For individuals with multiple and complex needs, leaving homelessness is recognised as a dynamic and complex process. Furthermore, despite the provision of supports, tenancies may not be maintained and individuals return to using homelessness services. Tenancy sustainment—the maintenance of a tenancy to avoid a premature end of tenure—is fundamental to the resolution and prevention of homelessness. There is a paucity of research about the occupations of individuals as they establish and maintain tenancies. This thesis aimed to understand the transition process from homelessness, and tenancy sustainment, from an occupational perspective, to inform a potential occupational therapy intervention. Underpinned by the Medical Research Council (2008) framework for the development and evaluation of complex interventions, a systematic review and a constructivist grounded theory study were conducted in a convergent mixed method study design. The systematic review synthesised the evidence on tenancy sustainment following homelessness from a broad range of studies. It presented positive determinants of tenancy sustainment at individual, interpersonal, community and structural levels. The constructivist grounded theory study was conducted with people who were experiencing or had experienced multiple exclusion homelessness as well as staff in homelessness services. Individuals (n=35) were purposively sampled and interviews using reflexive photography were conducted. A substantive theory about the core process of tenancy sustainment was conceptualised as ‘Making a Home’. This was enacted through identified occupational strategies of ‘putting your stamp on it’, ‘seeing a new self’ and ‘living the life’. Tenancy sustainment was experienced as ‘feeling at home’, which had two sub-categories: ‘belonging’, which was a sense of connection to place, as well as, ‘having connections’ to other people. The key mediating factor to enable tenancy sustainment was taking control over activities. The findings were synthesised to propose a framework of factors that influence successful tenancy sustainment. Engagement in occupations, as individuals established and sustained tenancies, provided a sense of well-being, a sense of control as well as social connections. This indicates the value, to all who support individuals leave homelessness, of providing opportunities and supporting tenants to engage in personally meaningful occupations. In addition, this thesis provides a foundation for the development of an occupational therapy intervention for tenancy sustainment following homelessness.

The purpose of this single-case study was to explore strategies small business leaders used to engage the next generation of customers to ensure sustainability for longer than 5 years. The study population included senior leaders from a for-profit company headquartered in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Von Bertalanffy's general systems theory (GST) was the conceptual lens used in this study. Data were collected via semistructured interviews with 3 leaders of the organization. Participants for this doctoral study were members occupying leadership roles in a small, family-owned, for-profit business. Member checking was incorporated to help ensure accuracy, consistency, and credibility. Document analysis included reviews of financial statements, tax records, marketing and advertising plans, client survey information, and additional corporate artifacts. Using thematic analysis, themes emerging from this study included the importance of systematic approaches to engaging the next generation of customers through strategic processes, transparency in operations, fiscal accountability and protection of stakeholder interests, and use of technology to support business growth. Findings from this study might contribute to positive social change by enabling for-profit small business owners to succeed in their selected ventures and support local economic growth by engaging the next generation of customer.

