Intensyvus aplinkos teršimas bei gamtos išteklių naudojimas sukėlęs ekologinės krizės grėsmę pasaulyje lėmė, jog aplinkos apsauga tapo svarbia kiekvienos valstybės politikos dalimi. Kiekviena šalis privalo imtis tam tikrų priemonių, kad užtikrintų tinkamą žmogaus ir gamtos sąveiką. Lietuvos Respublikoje, kaip ir daugelyje kitų valstybių, viena iš tokių priemonių yra aplinkos apsaugos institucijų išduodami leidimai. Šiame darbe aptartas tokių leidimų pobūdis, jų išdavimo tvarka, funkcionavimo ypatumai, bei efektyvumas. Remiantis teisės aktais reglamentuojančiais aplinkosauginę kontrolę Lietuvos Respublikoje buvo išnagrinėta aplinkos apsaugos institucijų išduodamų leidimų funkcionavimo tvarka. Siekiant išanalizuoti Lietuvos Respublikos aplinkos apsaugos institucijų išduodamų leidimų praktinius apsektus buvo remtasi statistiniais aplinkos apsaugos institucijų veiklos duomenimis. Šių duomenų pagalba buvo išanalizuotos leidimų skaičiaus kitimo tendencijos, vykdomų patikrinimų veiksmingumo bei su ekonominiu sistemos efektyvumu susiję aspektai. Be to, siekiant įvertinti aplinkos apsaugos institucijų išduodamų leidimų sistemos efektyvumą buvo atlikta anketinė ekspertų apklausa, kurioje dalyvavo specialistai dirbantys aplinkos apsaugos institucijose, išduodančiose aplinkosauginius leidimus bei vykdančiose kontrolę dėl leidimuose nustatytų sąlygų laikymosi. Jie pareiškė savo nuomonę apie dabar šalyje veikiančią leidimų sistemą bei pasiūlymus kaip būtų galima išvengti tam tikrų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Intensive environmental pollution and consumption of natural resources caused the danger of ecological crisis, which was an important reason why environmental protection became an essential part in politics of each country. Every nation must take certain measures to ensure appropriate interaction between humans and environment. In Republic of Lithuania, as in many other countries, one of these measures is the permits issued by environmental institutions. In this paper it is discussed the nature, the order of issuing, features of functioning and efficiency of such permits. The analysis of an order of permits issued by environmental institutions was made on basis of Lithuanian environmental control legislation. The practical aspects of environmental permitting system were analyzed on basis of statistical performance data of environmental institutions. By invoking this data the analysis of trends in the number of permits, effectiveness of the inspection and economical aspects was made. Furthermore, the expert survey was made to assess the efficiency of environmental permitting system. The participants of this survey were the specialists who are working in the environmental institutions which are issuing the permits as well as performing the control. They expressed their views on the permitting system which is now applied in our country. As well they made suggestions about what could be done to avoid some certain problems concerning environmental permitting.

In this article, the author studies the objectives and principles established during the 90’s,with respect to administrative simplification in contrast with the current governmental objectives for the optimization of the economy and reduction of unnecessary procedures,basically related to mining and environmental proceedings. Finally, the author proposes theneed for a structural change in Peruvian Mining and Environmental Regulations under the framework of what he calls a «positive regulation». / En el presente artículo el autor reflexiona acerca de los objetivos y principios trazados en la década del noventa, en lo que respecta específicamente a la simplificación administrativa comparándolos con los objetivos actuales de dinamización de la economía y reducción de trámites innecesarios; principalmente, los referidos a procedimientos mineros y ambientales. Finalmente, el autor plantea la necesidad de un cambio estructural en la regulación ambiental y minera bajo la forma de lo que denomina una «regulación positiva».

