Prior to 1996, roughly 70% of electricity service in California was provided by investor owned utilities (IOUs). The IOUs operated as monopolies in their respective service territories, performing all of the functions necessary to generate and deliver electricity to the consumer. In exchange for service, the IOUs were paid a regulated rate which was designed to recover their cost of providing the service plus a reasonable return on their investment. In 1996, California changed the way electric service was provided in order to make it more competitive. Among the changes, utilities would procure their supplies at market prices in an auction or spot market; residential customers could choose their electric supplier; and residential rates were frozen at 10% below their June 1996 levels. The rate freeze was to remain in effect until the later of March 31, 2002, or the date the IOUs fully recovered certain expenses that were still on their books (i.e., stranded costs). The restructured market commenced operations on March 31, 1998. During the summer of 2000, California experienced record increases in wholesale prices and supply shortages that ultimately resulted in a number of rolling blackouts. Most of California?s residential customers were unaffected by the increased wholesale prices because their rates remained frozen. Regulators and others who have studied what went wrong during the summer of 2000 in California agree that the increase in wholesale prices was due to a combination of factors, one of which was the residential rate freeze. This thesis proposes to show how fixing the price of electricity resulted in excess demand and to quantify the size of the excess. This thesis also shows how much of a price increase would have been needed to prevent the shortages. / Master of Arts

The relationship between exposure to trauma and the development of both Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and general distress has been widely discussed in the empirical literature. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the specific processes through which trauma exposure leads to distress. This lack of research is particularly apparent in research involving residential fire. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which the four types of resource loss (object resource loss, condition resource loss, personal characteristics resource loss, and energy resource loss) mediate the relationship between fire exposure and total distress (as well as intrusion and avoidance symptom clusters). Additionally, total resource loss (a sum of the four types of resource loss) will be examined as a fifth potential mediator. The sample consists of 120 children (mean age = 12.31, SD = 2.83) exposed to residential fire who were interviewed three months after their experience. The proposed mediational analyses were explored through use of regression techniques. With regard to the relationships that showed the necessary significant correlations to perform mediational analyses, the findings of the current investigation provided some preliminary evidence for the mediational role of object resource loss and total resource loss (though these results generally failed to retain significance under the Bonferroni correction). Furthermore, the role of resource loss in the development and maintenance of PTSD was supported. Implications for future research and clinical intervention are discussed. / Master of Science

This is a qualitative study examining the experience of students currently enrolled in Steppin' Stone Farm, a residential treatment center in central Florida. In addition to building a more solid foundation of literature in this field, this study investigates at-risk teenage female residents' perceptions of educational experiences within a residential treatment environment. The relationship between formal, informal, and non-informal experiences, preferred learning strategies, and success patterns were explored. This phenomenological study utilized a lens of critical theory to understand the meaning of girls' educational experiences at a residential treatment center. The design includes studying 16 girls' formal, non-formal, and informal educational experiences as well as utilizing the Assessing the Learning Strategies of AdultS (ATLAS) tool to assess learning strategy preference. Results of the study determined student preceptions regarding various educational environments and learning strategies at a residential treatment center. Analysis of interviews and data collected led to many significant findings. Additionally, this study enhances knowledge in the field of residential treatment and has implications for those seeking residential treatment, working in residential treatment, and educators. Research in this field often focuses on outcome and effectiveness literature. This study provides insightful information incorporating the voice of students into the research. / by Krista D. Allison. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Thesis (M.Hous.M.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-133). Also available in print.

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Residential lease with special focus on joint residential lease Summary The subject of my diploma thesis will be the residential lease focusing on joint residential lease. I decided to choose this particular topic since it has been an issue of ultimate interest for me during all the years of my studies at Law Faculty. In addition to property legal title it concerns above all the contract of lease on the grounds of which one of the most fundamental human needs, housing, is satisfied. The objective of the submitted thesis is to provide the most comprehensive presentation related to residential lease as possible. The thesis aims to include all particularities ensuing from joint residential lease. As a basic source of the corresponding legal regulation the Civil Code was used and an extensive judicature was considered to have an equally irreplaceable importance. The diploma thesis is divided into eight chapters whereas each of them deals with specific issue linked with residential lease. The given topic is always discussed and evaluated from the point of view of joint residential relations. The introductory part consisting of a brief outline as for the thesis subject is followed by the first chapter providing general definition of residential lease. It is primarily the elementary sources of law related to...

