In this thesis, the author has drawn on a large body of international research and his own surveys, interviews and experience to examine the interrelated issues of Fatigue and Stress in the long distance sector of the Australian road transport industry. Two major Australian studies are studied in some detail: House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications, Transport and the Arts: Beyond the Midnight Oil, Report into an Inquiry into Managing Fatigue in Transport, Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia October 2000 (The Neville Report) and Quinlan, Michael, Report of an Inquiry into Safety in the Long Haul Sector of the Road Trucking Industry, Motor Accident Authority of NSW, Nov 2001 and the United States of America: Belzer, Michael H., Sweatshop on Wheels: Winners and Losers in Trucking Deregulation, Oxford University Press, New York, 2000, has direct relevance to this study, especially as it relates to the underlying causes of much of the fatigue and stress suffered by long distance drivers. An extensive literature review was undertaken to help form an understanding of the issues and developments relating to workplace fatigue and stress, in several different settings, including the military, aviation and general industry. The author has surveyed a number of long distance drivers and interviewed managers and others linked to this industry, analysed their responses and reported on the findings. Since the commencement of this study, several significant changes have occurred in the relevant legislation and its application, and where possible these have been incorporated into the study / Master of Science (Hons)

The primary objectives of the described research were to examine the underlying physical phenomena occurring during flame/obstacles interactions in various chambers of low L/D ratio and to develop a new empirical equation for explosion venting. A literature review suggested that the propagating flame/obstacle interactions in enclosures with large L/D ratio (&gt 2) result in flame acceleration and subsequent pressure build-up during a gas explosion. However, the interactions in practical situations with small L/D &lt 2 were not extensively studied. In this thesis the first investigation involved the flame interaction with different single and multiple obstacles in a 1/20th model of real enclosure. Results provided the basis for flame propagation, local flame displacement speed probability density functions (pdfs), mean flame velocity and explosion pressure. The second investigation of the study involved the flame interaction with multiple bars within chambers of different L/D ratios. The results provided mean flame velocities on each stage, as a function of nondimensional time, and pressure developments as a function of L/D ratio. The final investigation is associated with gas explosion venting. The predictive ability between existing models on explosion venting and experimental results obtained in this thesis were undertaken and found to be deficient. Consequently a new empirical model for predicting explosion venting was developed. The new model was validated with experimental data published in literature.

There has been considerable controversy and debate over recent years about the most appropriate method of measuring poverty. This debate has included, among other issues, the questions of absolute versus relative poverty, the merits of money income as a measure of the standard of living and the associated selection of poverty lines and equivalence scales, and the selection of alternative indices of poverty. A review of the literature indicates that the choice of differing approaches to poverty measurement can lead to differing estimates of poverty. In the face of such results an evaluation of the impact upon poverty estimates of alternative measurement methodology is appropriate. This thesis assesses the impact upon the estimated level of poverty of variations in some of the key poverty measurement parameters. The expenditure data derived from the 1975-76, 1984 and 1993-94 Household Expenditure Surveys have been analysed to assess the sensitivity of poverty estimates, derived from a range of poverty indices, to variations in the generosity of the equivalence scales, the level of the poverty line, and the choice of the indicator of the level of resources used. The sensitivity of each poverty index to variations in these parameters is assessed at both the aggregated level and for the specified household types, while those population subgroups particularly susceptible to poverty are also identified. The poverty distributions derived for each of the survey years are compared to evaluate the impact upon changes in the level of poverty over time of variations in the underlying parameters. The thesis concludes that both poverty estimates at a point in time, and poverty trends over time are sensitive to variations in the equivalence scales, in the level of the poverty line, in the selection of the indicator of the level of resources, and in the choice of poverty index itself. In light of these results, a review of recent Australian poverty research concludes that insufficient attention has been paid to the sensitivity issues associated with the measurement of poverty.

This thesis proposes new algorithms for restoration strategies that provision bandwidth guaranteed recovery for unicast and multicast connections. The primary focus is on online restoration strategies that sequentially do pre-planning of resource for each request using the current network resource state. Online restoration strategies do not require prior knowledge of all the requests like that of offline restoration strategies. Therefore, online restoration strategies are more suitable for on-demand and dynamic traffic engineering control. The proposed new algorithms are compared to known algorithms from literature. Most literature evaluates the performance of the algorithms with two metrics only: total bandwidth requirement and the number of requests accepted in the network. This thesis evaluates the algorithms in one additional dimension: the computational time. This is an important criterion when response times for establishing new connections are stringent. Each algorithm makes trade-off between computational complexity, bandwidth efficiency, and number of accepted requests. Results show that the proposed algorithms provide alternative trade-offs between the three performance metrics when compared to other existing algorithms. The alternatives provide more choice for the network providers and the best algorithm to use depends on the network's requirements. The restoration strategies used for unicast and multicast connections in this thesis are very compatible thus it is possible to integrate the restoration strategies into a single system where they share the same backup resources. Results from simulations show that using an integrated restoration model has significant benefits, which includes lower backup bandwidth requirement than the separate restoration model.