The modern military aircraft can be defined as a System of Systems (SoS); several distinct systems operating simultaneously across boundary interfaces. As the on-board subsystems have become more complex and diverse, the development process has become more isolated. When considering thermal management of distributed heat loads, the aircraft has become a collection of individually optimised components and subsystems, rather than the implementation of a single system to perform a given task. Avionic thermal management is quickly becoming a limiting factor of aircraft performance, reliability and effectiveness. The challenge of avionic thermal management is growing with the increasing complexity and power density of avionic packages. The aircraft relies on a heat rejection growth capacity to accommodate the additional through-life avionic heat loads. Growth capacity is defined as an allowable thermal loading growth designed into the system by the underutilisation of spatial and cooling supply at aircraft introduction; however, this is a limited resource and aircraft subsystem cooling capability is reaching a critical point. The depleted growth capacity coupled with increased avionic power demands has led to component thermal failure. However, due to the poor resolution of existing data acquisition, experimental facilities or thermodynamic modeling, the exact inflight-operating conditions remain relatively unknown. The knowledge gap identified in this work is the lack of definitive methodology to generate high fidelity data of in-flight thermal conditions of fast-jet subsystems and provide evidence towards effective future thermal management technologies. It is shown that, through the development of a new methodology, the knowledge gap can be reduced and as an output of this approach the unknown system behaviour can be defined. A multidisciplinary approach to the replication, analysis and optimisation of a fast-jet TMS is detailed. The development of a new Ground Test Facility (GTF) allows previously unidentified system thermal behaviour to be evaluated at component, subsystem and system level. The development of new data to characterise current thermal performance of a fast jet TMS allows recommendations of several new technologies to be implemented through a component led integrative system optimisation. This approach is to consider the TMS as a single system to achieve a single goal of component thermal management. Three technologies are implemented to optimise avionic conditions through the minimisation of bleed air consumption, improve avionic reliability through increased avionic component isothermalisation and increase growth capacity through improved avionic heat exchanger fin utilisation. These component level technologies improved system level performance. A reduction in TMS bleed air consumption from 1225kg to 510kg was found to complete a typical flight profile. A peak predicted aircraft specific fuel consumption saving of 1.23% is seen at a cruise flight condition because of this approach to avionic thermal management.

Orientadores: Meuris Gurgel Carlos da Silva / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Quimica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-08T07:19:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Sebok_CarlodeFaria_M.pdf: 10695101 bytes, checksum: ab11890fc45a6f76a4722b89c0f80eb0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Resumo: O crescente desenvolvimento tecnológico no meio de produção leva, inevitavelmente, à geração de resíduos que crescem em proporção e toxicidade à medida que a complexidade desses processos aumenta. Os metais pesados, em particular, por serem elementos altamente tóxicos e praticamente indestrutíveis, sob o ponto de vista químico, podem, em baixíssimas concentrações, ser prejudiciais tanto ao meio quanto à saúde humana em curto, médio ou longo prazo. Com o intuito de contribuir na área de tecnologia ambiental, o presente trabalho visou analisar a influência das misturas de metais de níquel, zinco e cobre, no processo de adsorção, com argila nacional em leito fixo. A argila do tipo bentonita, que se constitui em resíduo de mineração, proveniente da mineradora São Jorge de Ipubi em Pernambuco, foi utilizada como adsorvente no processo. O material foi preparado em dimensões adequadas à. fluídodinâmica do sistema e submetido à calcinação a 500°C, a fim de garantir estabilidade estruturai para operação em leito fixo. Ensaios de adsorção monocomponente foram realizados, de modo a analisar a