This research study examined the psychometric properties of the Student Risk Screening Scale for Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors (SRSS-IE) using Item Response Theory (IRT) methods among a sample of 2,122 middle school students. The SRSS-IE is a recently revised screening instrument aimed at identifying students who are potentially at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). There are two studies included in this research. Study 1 utilized the Nominal Response and Generalized Partial Credit models of IRT to evaluate items from the SRSS-IE in terms of the degree to which the response options for each item functioned as intended by the scale developers and how well those response options discriminated among students who exhibited varying levels of EBD risk. Results from this first study indicated that the four response option configurations of the items on the SRSS-IE may not adequately discriminate among the frequency of externalizing and internalizing behaviors demonstrated by middle school students. Recommendations for item response option revisions or scale scoring revisions are discussed in this study. In study 2, differential item functioning (DIF) and differential step functioning (DSF) methods were used to examine differences in item and response option functioning according to student gender variables. Additionally, test information functions (TIFs) were used to determine whether preliminary recommendations for cut scores differ by gender. Results of this second study indicate that two of the items on the SRSS-IE systematically favor males over females and one item systematically favors females over males. Additionally, examination of TIFs demonstrated different degrees of measurement precision at various levels of theta for males and females on both the externalizing and internalizing constructs. Implications of these results are discussed in relation to possible revisions of the SRSS-IE items, cut scores, or scale scoring procedures.

In recent years, climate change has intensified the frequency of severe rainfall events, raising concerns, particularly in urban areas where impervious surfaces dominate. The resultant reliance on man-made drainage increases pluvial flooding risks, threatening infrastructure and urban resilience. As the global population increasingly shifts to urban living, the vulnerability to flooding grows. Understanding how areas respond to rainfall is crucial for proactive flood risk mitigation. Available hydrological models offer insights and predictions, but are often linked with long simulation times and high computational cost. Semi-distributed models, like the Spatially Distributed Travel Time (SDTT) approach, offer simplified model formulations suitable for screening applications. This thesis extends Ekeroth's (2022) SDTT model for watershed delineation and travel time formulations, focusing on ensemble runs of multi-input rainfall/infiltration scenarios. As there is often many uncertain factors in hydrological modeling, there is a need for faster models capable of generating a distribution of scenarios to represent the uncertainty of real systems. Even a quick and simple model should account for the multifaceted aspects of urban flooding, including rainfall-infiltration dynamics and the variations in rainfall intensity. Script modules were developed to analyze rainfall severity, peak discharge distribution, and parameter impact efficiently. In three urban watersheds with an average size of 0.45 km2, 120 scenarios distinguished by intensity distribution, rainfall duration, soil composition of pervious areas, and antecedent moisture conditions, were simulated within approximately 3.5 minutes, enabling comprehensive hydrological analysis. The successful implementation of the new modules implicate a promising tool for hydrological risk-screening analysis in urban environments, although further research should investigate incorporating probability-based scenarios and bigger input rainfall datasets. / Under senare år har klimatförändringarna intensifierat förekomsten av skyfall, något som är särskilt oroväckande i stadsområden där marktäckningen huvudsakligen består av hårdgjorda ytor. Genom att asfaltera och bygga försvinner markens naturliga infiltrationsförmåga. Detta leder till ett ökat beroende av konstgjorda dräneringssystem som sällan är dimensionerade för särskilt intensiva regnhändelser. Urbana översvämningar innebär inte bara ett hot mot infrastruktur och den bebyggda miljön, men den globala befolkningens ökade bosättning i urbana områden medför att sårbarheten vid översvämningar ökar även den. För att kunna hantera översvämningsrisken i ett urbant område är förståelse för avrinningsområdets respons till ett skyfall viktigt. Det finns hydrologiska modeller på marknaden som erbjuder prognoser, men dessa är oftast baserade på komplexa fysiska beskrivningar som medför långa processtider och beräkningskostnader. Samtidigt finns nytänkande modeller som skär ner på processtiderna genom att minska den spatiala upplösningen på beräkningarna, såsom SDTT (Spatially Distributed Travel Time) formuleringen, som erbjuder förenklade analyser lämpliga som screeningverktyg. Denna studie utvidgar Ekeroths (2022) SDTT-modell med fokus på ensemblekörningar av regn- och infiltrationsscenarier. Eftersom det ofta finns flertalet osäkra faktorer i hydrologisk modellering finns ett behov av snabbare modeller som kan genera en fördelning av möjliga utfall givet olika scenarier. Samtidigt behöver även en snabb och enkel modell beakta de mångfacetterade aspekterna av urbana översvämningar, exempelvis gällande dynamiken mellan regn och infiltration och skyfallsegenskaper. Kodmoduler utvecklades för att effektivt analysera utfallen av regnscenarierna och att finna de mest allvarliga händelserna, fördelningen av värden inom de simulerade utfallen, samt inflytandet från parametrarna som definierar scenarierna. I tre urbana avrinningsområden med en genomsnittlig storlek på 0.45 km2 simulerades 120 scenarier inom 3,5 minuter, vilket möjliggör hydrologisk analys på en hanterbar tid. Implementeringen av de nya modulerna pekar mot ett lovande verktyg för hydrologisk risk-screeninganalys i urbana miljöer. Samtidigt bör framtida studier fortsatt undersöka möjligheten att inkludera sannolikhetsbaserade scenarier och körning av större dataset.

