reviewed published research, literature and methodologies to identify common practices used to measure conservation success. Findings indicate three fundamental processes that allow organizations to evaluate the effectiveness of their interventions which are; 1) conducting status assessments that include articulating specific goals and describing the project context; 2) identifying threats to conservation targets; and 3) identifying, developing, and monitoring specific indicators whose status is a measurable reflection of the conservation targets and interventions. I also surveyed 24 land trusts in North Carolina to determine why they protect lands, what activities they perform that would allow them to evaluate the conservation impact of their work, and how success is reported to the public. From the survey, I conclude that land trusts in North Carolina are unable to determine if the lands they have protected are meeting their conservation goals because they are not consistently setting measurable goals, indentifying specific conservation targets, or monitoring indicators that would reflect conservation impact, processes identified in the literature review as necessary to evaluate conservation projects. I identify the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation framework as an applicable tool for local land trusts to use to focus their conservation efforts and develop measurable goals and report their conservation success.

Wetland restoration projects across the United States are failing. Restored sites commonly lack the species and hydrology of the targeted community being restored. A better understanding of natural wetlands would help restoration project designers achieve community composition and hydrologic regimes that more closely resemble natural conditions. I investigated two different methods to identify patterns in hydrologic regime useful to restoration design. The first method was based on success criteria commonly used by North Carolina wetland mitigation projects. The second method was based on The Nature Conservancyâs Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration. In order to test these two methods, I collected hydrologic and compositional data across the natural variation of nonriverine wet hardwood forest stands, a rare wetland community type commonly restored in North Carolina. My results show that hydrologic parameters from the first method, based on current success criteria used in North Carolina, are not related to community composition. Hydrologic parameters from the second method, e.g. the maximum water table level over a 3-day span, explained much of the variation in nonriverine wet hardwood forest community composition. My results found that clear relationships do exist between hydrologic regime and community composition. Hydrologic parameters that are related to community composition need to be used as success criteria in future restoration designs. This will ensure that projects establish the appropriate hydrologic regime necessary to foster the desired wetland community type.

A gap currently exists in research pertaining to the utility of low impact outdoor ethics in non-Western societies. Many non-Western societies rely on their own religious beliefs, cultural perceptions, and traditions to serve as the foundation for conservation and environmental protection and influence related behavior. This notion also includes guides, who have been identified as effective in altering client behavior and minimizing environmentally destructive behavior. Exploratory research was conducted in Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India in 2009 applying the Theory of Planned Behavior to identify those cognitive factors that lead whitewater and trekking guides to pack out trash, bury human waste, and cut living trees for firewood. Results suggest that the foundational constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior are capable of predicting intention to perform pro-environmental behavior in a non-Western population of guides; however, their utility depends on the behavior performed. The implications of these results are discussed.

New agricultural technologies are promoted in developing countries to bring about some combination of economic, environmental, and or health benefit. All of these benefits are considered to improve the livelihoods of the households that adopt them. However, the adoption of these new innovations by farm households is never uniform but is based on each household?s evaluation of the utility of the new technology with relation to that household?s attributes. This study looks at the adoption of a new agricultural crop?soybeans?that has been promoted for its nutritional effects in the Tamberma region of Benin and Togo. Variables affecting adoption and disadoption are based on five broad categories of adoption determinants found in the literature: household preferences, resource endowments, economic incentives, risk and uncertainty, and biophysical characteristics. A sixth category of farmer?s perceptions is added to this model to determine current perceptions of soybean utility in the study area. A Probit model is employed to determine factors affecting adoption and disadoption rates in the study area. Variables statistically correlated with the adoption decision include: education, extension, membership, health, cash cropping, and soil quality. Variables statistically correlated with the disadoption decision include: education, experience, expected price, and type of soil.