concentração inicial e vazão, usando argila de 3,38mm de diâmetro médio de partícula. Foi feito então um estudo de mistura ftxando-se a vazão de alimentação em 5mL/min e o diâmetro médio de partícula em 0,545mm. Os ensaios foram inicialmente monocomponente a 90 ppm seguidos por misturas binária e ternária com concentração total de 90 ppm. A quantidade de adsorção total (Q) das misturas foi avaliada até o volume de solução necessário para a saturação na condição monocomponente. Efeitos de interação das misturas foram avaliados quanto a Q, Qy (quantidade útil de remoção) e ZTM (zona de transferência de massa). Em todos os casos a argila estudada apresentou maior afinidade em mistura na ordem: Cu>Zn>Ni. Foram propostos e avaliados modelos para ajuste de Qs Qu e ZTM, nas condições de mistura exploradas experimentalmente, tendo sido altamente preditivos para Q e Qu. No caso da ZTM houve forte evidência de ocorrência de falta de ajuste apesar da menor preditividade / Abstract: Continuous technological development leads inevitably to residue generation. These grow in volume and toxicity as the increase of industrial processes complexity grow. Due to their high toxicity and non biodegradability, heavy metals specifically can, in extremely low concentrations, be harmful to human health and the environment under any type of exposure. This research analyzed the influence of Nickel, Zinc and Copper mixtures in a fixed bed bentonite adsorption process and gathered new data for a greater understanding of this technology. Bentonite supplied from São Jorge of Ipubi's mine was used for the adsorption tests. It was prepared and classified in order to fit the fluid dynamic process. Heat treatment was found necessary to assure physical stability on the fixed bed set. Single component ionic metal adsorption study was carried out with 3.38 mm grain size bentonite to evaluate the feed flow and initial concentration influence on the metal removal. A mixture design was then set with feeding flow fixed at 5 mL/min and clay mean diameter at 0.545 mm. In mixture design experiments 90 ppm initial concentration single component solutions were done followed by 90 ppm total initial concentration of binary and tertiary multicomponent experiments. Total metal removal (Q) was calculated based on the metal volume required for clay saturation on the single component metal experiments. Binary and tertiary interactions were evaluated as well as the effects of metal mixtures on Q, Qu (breakthrough removal) and ZTM (mass transfer zone). In all cases bentonite pointed out greater affinity in mixture conditions following the order: Cu>Zn>Ni. Models were proposed and evaluated to fit the effects of the mixture conditions over the response variables evaluated (Q, Qu and ZTM) and a high predictability was found for Q and Qu- ZTM, despite presenting a lower predictability compared to the other two had no lack of fit whatsoever / Mestrado / Engenharia de Processos / Mestre em Engenharia Química

A finalidade das áreas verdes é oferecer, à população dos grandes centros urbanos, oportunidades de lazer, recreação, bem-estar, aumentando, assim, sua qualidade de vida e seu contato com a natureza. O aumento do índice de áreas verdes nas cidades, expresso pela metragem quadrada de espaços livres de uso público em relação à sua população absoluta, induz a diversas manifestações sociais e culturais e amplia a integração da comunidade, inibindo o uso de tempo e energia com atividades danosas à sociedade, inclusive a violência. A recuperação e reabilitação das áreas degradadas pela mineração tornaram-se obrigatoriedade legal, a partir de 1988, com o advento da atual Constituição Brasileira. A existência de diversos sítios degradados nas áreas urbanas dos municípios, resultantes da extração mineral, constituindo espaços livres abandonados e a necessidade de cumprimento da legislação, incentiva a ocupação de tais locais por áreas verdes. A redestinação destes locais degradados pela mineração, em áreas verdes públicas, é uma das alternativas mais eficientes em aumentar o índice de áreas verdes das grandes cidades e ampliar suas opções de lazer. Com o objetivo de aliar o cumprimento da legislação vigente sobre recuperação de áreas degradadas, com as funções primordiais da criação de áreas verdes, foram analisados três casos de áreas verdes públicas paulistas, que outrora foram mineradas para a extração de materiais aproveitados na construção civil e utilizaram o mesmo método de lavra. Os locais escolhidos para estudo foram o