Areas underlain by dolomite pose a risk for sinkhole and doline development and subsequently have serious implications towards the safe planning of towns. Research also indicates that almost all sinkholes and dolines formed on dolomitic areas were man-induced and may be contributed to a lack of informed decision making by town planners. Consequently, town-planning decisions must have a guiding plan to avoid unsuitable development on such areas. Such a guiding plan was identified as a Dolomite Risk Management Plan (DRMP). A DRMP has in recent years become a legal responsibility, to be implemented where development is taking place on areas underlain by dolomite according to SANS 1936 and the Geoscience Amendment Act, (16 of 2010). There however currently exists a need to determine to what extent a DRMP contributes to the town planning decisions making process. The aim of this study is to determine to what extent currently existing Dolomite Risk Management Plans contribute to a town planning decision-making process by means of the analysis of four case studies. Four case studies were assessed against a framework compiled through a literature study of all applicable legislation to determine to which extent each complies with the compulsory legislation in South Africa needed to guide safe and sustainable development. The study indicated that a need existed for a DRMP to guide town-planning decisions because it is people‟s constitutional right to be protected and to live in a safe environment. It was also concluded, through the random sampling and assessment of available results from four case studies against criteria from applicable legislation, that currently only 50% are capable of informing and guiding town planning decisions adequately. / M (Environmental Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Areas underlain by dolomite pose a risk for sinkhole and doline development and subsequently have serious implications towards the safe planning of towns. Research also indicates that almost all sinkholes and dolines formed on dolomitic areas were man-induced and may be contributed to a lack of informed decision making by town planners. Consequently, town-planning decisions must have a guiding plan to avoid unsuitable development on such areas. Such a guiding plan was identified as a Dolomite Risk Management Plan (DRMP). A DRMP has in recent years become a legal responsibility, to be implemented where development is taking place on areas underlain by dolomite according to SANS 1936 and the Geoscience Amendment Act, (16 of 2010). There however currently exists a need to determine to what extent a DRMP contributes to the town planning decisions making process. The aim of this study is to determine to what extent currently existing Dolomite Risk Management Plans contribute to a town planning decision-making process by means of the analysis of four case studies. Four case studies were assessed against a framework compiled through a literature study of all applicable legislation to determine to which extent each complies with the compulsory legislation in South Africa needed to guide safe and sustainable development. The study indicated that a need existed for a DRMP to guide town-planning decisions because it is people‟s constitutional right to be protected and to live in a safe environment. It was also concluded, through the random sampling and assessment of available results from four case studies against criteria from applicable legislation, that currently only 50% are capable of informing and guiding town planning decisions adequately. / M (Environmental Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Master of Science / Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / David A. Haukos / There is a wide variety of diseases that affect wild migratory birds. Occurrence, causes, and impacts of disease outbreaks in wild bird populations are rarely studied beyond documentation of large epizootic events. The relationships between the wildlife-livestock-human interface is rapidly blurring together. Global interests in avian diseases increased around 1990 as a result of the prevalence of zoonosis and potential threat to domestic livestock. A central disease reporting protocol does not exist in many states, which has led to a lack of available historical knowledge of disease occurrence that could be used to predict and manage future outbreaks. Due to changes of abundance and distribution of the migrant populations of Ross’s goose (Chen rossii) and Snow goose (C. caerulescens), geese are increasing their stopover duration in Kansas potentially increasing risk of disease outbreaks. We compiled historic records of wild waterfowl disease events in Kansas from 1967-2014 and related the frequency of events with indices of light geese abundance from 1970-2014. We found 32 reports spanning 16 counties consisting of the diseases avian cholera, avian botulism, aspergillosis, renal coccidiosis, west Nile, aflatoxicosis, and mycotoxicosis. Using a retrospective survey, we found there was a significant relationship between population densities of light geese in Kansas during the Mid-Winter Waterfowl Inventory and occurrence of avian cholera. Efforts to increase the understanding of relationships between disease outbreaks and host species will improve management of future disease outbreaks. Understanding factors known to facilitate wild waterfowl disease events (e.g., environmental, species, and individual), may assist in disease identification and determine a disease management course of action. This course of action is predetermined in a disease management plan. Disease management plans should be developed at the state and station level; incorporating planning, response, disease control, and surveillance and monitoring schemes to build upon the centralized disease database and to promote future disease understanding.

