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Andrius Puškorius, Virginijus Šimkus: Analysis of Public Institution Šiauliai University Science and Technology Park Activities in the Aspect of Siauliai Regional Development: master's thesis / scientific leader associate professor Teodoras Tamošiūnas; Šiauliai University, Management Department. - Šiauliai, 2005. - 130p. In the current thesis, we selected activities of Public Institution Šiauliai University Science and Technology Park in the region. The work is aimed to perform analysis of Public Institution Šiauliai University MTP activities analysis in the aspect of Šiauliai Regional development. The following tasks were set for the thesis: to analyse and systematize scientific literature of Lithuanian and foreign authors on the topic, to analyse the legal acts, adopted by the LR Government as well as strategical documents, regulating activities of science and technology parks, to assess impact of the economic, social and technologic environment upon development of the parks, to evaluate Public Institution Šiauliai University MTP development opportunities and directions: material, technologic and human resource bases. The work results will be employed in training of Public Institution Šiauliai University MTP staff, project preparation as well as presentation of MTP to the students and to the broader masses.

This architectural thesis addresses a derelict urban rail corridor and the possibility of combining architecture and landscape to reactivate its latent potential as a dynamic seam in the urban fabric. Edmonton is a city built on a foundation of interconnectedness with the nation. Rail access has established the city as a staging hub for various industrial practices since the mid 19th century: import and export, agriculture, oil and gas, etc. As inner city rail access as been discontinued, parcels of rail land have been left as relics; nostalgic reminders of a formerly expansive arterial mechanical network, in turn connecting the city to a mechanical backbone spanning the nation. This architectural intervention will reactivate a piece of rail land in the northwestern part of downtown Edmonton by establishing a dynamic activity corridor around an energy-harnessing machine. / Apart from in-depth studies in renewable resource harvesting and climate, the thesis is driven by studies in rail and agricultural mechanisms, as well as existing post-industrial park typologies.

This study investigates the distribution and functional guild structure of the bee community in hardwood stands of Algonquin Provincial Park under different logging regimes, assessing both the role of different aspects of the habitat in affecting this distribution and structure, as well as the use of different sampling techniques. The distribution of bee individuals and species was most dependent on the abundance of raspberry (Rubus strigosus), an important floral and nesting resource. Also of importance were total floral resources, microclimate, and habitat heterogeneity. The functional guild structure of the bee community, which was relatively resilient to habitat variation, was related to a greater variety of factors, reflecting wide-ranging behaviours and requirements of different guilds. Malaise traps, pan traps and nets varied in their effectiveness at collecting different bee genera and a high percentage of species were collected only with one trap type. Malaise traps performed relatively poorly in forested environments, though very well in more disturbed, open habitats. Pan traps and nets performed better in forested environments. Trap nests were an inefficient sampling technique in forests, but were effective at collecting some species of cavity-nesting bees. These findings underline the importance of raspberry for bee communities of northern hardwood forests, and the importance of heterogeneity, both of habitat types and sampling techniques, to attain the highest species richness of bees.

This thesis presents a critical exploration of the ‘revitalization’ of Toronto’s Regent Park. Regent Park is Canada’s oldest and largest government subsidized housing development. Originally designed in 1947, Toronto City Council approved the revitalization of the neighbourhood in 2003. Within this thesis, Regent Park serves as a means to examine some of the ways in which urban planning and design, public policy, architecture and landscape architecture interact with people’s daily practices in their socioeconomic and cultural contexts, to ‘rebuild the social’. In order to do this, the thesis begins by presenting an account of the original development, providing a sociohistorical context for understanding the more recent revitalization. Secondly, the thesis provides a review of relevant theoretical literature pertaining to the idea that design shapes society, discussing key aspects of modernist and postmodernist accounts of the city, arguing for the salience of a broadly ‘relational’ model inspired by the work of Julier (2008) and others. Thirdly, the thesis conducts an empirical analysis of the recent revitalization process, using a mixed methodology of documentary analysis and in-depth interviews with a key developer and the residents of Regent’s park. This analysis explores the ideological commitments at play within the planning process, as well as the practice of planning itself, investigating how theories of design and planning relate to the actual process of planning, including the political and financial obligations. The analysis then compares the intentions of the design with the inhabitant’s lived experience within the space, focusing on the inhabitants’ active role in negotiating the space in ways that were ‘unplanned’. This thesis provides a sociological exploration of Regent Park as a complex site of interaction between the design of the space (influenced by theories of design, as well as economic, political and social motivations), the materials that make up that space, and the actual use of the space by residents, the outcomes of which challenge deterministic accounts of urban development. / Thesis (Master, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2011-09-27 16:29:31.729