Parque Luiz Roberto Jábali, o Parque do Varvito e a Praça Dr. Ulisses Guimarães, localizados, respectivamente, nos Municípios de Ribeirão Preto, Itu e Campinas. O método de pesquisa utilizado foi o de estudo de caso. A parte teórica do trabalho consistiu no levantamento de dados bibliográficos regionais e locais sobre as áreas de estudo. A parte prática consistiu no levantamento de dados em campo sobre a situação atual de cada uma das áreas verdes estudadas, através de visitas técnicas para coleta dos dados primários, por meio da comunicação e da observação direta sistemática. A manutenção do Parque Prefeito Luiz Roberto Jábali foi considerada altamente positiva. O local cumpre as funções primordiais de uma área verde, além de contribuir para o aumento do índice de áreas verdes do Município de Ribeirão Preto. O Parque do Varvito apresenta algumas benfeitorias mal conservadas, porém cumpre suas funções culturais e paisagísticas, elevando, também, o índice de áreas verdes do Município. A Praça Dr. Ulisses Guimarães encontra-se abandonada pela Prefeitura Municipal de Campinas e, embora eleve o índice de áreas verdes do Município, não atinge os objetivos básicos de uma área verde municipal. Os sítios urbanos degradados pela mineração são potenciais opções de aumento do índice de áreas verdes num determinado Município. Contudo, somente atingirão tais funções, contemplando bemestar, lazer e recreação à população, quando a conservação e a manutenção forem bem conduzidas pelas políticas governamentais de gestão e fiscalizadas pela comunidade. / The purpose of a green area or public park is to offer the population of large urban centers an area where they can enjoy leisure and recreation, thus increasing their quality of life and contact with nature. The ratio of green in a city, expressed by the area of public space such as parks divided by the population, is linked to numerous social and cultural manifestations and increases community integration, inhibiting the use of time and energy with activities that can be considered harmful to society, including violence. The recovery and rehabilitation of areas degraded by mining are required by law since 1988, after the promulgation of the Brazilian Constitution. The fact that there is a great number of sites in cities’ urban areas that have been degraded as a result of mineral extraction and later become public areas covered by vegetation, has led to making public parks a common alternative when recovering an area, especially because of legal requirements. It is one of the most efficient alternatives when it comes to increasing green areas and leisure spots. It was with the objective of joining compliance with the current legislation on rehabilitation of degraded areas with the basic functions of increasing the number of green areas, that three such areas were analyzed; all in the State of São Paulo and all formerly mined for construction material using the same extraction procedures. The areas chosen for the study were the Parque Luiz Roberto Jábali, the Parque do Varvito and the Praça Dr. Ulisses Guimarães, located respectively in the Municipalities of Ribeirão Preto, Itu and Campinas. The survey method used was the case study. The theoretical aspect of the study consisted in finding local and regional bibliographical data on the areas. The practical aspect consisted in gathering field data on the current situation of each one studied, by means of conducting technical visits for primary data collection through direct and systematic observation. Maintenance of the Parque Prefeito Luiz Roberto Jábali was considered very positive. The location achieves the primary purposes of a green area, and also makes a contribution to the ratio of green in the Municipality of Ribeirão Preto. The Parque do Varvito presents a few positive aspects as far as what it offers, but maintenance has been fairly poor. It does, nonetheless, carry out its cultural and landscaping functions, also helping the ratio of green. The Praça Dr. Ulisses Guimarães has been abandoned by the Municipal Authorities and contributes only to the green area in Campinas, not achieving the primary goals of a Municipal green area. The recovery of a degraded mining is an option for increasing the area of green in a given Municipality; it will, however, only fulfill the purposes of urban green areas, i.e. to increase overall well-being of the population by offering leisure and recreation, when it is duly preserved and maintained with help from government policies and the community.

