Submitted by Rosivalda Pereira (mrs.pereira@ufma.br) on 2017-06-13T19:55:06Z No. of bitstreams: 1 EdenildeSantos.pdf: 1172388 bytes, checksum: debe3d60bed247df12d37d1601adb131 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-13T19:55:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 EdenildeSantos.pdf: 1172388 bytes, checksum: debe3d60bed247df12d37d1601adb131 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-11-11 / The present scientific study discussed how to dispose batteries, cell phone and automotive batteries by managers of commercial establishments, as well as the perception of the consumer population of batteries and cell phone batteries in São Luís, Maranhão. We conducted an exploratory study with a quantitative approach. The research was carried out in retailing goods stores in general and mobile telephony establishments and at the exit of the shops when referred to the consumer population. To collect data, we used a form with questions regarding demographics, socioeconomic factors, and level of knowledge about the disposal of batteries, cell phone batteries and automotive that applied to managers and consumer population. Data collection occurred from February to August 2012. The project was submitted to the Ethics Committee of the Universidade Federal do Maranhão, obtaining assent under the protocol number 23115-017233/2011-11. The results showed that a large proportion of managers unknow the composition of the batteries that comercialize, as well as legislation and environmental problems and public health that such waste may cause to the environment and human health; managers never received training or course on disposal of batteries or inspection by the competent bodies, Establishments traded automotive batteries only had selective collection service for financial issue and referred these products at end of life for sorting units, while those who traded ordinary batteries and cell phone batteries mostly lacked collection service, claiming as reasons for not collecting missing information, monitoring, environmental education and for being an unnecessary service and the ones who had collected, gave final destination inappropriate as household waste .The majority of consumers interviewed used daily batteries and cell phones, unaware of the existence of collection points, as well as the composition of batteries, legislation and environmental issues and public health that such waste may cause to the environment and human health. Consumers interviewed mostly discarded improperly batteries and cell phones at the end of life. / O presente estudo científico discutiu a forma de descarte de pilhas, baterias de celulares e automotivas pelos gerentes dos estabelecimentos comerciais, bem como a percepção da população consumidora de pilhas e baterias de celulares em São Luís-Maranhão. Realizou-se de um estudo exploratório descritivo com abordagem quantitativa. A pesquisa realizou-se nos estabelecimentos de comércio varejista de mercadorias em geral e em estabelecimentos de telefonia móvel celular e na saída dos estabelecimentos comerciais quando se referiu à população consumidora. Para a coleta de dados, utilizou-se um formulário com perguntas referentes aos dados demográficos, aspectos socioeconômicos e de nível de conhecimento a respeito do descarte de pilhas, baterias de celulares e automotivas que aplicado aos gerentes e a população consumidora. A coleta de dados ocorreu de fevereiro a agosto de 2012. O projeto foi submetido ao Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa da Universidade Federal do Maranhão, obtendo parecer favorável sob o número de protocolo 23115-017233/2011-11. Os resultados demonstraram que uma grande parte dos gerentes desconhece a composição das pilhas e baterias que comercializam, assim como a legislação e os problemas ambientais e de saúde publica que esses resíduos podem causar ao meio ambiente e a saúde humana; Os gerentes nunca receberam treinamento ou curso sobre o descarte de pilhas e baterias nem fiscalização por parte dos órgãos competentes. Os estabelecimentos que comercializavam apenas baterias automotivas possuíam serviço de coleta seletiva por questão financeira e encaminhavam esses produtos no final da vida útil para unidades de triagem, enquanto os que comercializavam pilhas comuns e baterias de celulares em sua grande maioria não possuíam serviço de coleta, alegando como motivos da não coleta falta de informações, fiscalização, educação ambiental e por ser um serviço desnecessário e os que possuíam coleta, davam destino final inadequado como o lixo doméstico. A maioria dos consumidores entrevistados utilizava diariamente pilhas e baterias de celulares, desconheciam a existência de pontos de coleta, assim como composição das pilhas e baterias, a legislação e os problemas ambientais e de saúde publica que esses resíduos podem causar ao meio ambiente e a saúde humana. Os consumidores entrevistados em sua maioria descartam de forma inadequada pilhas e baterias de celulares no final da vida útil.

