The vulnerability of communities at risk from volcanic activity at Volcan Tungurahua, Ecuador and Mount Rainier in the USA provided the focus for this thesis. The research aimed to develop an integrated approach to risk assessments that combined both hazard and vulnerability analysis. In phase one, the study developed a novel methodology to assess volcanic threat that utilised previously published data. This semi-quantitative approach integrated measures of both hazard and exposure factors, allowing the relative threat to different communities to be ranked. By avoiding the complex quantitative analysis associated with traditional risk assessments of the multiple hazards associated with volcanic activity, this methodology may be applied where comprehensive historic and geological data may be lacking, as well as facilitating understanding amongst non-specialists and members of the public. The second phase of the research investigated human vulnerability, with an exploratory study carried out in Ecuador. This utilised a questionnaire survey aimed at eliciting an individual’s beliefs and attitudes towards volcanic risk, which provided the basis for a more comprehensive exploration of social vulnerability conducted in the USA. This investigated further the role of socio-economic features and psychological characteristics, such as risk perception, hazard salience and self-efficacy, in promoting self-protective behaviour, and examined the relative importance of these factors in determining vulnerability. The theoretical underpinnings of this research suggest that individuals with certain socio-economic characteristics may incur greater losses during a disaster, whilst perceptual processes may influence how an individual responds to a hazardous event. Little evidence was found to support the socio-economic model of vulnerability, which prevented the integration of the two research phases. However, perceptual factors were found to be significant predictors in the adoption of protective hazard adaption. This suggests that targeting risk mitigation and communication strategies to address these psychological constructs may be more important for reducing overall vulnerability than focusing efforts towards specific socio-economic groups.

Ambient monitoring and air quality modeling of air toxics concentrations at the neighborhood-scale level is a key element for human exposure and health risk assessments. Since 2005, The University of Texas at Austin (UT) has operated a dense ambient monitoring network that includes both hourly automated gas chromatographs as well as threshold triggered canister samples and meteorological data in the Corpus Christi area. Although Corpus Christi is in attainment with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for both ozone and fine particulate matter, its significant petroleum refining complex has resulted in concerns about exposure to air toxics. The seven site network, incorporating both the industrial and residential areas in Corpus Christi, provided a unique opportunity to further the development and understanding of air quality modeling for toxic air pollutants at the neighborhood-scale level. Two air dispersion models, AERMOD and CALPUFF, were used to predict air concentrations of benzene for one of the UT operated monitoring sites (Oak Park monitoring site: C634) and the predictions were compared to the observed benzene concentration data at the Oak Park monitoring site to evaluate model performance. AERMOD and CALPUFF were also used to predict benzene concentrations in populated areas and at sensitive receptor locations such as schools and hospitals. Both AERMOD and CALPUFF were able to reproduce the early morning high benzene concentration and the northern wind effect except under strong NNE wind conditions, where the observed data indicated elevated high benzene concentration which AERMOD and CALPUFF failed to predict. These under-predictions could be due to the NNE strong wind condition at that time of these occurrences or could be attributed to different types of emissions other than the point sources emissions from the 2005 TCEQ Photochemical Modeling inventory, such as mobile sources or accidental emission events. These preliminary analyses could be expanded by modeling longer periods, by including other emission sources and by inter-comparisons with observed data from other CCNAT monitoring sites. In addition, fundamentally different modeling approaches (eulerian, rather than lagrangian) could be considered. / text

No description available.

Creditworthiness is a quality that is important to all stakeholders of an organisation, especially bondholders. It is posited that good corporate governance practices assist the confidence that stakeholders have in an organization’s ability to generate the strong cash flows that are needed to meet financial obligations, which in turn should enhance credit risk assessments. Much research has been conducted into rating assessments, but these have largely been directed at developed markets and they have not generally been focused on the impact of good corporate governance practices and procedures. The primary focus of this research is to address this issue through an investigation into the impact of key factors upon the credit risk assessments of listed companies on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) in Jordan, as assessed by World'vest Base Inc. (WVB) credit risk assessment scores for Jordanian companies between 2005 and 2007 inclusively. Drawing upon insights from agency (including management disciplining and wealth redistribution hypotheses), stewardship, stakeholder, signalling, legitimacy and the diffusion of innovation theories, this thesis investigates the determinants of WVB credit risk assessments of Jordanian firms under five headings: accounting and financial aspects, market and regulatory perspectives, influence of ownership structure, financial transparency/disclosure and corporate governance factors. To achieve this, an array of modelling techniques is used in order to provide a more comprehensive picture. They include bivariate analysis, one-way analysis of variance, ordinary least square regressions for numerical scores, binary logistic regressions, and ordinal logistic regression. The results demonstrate that accounting and financial factors have a significant impact on credit risk assessments but not capital intensity. Profitability is positively associated with credit risk assessments, while leverage and loss propensity have a negative association. With respect to market and regulatory factors, size and Tobin’s Q are positively associated with credit risk assessments. By contrast type of sector and audit are not related to credit risk assessments. Foreign ownership enhances ratings, whilst institutional ownership has a negative impact. Also, insider ownership and family ownership have some importance. It was surprising to find that whilst financial transparency and disclosure variables are significantly associated positively with credit risk assessments in some models, they were generally not significant across other models. Nevertheless, the study finds empirical evidence to support a degree of association between credit risk assessments and corporate governance factors. There is also a positive association between board size and credit risk assessments, but the most important aspect of corporate governance for Jordanian firms is board expertise. The originality of this thesis also embraces the inclusion not only of externally published WVB risk assessments in the Jordanian context, but also internal numerical ratings that were made available with kind permission from the WVB agency for the purposes of this research. The question is whether there are insights that can be gained from such internal ratings that have not hitherto been made available to other researchers. The answer is in the affirmative, for role duality on the board of directors is evidently more important to WVB’s own internal numerical rating assessments than is evidenced by the WVB externally published credit risk assessments. Specifically, the significance of corporate governance (role duality) is missed by multivariate models that are based solely on externally published data. Furthermore, financial transparency and disclosure variables reveal more (albeit moderate) support for the more refined internal scores of WVB than for the external assessment ratings. Finally, family ownership is also important to WVB’s internal scores. Thus, this research has enabled deeper insights to be gained into credit risk assessment determinants within the Jordanian context.