Das Controlling übernimmt in Unternehmen die Aufgabe, die langfristige Existenz des Unternehmens zu sichern und kurzfristig die Ziele der Gewinnerzielung und der Liquiditätssicherung zu erreichen. In Zeiten der zunehmenden Bedeutung von Nachhaltigkeit tritt neben die ökonomische die ökologische und soziale Nachhaltigkeit im Sinne der sogenannten Triple Bottom Line. Daher widmet sich unsere internationale Studie explizit der Beziehung von Unternehmenssteuerung und Umweltmanagement in Bezug auf Nachhaltigkeit. Der vorliegende Auswertungsbericht fasst erste deskriptive Ergebnisse dieser Studie, bei der die 2.500 größten Unternehmen in Deutschland im Jahr 2015 befragt wurden, zusammen.:Abbildungsverzeichnis Tabellenverzeichnis Abkürzungsverzeichnis 1 Einleitung 1.1 Zielsetzung 1.2 Aufbau und Auswertungsmethodik 2 Grundkonzepte des Controllings und des Umweltmanagements 2.1 Konzeption des Controllings 2.1.1 Levers of Control von Simons (1995) 2.1.2 Objects of Control von Merchant und Van der Stede (2012) 2.2 Konzeption des Umweltmanagements 2.2.1 Ökologieorientiertes Controlling 2.2.2 Instrumente des ökologieorientierten Rechnungswesens 2.3 Zielgrößen der Unternehmenssteuerung und des Umweltmanagements 2.3.1 Unternehmenserfolg 2.3.2 Innovationsleistung 2.4 Einflussfaktoren der Unternehmenssteuerung und des Umweltmanagements 2.4.1 Strategietypen 2.4.2 Umfeldunsicherheiten 2.4.3 Länderkultur 2.4.4 Unternehmenskultur 2.4.5 Stakeholder 3 Datenerhebung 3.1 Charakterisierung der Grundgesamtheit 3.2 Ablauf der Datenerhebung 3.3 Zusammenfassung des Fragebogenrücklaufs 4 Empirische Ergebnisse zur Unternehmenssteuerung 4.1 Wettbewerbsstrategie 4.2 Integration von Unternehmenssteuerung und Umweltmanagement 4.3 Trends im Controlling und im Umweltmanagement 4.4 Leistungsmessung und Kontrolle 4.5 Steuerung von Maßnahmen und Aktivitäten 4.6 Mitarbeiterführung 4.7 Werte und Normen 4.8 Administrative Innovationen 4.9 Organisationale Innovationen in Arbeits- und Ablaufprozessen 4.10 Produkt- und Prozessinnovationen 4.11 Veränderungen im Unternehmensumfeld 4.12 Unternehmenskultur 4.13 Unternehmenserfolg 4.14 Effektivität der strategischen Planung 5 Empirische Ergebnisse zum Umweltmanagement 5.1 Umweltmanagementsystem und Berichterstattung 5.2 Bedeutung von Stakeholdern 5.3 Umweltmanagement 5.4 Werte und Normen 5.5 Umweltinformationssystem 5.6 Umweltbezogene Entscheidungsfindungsprozesse 5.7 Öko-Controlling 5.8 Analyse von Materialflüssen 5.9 Umweltleistung 5.10 Nutzung von Umweltkennzahlen 5.11 Mitarbeiterführung 5.12 Steuerung von umweltbezogenen Leistungszielen 5.13 Leistungsmessung und Kontrolle 5.14 Bedeutung von Umweltaspekten für Lieferanten 5.15 Lieferantenbeziehungen 5.16 Hemmnisse für eine ökologieorientierte Wertschöpfungskette 6 Management Summary Literaturverzeichnis

Das Controlling übernimmt in Unternehmen die Aufgabe, die langfristige Existenz des Unternehmens zu sichern und kurzfristig die Ziele der Gewinnerzielung und der Liquiditätssicherung zu erreichen. In Zeiten der zunehmenden Bedeutung von Nachhaltigkeit tritt neben die ökonomische die ökologische und soziale Nachhaltigkeit im Sinne der sogenannten Triple Bottom Line. Daher widmet sich unsere internationale Studie explizit der Beziehung von Unternehmenssteuerung und Umweltmanagement in Bezug auf Nachhaltigkeit. Der vorliegende Auswertungsbericht fasst erste deskriptive Ergebnisse dieser Studie, bei der die 2.500 größten Unternehmen in Deutschland im Jahr 2015 befragt wurden, zusammen.:Abbildungsverzeichnis Tabellenverzeichnis Abkürzungsverzeichnis 1 Einleitung 1.1 Zielsetzung 1.2 Aufbau und Auswertungsmethodik 2 Grundkonzepte des Controllings und des Umweltmanagements 2.1 Konzeption des Controllings 2.1.1 Levers of Control von Simons (1995) 2.1.2 Objects of Control von Merchant und Van der Stede (2012) 2.2 Konzeption des Umweltmanagements 2.2.1 Ökologieorientiertes Controlling 2.2.2 Instrumente des ökologieorientierten