In the environmental impact assessment (EIA) field, much attention is paid to the process leading up to the granting of an environmental authorization, but very little is given to what happens after the consent decision is granted. This study aimed to address this lack through the implementation of an EIA follow-up procedure in a region of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Follow-up focused on assessing the amount of non-compliance with EIA consent conditions as well as the overall impact that projects had had on the environment. The results of this follow-up process were then used to develop a risk screening tool that could be used to screen out new EIA applications that were likely to require follow-up to control default or impact. Projects that showed the greatest amount of default were those submitted by local municipal proponents for basic infrastructure type activities such as sewage treatment works and low-income housing developments. Private companies that compete in the open market presented the lowest default risk. Default with consent conditions ranged between 0% and 100% with an average rate of default of 49%. The overall environmental impact for the majority (58%) of projects followed-up on was low (on a 5 point scale of low to high), with only 1% of projects scoring high on impact. The study found a moderate positive correlation between default and impact (rs = 0.48) although a significant percentage (39%) of projects scored high on default but low on impact. Follow-up appears to have had a positive effect on reducing the average amounts of default and to a lesser extent the degree of impact. The risk screening tool developed is promising with statistically significant matches between predicted and actual default and impact scores for three out of the four test samples. / Geography / D. Phil. (Geography)

This paper analyzes if neighborhood income inequality has an effect on informal regulation of environmental quality, using census tract-level data on industrial air pollution exposure from EPA´s Risk Screening Environmental Indicators and income and demographic variables from the American Community Survey and EPA´s Smart Location Database. Estimating a spatial lag model and controlling for formal regulation at the states level, we find evidence that overall neighborhood inequality - as measured by the ratio between the fourth and the second income quintile or the neighborhood Gini coefficient - increases local air pollution exposure, whereas a concentration of top incomes reduces local exposure. The positive coefficient of the general inequality measure is driven by urban neighborhoods, whereas the negative coefficient of top incomes is stronger in rural areas. We explain these findings by two contradicting effects of inequality: On the one hand, overall inequality reduces collective action and thus the organizing capacities for environmental improvements. On the other hand, a concentration of income at the top enhances the ability of rich residents to negotiate with regulators or polluting plants in their vicinity. (authors' abstract) / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