Ecologists studying acid-damaged zooplankton communities have often documented a time lag in recovery following pH increases. While previous work has provided a solid understanding of the local factors that may delay recovery (e.g. competition), less is known about the role of dispersal. The work in this thesis was conducted to test the hypothesis that dispersal limitation contributes to delays in the recovery of acid-damaged zooplankton communities. To assess the role of dispersal during recovery I pursued three objectives: 1) To measure dispersal in the field and determine the relative importance of various dispersal vectors for contributing acid-sensitive colonists to lakes; 2) to determine if spatial structure in recovering zooplankton communities exists across the landscape independent of environmental gradients; and 3) to determine if an interaction between dispersal and local environmental variables could influence recovery. Data collected for Objective 1 demonstrated that overland dispersal rates for acid-sensitive species in Killarney Park were relatively low, but some species were found emerging from the diapausing egg bank or dispersing through streams to recovering lakes. Spatial modeling and variation partitioning analyses for Objective 2 revealed spatial patterns indicative of dispersal limitation in recovering Killarney Park zooplankton communities. Enclosure experiments conducted for Objective 3 suggested that the colonization of the acid-sensitive copepod Epischura lacustris may be influenced by an interaction between dispersal levels and pH, such that higher dispersal levels may be required for establishment in lakes that are early in the process of pH recovery. Enclosure experiments also indicated that community resistance and low dispersal levels might hinder the reestablishment of the acid-sensitive copepod Skistodiaptomus oregonensis. Taken together, my results strongly suggest that dispersal limitation could contribute to delays in zooplankton community recovery. The recovery of acid-sensitive copepod species may be particularly difficult, as their reestablishment in recovering lakes appears to be influenced by Allee effects, community resistance, and an interaction between pH and dispersal levels. While dispersal rates could be artificially increased by human intervention, this would carry the risk of introducing invasive species. As a result, patience and continued monitoring of recovering lakes may be the best management approaches at this time. / Thesis (Ph.D, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2011-12-20 22:49:05.193

Tarebia granifera is a prosobranch freshwater gastropod from south-east Asia which has invaded other sub-tropical parts of the world. This snail has recently also invaded the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, often reaching population densities of over 20000 ind.mˉ2 and dominating benthic invertebrate communities. A multiple method approach was used to address several aspects of the biology and ecology of this non-native invasive species (NIS). The tolerance of T. granifera to salinity and temperature was investigated through the experimental manipulation of these factors. T. granifera survived exposure to temperatures between 0 ºC and 47.5 ºC. More remarkably, this snail was able to survive a salinity of 30 for 65 - 75 days. Population density and size structure were monitored in estuaries and coastal lakes. T. granifera successfully invaded estuaries despite frequent exposure to high salinity and desiccation. The persistence of T. granifera was largely ensured due to the wider environmental tolerance of adults (20 - 30 mm shell height) which carried an average of 158 ± 12.8 SD brooded juveniles. Multiple introductions were not essential for the success of this parthenogenetic NIS. Using gut fluorescence and carbon budget techniques it was estimated that T. granifera consumes 0.5 - 35% of the total available microphytobenthic biomass per day, or 1.2 - 68% of the daily primary benthic production. The carbon component estimated from the gut fluorescence technique contributed 8.7 - 40.9% of the total gut organic carbon content. A stable isotope mixing model was used together with gut content analysis to estimate the diet of T. granifera and dominant native gastropod species, potentially competing for resources. Results were used in the formulation of an index of isotopic dietary overlap (IDO, %). This approach yielded detailed information both on general changes in ecosystem functioning and specific species interactions. Before/After-Control/Impact (BACI) logic was used in a multivariate approach to separate human perturbations from natural spatio-temporal variability displayed by communities, and to further separate perturbations due to NIS. Human intensification of drought negatively affected biodiversity and T. granifera may exacerbate this problem by displacing native species from critical refugia and contributing towards biotic homogenization. The present findings constitute a contribution to the scientific knowledge on biological invasions and a useful tool towards adaptive management in the iSimangaliso Park. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2012.