Human inspection is a pivotal component of infrastructure asset management within a systems thinking approach to civil engineering. Skilled inspectors are tasked with the evaluation of various civil infrastructure components, conducting assessments of their conditions, identifying maintenance needs, and determining necessary repairs. Despite the growing interest in advanced technologies and automated inspections, the use of human-in-the-loop procedures is still widely practiced. Humans are susceptible to cognitive bias, variability, or uncertainty when inspecting infrastructure, and finding solutions to reduce these factors is paramount. This study presents a comprehensive exploration of inspection variability within infrastructure asset management, drawing insights from datasets of the BUILDER Sustainment Management System (SMS) program. The research delves into infrastructure inventory, inspector data, and inspection data components of an asset management database, shedding light on variability in human inspection. Variations in inspection ratings revealed significant concerns, particularly in Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) systems, with notable disparities between inspection ratings and condition ratings. Inspector variability analysis, through Coefficient of Variation calculations, indicated substantial disparities within and among inspectors. Further analysis, including Tukey's HSD test, pinpointed significant variability in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and Fire Protection system inspections. Moreover, this study addresses the specific challenge of reducing inspection uncertainty in HVAC systems. HVAC systems play a critical role in facility energy consumption, and their maintenance is vital to energy efficiency and occupant comfort. However, HVAC-specific inspections primarily require human involvement, making them time-consuming and prone to error. Addressing the challenges surrounding human inspection of HVAC systems, this research presents a multifaceted approach to reduce variability. Drawing from a review of existing literature on HVAC inspection uncertainty, this study extends its focus to the development of predictive models. These models considered parameters including inspection ratings, age-based obsolescence, section condition indices, component characteristics, and unique inspectors . Utilizing Linear Regression, Random Forest, and Gradient Boosting Regression, this model accurately predicted Variability Ratings, signifying the potential for implementation as a decision support tool. Importantly, the findings highlight the need to not only understand the factors affecting HVAC inspection variability but to actively implement technological solutions that can reduce human error and variability in inspections. / Master of Science / Infrastructure inspection is crucial for maintaining buildings and facilities, but it often comes with human errors and uncertainties. This study looks at the inspection process, focusing on case studies and data from the BUILDER Sustainment Management System (SMS) program. It reveals that inspectors sometimes evaluate the condition of parts of a building differently, leading to inconsistencies and poor overall management. One significant area of concern is heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. These systems play a critical role in facility energy use and can be challenging to inspect accurately. Previous research has shown that work experience, training, education, and other factors tend to contribute to variability in how inspectors assess HVAC systems. This research not only highlights these issues but also develops predictive models to reduce the variability of HVAC inspections. By doing so infrastructure can be managed correctly and ultimately lead to improved building lifecycles.

Due to their disproportionate risk of tenancy non-sustainment there have been concerns raised for young people making a pathway out of homelessness into independent living. Despite these concerns, there has been limited research looking at how young people experience tenancy sustainment or where they move onto after terminating a tenancy. This thesis, drawing on Bourdieu’s (1990a) theory of practice, presents a reconceptualisation of tenancy sustainment as a practice of sustaining a tenancy. The theoretical-empirical analysis is based on data collected through longitudinal research involving two waves of semi- structured interviews with 25 young people, aged 16-25, who had recently made a pathway out of homelessness into their own independent tenancies. The interdependency between a tenant and their tenancy presented young people with pressures which they developed techniques of independent living in response to in order to sustain their tenancy and make it a home. Young people not only had a particular housing position of being a tenant, they held family and education-employment positions which took part in the formation and shaping of the pressures they experienced living independently. Tenancies were not seen as an end in themselves by young people who desired, through the experience of sustaining a tenancy, increasingly independent positions within their other social positions as well. An uneven process of actually existing neoliberalism across policy areas through its influence on young people’s constellation of interdependent relations also created a dissonance within the positions held by young people fostering social suffering. Young people ending a tenancy viewed this as a ‘step backwards’ when it meant decreasing independence such as a return to supported accommodation; ambivalence where it arose from the end of a relationship; and as a move forwards, or ‘getting on with life’, when making a youth transition and housing pathway towards establishing their own family household.

Smaller states face conventional force strength asymmetry against larger states like Russia and, it is in their interest to find ways to mount an effective and multifaceted resistance. Being able to sustain operations on occupied territory against an occupying force could be one of these ways. These operations can be categorized as part of a state’s special operations capacity and furthermore sub-categorized as unconventional warfare. Military logistical theories are based primarily on logistical supply chains where the force largely has its own geographical control or dominance. However special operations in occupied or enemy controlled territory faces the challenge that the geographical area is controlled or dominated by the enemy, effectively blocking sustainment, the question then becomes: How can sustainment for a military force, operating in enemy controlled territory, be achieved? The aim of this study is therefore to make a contribution to theoretical military logistic literature by conducting a theory developing study. This by deductively developing a tentative theoretical framework from existing theories of conventional military logistics combined with special operations theory. The framework is then tested in a qualitative multiple historical case study by using the cases as a testing ground for the theory. The study concludes that the logistical options (methods) needed to sustain the unconventional force are determined by taking into account operational environmental factors such as geography, climate and enemy actions in order to achieve physical access and concealment for supplies. Together access, concealment and planned combat events influence the choice of logistical option or combination of options and as result a build-up time of supply levels is needed before sufficient sustainment is reached. Furthermore, this build-up time is always present no matter if the unconventional operation is planned or not. But, an advantage in force availability and execution exists when planning and preparing campaigns.