Orientador: Paulo César Lodi / Banca: Ilza Machado Kaiser / Banca: Cassio Luís Fernandes de Oliveira / Resumo: O reservatório da usina de Promissão (SP) está localizado entre as barragens de Promissão e Ibitinga que, por sua vez, situam-se no rio Tietê vindo a compor a bacia hidrográfica Tietê-Batalha. Esta bacia recebe água de pequenos e médios afluentes que cortam várias cidades de porte diversificado, com e sem tratamento e efluentes domésticos e industriais. Além disso, banha uma extensa área com atividade pecuária e agrícola com usinas sucro energéticas e frigoríficos. Com esta bacia recebe afluentes de diversas áreas, está sujeito à contaminação de diversas fontes. Uma dessas fontes que gera preocupação à população e ao poder público é a que está relacionada com os sedimentos por metais tóxicos e potencialmente tóxicos. Dentro desse contexto, este trabalho verificou a qualidade da água e dos sedimentos no rio Tietê entre as barragens Promissão e Ibitinga. Os pontos de retirada de material para análise no reservatório foram localizados próximos às margens e a jusante dos afluentes selecionados, próximos à barragem de Promissão, resultando em sete pontos de amostragem. A primeira coleta ocorreu no mês de setembro e a segunda em dezembro de 2013. Analisaram-se doze metais na água e no sedimento bem como dez parâmetros físico-químicos na água. A técnica utilizada para análise de metais foi a espectrofotometria de absorção atômica. Resultados das análises de sedimento mostraram, que em todas as amostragens notou-se a presença sistemática dos elementos Fe, Al, Mg e Cr, com maiores concentrações nos pontos referentes ao córrego Barra Mansa e ao rio Dourado. Este último apresentou-se como área vulnerável e a contaminação devido às concetrações obtidas em todos os elementos analisados. Os resultados de metais nos sedimentos foram comparados com as concentrações encontradas nos estudos realizados por Braz (2006), o qual fez análises em dois períodos, fevereiro e julho de 2000, e com o... / Abstract: The reservoir of Promissão (SP) is located between the Promissão and Ibitinga dams which, in turn, are located in the Tietê river thus makin the Tietê - Batalha watershed. This watershed receives small and medium tributaries that pass through several cities of diverse size, with and without treatment of domestic and industrial sewage water. In addition, an extensive bathing area with farming agriculture, alcohol plants, and frigorific. As this wathershed receives tributaries from different areas, is subject to contamination from various sources. One such source that creates concern for the people and the government is related to the sediments by toxic and potentially toxic metals. In this sense, this study analyzed the quality of water and sediment in the Tietê River between Promissão and Ibitinga dams. The collections points of material for analysis were located near the stores and downstream of selected tributaries, closely to dam Promissão, resulting in seven sampling. The first collection occurred in September and the second in December 2013. Twelve metals in water and sediment were anlyzed as well like ten physico-chemical parameters in water. The technique used for metal analysis was by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Results of analyzes of sediment showed, for instance, that in all samplings noted the systematic presence of Fe, Al, Mg and Cr, with higher concentrations in the points related to stream Barra Mansa and Rio Dourado. The latter appeared as a critical area of contamination due to concentrations from all elements analyzed. The results of metals in sediments were compared with the concentrations found in studies conducted by Braz (2006), which analyzes made in two periods, February and July 2000, conducted by Mortatti (2010) in Barra Bonita reservoir, which held sediment samples from March to June 2004. The use of pesticides is a factor that potentially has an effect on the accumulation of heavy metals in... / Mestre

Movement, distribution, and habitat use of juvenile bull sharks were examined in two studies using manual and passive acoustic telemetry. Research was conducted in the Caloosahatchee River, which serves as nursery habitat for this species, and is highly impacted due to anthropogenic alterations in water quality and quantity via dams and locks. Manual tracking yielded fine-scale results for eight individuals on home range size, rate of movement, swimming depth, linearity, direction of travel, tidal influence, diel pattern, as well as correlation with environmental variables. Changes in salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and pH played a role on the distribution of bull sharks. Passive monitoring of twelve individuals allowed for examination of trends in residency, home range, depth, and distribution in response to water quality alterations. Both studies documented a shift in the distribution of animals in response to significant modifications in salinity and flow levels. Sharks were distributed throughout the river at low flow rates, but were located only near the river mouth, or exited the river at discharges rates above 75 m³s-1. Current water management policies are examined and recommendations are made which include the physiological preferences of this top-level predator.