Viewing the economic development of the recent years, complying with the advancement of the time, the change of society and the development of the electronic technology, the probability to cause fire accident becomes much higher and it means the beginning of a serious disaster happened to human beings. Most of factories or companies where the people work inside are built towards high leveled, under grounded, large-sized, and getting more like closed areas, furthermore, the numbers of the companies making or supplying hazardous or dangerous materials gets more and more, this phenomenon causes the same result - that is wherever there is a fire, it will cause very serious loss about human lives & financial stuffs in an extremely short time. So being an modern people, we should put more focus on how to prevent the damages or reduce to the least ones caused by fire Due to the high price increase of the land, people want to fully utilize about the land efficiency, the architecture skill is developed towards building large-scaled ones, so the factories & electronic companies are mostly having big square-measured land, complicated structure, using special built material, containing many people in and even the building¡¦s usage becomes very complicated. All of these cause it extremely hard to make urgent rescues when there is a fire and will easily cause enormous loss about lives & stuffs. Most of the people think that it is the government & the fire fighting organization¡¦s responsibility to do the job about ¡§fire fight or fire prevention¡¨ and people always blame the fire fighting unit does not do their best to make rescues when there is a fire. While a complete fire fight & rescuing procedure has very timing concern, which includes perceiving about the fire clue, calling to report, initial fire extinction and control, guiding people to escape, safety protection, emergency protection and making complete fire extinction. In most cases, when the fire fighting unit arrives & starts to work on fire fight, the fire very likely grows to a certain burning phase, so the initial fire extinction will depend on the factory¡¦s ability to act about fire prevention and to deal with urgent situation, but due to the lack of the relative research about the factories & building¡¦s fire prevention in our country, and especially there is too few regarding the fire prevention strategy & safety management, this research majors to review the relative information to understand the connotation of the factory¡¦s fire fighting strategy and the law about safety management, and try to sieve the factors and its relative importance about the factory & building¡¦s fire prevention strategy from the actual examples of the fire accidents. As a matter of fact, this research is trying to bring up the importance about the factory & building¡¦s fire fighting strategy and its safety management, in order to promote the factory¡¦s efficiency about fire prevention management.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is concerned about the widening gap between preservation needs and available funding. Funding levels are not adequate to meet the preservation needs of the roadway network; therefore projects listed in the 4-Year Pavement Management Plan must be ranked to determine which projects should be funded now and which can be postponed until a later year. Currently, each district uses locally developed methods to rank and prioritize projects. These ranking methods have relied on less formal qualitative assessments based on engineers’ subjective judgment. It is important for TxDOT to have a rational 4-Year Pavement Management Plan. The objective of this study is to develop a conceptual framework that describes the development of the 4-Year Pavement Management Plan and a proposed ranking process. It can be largely divided into three steps; (1) Network-Level preliminary project screening process, (2) Project-Level project ranking process, and (3) Economic Analysis. A rational pavement management procedure and a project ranking method that are accepted by districts and the TxDOT administration will maximize efficiency in budget allocations and help improve pavement condition. As a part of this study, based on the data provided by the Austin District Pavement Engineer, the Network-Level Project Screening (NLPS) tool, including the candidate project selection algorithm and the preliminary project screening matrix, is developed. The NLSP tool has been used by the Austin District Pavement Engineer (DPE) to evaluate the PMIS (Pavement Management Information System) data and to prepare a preliminary list of candidate projects for further evaluation. The automated tool will help TxDOT engineers easily incorporate the developed mathematical algorithm into their daily pavement maintenance management. / text

Orientador: Messias Modesto dos Passos / Resumo: A problemática desta pesquisa está relacionada na vagarosidade do poder público e de instrumentos legais no processo de implantação de políticas públicas e na gestão ambiental e no ordenamento territorial na RESEX do Delta do Parnaíba, mesmo após 19 anos de sua criação. Visto isso, a pesquisa tem por objetivo geral compreender a dinâmica ambiental da RESEX Delta do Parnaíba, analisando o papel exercido pelos agentes e sujeitos na consolidação como Unidade de Conservação de Uso Sustentável. A abordagem teórica-metodológica da pesquisa está sustentada no Sistema GTP (Geossistema-Paisagem-Território), apoiado no método dialético. Para tanto, os procedimentos metodológicos são: revisão bibliográfica; aquisição e análise de imagens de satélites; utilização de softwares para a manipulação de imagens de satélites e elaboração de mapas temáticos; trabalhos de campo; aplicação de questionários semiestruturados aos moradores locais, donos das pousadas e turistas; preenchimento de uma matriz de unidades de paisagem/impactos ambientais e de uma ficha de avaliação do potencial turístico e registro fotográfico. Os resultados apontam que a RESEX do Delta do Parnaíba está inserida nos domínios da Bacia Sedimentar do Parnaíba. As faces geomorfológicas são os cordões de dunas; planície eólica, planície fluviomarinha inundável e terraços fluviomarinhos. O clima é Tropical Subúmido. A vegetação é composta por Rhizophora mangle (mangue vermelho), Laguncularia racemosa (mangue branco) e Conocarpus... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The main issue addressed by this study relates to the slowness of public authorities and legal instruments in implementing public policies, and to environmental management and territorial planning in the Delta do Parnaíba Marine Extractive Reserve (RESEX), even 19 years after its creation. Therefore, the present study aims to understand the environmental dynamics of the Delta do Parnaíba RESEX by analyzing the role of agents and subjects in its consolidation as a Sustainable Use Conservation Unit. The theoretical-methodological approach of the study drew on the GTP (Geosystem-Territory-Landscape) system, underpinned by the dialectical method. To that end, the methodological procedures comprised: bibliographic review; acquisition and analysis of satellite images; use of software to manipulate the satellite images and create thematic maps; field work; semi-structured questionnaires completed by local residents, inn owners, and tourists; filling out a matrix of landscape units/environmental impacts and a tourist potential assessment form, besides photographic recording. The results indicate that the Delta do Parnaíba RESEX is inserted in the domains of the Parnaíba sedimentary basin. The geomorphological processes comprise lines of dunes, wind plateaus, fluvial floodplains, and fluvial-marine terraces. The region has a tropical sub-humid climate, and its vegetation is composed of Rhizophora mangle (red mangrove), Laguncularia racemosa (white mangrove), Conocarpus erectus (button... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

