Human-Elephant Conflict is a topic of conservation and socio-economic concern in light of its impacts on elephants and humans alike. The phenomenon has been occurring since the 19th century in Asia and Africa. Land use changes and human expansion into previous wildlife strongholds has exacerbated and increased Human-Elephant Conflict notwithstanding the impacts of an increase in the human population worldwide. Human-Elephant Conflict usually occurs in areas adjacent to protected areas with little know of the nature of Human-Elephant Conflict in areas which are not located near protected areas. Mmashoro Village and surrounding farms are an example of an area that is not located adjacent to a protected area but that is still exposed to Human-Elephant Conflict. The nature of Human-Elephant Conflict in Mmashoro village and surrounding farms consists of damage to fences, JoJo tanks and private gardens. Human-Elephant Conflict in Mmashoro village and surrounding areas has also been increasing over time. Human-Elephant Conflict in Mmashoro village and surrounding farms has varying (in degree and extent) impacts on the financial and emotional livelihoods of farm owners, farm workers, and local residents. This study found that the management strategies employed by the Government of Botswana to mitigate impacts of Human-Elephant Conflict were found to be inhibiting and restricting the livelihoods of all stakeholders. The interventions pursued by the government were, therefore, not enabling the present and future potential livelihoods of all stakeholders while also disadvantaging and prejudicing other stakeholders such as Local Residents and Farm Workers. The results of this study therefore indicate that Mmashoro village and surrounding farms present as an interesting case study as the site is not located next to protected areas as is the case with various conflict regions. As such, this study found that more nuanced and adapted management strategies were needed to ensure that government interventions were effective in areas such as Mmashoro Village and surrounding farms. Further studies are needed in sites which are not located next to protected areas but where Human-Elephant Conflict still occurs albeit haphazardly. Such studies will help to highlight the varied approaches often needed in the different geographical and social regions even though such approaches are often disregarded.

This thesis describes the application of parallel simulation techniques to represent the structured functional parallelism present within the Space Shuttle Operations Flow using the Synchronous Parallel Environment for Emulation and Discrete-Event Simulation (SPEEDES), an object-oriented multi-computing architecture. SPEEDES is a unified parallel simulation environment, which allocates events over multiple processors to get simulation speed up. Its optimistic processing capability minimizes simulation lag time behind wall clock time, or multiples of real-time. SPEEDES accommodates an increase in process complexity with additional parallel computing nodes to allow sharing of processing loads. This thesis focuses on the process of translating a model of Space Shuttle Operations from a procedural oriented and single processor approach to one represented in a process-driven, object-oriented, and distributed processor approach. The processes are depicted by several classes created to represent the operations at the space center. The reference model used is the existing Space Shuttle Model created in ARENA by NASA and UCF in the year 2001. A systematic approach was used for this translation. A reduced version of the ARENA model was created, and then used as the SPEEDES prototype using C++. The prototype was systematically augmented to reflect the entire Space Shuttle Operations Flow. It was then verified, validated, and implemented.

Land degradation in drylands, remains a highly contentious issue. Broadly speaking, land degradation may be defined as undesirable changes in the state of land from productive to unproductive due to natural or human made factors

An integrated thermofluid modelling methodology for pulverised fuel fired utility-scale boilers that is computationally inexpensive, fast, and sufficiently accurate would be valuable in an industrial setting. Such a model would enable boiler operators to investigate a range of off-design operating conditions, which includes flexible operation. The aims of this study was: to develop a reduced order computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the furnace and radiative heat exchangers that captures all the important particulate effects while using a Eulerian-Eulerian (EE) approach; using the reduced order CFD model to generate a database of results that covers a wide range of operating conditions; to develop a data-driven surrogate model using machine learning techniques; to integrate the surrogate model with a 1-D process model of the complete boiler; and finally to demonstrate the use of the integrated model to investigate flexible operation and off-design operating conditions. The validity of the CFD modelling approach was demonstrated via application to a 2.165 [MWth] lab-scale swirl pulverised fuel burner, as well as to a 620 [MWe] utility-scale subcritical two-pass boiler, both operating at various loads. The results were compared to measured data and a detailed CFD model using the conventional Eulerian-Lagrangian (EL) approach. A computational speed enhancement of 30% was achieved. The data-driven surrogate model uses a mixture density network (MDN) to predict the heat transfer in the furnace and radiative heat exchangers, together with the uncertainty in the predicted values. The integrated model was validated against applicable measured data and then applied to a utility-scale case study boiler to investigate the optimal burner firing positions for low-load operation, as well as to investigate the effects of fuel quality on the overall boiler performance. It was shown that the integrated data-driven surrogate model and 1-D process model can predict the overall thermofluid response of the boiler and the uncertainties associated with it with good accuracy, whilst maintaining a low computational effort when compared to a conventional CFD model coupled to 1-D process model.