This thesis deals with residential lease. Due to the limited scope of the thesis it was impossible to cover the topic in a more comprehensive manner. The aim of the thesis is to systematically analyse only some issues of legal regulation of the residential lease. The thesis discusses the interpretation of certain general issues of the residential lease and the termination of the residential lease, focusing on various ways of termination. The thesis deals with absolute termination of residential lease. The thesis focuses on selected provisions of Act No. 89/2012 Sb., the Civil Code, using the scientific literature, the thesis is also concerned with relevant practise of courts. In some cases, the thesis compares the current Civil Code with the previous legal regulation, Act No. 40/1964 Sb., the Civil Code, as amended. The thesis is divided into nine chapters, which are subdivided into subchapters. The first chapter deals with the basic definition of the lease, analysis of the concept of apartment and house, legal regulation of the residential lease and it briefly describes the differences between a lease and other related contracts. The second chapter provides an overview of the provisions of the Civil Code relating to termination of the residential lease and outlines possible ways of termination of...

The number of studies estimating neighbourhood effects has increased rapidly during the last two decades. Although results from these studies vary, a majority find at least small effects. But to what extent can we trust these estimates? Neighbourhood effect studies face many serious methodological challenges, of which some are related to the fact that people move. The mobility of individuals may cause neighbourhoods to change over time, result in exposure times that are too short and seriously bias estimates. These methodological problems have not been given enough attention in the neighbourhood effect literature: no study controls for them all, and implications of mobility are rarely included in theoretical discussions of neighbourhood effects. In a comprehensive summary and five different papers, I argue that the two scholarly fields of residential mobility and neighbourhood effect studies are intrinsically connected and that any arbitrary separation between the two is both conceptually problematic and risks leading to erroneous conclusions. Studies of neighbourhood effects must address the problems caused by mobility, before it can be convincingly argued that results actually show neighbourhood effects. To do this, longitudinal data are necessary. Furthermore, the connection between the two fields may also have implications for studies of residential mobility.

In this thesis project, a building in Vegagatan 12, Gävle has been analysed. The main objective has been to find why it consumes more energy than it was expected and to solve theoretically the problems.This building is a low energy building certified by Miljöbyggnad which should use less than 55kWh/m2 year and nowadays it is using 62.23 kWh/m2. In order to find why the building is using more energy than the expected several different things has been measured and analyzed.First of all, the heat exchanger of the ventilation unit has been theoretically examined to see if it works as it should and it does. This has been done using the definition of the heat exchangers.Secondly, the heating system has been analysed by measuring the internal temperature of the building and high temperatures have been found (around 22°C) in the apartments and in the corridors. This leads to 5-10% more use of energy per degree.Thirdly, the position and the necessity of all the heaters have been checked. One of the heaters may not make sense, at least in the way the building has been constructed. This leads to bigger heating needs than the expected.Fourthly, the taps and shower heads have been checked to see if they were efficient. Efficient taps and shower heads, reduce the hot water use up to 40%. The result of this analysis has been that all taps and shower heads are efficient.Fifthly, the hot water system has been studied and some heat losses have been found because the lack of insulation of several pipes. Because of this fact 8.37kWh/m2 are lost per year. This analysis has been carried out with the help of an infra red camera and a TA SCOPE.Sixthly, the theoretical and real U values of the different walls have been obtained and compared (concrete and brick walls). As a conclusion, the concrete wall has been well constructed but, the brick wall has not been well constructed. Because of this fact 1 kWh/m2 of heat are lost every year. Apart from that, windows and thermal bridges have also been checked.

Dajun DaiRadon is a colorless, odorless, naturally occurring gas. It is currently the second leading cause of lung cancer and the number one cause of lung cancer to non-smokers in the United States. DeKalb County offers free screening for radon for residents. However, screening rates vary across the county. This pilot study focused on 14 selected tracts within DeKalb County with relatively low levels of radon screening. Over 200 households were recruited and homes were tested for indoor radon concentrations on the lowest livable floor over an 8-week period from March – May 2016. Tract-level characteristics were examined to understand the varitations of race, income, education, and poverty status between the 14 selected tracts and all of DeKalb County. The 14 selected tracts were comparable to all of DeKalb County in most factors besides race. Radon was detected in 73% of the homes sample and 4% had levels above the EPA guideline of 4 pCi/L. Multi-variate linear regression was used to compare all housing construction characteristics with radon concentrations and suggested that having a basement was the strongest predictive factor for detectable and/or hazardous levels of radon. Radon screening can identify problems and spur home owners to remediate but low screening rates may impact the potential health impact of free screening programs. More research should be done to identify why screening rates vary in order to identify ways to enhance screening and reduce radon exposure in DeKalb County.