This thesis proposes new algorithms for restoration strategies that provision bandwidth guaranteed recovery for unicast and multicast connections. The primary focus is on online restoration strategies that sequentially do pre-planning of resource for each request using the current network resource state. Online restoration strategies do not require prior knowledge of all the requests like that of offline restoration strategies. Therefore, online restoration strategies are more suitable for on-demand and dynamic traffic engineering control. The proposed new algorithms are compared to known algorithms from literature. Most literature evaluates the performance of the algorithms with two metrics only: total bandwidth requirement and the number of requests accepted in the network. This thesis evaluates the algorithms in one additional dimension: the computational time. This is an important criterion when response times for establishing new connections are stringent. Each algorithm makes trade-off between computational complexity, bandwidth efficiency, and number of accepted requests. Results show that the proposed algorithms provide alternative trade-offs between the three performance metrics when compared to other existing algorithms. The alternatives provide more choice for the network providers and the best algorithm to use depends on the network's requirements. The restoration strategies used for unicast and multicast connections in this thesis are very compatible thus it is possible to integrate the restoration strategies into a single system where they share the same backup resources. Results from simulations show that using an integrated restoration model has significant benefits, which includes lower backup bandwidth requirement than the separate restoration model.

Bibliography: leaves 112-115

<p>The aim of this essay is to study the development of democracy in the Halland province, with focus on participating measures. First and foremost to test earlier research about the causes of the development of democracy, which says that the work takes place with obvious variation between the municipalities and that it is caused by economic resources and experienced problems in the democracy. The purpose is also to conduct a general discussion about the conditions and effects of the development.</p><p>Thus the method can be characterised as theory consuming because I as far as possible assume the method that has been used in earlier research. Still, my study is limited to the six municipalities of the Halland province and is therefore a study of few cases. One person in each municipality has been interviewed in order to collect a list of all the measures that have been carried out. This material has been analyzed with a variety of variables. </p><p>The results points out that neither economic resourses nor experienced problems in the democracy can be considered as satisfactory causes, at least not in these six cases. Instead, the results tell that the incidence of driving forces and real enthusiasts is a better explanation, which together with a well-functioning local government administration are the most important factors for achieving positive effects in the participating democracy.</p>

At signalized intersections, pedestrians are considered to be amongst the most vulnerable. When in the crosswalk at intersections without protected left-turn phasing, pedestrians are particularly at risk from left-turning vehicles. Until recently, a wide variety of indications were in use across the US to indicate a permissive left-turn condition to the driver. In Oregon, the Flashing Yellow Arrow (FYA) has been used to indicate the permissive left-turn condition for approximately 10 years. With the addition of the FYA in the 2009 MUTCD, it is likely that its use will continue to increase nationally. Though many operational and safety issues have been studied about the FYA indication, this research proposes to fully investigate factors that influence driver behavior in the context of the permissive left-turn conflict with pedestrians. Specifically, the research seeks to study driver glance behavior to identify reasons why drivers are, "looking at but not seeing" pedestrians in or near the crosswalk or not searching for the presence of pedestrians at all. / Graduation date: 2013

For operational and planning purposes it is important to observe, predict and monitor the traffic performance of congested urban road links and networks. This monitoring effort describes the traffic conditions in road networks using congestion performance measures. The objective of this research is to analyse and evaluate methods for measuring congestion and congestion performance measures for monitoring purposes. For this objective, a selection of the required aspects of the performance measures in the literature is considered. The aspects to be considered can be classified into two categories: A first group relates to the statistical aspects of these indicators, i.e. reliability. The second relates to their ability to capture the impacts of congestion, i.e .relevance. The reliability and relevance of the congestion performance measures are evaluated. A recommendation of the most suitable indicator is provided at the end of the study. / QC 20110912

The aim of this essay is to study the development of democracy in the Halland province, with focus on participating measures. First and foremost to test earlier research about the causes of the development of democracy, which says that the work takes place with obvious variation between the municipalities and that it is caused by economic resources and experienced problems in the democracy. The purpose is also to conduct a general discussion about the conditions and effects of the development. Thus the method can be characterised as theory consuming because I as far as possible assume the method that has been used in earlier research. Still, my study is limited to the six municipalities of the Halland province and is therefore a study of few cases. One person in each municipality has been interviewed in order to collect a list of all the measures that have been carried out. This material has been analyzed with a variety of variables. The results points out that neither economic resourses nor experienced problems in the democracy can be considered as satisfactory causes, at least not in these six cases. Instead, the results tell that the incidence of driving forces and real enthusiasts is a better explanation, which together with a well-functioning local government administration are the most important factors for achieving positive effects in the participating democracy.