This study investigates the appropriateness of greywater reuse technologies in Canada. To design a technology to appropriately meet a user’s needs the approach must conform to existing technical, cultural, economic, environmental, and social conditions. The appropriateness of two greywater reuse systems (GWRS) were investigated according to three criteria; reliability/soundness/flexibility, affordability, and sustainability. The GWRS reduced water consumption from 9-20% of total household use, and often met required fecal coliforms concentrations at several sites. However, the study revealed that neither GWRS met all the appropriate technology criteria and significant barriers preventing greywater reuse were identified. Both GWRS produced effluent that largely did not meet current regulations, were prone to mechanical failure, and did not provide any financial benefits, resulting in a varied level of acceptance among users. In addition, the systems resulted in increased green house gas emissions. The study also concluded that the regulations governing greywater quality for toilet flushing and the technology’s robustness must be further refined. / Federation of Canadian Municipalities, City of Guelph, and the Ontario Centres of Excellence

Det finns olika metoder som kan användas för att komma ihåg instuderat material. Det har visats att resultatet på ett minnestest förbättras avsevärt om man under inlärning har testats på instuderat material, jämfört med att enbart ha studerat materialet utan testning, detta kallas testeffekten. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka hur viktigt svarsformatet är för testeffekten där 38 försöksdeltagare fick studera 48 ordpar för att sedan bli testade vid två olika tillfällen (efter 5 minuter respektive 1 vecka). Svarsformatet manipulerades vid både inlärning (covert/overt) och slutlig testning, enligt teorin om transfer-appropriate processing (kongruent/inkongruent). Resultatet visade en signifikant huvudeffekt av svarsformat, sådan att overt framplockning ledde till bättre minnesprestation än covert framplockning. Kongruensen mellan svarsformaten vid inlärning respektive slutlig testning (TAP) gav inga signifikanta effekter. Möjliga förklaringar till resultatet, och de slutsatser som kan dras därav, diskuteras.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Washington State University, May 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 340-363).

It has been well documented that women and children in The Gambia are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition. The combination of heavy labor demands on women and a weaning diet low in calories takes its toll on women and children during the pre-harvest lean season. In 1995, the Small-Scale Sesame Oil Production project introduced an inexpensive, manual technology for edible oil extraction, called the ram press, to women in The Gambia. The overall aim of the project was to improve household nutritional security through the adoption of the ram press by women sesame growers. A 13-month study was conducted to evaluate the success of the Small-Scale Sesame Oil Production project. The study involved 120 rural households: 40 households with access to motorized expeller technology (Expeller group) for sesame oil extraction, 37 households with access to manual ram press technology (Press group), and 43 households with access to both technologies (Combination group). Twenty-four hour recalls, food frequency data, anthropometric measurements, and production data were obtained at the baseline and at the post-harvest, peak sesame oil-pressing, and pre-harvest lean seasons. At the baseline, women in the Expeller group had higher mean intakes of kilocalories than those in the Press and Combination groups. After introduction of the ram press, the Press and Combination women reported consistently higher intakes of kilocalories than the Expeller women at all seasons, with the largest differences at the peak oil-pressing and pre-harvest lean seasons. At the baseline, the consumption of kilocalories for Expeller children was greater than that of the Combination and Press children. After introduction of the ram press, this trend was reversed and the intake of kilocalories for Combination and Press children was greater than that of Expeller children at all other seasons. The Expeller children exhibited a marked increase in weight-for-height z-scores at the peak oil-pressing season that decreased to near baseline levels thereafter. The Combination and Press children exhibited a steady increase in weight-for-height z-scores across seasons except for the pre-harvest lean season when their scores leveled off. These results indicate that women and children in households with access to ram press technology experience much less of a seasonal fluctuation in food consumption than those without ram press technology. Findings of this study also indicate that when women are given choices as to which technology is best for them, they will maximize their benefits from the available technologies. / Master of Science