In general, the improper disposal of waste may hinder the constitutional guarantee of a right to an environment to human health or well-being. This is especially true of domestic solid waste, a particular area of the waste stream frequently disposed of on South Africa's vacant land, rivers and streets amongst other. There is need therefore for municipalities as locally based authorities that are constitutionally bestowed with specific functions and duties in relation to waste, to ensure effective domestic solid waste management. The aim of this study is to investigate the content and design of some legal instruments aimed at domestic solid waste management in two municipalities of South Africa’s Limpopo Province namely the Lephalale and Greater Tzaneen Municipalities. The investigation and critical analysis of the selected instruments are based on the content of South Africa’s national waste law and policy with respect to domestic solid waste management specifically. The study concludes with a number of observations and recommendations with respect to the investigation instrumentation of Lephalale and Greater Tzaneen Municipalities. / LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

In general, the improper disposal of waste may hinder the constitutional guarantee of a right to an environment to human health or well-being. This is especially true of domestic solid waste, a particular area of the waste stream frequently disposed of on South Africa's vacant land, rivers and streets amongst other. There is need therefore for municipalities as locally based authorities that are constitutionally bestowed with specific functions and duties in relation to waste, to ensure effective domestic solid waste management. The aim of this study is to investigate the content and design of some legal instruments aimed at domestic solid waste management in two municipalities of South Africa’s Limpopo Province namely the Lephalale and Greater Tzaneen Municipalities. The investigation and critical analysis of the selected instruments are based on the content of South Africa’s national waste law and policy with respect to domestic solid waste management specifically. The study concludes with a number of observations and recommendations with respect to the investigation instrumentation of Lephalale and Greater Tzaneen Municipalities. / LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Flood events have become more frequent in Europe, and the adaptation to the increasing flood risks is needed. The Flood Directive set up a series of measures to increase European resilience, establishing Flood Risk Management Plans (FRMPs) at the level of the river basin district as one relevant action. In order to efficiently fulfil this objective, the involvement of stakeholders as well as the analysis of their roles, responsibilities, and demands has been considered to be crucial to develop FRMPs. As a result, the hypothesis tested in this paper is that a consensus solution for the 2021 update Austrian Flood Risk Management Plan is feasible. To demonstrate this, both in-depth interviews and questionnaires to key Austrian stakeholders are implemented. The information collected in both participatory techniques are then used to run a conflict prevention analysis. The results show that (a) improving the coordination among regions and including better land-use planning approaches are preferable to a hypothetical business as usual scenario; and (b) a consensus solution for the 2021 update Austrian FRMP might be achievable on the basis of both a deep discussion on the state-of-the art and green infrastructure development.

Objectives. The prevalence and incidence of asthma has been continually increasing with in the United States. High rates of hospitalization, emergency room visits (ER) and infrequent prescribing of controller medications indicates the lack or inadequacies of asthma management in the home as well as primary care programs. This study examines the impact of adequate asthma management and preventive care on asthma ER visits. Methods. Data from the 2003 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) was utilized. Children (N=653) under the age of 18 years and who have had asthma episode in the past year were included for this analysis. A composite variable was created to determine adequacy of care at home and in the primary care setting using standards from the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.Results. The prevalence of ER visit among children who had asthma in the past 12 months was 22.7%. Approximately a quarter (24%) of the children had inadequate asthma management and preventive care. The multiple logistic regressions analysis showed that asthma management and preventive care were important determinants for asthma ER visits. Compared to children who had adequate care, children with inadequate asthma management and preventive care were two times more likely to visit the ER for asthma related problems [OR=2.06 (95%CI=1.257, 3.361)]. Child's age, maternal education, and family income were also statistically significant determinants for asthma related ER visits.Conclusions. Practices that support early interventions for asthma management and preventive care were associated with reduced risk of ER visits. Initiatives to support mandatory asthma management education and programming at primary care practices and as well as the home setting are essential in the management of pediatric asthma.