The results of an experimental investigation of end plate connections of various thicknesses welded to 10 WF21 and 12 WF27 beams and connected to various stiffened and unstiffened 8 WF columns are reported. Moment-rotation curves have been obtained for all connections tested and these have been compared to determine the effects on connection performance of the parameters of end plate thickness, column section, and column stiffener plates. Yield beam lines, representing first yield in a uniformly loaded beam, were drawn to obtain the connection moment at the yield beam line. The value of this moment indicated that the connections behaved semi-rigidly and was used in the comparison of various connections. It was observed that the thicker the end plate, the more rigid the connection and the greater the effect of column stiffeners on the rigidity of the connection. For an end plate connection of a particular width and depth connected to a particular column, there is a limiting moment which such a connection can sustain at the yield beam line, regardless of the thickness of end plate used. This limiting effect is due to deformation of the column section, specifically, of the column flange. Column stiffener plates increased the rigidity of all connections primarily by restraining the deformation of the column flanges adjacent to the tension flanges beams. Column stiffeners prevented column web bucking, however the column web buckles which developed in these tests were initiated at rotations greatly exceeding those expected in structural forms.

Thesis (MTech. degree in Policing) -- Tshwane University of Technology, 2010. / Looks at the causes for poor investigation of murder cases in Loate police station and seek ways which would assist in improving the investigation of murder cases.

No description available.

The present work is in the area of site and computational investigations dealing with migration of a dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) within a discrete fractures network embedded in a porous rock media at field scale using numerical simulation. The migration of DNAPL in the subsurface is dependent upon surface parameters, subsurface aquifer parameters and other subsurface conditions. Generally, these aquifer parameters govern the temporal and spatial variability of a DNAPL. To understand the source zone architecture and dissolved plume movement in the subsurface, characterization of these relevant subsurface parameters is required with respect to space and time. The present study focuses on a systematic investigation and characterization of fluid and transport parameters at highly contaminated fractured-porous media site located at Smithville, Ontario, Canada. Data used to characterize the Smithville site include site geology, ground surface elevation, historical hydraulic head, hydraulic parameters from packer tests such as hydraulic conductivity, porosity, analyses performed on borehole core samples, pumping rates from recovery wells, and contaminants transport parameters such as DNAPL concentration data. Geostatistical and statistical analysis have been used to generate information on groundwater flow direction, vertical hydraulic gradients, contaminant plume migration and source zone architecture. TCE concentrations and pumping rates have been used to estimate TCE mass removal from the site. Important parameters for use in the multiphase model have been developed, including capillary pressure curves and relative permeability curves for rock matrix and fractures, and pore throat radius of the rock matrix. DNAPL behaves differently in fractured-porous media than it does in porous media. To understand DNAPL behaviour in fractured-porous media, site specific conceptual model development to describe geological, hydrogeological, fracture network, and DNAPL occurrence is required. Prediction of the impact of source mass depletion at highly contaminated fractured-porous media site for achieving regulatory goals, as a contaminant concentration at a down gradient compliance boundary was evaluated using multiphase compositional model CompFlow. The results demonstrate that a large amount of non-aqueous phase DNAPL is present in the Vuggy Dolostone and the Tight Dolostone (23-28m, Low Vinemount) and a small amount is present in Permeable Dolostone (Eramosa). The peak concentration at the compliance boundary is much greater than the maximum acceptable concentration (MAC) for TCE of 0.005 mg/L for drinking water.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the quality of frying oil in eight randomly selected restaurants in Umeå. A further aim was to examine the techniques and control methods the various restaurants used. The methods used to answer the purpose was questionnaires, answered by the chefs, which was used to examine the procedures used in the handling of frying oils. To investigate the quality of the frying oils two types of quick tests were used, a Oxifrit-test and a TPM-test. The results showed that all food businesses had developed procedures for the handling of frying oils. Procedures for intermittent usage, change of frying oil, monitoring of the oil, cleaning and handling of frying oils after use existed at the eight restaurants. According to the recommendations of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für fettwissenschaft the observed routines does not meet all the criteria to achieve a good quality of frying oil, and therefore needs improvements. However the Oxifrit-test and TPM-test showed that the frying oils generally archive a good quality in the selected restaurants. There were only three restaurants where the oil should have been replaced. Further improvement of procedures might help to improve the quality of frying oil.