Rechnungswesens 2.3 Zielgrößen der Unternehmenssteuerung und des Umweltmanagements 2.3.1 Unternehmenserfolg 2.3.2 Innovationsleistung 2.4 Einflussfaktoren der Unternehmenssteuerung und des Umweltmanagements 2.4.1 Strategietypen 2.4.2 Umfeldunsicherheiten 2.4.3 Länderkultur 2.4.4 Unternehmenskultur 2.4.5 Stakeholder 3 Datenerhebung 3.1 Charakterisierung der Grundgesamtheit 3.2 Ablauf der Datenerhebung 3.3 Zusammenfassung des Fragebogenrücklaufs 4 Empirische Ergebnisse zur Unternehmenssteuerung 4.1 Wettbewerbsstrategie 4.2 Integration von Unternehmenssteuerung und Umweltmanagement 4.3 Trends im Controlling und im Umweltmanagement 4.4 Leistungsmessung und Kontrolle 4.5 Steuerung von Maßnahmen und Aktivitäten 4.6 Mitarbeiterführung 4.7 Werte und Normen 4.8 Administrative Innovationen 4.9 Organisationale Innovationen in Arbeits- und Ablaufprozessen 4.10 Produkt- und Prozessinnovationen 4.11 Veränderungen im Unternehmensumfeld 4.12 Unternehmenskultur 4.13 Unternehmenserfolg 4.14 Effektivität der strategischen Planung 5 Empirische Ergebnisse zum Umweltmanagement 5.1 Umweltmanagementsystem und Berichterstattung 5.2 Bedeutung von Stakeholdern 5.3 Umweltmanagement 5.4 Werte und Normen 5.5 Umweltinformationssystem 5.6 Umweltbezogene Entscheidungsfindungsprozesse 5.7 Öko-Controlling 5.8 Analyse von Materialflüssen 5.9 Umweltleistung 5.10 Nutzung von Umweltkennzahlen 5.11 Mitarbeiterführung 5.12 Steuerung von umweltbezogenen Leistungszielen 5.13 Leistungsmessung und Kontrolle 5.14 Bedeutung von Umweltaspekten für Lieferanten 5.15 Lieferantenbeziehungen 5.16 Hemmnisse für eine ökologieorientierte Wertschöpfungskette 6 Management Summary Literaturverzeichnis

<p>The goal of this study is to examine the environmental impacts of oil and gas exploration and production (E&P), the roles of legislation, and the environmental management strategies in the petroleum industry with respect to the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The study seeks to suggest sustainable solutions to the endemic economic, social, and environmental problems associated with oil and gas E&P in the region. The focus is on the environmental control in the upstream (E&P) operations of the oil and gas industry as it affects the Niger Delta region of Nigeria with a view to proffering sustainable solutions.</p><p>The heavily polluting activities and environmental impacts of the upstream oil and gas operations in the Niger Delta have over the years taken a routine dimension and are endemic as a result of inadequate environmental legislations and ineffective enforcements. Sequel to these environmental impacts is militancy, adoption of expatriates, communal conflicts, inter-ethnic conflicts, human right abuses, restiveness and other social vices as the study reveals. These social and environmental impacts of oil and gas activities in this region bring impoverishment, abject poverty, hunger, squalor, birth disease, gene mutation, and death while exposing inhabitants of the region to afflictions and diseases as the study explicitly documents.</p><p>The study also reveals that the persistence rate of unrest, restiveness, militancy and other social vices is as a result of non-dialogue status between the different stakeholders, lack of infrastructural development, lack of basic amenities, high rate of unemployment, poor policy construct, federalized mineral right / resource ownership structure, and the monopolistic nature of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earning in petroleum resources.</p><p>In this dissertation, both proactive and corrective measures to curb the menace of the social, economic and environmental impacts of oil and gas exploration & production operations in Nigeria are presented and discussed with suggestions to sustainable solution and development, better environmental legislation, and better resource policy construct while advocating for good industrial practices in the petroleum industry with emphasis on the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.</p>