The objective of the study was to geographically model the effects of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influence on remotely sensed global nutrient distribution patterns. The result was a system of digital maps communicating the impact of ENSO on the physical and biological components of the ocean. These maps compare modeled phytoplankton biomass distribution over the ENSO extremes. Chlorophyll a, Aerosol Optical Thickness, and Sea Surface Temperature data, all obtained from remotely sensed sources, were used to develop these predictions. Areas of iron deposition and phytoplankton presence (chlorophyll a < 0.1 mg 1-1) were combined with nutrient distributions (based on the temperature-nutrient relationship) to create a sixteen-category composite phytoplankton ecological factor distribution map for each month in the study. The months included in the study were January, February, March of 1998, an El Niño year, and January, February, March of 1999, a La Niña year. Finally, an educational multimedia tool (CD-ROM) was created based on the research in the study for use in grades 7-16 classrooms. The tool was designed and tested to utilize Geographic Information Systems and the Internet to apply inquiry-based learning to science education.

The purpose of this study was to test the relationship between past experience in several trail activities and conflict due to encounters with trail users engaged in those activities. This research question involved the following trail activity groups: runners, walkers or hikers, mountain bikers, horseback riders, and users with dogs. Data were collected through on-site interviews with 421 trail users in the Greater Snow King Area of the Bridger-Teton National Forest near Jackson, Wyoming from July 17 to August 11, 2002. Conflict was assessed by asking participants to rate their increased/decreased enjoyment due to encounters with each of the other user groups. Past experience in an activity was determined by whether a participant had ever participated in that activity on any trail. In tests of the relationship between past experience in an activity and conflict due to encounters with participants of that activity, results indicated that two were statistically significant at the .05 level (running and walking dogs). Trail users who had participated in the activity in the past experienced less conflict when encountering that group than did respondents who had never done the activity before. Likewise, those who had participated in an activity in the past were more likely to experience increased enjoyment due to encounters with that group than were trail users who had never done the activity before. This pattern held for running, mountain biking, horseback riding, and dog walking although it was not significant at the .05 level in the cases of mountain biking and horseback riding. The relationship between past experience walking or hiking and conflict due to walkers or hikers could not be tested because only two respondents indicated that they had never walked or hiked on a trail. Trail users with past experience in an activity may have experienced less conflict when encountering that group because they better understood the requirements of the activity or because they saw the other users as having lifestyles, values, and/or attitudes similar to their own. Findings suggest that efforts to promote tolerance for other user groups may reduce the occurrence of conflict among trail users. Other implications for management and further research are discussed.

Recent biological inventory data shows a consistent decline in molluscan abundance and biodiversity in the Conasauga River Basin in Northwest GA. This study was initiated to monitor sediment and water quality by stable nitrogen isotope ratio analyses (IRMS) of snails and sediments, permeable membrane devices (PMD), polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCISTM), and conventional water quality analyses for the Conasauga River Basin. Atrazine, metalochlor, prometon, and simazine were the most frequently detected herbicides throughout the basin. Most of the ambient concentrations of detected organic contaminants are at or near the method detection limit and all are well below any aquatic life criteria. Recent evaluation of water quality criteria for ammonia and nitrate suggest that these criteria levels are not protective for mussels. Data suggests that a shift to livestock and row crop land-use results in greater water nutrient levels and increased ä15N signatures for aquatic snails. Mean ä15N values for snails collected at national forest sites are significantly different from ä15N in snails collected in agricultural areas of the Conasauga River Basin (Student t-test, p<0.05). ä15N signatures of cow manure (6.71? wet, 8.40? dry) and poultry manure treated soil (9.47?) were similar to those of the snails collected in the agricultural areas of the Conasauga. Dissolved nitrate had elevated ä15N signatures that reflected the upper range of ä15N signatures for the aquatic snails. Elevated nitrogen isotope signatures indicate the fact that a shift in land use within in the basin is impacting the dominant nitrogen source to the aquatic environment. Continued evaluation of water quality criteria levels are needed to determine if aquatic habitats are viable for mussel reproduction, growth, and survival.