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This report is the result of a master thesis performed at MacGREGOR (SWE) AB (Crane Division), Örnsköldsvik. MacGREGOR (SWE) AB (Crane Division) is the world’s leading marine cargo crane supplier with cranes designed for operation in harbor and sheltered water environments. The project aimed to identify and investigate needs and problem areas in the crane cabin with the purpose to design an ergonomic and user-friendly driver environment. Besides ergonomics and user interaction, sturdiness, comfort and safety have been keywords throughout the project. It has not been possible to observe drivers at work because of the world wide location of the cranes. Therefore needs and problem areas were identified through interviews with personnel at MacGREGOR (SWE) AB (Crane Division) and analysis through different methods and softwares such as I- deas, Jack and RULA. The project group has also been given the opportunity to drive a crane and observe the relations between regulators, indicators and driver. To investigate new solutions and designs, competitors and related technologies were thoroughly analyzed. Four concepts were created after the design specification was established. To see how well the concepts fulfilled the identified needs they were evaluated in a merit calculation table. Concept 1 “Rotate all” and concept 4 “Office chair” were then compared in a weak-point analysis. After consultation with the instructors at MacGREGOR (SWE) AB (Crane Division) it was decided that “Rotate all” was to be further developed. The final solution is a combination of new ideas and ideas from the four concepts in the concept design phase. Aspects considering function and form have been carefully thought out using theoretical guidelines in ergonomics, semiotics and gestalts. The new crane cabin emphasizes quality and a feeling for the company through colors, shape and placement. The new crane cabin is based on an adjustable interior suited for drivers between the 5th and 95th percentile. A major improvement is the rotating chair with integrated control levers on the armrests. The indicators and regulators are separated and now placed on the walls. The visual field is improved with a larger front window and a tilted floor window. / <p>Validerat; 20101217 (root)</p>

Despite the many models of American federalism in the literature, the principal model of American federalism is one of relationships between two distinct sovereigns - the federal and state governments. Yet, a third sovereign exists, the many Alaska Native and American Indian tribes in this nation. Tribes are sovereigns, having their own governance structures, and are dealt with on a government-to-government relationship by the United States. At the nexus or intersection where federalism and tribal governance meet, numerous relationships often occur between these sovereigns and other entities, some of which may be cooperative or conflicting in scope. Under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, the issue of solid waste management in what is known as Indian country is used as a lens to examine the multiple relationships among these multiple sovereigns. Interviews were conducted with forty-five key informants from tribes, tribal organizations, federal/state/local agencies, and universities. Specific information about tribal solid waste management programs was obtained from thirty-five tribes, tribal organizations and other sources. Analysis of the research data revealed three patterns of relationships that emerged: (1) uncooperative, (2) cooperative formal, and (3) cooperative informal. These patterns of relationships point to tribal sovereignty as an embedded theme for solid waste management by Indian tribes because of its emphasis on the rights and responsibilities of their members to participate in decisions affecting the community as a whole. Finally, the study advocates better relationships among all sovereigns not only in solid waste management but also for public policy in general. / Ph. D.

A rapid growth phase often occurs with the onset of spring in the young horse. This coincides with changes in day length, temperature, and progesterone concentrations. The change in growth, from slow to rapid in young horses has been associated with various forms of developmental orthopedic disease. The objective of this study was to distinguish associations between progesterone concentrations and other physiological and environmental measures from birth through 16 mo in young Thoroughbreds. Growth data and plasma samples were collected monthly from 3 annual crops of 20 foals. Plasma progesterone (P4) and insulin like growth factor one (IGF-I) concentrations were measured with previously validated radio immunoassay's (RIA). Progesterone concentrations were compared with day length, IGF-I and ADG using Spearman correlations. Concentrations of progesterone at birth (2.3 ± 0.4 ng/mL) decreased within the first week of life to basal values (0.11 ± 0.01 ng/mL) in colts and fillies. Progesterone in the geldings remained at baseline concentrations at all sample times. An abrupt increase in progesterone concentration was detected in fillies at a mean age of 385 ± 6.4 d, weight 381 ± 7.2 kg, and ADG 0.63 ± 0.04 kg/d. Elevations in progesterone concentrations coincided with a measured day length of 13 ± 0.1 hrs, and temperature of 15 ± 1.7 °C. Positive associations were established between progesterone concentration day length (r = 0.59; P<0.0001), IGF-I (r = 0.25; P<0.01) and ADG (r = 0.34; P<0.0001). Day length IGF-I and ADG began to increase for both geldings and fillies at approximately 340 d of age, while progesterone started to increase at 385 ± 6.4 d for the fillies only. From this it could be hypothesized that an increase in ADG combined with optimal environmental conditions, may be associated with the subsequent elevation in progesterone concentrations in fillies. The relationship between IGF-I, and various reproductive hormones has been studied in the adult horse, yet the associations between environmental factors, ADG, and progesterone concentrations demonstrated in growing yearlings further emphasizes the extensive changes occurring during this crucial developmental stage. / Master of Science