This study set to investigate how School Governing Bodies (SGBs) currently execute financial accountability. This is because schools are funded mostly from public funds, and are directed to be accountable to stakeholders by the South African Schools Act No. 84 of 1996 and the Public Finance Management Act No. 1 of 1999. This means that school financial accountability is a legal requirement in terms of the laws relating to school governance and public finance management. Financial accountability, entails reporting to stakeholders in terms of how funds have been expended in relation to the mandate given to the school's accounting officer. In the case of schools, this combines the school principal and the SGB. This implies the implementation of financial accountability elements namely, financial planning, controlling, monitoring and reporting. The empirical research quantitatively used the questionnaire and qualitatively used interviews to investigate how SGBs practiced financial accountability. While the quantitative survey revealed that SGBs were financially accountable, the interviews provided insight into the phenomenon, which indicated gaps in school financial accountability namely: lack of capacity to perform financial accountability functions; poor monitoring of schools' financial management and accountability performances, both by Departmental officials and schools themselves; poor adherence to policy prescriptions as provided for in the South African Schools Act and the Public Finance Management Act. It is therefore recommended that SGBs should explore simplification of financial accountability language to suit the parents' level of understanding; principals and educators need capacity -building to be able to handle communication with parents who are not educated; Departmental officials constantly to monitor and support schools in their financial accountability processes; and that Departmental Units should establish information 'feeding' channels so as to identify needs for development and support across the units, so as to intervene timely in areas needing intervention, and principals need to establish peer - assistance networks at local level so as to learn from examples of good practices from their colleagues. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

This study set to investigate how School Governing Bodies (SGBs) currently execute financial accountability. This is because schools are funded mostly from public funds, and are directed to be accountable to stakeholders by the South African Schools Act No. 84 of 1996 and the Public Finance Management Act No. 1 of 1999. This means that school financial accountability is a legal requirement in terms of the laws relating to school governance and public finance management. Financial accountability, entails reporting to stakeholders in terms of how funds have been expended in relation to the mandate given to the school's accounting officer. In the case of schools, this combines the school principal and the SGB. This implies the implementation of financial accountability elements namely, financial planning, controlling, monitoring and reporting. The empirical research quantitatively used the questionnaire and qualitatively used interviews to investigate how SGBs practiced financial accountability. While the quantitative survey revealed that SGBs were financially accountable, the interviews provided insight into the phenomenon, which indicated gaps in school financial accountability namely: lack of capacity to perform financial accountability functions; poor monitoring of schools' financial management and accountability performances, both by Departmental officials and schools themselves; poor adherence to policy prescriptions as provided for in the South African Schools Act and the Public Finance Management Act. It is therefore recommended that SGBs should explore simplification of financial accountability language to suit the parents' level of understanding; principals and educators need capacity -building to be able to handle communication with parents who are not educated; Departmental officials constantly to monitor and support schools in their financial accountability processes; and that Departmental Units should establish information 'feeding' channels so as to identify needs for development and support across the units, so as to intervene timely in areas needing intervention, and principals need to establish peer - assistance networks at local level so as to learn from examples of good practices from their colleagues. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

The overarching goal of the present research was to identify the interface between research and practice in the area of child-abuse investigation. The specific aims of the research were to explore how abused children present to investigators, to identify the characteristics of the children�s disclosures and the role of disclosure in the investigation, to establish the factors that influenced child-abuse investigators� decisions to interview children, and to make comparisons between sexually- and physically-abused children. Three hundred substantiated cases of child abuse (150 sexual-abuse and 150 physical-abuse investigations) investigated by the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services of New Zealand, prior to July 2001, were analysed. Children were most often physically-abused by their biological parents, and mothers were marginally more often the abusers than were fathers. The most common indicators of physical abuse were children�s disclosures and physical injuries. Risk factors for physical abuse included living in two-parent households and being of Maori or Pacific Island ethnicity. Gender or age provided no protection from physical abuse. The families of the physically-abused children were characterised by family violence, substance abuse, neglect, and poor mental health. Adverse family circumstances restrained children from telling others about their physical abuse. Physically-abused children aged more than 7 were found to present with a range of problem behaviours and fears. Child-abuse investigators often tolerated physical assaults on children, particularly by mothers. Moreover, child-abuse investigators did not routinely interview physically-abused children or treat the abuse as a criminal matter, especially if there were complicating family dynamics. Sexually-abused children were usually victimised by unrelated, known males, less often by male relatives, and infrequently by strangers, fathers, or step-fathers. One-third of the sexual abusers were aged less than 17, and over 40% of the young offenders were aged less than 12. As with adult sexual offenders, the child and teenage sexual offenders were predominantly male. Child-abuse investigators usually did not refer the young sexual offenders to the authorities for follow-up. Risk factors for sexual abuse included being female and living with a single parent. Social workers often did not meet with sexually-abused children, but instead usually referred them for a forensic interview. Social workers may not have explored issues related to the sexually-abused children�s behaviour or their families in the manner that they did for the physically-abused children. In both physical- and sexual-abuse cases, social workers were more likely to take action if children had made clear disclosures of abuse. However, despite disclosure being an important factor in decision-making, child-abuse investigators still did not meet with or interview every child, particularly preschool children and physically-abused children. The majority of factors that influenced child-abuse investigators� decisions to interview children were related to practice issues, in sexual-abuse cases, or tolerance of parental violence towards children, in physical-abuse cases. Preschool children, whether physically- or sexually-abused, did not present differently from 5- or 6-year-olds in their behaviour or style of disclosure. However, compared to older children, child-abuse investigators were unlikely to interview preschoolers. To conclude the thesis, I will highlight lessons to be learned from the present study and will make recommendations for child-abuse investigators, any professionals working with children and families, and the government of New Zealand.