<p>Syftet med studien var att beskriva vårdpersonalens uppfattning om risker för undernäring och preventivt arbete hos personer 70 år och äldre, på olika vårdnivåer och inom en kommun. Studien hade en beskrivande design och tolv vårdpersonal deltog, varav fyra sjuksköterskor från en medicinavdelning, två sjuksköterskor, en sjukgymnast och en arbetsterapeut från en hälsocentral samt två sjuksköterskor, en enhetschef och en sjukgymnast från ett äldreboende inom en kommun. Intervjuer användes vid datainsamlingen. Data analyserades genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys och bildade kategorierna <em>Tillstånd som utgör en risk för undernäring, Säkerställa näringsintaget, Ett strukturerat arbetssätt samt Samverkan och ansvar. </em>Som risker för undernäring<em> </em>beskrevs sjukdomar, funktionsnedsättning samt förlorad uppfattning om vikten. Att säkerställa näringsintag innefattade mat, mellanmål och måltidsmiljö. Ett strukturerat arbetssätt handlade om riskbedömningar, åtgärder samt utvärdering. Vidare beskrevs samverkan inom och utanför den egna yrkesgruppen, vårdnivåer och ansvaret omkring arbetet med näringsfrågorna. Vårdpreventivt arbetssätt upplevdes spara tid, tydliggöra vad som skall göras och möjliggöra utvärderingar. Läkarens medverkan i det preventiva arbetet behöver klargöras och rutiner för spridning av arbetssättet till andra enheter formas. Vidare behövs beslut om hur näringstillstånd och behov ska dokumenteras och rapporteras för att säkerställas mellan vårdnivåerna</p> / <p>The purpose was to describe nursing staffs’ perceptions of risks for malnutrition and preventive efforts thereof, for patients 70 years and older, at different care levels within one municipality. Descriptive design was used and twelve participants included; two district nurses, one physiotherapist and one occupational therapist from a health care centre, two registered nurses, one unit director<strong> </strong>and one physiotherapist from a nursing home in the municipality and four registered nurses from an internal medicine hospital ward. Interviews and qualitative content analysis was used resulting<strong> </strong>in four categories <em>Conditions of risks for malnutrition</em>, <em>Ensuring nutritional intake</em>, S<em>tructured way to work<strong> </strong></em>and <em>Collaboration and responsibilities</em>. The participants’ described diseases, disabilities and lost of apprehension concerning weight constituting malnutrition risks. Meals and meal environment influence nutritional intake. Risk assessments, interventions and evaluations mirrored structured way of working. Collaboration with colleagues, other professionals and care levels were highlighted together with responsibilities. Physicians’ participation in malnutrition preventions needs clarification. Improvements like documentation of the nutritional status among the elderly and reports between the different levels of care are needed to ensure safe nutritional care.</p><p> </p>