Idag planerar och exploaterar vi allt mer i städer och samhällen. Vi har behov av bostäder eftersom Sveriges befolkning ökar och kommunens planering sker därför därefter. Men vi har också ett behov av grönytor, ur flera hälsoperspektiv behövs natur och grönska för vårt välmående. Både grönytor och bostäder är ett allmänt intresse som behöver tillgodoses vid planering och utveckling av områden, men hur planerar man för dessa viktiga intressen och behov? Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera turistkommuners planering av bostäder och grönytor och jämföra två turiststarka kommuners planering av dessa. Kommunerna som jämfördes var kustkommunen Tanum och fjällkommunen Malung-Sälen. För att svara på uppsatsens frågeställningar genomfördes granskning av översiktsplaner, detaljplaner samt offentliga tryck som är relevanta i ämnet. Utöver det genomfördes semistrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer med planchef eller motsvarande i respektive kommun för att samla så mycket kunskap som möjligt. I arbetet spelar också miljökvalitetsmålen en betydande roll då målet god bebyggd miljö har motsvarande fundament som de som undersöks i uppsatsen. I slutsatsen kan man se att de turiststarka kommuner som granskats inte har samma problem i planeringen. De har båda olika förutsättningar vilket kan bidra till det skiftande resultatet. Då båda kommuner redan har stora grönområden utanför planeringsytorna anses inte frågan om att grönytor försvinner i tätorterna som ett problem. Att bostäder blir fritidshus istället för permanenta är ett problem som är närmast obefintligt i Malung-Sälen till skillnad från Tanum. Miljökvalitetsmålet bearbetas inte heller medvetet i planerna på den lokala nivå som behövs för att bromsa upp dagens förlust av biologisk mångfald, dock finns metoder i planeringen som är till miljöns fördel men som inte benämns som just miljökvalitetsmål. Om kommunernas olikheter beror på de olika förutsättningarna och kommunernas uppbyggnad eller om turistkommuner generellt har olika planeringsmetoder kan inte med säkerhet avgöras utifrån endast två kommuner. Men fastställas kan att förevarandes planeringsmetoder skiljer sig åt. / Today we are planning and developing a lot in cities and villages. Due to Sweden's increasing population our needs for housings is increasing and the counties planning befall thereafter. But we do have a need of green areas as well, both seen to health in several perspectives but also for our well-wellbeing. Both green areas and housings are common interest that needs to accommodate in every planning, but how do you plan for those? The purpose for this thesis is to analyse and compare two counties with a lot of tourists in their planning of green areas and housings. The comparing counties are west coastal Tanum and the mountain filled Malung-Sälen. To answer the questions in the thesis the counties overview plans, detailed plans and public prints that was relevant to the subject was studied. Also interviews in a semi structured qualitative method was held with the plan managers in both counties. These was held to gather knowledge and understanding. In the thesis the environmental quality goals is also up-to-date specially the goal good built environment since it has similar grounds as the thesis has focused on. The conclusion is that the counties that has been reviewed have different issues in planning. They both have different prerequisites which could contribute to the varied results. Since both counties already have bigger green areas outside the planning side, they do not believe that the question regarding green spaces disappearing in the conurbation is a problem. The fact that housings is utilized as secondary residences instead of permanent is nearby nonexistent in Malung-Sälen while it is a challenge in Tanum. The environmental quality goal is not intentional processed on local level which is necessary in order to slow the loss of biodiversity that we have today, however they have both methods that works in environmental advantage but is not mentioned as environmental quality goal in specific. If the differences in the counties planning are due to their different prerequisites and their structure or if the counties in general have different planning methods cannot with absolute certainty be determined from without only two counties. But it can be determined that these do differ.