The research presented in this thesis focuses on the quantification of the effect of limited site investigations on the design and performance of pile foundations. Limited site investigation is one of the main causes of structural foundation failures. Over the last 30 years, most site investigations conducted for infrastructure projects have been dictated by minimum cost and time of completion, rather than meeting the need to appropriately characterise soil properties (Institution of Civil Engineers 1991; Jaksa et al. 2003). As a result, limited site investigations remain common, resulting in a higher risk of structural foundation failure, unforeseen additional construction, and/or repair costs. Also, limited site investigations can result in over-designing foundations, leading to increased and unnecessary cost (ASFE 1996). Based on the reliability examination method for site investigations introduced by Jaksa et al. (2003) and performed by Goldsworthy (2006), this research investigated the effect of limited site investigations on the design of pile foundations. This was achieved by generating three-dimensional random fields to obtain a virtual site consisting of soil properties at certain levels of variability, and by simulating various numbers of cone penetration tests (CPTs) and pile foundations on the generated site. Once the site and the CPTs were simulated, the cone tip resistance (qc) was profiled along the vertical and horizontal axes. The simulated qc profiles yielded by the CPTs were then used to compute axial pile load capacity termed the pile foundation design based on site investigations (SI). In parallel, the axial pile load capacity of the simulated pile foundation utilising the “true” cone tip resistance along the simulated pile was also determined. This is termed “the true” design, or the benchmark pile foundation design, and referred to as pile foundation design based on complete knowledge (CK). At the end of this process, the research compared the pile foundation designs based on SI and those based on CK. The reliability of the foundation design based on SI was analysed with a probabilistic approach, using the Monte Carlo technique. The results indicated that limited site investigations have a significant impact on the design of pile foundations. The results showed that minimum sampling efforts result in a high risk of over- or under-designing piles. More intensive sampling efforts, in contrast, led to a low risk of under- or over-design. The results also indicated that the levels of spatial variability of the soil are notable factors that affect the effectiveness of site investigations. These results will assist geotechnical engineers in planning a site investigation in a more rational manner with knowledge of the associated risks. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1375097 / Thesis (M.Eng.Sc.) - University of Adelaide, School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, 2009

The research presented in this thesis focuses on the quantification of the effect of limited site investigations on the design and performance of pile foundations. Limited site investigation is one of the main causes of structural foundation failures. Over the last 30 years, most site investigations conducted for infrastructure projects have been dictated by minimum cost and time of completion, rather than meeting the need to appropriately characterise soil properties (Institution of Civil Engineers 1991; Jaksa et al. 2003). As a result, limited site investigations remain common, resulting in a higher risk of structural foundation failure, unforeseen additional construction, and/or repair costs. Also, limited site investigations can result in over-designing foundations, leading to increased and unnecessary cost (ASFE 1996). Based on the reliability examination method for site investigations introduced by Jaksa et al. (2003) and performed by Goldsworthy (2006), this research investigated the effect of limited site investigations on the design of pile foundations. This was achieved by generating three-dimensional random fields to obtain a virtual site consisting of soil properties at certain levels of variability, and by simulating various numbers of cone penetration tests (CPTs) and pile foundations on the generated site. Once the site and the CPTs were simulated, the cone tip resistance (qc) was profiled along the vertical and horizontal axes. The simulated qc profiles yielded by the CPTs were then used to compute axial pile load capacity termed the pile foundation design based on site investigations (SI). In parallel, the axial pile load capacity of the simulated pile foundation utilising the “true” cone tip resistance along the simulated pile was also determined. This is termed “the true” design, or the benchmark pile foundation design, and referred to as pile foundation design based on complete knowledge (CK). At the end of this process, the research compared the pile foundation designs based on SI and those based on CK. The reliability of the foundation design based on SI was analysed with a probabilistic approach, using the Monte Carlo technique. The results indicated that limited site investigations have a significant impact on the design of pile foundations. The results showed that minimum sampling efforts result in a high risk of over- or under-designing piles. More intensive sampling efforts, in contrast, led to a low risk of under- or over-design. The results also indicated that the levels of spatial variability of the soil are notable factors that affect the effectiveness of site investigations. These results will assist geotechnical engineers in planning a site investigation in a more rational manner with knowledge of the associated risks. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1375097 / Thesis (M.Eng.Sc.) - University of Adelaide, School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, 2009