Background: To date, little attention has focused on what the factors are and how Best Practice Guidelines (BPGs) are sustained in acute care over time. Problem: For ten years, a multi-site acute care center supported the use of a Pain Assessment and Management Policy and Protocol (Pain P/P), placing the decision to use it with point of care nurses. Despite early implementation success, the nursing department identified an evidence-based gap on Medicine care units. Purpose: To (i) identify factors influencing nurses’ use (or not) of the Pain P/P over time, and ten years post-implementation; (ii) examine related knowledge translation interventions (KTIs) used over time, and ten years post-implementation; (iii) validate unit nurses’ use of the Pain P/P ten years post-implementation; and (iv) identify relevant sustainability frameworks/models/theories (F/M/Ts), constructs and factors for sustained use of BPGs in acute care. Methodology: A case study of an organization-wide nursing BPG was conducted ten years following initial implementation using mixed methods guided by the Dynamic Sustainability Framework (Chambers, 2013). The case study setting was a 1122 bed acute care center in Canada. I examined BPG sustainability at the (corporate) department and unit levels (two embedded subcases). Data sources included 19 informant interviews (3-corporate, 16-unit level), 200 chart audits (100/subcase), and 29 documents. I concurrently conducted a systematic review to identify sustainability concepts and factors for use in acute care to compare case study results. Results: I identified 7 constructs, 49 factors, and 29 KTIs influencing sustained use of evidence-base practices (EBPs) in acute care. Three factors and eight KTIs had a continuous influence during implementation and sustained use phases. Findings confirm the concept of sustainability is a dynamic ‘process’ or ‘ongoing phase’. Conclusions: This thesis provides a novel resource to support future practice and research aimed at sustaining EBPs to improve nursing practice and related patient outcomes. Attention to the level of application and changing conditions over time impacting factors that influence EBP use is required for sustainment. Use of a participatory approach to engage users in designing remedial plans and link KTIs to target behaviors that incrementally address low adherence rates promotes sustainability.

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International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 28-31, 1996 / Town and Country Hotel and Convention Center, San Diego, California / White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is developing a new transportable telemetry system that consolidates various telemetry data collection functions currently being performed by separate instrumentation. The new system will provide higher data rate handling capability, reduced labor requirements, and more efficient operations support which will result in a reduction of mission support costs. Seven new systems are planned for procurement through Requirements Contracts. They will replace current mobile systems which are over 25 years old on a one-on-one basis. Regulation allows for a sixty-five percent overage on the contract and WSMR plans to make this contract available for use by other Major Range Test Facility Bases (MRTFBs). Separate line items in the contracts make it possible to vary the design to meet a specific system configuration. This paper describes both current and replacement mobile telemetry system

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Approved for public release; distribution in unlimited. / Future sea bases, such as the Maritime Prepositioning Force (Future), will serve as key distribution nodes and must be able to sustain forces ashore and selectively offload supplies from storerooms quickly and efficiently. Current MPF ships maximize the available cargo storage onboard and have little ability to selectively offload supplies. To make selective offload a reality, MPF(F) requires lower stowage densities and new technologies to efficiently move items, especially for those supplies needed in direct support of forces ashore. The difficult questions are how dense and in what configurations MPF(F) storerooms can be packed, and how items should be retrieved in order to selectively offload supplies and provide acceptable response time. We analyze the trade-off between storage density and mean retrieval time in a dynamic environment for different storage densities and configurations in notional storerooms aboard a future sea base. We examine two demand scenarios and two different retrieval rules to determine how each storage configuration responds to retrieval requests over time. Our results provide insight into the types of storeroom configurations that provide the best mean retrieval times and how a simple retrieval rule can significantly reduce mean retrieval time under certain demand conditions. / Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy