This thesis is an analysis of the under-researched subject of disability in Trinidad and Tobago and presents an understanding of the concepts and contestations of disability as it is lived and experienced by disabled people in T&T. In it disability is explored in the context of identity construction, power relations and self-empowerment, and takes into account the ways in which that identity is shaped by historical events, cultural relations, social interactions and political structures. It identifies the relationships between disability and local social issues through an analysis of the everyday cultural paradigms of religion, kinship, beliefs, rituals, customs and values of the people, and gives particular attention to discrimination within the context of heterogeneity, and the effects that has on disabled people’s contribution to society. The possibilities and limits of claiming a disability identity, and the role of state policy in framing understandings of disability are also explored, as are some of the impacts of those policies on the lives of disabled people. The research took a broadly qualitative approach, drawing on narrative, semi-structured and formal interviews, focus groups, observations and documentary analysis. The research findings and analysis add to the existing disability scholarship by exploring the cultural impositions and social structures that impact on disability experiences in a country of the Global South, and pinpoint some of the limitations present in hegemonic Western discourse when applied in these settings. It highlights the importance of the legacies of colonialism and challenges assumptions that systems of Western modernisation and development can be easily transferred to countries of the South without considering whether or not they are socially or culturally appropriate. The data results have illustrated that disability in T&T is a social construct which diverges in important ways from the dominant Westernised theorisations of disability and in particular, identifies the significance of religion and spirituality in shaping models of reality and value systems, which must be taken into account more fully in disability scholarship, activism and policy in the country.

L'efficacité du transport des marchandises en ville est un sujet complexe préoccupant les autorités locales depuis de nombreuses années. Les enjeux sont immenses, une meilleure organisation du trafic devant permettre d'augmenter la sécurité, réduire les nuisances, minimiser les coûts. La Logistique Urbaine vise à concevoir des systèmes de distribution des marchandises en ville permettant d'acheminer les flux dans les meilleures conditions à la fois pour la communauté et les transporteurs. Cette thèse se deroule dans le cadre du projet ANR MODUM qui propose un système basé sur un anneau de Centres de Distribution Urbains (CDU) situés autour d'une ville. La première partie étudie ce système d'un point de vue stratégique et tactique. Le Multicommodity-Ring Location Routing Problem aborde les décisions concernants l'installation et la connexion en anneau des CDU en simplifiant les détails plus tactiques. Trois méthodes ont été developpées et testées sur un jeu d'instances exhaustif se révélant très efficaces. The Multicommodity-Ring Vehicle Routing Problem est le problème dérivé que l'on obtient quand l'anneau est fixé. Une approche de type Branch&Price est proposée pour ce problème. La deuxième partie porte sur le Vehicle Routing Problem with Intermediate Replenishment Facilities, un problème plus tactique qui se produit dans un système logistique lorsque les véhicules peuvent se recharger auprès des points de remplissage et effectuer plusieurs tournées lors d'une même journée. Plusieurs algorithmes exacts ont été developpés et testés. Les résultats obtenus sur des jeux d'instances tirés de la littérature sont prometteurs. / Urban freight transport is a matter of increasing concern in the economic, commercial, social and environmental operations of our cities, due to the constantly increasing growth and urbanization of the civilization. An improved managem ent of the traffic related to the freight transport can have a positive impact in many respects : security, congestion of the road network, noise and air pollution, costs. City Logistics studies the dynamic management of urban freight transport in order to deliver distribution systems solutions that may be suitable for both the community and freight carriers. This thesis originates from the ANR Project MODUM, which proposes a freight distribution system based on a ring of Urban Distribution Centers (UDCs) located in the outskirts of a city. In the first part, this system is studied from both a strategic and a tactical point of view. The Multicommodity-Ring Location Routing Problem (MRLRP) considers long-term decisions, i.e. the installation of the UDCs and the ring connection, without disregarding more tactical aspects. The MRLRP has been tackled by three solution methods, which proved effective on a large set of test instances. In the second part of the thesis, the Vehicle Routing Problem with Intermediate Replenishment Facilities (VRPIRF) is studied. The VRPIRF is a more tactical problem that arises in City Logistics each time both the multi-trip and the multi-depot features, i.e. the possibility for a vehicle to be reloaded at one of a set of facilities, are present. Several exact algorithms, namely two of type Branch&Cut and two of type Branch& Price, have been developed for this problem. computational experiments on benchmark instances taken from the literature have been conducted to assess their performance, leading to very promising results.