The goal of this study is to examine the environmental impacts of oil and gas exploration and production (E&amp;P), the roles of legislation, and the environmental management strategies in the petroleum industry with respect to the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The study seeks to suggest sustainable solutions to the endemic economic, social, and environmental problems associated with oil and gas E&amp;P in the region. The focus is on the environmental control in the upstream (E&amp;P) operations of the oil and gas industry as it affects the Niger Delta region of Nigeria with a view to proffering sustainable solutions. The heavily polluting activities and environmental impacts of the upstream oil and gas operations in the Niger Delta have over the years taken a routine dimension and are endemic as a result of inadequate environmental legislations and ineffective enforcements. Sequel to these environmental impacts is militancy, adoption of expatriates, communal conflicts, inter-ethnic conflicts, human right abuses, restiveness and other social vices as the study reveals. These social and environmental impacts of oil and gas activities in this region bring impoverishment, abject poverty, hunger, squalor, birth disease, gene mutation, and death while exposing inhabitants of the region to afflictions and diseases as the study explicitly documents. The study also reveals that the persistence rate of unrest, restiveness, militancy and other social vices is as a result of non-dialogue status between the different stakeholders, lack of infrastructural development, lack of basic amenities, high rate of unemployment, poor policy construct, federalized mineral right / resource ownership structure, and the monopolistic nature of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earning in petroleum resources. In this dissertation, both proactive and corrective measures to curb the menace of the social, economic and environmental impacts of oil and gas exploration &amp; production operations in Nigeria are presented and discussed with suggestions to sustainable solution and development, better environmental legislation, and better resource policy construct while advocating for good industrial practices in the petroleum industry with emphasis on the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

This study focuses on realization of a Brain Computer Interface (BCI)for the paralyzed to control assistive environmental devices. For this purpose, different motor imagery tasks are classified using different signal processing methods. Specifically, band-pass filtering, Laplacian filtering, and common average reference (CAR) filtering areused to enhance the EEG signal. For feature extraction / Common Spatial Pattern (CSP), Power Spectral Density (PSD), and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) are tested. Linear Feature Normalization (LFN), Gaussian Feature Normalization (GFN), and Unit-norm Feature Vector Normalization (UFVN) are studied in Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) classification. In order to evaluate and compare the performance of the methodologies, classification accuracy, Cohen&rsquo / s kappa coefficient, and Nykopp&rsquo / s information transfer are utilized. The first experiments on classifying motor imagery tasks are realized on the 3-class dataset (V) provided for BCI Competition III. Also, a 4-class problem is studied using the dataset (IIa) provided for BCI Competition IV. Then, 5 different tasks are studied in the METU Brain Research Laboratory to find the optimum number and type of tasks to control a motor imagery based BCI. Thereafter, an interface is designed for the paralyzed to control assistive environmental devices. Finally, a test application is implemented and online performance of the design is evaluated.