This thesis provides a structure for understanding the various issues in the design and implementation of a petroleum tax system. Its main objective is to examine whether the Nigerian petroleum tax system is appropriately designed to achieve the benefits the country desires from its petroleum contractual arrangements. Informed by the literature reviewed, economic rent theory was adopted as a theoretical framework in the thesis. While other theories could have been applied as a framework, economic rent theory was deemed to be most appropriate because taxes levied on economic rent are not generally perceived to act as a disincentive to the initiation or continuation of business operations. Informed views on the petroleum fiscal system used in Nigeria were sought from a range of "experts" in the field via a large scale questionnaire. The empirical data collected were then subjected to statistical analysis to determine the overall response patterns of the respondents for each of the 58 variables surveyed. This analysis enabled tentative conclusions to be drawn about the validity of various hypotheses developed in the thesis. Further analysis was carried out to determine and critically assess statically significant responses between respondent groups. The study revealed that the Nigerian petroleum taxation system was viewed as being well-designed, insofar as it protects the interests of both the government and the international oil companies operating within Nigeria. Furthermore, the "expert" respondents were of the view that a majority of the measures put in place to ensure compliance with the petroleum taxation system have been effective. However, the study revealed differences in views amongst the various groups of "experts" to some questions which suggests that some groups may have articulated views based on partisan values. The differences suggest that the different groups may have vested interests in the petroleum taxation system. Given the role these groups play in the petroleum fiscal system in Nigeria, it is argued that these vested interests may well have negatively affected the design and operation of the petroleum fiscal system. This finding may have important implications for the future design and operation of the Nigerian petroleum taxation system. The literature reviewed and survey data analysed resulted in a number of conclusions. First, it is argued that it is very difficult to make a single petroleum tax system that serves the needs of different countries. Second, it is suggested Nigeria‘s petroleum tax regime is predicated upon a desire to capture as much revenue as possible for the government. Third, the thesis concludes that the implementation processes of the Nigerian petroleum tax system are fundamentally weak and require further improvement. Fourth, it is also the conclusion of this thesis that the Nigerian petroleum tax system lacks the capacity for timely review. Finally, it is shown that the Nigerian petroleum tax system is sensitive to changes in tax regulations across oil producing countries.

This study examined how Florida administrative law judges (ALJs) constructed an appropriate education for students with disabilities in their final orders. This study utilized the Johnstone Method as a heuristic in analyzing the data. It examined the construction of an appropriate education from the implementation of PL 94-142 up to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Board of Education v. Rowley (1975-1978), after the Rowley decision (1983-1986), and after the reauthorization of the Individual with Disabilities Education Act in 2004 (2004-2007). Each time period was examined individually and then the results were compared. The data sources included six purposively sampled final orders obtained from the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings and the Florida Department of Education. Two final orders per time period have been examined. For each time period, one final order with the school district as the prevailing party and one with the parent as the prevailing party were selected. Immersive line-by-line coding, and grounding of claims in specific textual evidence have been utilized to establish trustworthiness. The results indicate that during the period pre-Rowley, ALJs constructed an "appropriate" education based on the needs of the child and the special education program proposed to meet those needs. Deference was not given to one party over the other and the ALJ used his or her judgment in helping to construct an appropriate education. After the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Board of Education v. Rowley (1982), experts were charged with constructing an appropriate education for students with disabilities. This decision established an epistemic hierarchy that gave deference to school districts over parents. Outcomes were not considered by ALJs in constructing an appropriate education post-Rowley. The purpose of special education as outlined in IDEA (2004) had no impact on the construction of an appropriate education for a student with a disability; instead the Rowley decision impacted the time period post-IDEA (2004). Throughout the three time periods, the ALJs all emphasized that school districts are not required to provide the "best" education to students with disabilities.

This research investigates contemporary architecture's difficulty in distinguishing new civic buildings from commercial and other non-public building types. Historically, the desire to create a clear typological distinction for the civic has come and gone through periods of time and key practitioners. Through projects, the masters attempts to formulate strategies to speak of the civic in the contemporary condition. The research aims to consider architectural language and its use in the context of new public buildings to establish a sense of difference from dominant urban typologies, and be grounded within a contemporary reading of the civic. This project-based research features three principal resolved design projects - a Civic Centre in Mildura; Council Offices for the City of Hume, Broadmeadows; and a new 'civic school' in the Melbourne outer suburb of Mill Park. The design process undertaken for each project is subject to investigation of selected precedents, both contemporary and historical, and these are explored through an illustrated written chapter.