The purpose of this study was to determine what levels of community satisfaction and personal and household characteristics would result in a model of retirees and pre-retirees and their propensity to move. This study assessed the relationship between certain socio-demographic variables and feelings of overall satisfaction as well as satisfaction with specific aspects of their current community. Community size and tenure, preferred community size, and the preference of staying or moving were also explored. Satisfaction was measured by both a global question of satisfaction and through the construction of a Community Satisfaction Scale (CSS) and three subscales. A hypothesized model was tested using logistic regression. Age, gender, duration in community, agreement between current and preferred community size (metropolitan or nonmetropolitan), overall satisfaction, and satisfaction with quality of life factors in the community and environmental quality were statistically significant in the prediction of likelihood of moving at retirement. Variables, some of which were significantly related to the dependent variable in preliminary analyses (chi-square and t-tests), that were not found to be significant in the logistic regression model of the propensity to move were: education, marital status, employment, household size, health, previous moving experiences, and the subscale community safety. Three measures of personal and household economic resources were also not found to be significant. According to final model in this study, in the sample of 50 to 70 years in Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming, those who were younger, had lived in the community fewer years, were living in a community size not in agreement with the stated size of community they preferred, and were male were more likely to response a preference to move. The results indicate small-urban and semi-rural communities are the most preferred places to move. The open areas outside the incorporated towns and cities were most favored locations. A benefit of elderly migration research in the past, discussed at length in the review of the literature, is that retirees bring with them to the community the benefits described as the "mail box economy." Understanding the levels of satisfaction of current residents ages 50 to 70 may be as important as policies to attract new inmigrants. / Graduation date: 1995

This study developed and applied a field test to evaluate the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)/Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)/United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Performance Measurement Protocols (PMP) for Commercial Buildings in a case-study office building in central Texas. As the first integrated protocol on building performance measurement, the ASHRAE PMP accomplished its goal of providing the standardized protocols for measuring and comparing the overall performance of a building, including energy, water, thermal comfort, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), lighting, and acoustics. However, several areas for improvement were identified such as conflicting results from different procedures or benchmarks provided in the ASHRAE PMP; limited guidelines for performing the measurements; lack of detailed modeling techniques, graphical indices, and clear benchmarks; and some practical issues (i.e., high cost requirements and time-intensive procedures). All these observations are listed as the forty issues, including thirteen for energy, five for water, and twenty-two for Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). Recommendations were developed for each issue identified. For the selected high-priority issues, twelve new or modified approaches were proposed and then evaluated against the existing procedures in the ASHRAE PMP. Of these twelve new or modified approaches, the following are the most significant developments: a more accurate monthly energy use regression model including occupancy; a monthly water use regression model for a weather-normalized comparison of measured water performance; a method how to use a vertical temperature profile to evaluate room air circulation; a method how to use LCeq – LAeq difference as a low-cost alternative to estimate low frequency noise annoyance; a statistical decomposition method of time-varying distribution of indices; and a real-time wireless IEQ monitoring system for the continuous IEQ measurements. The application of the forty recommendations and the twelve new or modified approaches developed in this study to the ASHRAE PMP is expected to improve the applicability of the ASHRAE PMP, which aligns the overall purpose of this study. Finally, this study developed a new single figure-of-merit rating system based on the ASHRAE PMP procedures. The developed rating system is expected to improve the usability of the protocols.