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Assim que tiver efetuado a correção submeta o arquivo em PDF novamente Agradecemos a compreensão. on 2018-08-31T14:00:19Z (GMT) / Submitted by Cesar Martins da Costa (cesarmt_costa@hotmail.com) on 2018-09-02T20:04:42Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Repositório_02_09.pdf: 1813055 bytes, checksum: 28ed24672d32c464e368529cae5993bc (MD5) / Rejected by Sulamita Selma C Colnago null (sulamita@btu.unesp.br), reason: Solicitamos que realize uma nova submissão seguindo as orientações abaixo: Problema 1: A capa do seu trabalho não está de acordo com as normas do Programa de Pós-Graduação. Assim que efetuar essa(s) correção(ões), submeta o arquivo em PDF novamente. Agradecemos a compreensão. on 2018-09-03T17:01:07Z (GMT) / Submitted by Cesar Martins da Costa (cesarmt_costa@hotmail.com) on 2018-09-04T02:44:43Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Repositório_03_09.pdf: 1792756 bytes, checksum: 66827eabf8f9f93bf0427b25dd02e0e2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by ROSANGELA APARECIDA LOBO null (rosangelalobo@btu.unesp.br) on 2018-09-04T19:18:59Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 costa_cm_me_bot.pdf: 1792756 bytes, checksum: 66827eabf8f9f93bf0427b25dd02e0e2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-04T19:18:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 costa_cm_me_bot.pdf: 1792756 bytes, checksum: 66827eabf8f9f93bf0427b25dd02e0e2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-05-02 / O Transplante de Células Progenitoras Hematopoiéticas (TCPH) é um método terapêutico utilizado no tratamento de diversas doenças que envolvem o tecido linfo-hematopoiético, doenças autoimunes e condições não-malignas. As evidências apontam que o reconhecimento precoce de pacientes em grupos de risco nutricional no TCPH e a elaboração de um plano terapêutico para tal tem impacto positivo na redução da mortalidade. A monitorização diária das necessidades energéticas, proteicas e de nutrientes é um dos pontos cruciais da terapia, pois o paciente que é incapaz de suprir mais do que 60% das necessidades nutricionais diárias por via oral torna-se candidato a outras modalidades de terapia (enteral ou parenteral), a depender da viabilidade do trato gastrointestinal, das contra-indicações relativas a cada método (plaquetopenia na introdução de sonda nasoenteral, por exemplo) e das complicações associadas aos procedimentos (aumento das taxas de infecção de corrente sanguínea na nutrição parenteral). Se o paciente atingir mais do que 60% das necessidades nutricionais por via oral e mantiver esse aporte por pelo menos 3 dias, o suporte por nutrição enteral ou parenteral pode ser descontinuado. A literatura científica ainda não elucidou todos os questionamentos quanto à melhor abordagem nutricional em pacientes submetidos a TCPH, podendo-se observar grande variação entre as condutas orientadas pelas diretrizes internacionais mais recentes e o que se adota como prática clínica diária, chamando atenção para a necessidade da elaboração de protocolos nutricionais que diminuam essas divergências. Objetivos​: elaboração de um manual de avaliação do risco nutricional e de implementação de terapia nutricional para pacientes que serão submetidos ao Transplante de Células Progenitoras Hematopoiéticas no Hospital das Clínicas de Botucatu, facilitando a tomada de decisões de acordo com as evidências científicas mais recentes e contribuindo para minimizar as divergências de condutas através de um protocolo nutricional hospitalar. Casuística e Métodos​: o manual foi elaborado por meio de uma revisão narrativa da literatura científica, utilizando-se de artigos e diretrizes relevantes contidos nas bases de dados Pubmed, Lilacs e Scielo, assim como de livros textos e de consensos desde o ano 2000 até 2017. Para a busca, os termos utilizados foram “nutrition assessment", "nutrition therapy", "nutrition risk", “undernutrition”, "malnutrition", “obesity”, "chemotherapy", “blood 8 marrow transplantation”, “haematopoietic stem cell transplantation”, “body composition”, “phase angle”. Resultados​: há escassez de estudos específicos relacionados a terapia nutricional e a TCPH. A busca resultou na utilização de 20 trabalhos científicos que embasam a produção desta dissertação. Considerando a estrutura e a dinâmica do Hospital das Clínicas de Botucatu, a padronização de condutas deste Manual levou à elaboração de um protocolo em forma de fluxograma que abrange a avaliação do Risco Nutricional e de aplicação da Terapia Nutricional em pacientes submetidos ao TCPH neste serviço de saúde. Conclusão​: o protocolo de avaliação de Risco e de aplicação de Terapia Nutricional, redigido em forma de fluxograma, facilita a aplicabilidade do conteúdo do Manual para os profissionais que dele se utilizarão, simplifica a classificação dos grupos de risco nutricional, disponibiliza elaboração rápida de condutas e evita divergências de prescrição quanto à melhor Terapia Nutricional em pacientes submetidos ao TCPH. / Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) is a therapeutic method used for treatment of various diseases involving lymphohematopoietic tissue, autoimmune diseases and non-malignant conditions. Evidence indicates that the early recognition of nutritional risk in HSCT patients and the elaboration of a therapeutic plan for them has a positive impact in reducing mortality. Monitoring daily needs of energy, protein and nutrient is one of the crucial points of therapy, because individuals who are unable to supply more than 60% of the daily nutritional needs orally become candidates for other modalities of therapy (enteral or parenteral), depending on the viability of the gastrointestinal tract, contraindications for each method (thrombocytopenia in the introduction of nasoenteral probe, for example) and complications associated with procedures (increased bloodstream infection rates in parenteral nutrition) . If the patient reaches more than 60% of nutritional needs orally and maintains this intake for at least 3 days, enteral or parenteral nutrition support may be discontinued. The scientific literature has not yet elucidated all the questions regarding the best nutritional approach in patients undergoing HSCT and a great variation between the conducts guided by the most recent international guidelines and what is adopted as daily clinical practice can be observed, drawing attention to the need for nutritional protocols that could reduce these divergences. Objectives​: elaboration of a manual of nutritional therapy and nutritional risk assessment for patients in the Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell Transplantation program at the Hospital das Clínicas de Botucatu, facilitating decision-making according to the latest scientific evidence and contributing to minimize differences of conduct guided by a hospital nutritional protocol. Materials and Methods​: the manual is a narrative review of the scientific literature, using relevant articles and guidelines contained in the Pubmed, Lilacs and Scielo databases, as well as textbooks and consensus books from year 2000 to 2017. The terms used for the research were “nutrition assessment”, “nutrition therapy”, “nutrition risk”, “undernutrition”, “malnutrition”, “obesity”, “chemotherapy”, “blood marrow transplantation”, “haematopoietic stem cell transplantation","Body composition","phase angle". Results: ​there are few specific studies related to nutritional therapy and HSCT. The search resulted in the use of 20 scientific papers that support the production of this dissertation. Considering the structure and dynamics of Hospital das Clínicas de Botucatu, 10 the standardization of conducts in this Manual led to the elaboration of a protocol in the form of flowchart that includes the evaluation of Nutritional Risk and Nutritional Therapy in patients undergoing HSCT. Conclusion​: the risk assessment and nutrition therapy application protocols, built in the form of a flowchart, facilitate the applicability of the manual contents, simplify the classification of nutritional risk groups, provide rapid pipeline elaboration and avoid divergences of prescription regarding the best nutritional therapy in patients undergoing HSCT.