Syftet med studien var att beskriva vårdpersonalens uppfattning om risker för undernäring och preventivt arbete hos personer 70 år och äldre, på olika vårdnivåer och inom en kommun. Studien hade en beskrivande design och tolv vårdpersonal deltog, varav fyra sjuksköterskor från en medicinavdelning, två sjuksköterskor, en sjukgymnast och en arbetsterapeut från en hälsocentral samt två sjuksköterskor, en enhetschef och en sjukgymnast från ett äldreboende inom en kommun. Intervjuer användes vid datainsamlingen. Data analyserades genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys och bildade kategorierna Tillstånd som utgör en risk för undernäring, Säkerställa näringsintaget, Ett strukturerat arbetssätt samt Samverkan och ansvar. Som risker för undernäring beskrevs sjukdomar, funktionsnedsättning samt förlorad uppfattning om vikten. Att säkerställa näringsintag innefattade mat, mellanmål och måltidsmiljö. Ett strukturerat arbetssätt handlade om riskbedömningar, åtgärder samt utvärdering. Vidare beskrevs samverkan inom och utanför den egna yrkesgruppen, vårdnivåer och ansvaret omkring arbetet med näringsfrågorna. Vårdpreventivt arbetssätt upplevdes spara tid, tydliggöra vad som skall göras och möjliggöra utvärderingar. Läkarens medverkan i det preventiva arbetet behöver klargöras och rutiner för spridning av arbetssättet till andra enheter formas. Vidare behövs beslut om hur näringstillstånd och behov ska dokumenteras och rapporteras för att säkerställas mellan vårdnivåerna / The purpose was to describe nursing staffs’ perceptions of risks for malnutrition and preventive efforts thereof, for patients 70 years and older, at different care levels within one municipality. Descriptive design was used and twelve participants included; two district nurses, one physiotherapist and one occupational therapist from a health care centre, two registered nurses, one unit director and one physiotherapist from a nursing home in the municipality and four registered nurses from an internal medicine hospital ward. Interviews and qualitative content analysis was used resulting in four categories Conditions of risks for malnutrition, Ensuring nutritional intake, Structured way to work and Collaboration and responsibilities. The participants’ described diseases, disabilities and lost of apprehension concerning weight constituting malnutrition risks. Meals and meal environment influence nutritional intake. Risk assessments, interventions and evaluations mirrored structured way of working. Collaboration with colleagues, other professionals and care levels were highlighted together with responsibilities. Physicians’ participation in malnutrition preventions needs clarification. Improvements like documentation of the nutritional status among the elderly and reports between the different levels of care are needed to ensure safe nutritional care.

Human Systems Integration Capstone / Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / Current ejection seat certified aircrew weight ranges (136 to 213 lbs.), such as for the F/A-18, prohibited over one third (38%) of women and (8%) of men from accessing the naval aviation strike pipeline (carrierbased aviation) between 2008 and 2013. This is deleterious to the Naval Aviation Enterprise to restrict access of otherwise qualified and talented applicants to the strike aviation pipeline due to an outdated anthropometric survey based specification. The acceptable level of risk that was utilized by the Naval Aviation Systems Command was overly conservative and needs to be updated to align with current operational risk management principles, actual ejection seat performance mishap data and the naval aviation anthropometric population. This research is a deep exploration of all aspects of this issue and makes recommendations that can be used by Commander of Naval Air Forces in establishing an operational weight limit for all ejection seat aircraft.

Contemporary probation practice has come to be subject to the logic of risk. The rise in the logic of risk has led to significant changes in penal practices. Therefore, it is sociologically important to explore the recent research on the evolution and transformation of probation in Canada with regard to the logic of risk. The purpose of my research was to explore how the logic of risk has impacted and transformed probation objectives, and how it impacted the role of probation officers. Specifically, I wanted to explore how publications present the transformation of probation due to the logic of risk, the formation of new objectives for the system, the deployment of new practices and tools, and how these transformations and new objectives have changed the role of probation officers. To do this, it was determined that a critical literature review of published articles (both academic and government sources) would be the most appropriate data collection method. To analyze the data, an eleven-stage process to a hybrid thematic analysis was utilized. Through this analysis, four main themes were uncovered and explored using a governmentality framework. Objectives of probation as forms effective penal governance were presented, efficient governance through risk was demonstrated through resource allocation, and effective and efficient decision making is explored. It is hypothesized that risk logic leads to the use of heuristic strategies in probation officer decision making. In this thesis, I argue that we are in a phase of ‘new rehabilitationism’ that draws on notions of rehabilitation and reframes them under neo-liberal strategies for control through normalization. In addition to this, knowledge production of probation through the logic of risk is explored and the effects of knowledge/power and its implications for probationers outlined.

No description available.

Background/Problematization: The audit profession and its credibility have been threatenedby audit failures and corporate collapses, and the inability to detect and deter fraud has beenproven costly to audit firms. Regarding the complexity of detection and deterrence of fraud,researchers have suggested the brainstorming session as a fundamental assignment. Where ithas been shown that the brainstorming session seldom is a function of one single individual;it is rather a team effort. Prior researchers within audit team research have investigated teamcomposition in terms of demographic factors whereas other domains of research have movedbeyond this small and narrow view and are now investigating team composition regardingdiversity in soft and hard skills. This is yet to be explored within the audit profession and theresearchers hope to fill this void and provide useful insights through this dissertation. Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation is to explain how a diverse set of soft skills and adiverse set of hard skills affect the efficiency in the brainstorming session and how thisrelationship is contingent on a tall organizational hierarchy. Methodology: The researchers have adopted a positivist research philosophy together with adeductive research approach. The quantitative method has been used to collect data where theresearchers applied the use of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent out to individualswithin the audit profession where the authors aimed for audit associates and senior associates.The response rate was 20 %. The data were further analysed through a Spearman CorrelationMatrix, component principal analysis, multiple linear regression analysis, and hierarchicalmoderated multiple regression analysis. Findings: The findings indicate a positive correlation between diversity in soft skills andefficiency in the brainstorming session where the tall organizational hierarchy has amoderating effect on this relationship.