This thesis explores the structure, demographics, and history of gangs in British Columbia (BC), Canada, through a social constructionist lens. The purpose of this research is for the reader to consider the current state of gangs in BC as inherently different from other places in the world, to assist in understanding why there may be misconceptions, and to promote the research and implementation of more appropriate context-specific interventions. Building on previous work conducted as a Vancouver Police officer of over 27 years, I participated in field observations with gang units in Toronto and Hobbema, Canada; Chicago and Los Angeles, USA; and London, England. I also examined gang typologies and definitions in academic literature as a segment of the historical context of gang research and highlight how these bodies of literature contribute to the social construction of gangs. A historical review of media-reported gang violence in BC from 1903 to 2012 demonstrates that gang violence is not a new phenomenon, and its history is an essential element in the constructed concept of the gang. As well, I conducted semi-structured interviews with participants who either police gangs, work with gangs, or were former gang members to get their perspectives on the issue. The research findings highlight that gangs in BC are distinct from other locations. Whereas traditional at-risk youth dominate gangs elsewhere, BC has a large number of youth involved in gangs who do not appear to possess the typical antecedents to gang involvement. Because of these differences, it is crucial that anti-gang initiatives and policies be adapted to the BC context to effectively reduce gang activity and ultimately eliminate gangs.

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When an emerging outbreak occurs, stable parameter estimation and reliable projections of future incidence cases using limited (early) data can play an important role in optimal allocation of resources and in the development of effective public health intervention programs. However, the inverse parameter identification problem is ill-posed and cannot be solved with classical tools of computational mathematics. In this dissertation, various regularization methods are employed to incorporate stability in parameter estimation algorithms. The recovered parameters are then used to generate future incident curves as well as the carrying capacity of the epidemic and the turning point of the outbreak. For the nonlinear generalized Richards model of disease progression, we develop a novel iteratively regularized Gauss-Newton-type algorithm to reconstruct major characteristics of an emerging infection. This problem-oriented numerical scheme takes full advantage of a priori information available for our specific application in order to stabilize the iterative process. Another important aspect of our research is a reliable estimation of time-dependent transmission rate in a compartmental SEIR disease model. To that end, the ODE-constrained minimization problem is reduced to a linear Volterra integral equation of the first kind, and a combination of regularizing filters is employed to approximate the unknown transmission parameter in a stable manner. To justify our theoretical findings, extensive numerical experiments have been conducted with both synthetic and real data for various infectious diseases.

South Africa currently faces multiple Cr(VI) contamination problems which are unsuccessfully remediated using available technologies. Cr(VI) is highly toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic in nature and it is exclusively released through anthropogenic activities. A new treatment approach is proposed using locally isolated Cr(VI) reducing species of bacteria. This method is envisioned to be economical and ecologically friendly. Indigenous chromium(VI) reducing bacteria (CRBs) were isolated from a dried sludge consortium collected in the Brits Wastewater Treatment Plant, North-West Province (South Africa). Characterisation using 16S rRNA fingerprinting followed by taxonomic studies revealed a wide diversity of CRBs isolated under anaerobic conditions than under aerobic conditions. The consortium was determined to be predominantly gram-positive. The Cr(VI) reducing component of the culture was determined to be predominantly facultative, consisting predominantly of Bacillus sp., i.e. B. cereus, B. thuringiensis and B. mycoides. Batch experiments under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions showed a high Cr(VI) reducing performance under relatively high initial Cr(VI) concentrations. The reduction rate using this culture was 3 to 8 times higher than reduction rates reported in bacteria previously isolated and studied in North America and Europe. The culture performed best as a consortium with the different species operating cooperatively. The bacteria were acclimated to Cr(VI) toxicity through the long period of contact during the activated sludge treatment process at the source. A Monod like model was used to evaluate the rate of Cr(VI) reduction over a wide range of initial Cr(VI) concentrations. The model revealed that Cr(VI) reduction in the consortium culture followed quasi-first order kinetics with a Cr(VI) inhibitor term as a second exponential: C = C0 . exp [-p . exp (-q . C0 ) . t]. The parameter p and q for the semi-empirical first order model were statistically accurate with R2 values greater than 94% for all data ranges evaluated. Previous studies were not able to pick the variability of Monod coefficients, kmc and Kc, since at narrow ranges of initial Cr(VI) concentrations, the impact of the chromium toxicity variability was insignificant. This study demonstrates the potential of a biological approach using locally isolated Cr(VI) reducing bacteria to decontaminate Cr(VI) polluted sites in South Africa. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Chemical Engineering / unrestricted