Orientador: Paula Schmidt Azevedo Gaiolla / Resumo: O Transplante de Células Progenitoras Hematopoiéticas (TCPH) é um método terapêutico utilizado no tratamento de diversas doenças que envolvem o tecido linfo-hematopoiético, doenças autoimunes e condições não-malignas. As evidências apontam que o reconhecimento precoce de pacientes em grupos de risco nutricional no TCPH e a elaboração de um plano terapêutico para tal tem impacto positivo na redução da mortalidade. A monitorização diária das necessidades energéticas, proteicas e de nutrientes é um dos pontos cruciais da terapia, pois o paciente que é incapaz de suprir mais do que 60% das necessidades nutricionais diárias por via oral torna-se candidato a outras modalidades de terapia (enteral ou parenteral), a depender da viabilidade do trato gastrointestinal, das contra-indicações relativas a cada método (plaquetopenia na introdução de sonda nasoenteral, por exemplo) e das complicações associadas aos procedimentos (aumento das taxas de infecção de corrente sanguínea na nutrição parenteral). Se o paciente atingir mais do que 60% das necessidades nutricionais por via oral e mantiver esse aporte por pelo menos 3 dias, o suporte por nutrição enteral ou parenteral pode ser descontinuado. A literatura científica ainda não elucidou todos os questionamentos quanto à melhor abordagem nutricional em pacientes submetidos a TCPH, podendo-se observar grande variação entre as condutas orientadas pelas diretrizes internacionais mais recentes e o que se adota como prática clínica diária, cham... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) is a therapeutic method used for treatment of various diseases involving lymphohematopoietic tissue, autoimmune diseases and non-malignant conditions. Evidence indicates that the early recognition of nutritional risk in HSCT patients and the elaboration of a therapeutic plan for them has a positive impact in reducing mortality. Monitoring daily needs of energy, protein and nutrient is one of the crucial points of therapy, because individuals who are unable to supply more than 60% of the daily nutritional needs orally become candidates for other modalities of therapy (enteral or parenteral), depending on the viability of the gastrointestinal tract, contraindications for each method (thrombocytopenia in the introduction of nasoenteral probe, for example) and complications associated with procedures (increased bloodstream infection rates in parenteral nutrition) . If the patient reaches more than 60% of nutritional needs orally and maintains this intake for at least 3 days, enteral or parenteral nutrition support may be discontinued. The scientific literature has not yet elucidated all the questions regarding the best nutritional approach in patients undergoing HSCT and a great variation between the conducts guided by the most recent international guidelines and what is adopted as daily clinical practice can be observed, drawing attention to the need for nutritional protocols that could reduce these divergences. Objectives​: elabora... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