Recent publications have urged researchers to address neuropsychological assessment issues among culturally and linguistically diverse individuals for whom current assessment measures are not typically appropriate. This dissertation examined cultural considerations in clinical neuropsychological practice with Cree-speaking Canadians residing in Saskatchewan. Four inter-related studies focused on understanding cultural perceptions of normal aging and dementia within a Canadian Aboriginal population, modifying existing screening and neuropsychological assessment instruments for use in both normal aging research and clinical practice, and investigating the role of culture in cognitive aging with Cree-speaking. Study 1 involved the qualitative analyses of a series of key informant interviews with an Aboriginal Grandmothers Group. Three related themes were identified that highlighted Aboriginal experiences of aging, caregiving, and dementia within the healthcare system. The third theme, the importance of culturally grounded healthcare, directly informed test development for Studies 2 and 3. In Study 2, two screening measures that were adapted for use with seniors from diverse cultural groups were further modified and examined for use with Canadian Aboriginal seniors. Overall, performance was consistent across the two screening measures, and the measures informed clinical diagnosis and were well-received by both the Aboriginal patients and their family members. Study 3 describes the development of the Grasshoppers and Geese Test battery (G&G), created by modifying and integrating existing instruments and paradigms for language and memory assessment for use with culturally diverse seniors. All G&G subtests demonstrated adequate preliminary psychometric properties and generated excellent sensitivity and good specificity in differentiating healthy older adults from adults with Alzheimers disease. Finally, Study 4 examined performance on the G&G and on other neuropsychological measures in groups of young-middle aged and older adults from majority culture and Cree background. Cree participants mean scores were lower on measures of confrontational naming, semantic memory, verbal fluency, prospective memory, and processing speed, and were presumed to be in keeping with the significantly fewer years of education, lower estimated reading ability, and possible health disparities in the participants of Cree background. Findings of the four studies are discussed in the context of implications for current clinical practice and with regard to future research.

Recent publications have urged researchers to address neuropsychological assessment issues among culturally and linguistically diverse individuals for whom current assessment measures are not typically appropriate. This dissertation examined cultural considerations in clinical neuropsychological practice with Cree-speaking Canadians residing in Saskatchewan. Four inter-related studies focused on understanding cultural perceptions of normal aging and dementia within a Canadian Aboriginal population, modifying existing screening and neuropsychological assessment instruments for use in both normal aging research and clinical practice, and investigating the role of culture in cognitive aging with Cree-speaking. Study 1 involved the qualitative analyses of a series of key informant interviews with an Aboriginal Grandmothers Group. Three related themes were identified that highlighted Aboriginal experiences of aging, caregiving, and dementia within the healthcare system. The third theme, the importance of culturally grounded healthcare, directly informed test development for Studies 2 and 3. In Study 2, two screening measures that were adapted for use with seniors from diverse cultural groups were further modified and examined for use with Canadian Aboriginal seniors. Overall, performance was consistent across the two screening measures, and the measures informed clinical diagnosis and were well-received by both the Aboriginal patients and their family members. Study 3 describes the development of the Grasshoppers and Geese Test battery (G&G), created by modifying and integrating existing instruments and paradigms for language and memory assessment for use with culturally diverse seniors. All G&G subtests demonstrated adequate preliminary psychometric properties and generated excellent sensitivity and good specificity in differentiating healthy older adults from adults with Alzheimers disease. Finally, Study 4 examined performance on the G&G and on other neuropsychological measures in groups of young-middle aged and older adults from majority culture and Cree background. Cree participants mean scores were lower on measures of confrontational naming, semantic memory, verbal fluency, prospective memory, and processing speed, and were presumed to be in keeping with the significantly fewer years of education, lower estimated reading ability, and possible health disparities in the participants of Cree background. Findings of the four studies are discussed in the context of implications for current clinical practice and with regard to future research.

This study examined the extent to which peers in a preschool classroom provide the typical antecedents and consequences that are manipulated in experimental functional analyses. Ten children who attended a half-day preschool program were included in this study. A descriptive assessment was carried out in which data were collected in a natural preschool environment on the antecedents (e.g., demand), behaviors (e.g., aggression), and consequent events (e.g., escape) of child–peer interactions. Conditional and response-independent probabilities were calculated to analyze the relation between the behavior of the target child (participant) and peer. Results show that peer attention was the most common consequence following problem behavior and appropriate behavior for all participants (100%), followed by material presentation (90% of participants for problem behavior; 80% of participants for appropriate behavior) and escape from demands for 20% of participants (both for problem behavior and appropriate behavior).