The objective of this study is to test if the hypothesis of the environmental gerontology theory can be applied to a cross-cultural environment. This study examined the applicability and functionality of the Multiphasic Environmental Assessment Procedure (MEAP), a tool based on the environmental gerontology theory, and assessed the quality of elderly care facilities in Taiwan. Special emphasis was placed in examining the functionality of the MEAP from the cross-cultural standpoint and also in identifying the associations or potential impacting factors of care quality. This is the first study with the application of the MEAP to examine the quality of the two major care facilities in Taiwan. Results of this study provide not only an insight into the characteristics of the elderly care facilities ,and a reference for policy making and regulation, but also valuable data for cross-cultural comparisons. The study employed the MEAP to achieve the stated objectives and further evaluated the differences in the characteristics of the two major elderly care facilities, namely the nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in Kaohsiung city in Taiwan. This cross-sectional research was conducted with questionnaires by 687 employees (excluding foreign workers) and 429 residents in 35 nursing homes and 41 assisted living facilities in Kaohsiung city were interviewed. Participants were selected from residents who were conscious and without cognitive disorder for face-to-face questionnaire interviews. For facilities with ten or more residents, 50% of the eligible residents were selected for this interview. For facilities having less than ten residents, all those qualified residents were interviewed. Results were analyzed on the basis of institutional units rather than the individual basis. Results showed that the MEAP effectively evaluated the associations of the multiple environmental factors with the quality of life of the two major elderly care facilities in Kaohsiung city. Standardized multiple quality indexes mode showed that the assisted-living facilities have better overall quality than nursing homes do. The major findings are: 1.The major residents of elderly care facilities in Kaohsiung city were the socioeconomically less privileged residents, including house wifes, the disabled, and widowed. The service most needed was personal care such as bathing. 2.Based on the MEAP, a total of eight significant variables were compared between nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Among these variables, nursing homes were better in staff resource than that of the assisted living facilities. Assisted-living facilities were better in all other seven variables including functional abilities, activities in community, acceptance of problem behavior, physical amenities, social-recreational aids, and orientational aids and staff facilities. 3.The staff members of both nursing homes and assisted living facilities have better SCES than that of their residents. 4.Compared to assisted living facilities, the nursing homes were superior in staff level and staff resources but inferior in comfort, security, and control. No differences were observed in services, autonomy, rapport and morale. 5.The characteristics of organizational management, such as ownership, type and size, were important impacting factors of care quality. The nonprofit-nursing homes were better scored in six of the eight quality indexes than the ones owned by privately-for-profit. 6.Factors that influenced the quality of the nursing homes include number of workers, number of beds, number of residents, ownership, functional abilities, actively level, activities in community, occupancy rate and type of elderly care facility. 7.Factors that influenced the quality of assisted living facilities include occupancy rate, number of residents, number of workers, activity level and type of elderly care facility. 8.The regression model for the outcome of multiple environmental quality indexes with the structure and process indexes is related in nursing homes. The regression model indicates that the model significantly predicted outcome quality index (morale) (R2 = 49.4%). Both structure quality index (comfort and safety) and process quality index (autonomy and rapport) were significant predicting factors of outcome quality index (morale). Autonomy was a negative predicting factor. 9.Standardized multiple environmental quality index indicated that based on the MEAP, assisted living facilities had a little bit higher quality than that of nursing homes in Kaohsiung city. In conclusion, this study confirmed the hypothesis that the MEAP can be applied effectively to evaluate the quality of elderly care facilities in a cross-cultural environment. However, cultural differences do have an impact on the functionality of the tool. Results of this study indicate that the two major elderly care facilities in Kaohsiung city have relatively similar characteristics, but the assisted living facilities are slightly better in overall quality than that of nursing homes. The major factors that impact the quality of elderly care facilities are the operational characteristics and efficience. Results of this study indicate that the MEAP provides very useful indicators for assessing the quality of elderly care facilities in Taiwan, especially for nursing homes. The MEAP identified more structure and process-related impacting factors than outcome-related impacting factors in this study. Concerning cultural difference, the MEAP could be benefited from some modification in certain measurements, especially in facility atmosphere(SCES), when applied in Taiwan.