In the environmental impact assessment (EIA) field, much attention is paid to the process leading up to the granting of an environmental authorization, but very little is given to what happens after the consent decision is granted. This study aimed to address this lack through the implementation of an EIA follow-up procedure in a region of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Follow-up focused on assessing the amount of non-compliance with EIA consent conditions as well as the overall impact that projects had had on the environment. The results of this follow-up process were then used to develop a risk screening tool that could be used to screen out new EIA applications that were likely to require follow-up to control default or impact. Projects that showed the greatest amount of default were those submitted by local municipal proponents for basic infrastructure type activities such as sewage treatment works and low-income housing developments. Private companies that compete in the open market presented the lowest default risk. Default with consent conditions ranged between 0% and 100% with an average rate of default of 49%. The overall environmental impact for the majority (58%) of projects followed-up on was low (on a 5 point scale of low to high), with only 1% of projects scoring high on impact. The study found a moderate positive correlation between default and impact (rs = 0.48) although a significant percentage (39%) of projects scored high on default but low on impact. Follow-up appears to have had a positive effect on reducing the average amounts of default and to a lesser extent the degree of impact. The risk screening tool developed is promising with statistically significant matches between predicted and actual default and impact scores for three out of the four test samples. / Geography / D. Phil. (Geography)

The study was undertaken to investigate the following: limiting factors faced by the developers in complying with the EIA conditions and to determine whether the various developers comply with the conditions. The study was undertaken by use of questionnaires, site visits, meetings, photographs, group interviews. Trained fields assistants were also used to administer the questionnaires in order to collect data. Data from two sites were collected between 2012 and 2014 and were intentionally collected in order to provide information regarding the implementation of mitigation measures. The collected data was subjected to SAS (statistical software). Chi-square test for independence was performed in order to compare the differences (Snedecor & Cocharen, 1978) between the two sites. Based on the results of the study, it is therefore recommended that competent authorities should consider drafting and supplying follow-up guidelines and these guidelines should also apply to all the relevant role players involved. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)

The issue of environmental risks from the pharmaceutical endocrine disrupter 17 alpha-ethinyl oestradiol (EE2), which is an active ingredient in the contraceptive pill, confronts government responsibilities for citizens' health with potential environmental risks from its presence in aquatic ecosystems. Further to a risk appraisal process conducted under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) between 2006 and 2012, the European Commission recommended the imposition of an environmental quality standard for EE2. In 2013, this recommendation was rejected by politicians. The outcome was both contested and commended. The UK Government was particularly vehement in its opposition and claimed that the risk assessment process for EE2 was not robust. The UK Government also insisted that it had swayed opinion of other EU Member States to convince them that action for EE2 was not proportionate given the extremely elevated costs of risk control options. At the present time, environmental policy for EE2 and other endocrine disrupters remains resolutely ineffective. Despite three distinct policy interventions recommending precautionary action for EE2 during the past twenty years, emissions of this potent, oestrogenic endocrine disrupter continue unabated. This thesis explains why European politicians rejected the European Commission’s risk governance recommendations for EE2 in 2013 under the Water Framework Directive. This comprises its principal empirical contribution. A novel analytical framework which draws on insights from the policy sciences, risk governance and wicked problems literature is developed. This framework is employed to determine whether the policy outcome for EE2, and the decision-making processes that preceded it, were legitimate. The research findings in this respect advance understanding of the implications of specific properties of wicked problems, of which it is argued, EE2 is an example, for the legitimacy of decision-making processes during the risk appraisal and political phases of policy development in Europe. This comprises the principle theoretical contribution of the thesis. Recommendations to promote more effective and legitimate policy development for wicked problems in similar multi-level governance contexts are also made.

The study was undertaken to investigate the following: limiting factors faced by the developers in complying with the EIA conditions and to determine whether the various developers comply with the conditions. The study was undertaken by use of questionnaires, site visits, meetings, photographs, group interviews. Trained fields assistants were also used to administer the questionnaires in order to collect data. Data from two sites were collected between 2012 and 2014 and were intentionally collected in order to provide information regarding the implementation of mitigation measures. The collected data was subjected to SAS (statistical software). Chi-square test for independence was performed in order to compare the differences (Snedecor & Cocharen, 1978) between the two sites. Based on the results of the study, it is therefore recommended that competent authorities should consider drafting and supplying follow-up guidelines and these guidelines should also apply to all the relevant role players involved. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)