The South African government implements numerous strategies with the aim of reducing poverty. The social grant system is one of these. Social grants are aimed at reducing poverty as well as income inequality. Considering the growing number of social grant beneficiaries, people often question whether these grants reduce poverty and, if they do, whether they are effective.This treatise investigates the impact of social grants in poverty reduction. In order to investigate this, the researcher used the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng Province, as a study area. This study examines the different views of social grants beneficiaries, and the importance of prioritisation when using this unearned money. It alsoinvestigates the role played by the heads of household and shows how beneficiaries’ locations can influence the use of unearned income. Social grants dispense little money, but the researcher discovered that the responsibility of spending and allocating the money lies with the head of household. The descriptive statists show that social grants have created dependency and that families require exit strategies to stop depending entirely on these grants. Findings from the correlation matrix show both positive and negative correlations. Finally, the study has identified the need for an integrated strategy that will not only provide income, but that will also improve the lives of South Africans.

The aim of this thesis is to prove the existence of the Shilov boundary and the minimal boundary with respect to some function algebras and investigate their topological structures. / Science, Faculty of / Mathematics, Department of / Graduate

In the complexity of contemporary society, the welfare of individuals is dependent upon the co-operation of the helping professions and co-ordination of services provided by the many social institutions. This study considered the degree of cooperation between the two helping professions, social work and the ministry, in the suburban community of Richmond, British Columbia. The research method in this qualitative study included interviews with fifteen clergymen and ten social workers in order to apply the concepts of reciprocal awareness and utilization. This method facilitated evaluation of the knowledge one profession had of the other's role and function, and the extent to which this knowledge was used for the benefit of the population they served. Supplementing this main method was a brief historical consideration of the impact of industrialization on the development and contemporary role of the church and social welfare. The findings of the study showed the awareness one profession had of the other was based more on general knowledge than direct interprofessional contact. The utilization of each other's resources, as indicated by referral patterns, was minimal and typically the result of coincidence rather than planning. Reciprocity, the main concept evaluated, was virtually non-existent. This can primarily be accounted for by absence of communication, despite an acknowledgement by both professions, particularly social work, that there were several gains to be realized from more co-operation. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Suppose q₁,q₂,…,qn are the generalised coordinates of a mechanical system moving with constraints expressed by r non-integrable equations (r〈n) (1) [equation omitted] where the dots denote differentiation with respect to the time t, and fα are nonlinear in the q’s. The equations (1) are said to represent nonlinear nonholonomic constraints and the system moving with such constraints is called nonlinear nonholonomic. From a purely analytical point of view, the author has obtained the equations of motion for a nonlinear nonholonomic mechanical system in many a different form. The importance of these forms lies in their simplicity and novelty. Some of these forms are deduced from the principle of d'Alembert-Lagrange using the definition of virtual (possible) displacements due to Četaev [ll] . The others are obtained as a result of certain transformations. Moreover, these different forms of equations of motion are written either in terms of the generalised coordinates or in terms of nonlinear nonholonomic coordinates introduced by V.S. Novoselov [23]. These forms involve the energy of acceleration of the system or the kinetic energy or some new functions depending upon the kinetic energy of the system. Two of these new functions, denoted by R (Sec. 2.3) and K (Sec. 2.4), can be identified, to a certain approximation, with the energy of acceleration of the system and the Gaussian constraint, respectively. An alternative proof (Sec.2.5) is given to the fact that, if virtual displacements are defined in the sense of N.G. Četaev [ll], the two fundamental principles of analytical dynamics - the principle of d'Alembert-Lagrange and the principle of least constraint of Gauss -are consistent. If the1 constraints are rheonomic but linear, a generalisation of the classical theorem of Poisson is obtained in terms of quasi-coordinates and the generalised Poisson's brackets introduced by V.V. Dobronravov [17]. The advantage of the various novel forms for the equations of motion is illustrated by solving a few problems. / Science, Faculty of / Mathematics, Department of / Graduate