The simplicity of the Environmental Kuznets (EKC) curve concept motivated this study of the relationships between environmental, economic and social indicators at the country, city/regional and manufacturing facility scale. The study builds on almost 20 years of research on the EKC, which has shown conflicting results for confirmation of the EKC hypothesis that the environment first degrades, then improves, with increasing economic wealth. Most EKC studies use country-scale income or GDP as the primary economic indicator of interest; this study experiments with city/regional GDP at the local scale and a country-scale "market maturity" indicator commonly used by the corporation studied. The manufacturing facility scale analysis is new territory in the EKC literature. Firm-scale studies in the past have been just that, evaluating firm environmental performance across a specific industry. This effort evaluates manufacturing facility performance within the same firm across a set of 21 countries of interest to the corporation. This study is unique in a few other ways. Including multiple scales in the same study is not common in the EKC literature. Typically, a study would focus on one or a few indicators at one specific scale. The actual environmental and social outcome variables used here are also somewhat unique. Generally speaking, the results reported here will fall into the "mixed" bucket relative to the 20 years of existing EKC literature; however, a possible research platform is established based on the possible nesting of multiple scales within the same research effort.

Bronopol has been used as a preservative in drugs and cosmetics since 1964. Bronopol has low dermal irritancy at levels commonly used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals but it is significantly irritating at higher concentrations. Laboratory testing of bronopol indicates a low potential for dermal sensitization; however, a number of case reports demonstrate human allergenic reactions. No reports were identified on the allergenic properties of bronopol for the inhalation route of exposure. In 1983 approximately 5,200 people in the United States were occupationally exposed to bronopol. Current novel uses of bronopol include mold remediation and the sanitizing of ventilation system components. These new applications have the potential to expose vast new populations to the chemical. Since 89 million people in the United States work in indoor environments and 50 million Americans suffer from allergies, it is likely that a sizeable portion of these populations will be exposed to bronopol. This is significant since the dermal sensitizing properties of bronopol suggest that the material may also be a respiratory sensitizer, potentially resulting in chemically induced asthma. More people are being diagnosed with asthma today than at any time in the past; the causes of this increased prevalence are largely unknown. In this work an existing ultraviolet spectrophotometric method for analysis of bronopol has been combined with conventional industrial hygiene air sampling techniques. No combined air sampling and analytical method for bronopol has previously been published in the literature. A calibration curve has been developed with a linear range of 1 ug/ml to 25 ug/ml. The instrumental limit of detection is 1 ug/ml with an instrumental limit of quantitation of ca. 3 ug/ml. During chamber sampling trials analytical recovery for treated glass fiber filters yielded a sampling recovery efficiency averaging 99.9 %. Bronopol concentration obtained during chamber sampling trials ranged from 10.80 mg/m3 to 21.59 mg/m3, with a pooled coefficient of variation of 4.33 % for all chamber sampling sets. Treated glass fiber filters spiked with bronopol were found to be stable for a period of 48 hours; derivatized bronopol solutions were found to be stable for a period of fourteen days.

The Swedish Environmental Agency (SEPA) proposed a national target to increase the rate of phosphorus recycling from wastewater sludge in 2013. Reusing phosphorus from wastewater sludge by spreading it on arable lands raises the risk of contamination and substance deposition in soils. In addition to quantifying the targeted rate of recycling, the proposal has also introduced new thresholds that limit the concentrations of undesired substances in wastewater sludge. This thesis assesses the potential challenges and opportunities in implementing the proposed measure in the Swedish municipality settings. Both qualitative and quantitative data have been gathered from three selected mid-sized Swedish municipalities in the Östergötland County and other data sources. The analytical framework of the thesis is based on the Systems Framework for Phosphorus Recovery and Reuse. Several discrepancies between the national goal to increase phosphorus recycling and local circumstances that affect local decision-making have been identified in this thesis. Reducing the flow of undesired substances into the wastewater stream raises goal conflict and is an enormous challenge which requires regulating the way chemicals are consumed in society. From the policy perspective, the national environmental objectives framework is ambiguous with regards to how local decisions should be directed in line with the national goals. The proposed measure should hierarchically be unequivocal and its implementation needs to be coordinated across all geographical scales. The thesis also highlights that there are significant local opportunities for addressing other sustainability goals through phosphorus recycling measures. Sweden’s commitment to creating a resource-efficient phosphorus cycle affirms that the key for a sustainable phosphorus management is the transformation of path-dependent social and technical systems.