This research takes an interdisciplinary approach and includes aspects of applied geography, applied management, political economy, development studies, sociology and anthropology, in line with the tradition of progressive tourism studies. It seeks to resolve academic concern about the limited insight within existing bodies of knowledge into how sustainability and sustainable tourism development are conceptualised at a grassroots level by inhabitants and other stakeholders of tourism destinations (Redclift, 1987; Liu, 2003; Swarbrooke, 1999; Mowforth and Munt, 1998; Maida, 2007) and furthermore how these conceptualisations are shaped through expressions of political economy in a post-crisis context. The research aimed to evaluate how political economy and interpretations of sustainability affected post-disaster tourism redevelopment using the case study of Phi Phi Island in Thailand, which was devastated by the tsunami of December 2004. An interpretive philosophy informed the research design, in which primary data was gathered using an inductive mixed methodology. Methods included online research, comprising the design and operation of a tailored website to overcome geographical and access limitations; and offline methods such as visual techniques to monitor change and confirm opinions offered by participants of the research; in-depth face-to-face interviews with hand-picked stakeholders of Phi Phi's development; open-ended questionnaires with tourists; and extended answer Thai script questionnaires in order to overcome language barriers and present the 'Thai voice'. The primary data was gathered from April 2006-December 2011 including a period working at [information removed for anonymity purposes] University in Phuket (June-December 2006). Twenty-five themes emerged from the data, the most significant being the social impacts of tourism, environmental impacts of tourism, power relationships and future desires. It was found that the factor with the greatest influence over Phi Phi's development is the desire to develop the economy through tourism, and the philosophy underpinning the development is largely economic. The tsunami did not cause any significant reassessment of the tourism development trajectory, but served to uncover a range of conflicts and unlawful activity, resulting from powerful stakeholders pursuing their own interests and desired outcomes, in order to suit their own needs rather than those of the community as a whole. In terms of how sustainability is conceptualised by different stakeholder groups, it was found that the meanings attributed to sustainability in this context differ greatly to meanings elaborated within western ideological debates. Stakeholders' conceptualisations of sustainability were mapped against key debates within literature. How meanings differed between stakeholder groups was also examined and a definition for sustainable tourism development on Phi Phi was compiled encompassing a broad range of interests. The thesis provides a rare opportunity to see which political, economic and cultural factors shape the planning of tourism development and whether actual practice mirrors the principles of sustainability. For islanders, present needs are yet to be met and education was recommended to increase islanders' understanding of impacts and sustainability, as well as their skills and knowledge base to enable them to compete intellectually with the ruling elite and reduce dependence upon landowners and the mainland. Numerous authors have highlighted a relative lack of academic attention directly addressing the influence of political economy on achieving sustainability in post-disaster reconstruction (Klein, 2008; Hystad and Keller, 2008; Olsen, 2000; Bommer, 1985; Beirman, 2003; Faulkner, 2001; Glaesser, 2003; Ritchie, 2004). This work therefore extends existing academic debates and studies in a number of areas. In existing academic debates concerning the political economy of post-disaster reconstruction there is a trend towards 'disaster capitalism' (Klein, 2005: 3) or 'smash and grab capitalism' (Harvey, 2007: 32) and 'attempts to accumulate by dispossession' (Saltman, 2007a: 57). However, this did not occur on Phi Phi. Despite claims of a 'clean slate' being offered by the tsunami in developmental terms (Pleumarom, 2004; UNDP, 2005; Dodds, 2011; Ko, 2005; Nwankwo and Richardson, 1994; Argenti, 1976; Rice, 2005; Altman, 2005; Brix, 2007; Ghobarah et al., 2006; Dodds et al., 2010), this research provides evidence and explanation of why this did not and would never exist on Phi Phi, a finding that may be applied to other destinations in a post-disaster context. In response to Blaikie et al.'s (2004) concerns that vulnerability is often reconstructed following a disaster and may create the conditions for a future disaster, this work has extended discussions of disaster vulnerability through an adapted application of Turner et al.'s (2003) Vulnerability Framework. This meets Calgaro and Lloyd's (2008) recommendation that further longitudinal research is required in other tsunami-affected locations. This research refines their work to identify a detailed framework of vulnerability factors intertwined with factors of political economy, presenting a post-disaster situation that remains highly vulnerable and non-conducive to sustainability. This is in response to Hystad and Keller's (2008) recognition that there is a lack of long-term studies, which not only show how disaster has shifted the nature of the destination and tourism product, but also identify successful strategic processes and actions in disaster response. The strategic response has been analysed through an adapted Strategic Disaster Management Framework (Ritchie, 2004) to identify the shortcomings of the disaster response to comprehend how such a disaster has influenced tourism development and planning on the island, showing that this was a mirror opposite to how a disaster should be handled according to the literature (Ritchie, 2004; Adger et al., 2005; Miller et al., 2006; Olsen, 2000; Coppola, 2007; Faulkner, 2001; Baldini et al., 2012). The researcher draws on the notion of 'strategic drift' (Johnson, 1998: 179) and 'boiled frog syndrome' (Richardson, Nwankwo and Richardson, 1994: 10) to explain how host attitudes to tourism may increase vulnerability. Both these contributions can assist in identifying destination vulnerability and limitations in disaster response and recovery. Unlike the work of Dodds (2010) and Dodds et al. (2011), the aim was not to assess the practice and attainment of sustainability on Phi Phi; rather, it was to elaborate interpretations and conceptualisations of sustainability. An examination of development philosophy established how specific factors of political economy and relationships of a hegemonic nature influence the development trajectory of both Phi Phi and Thailand. Despite governmental rhetoric influenced by a strong 'sufficiency economy' hegemony led by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the observations of dependency theorists provide a better fit for the experiences on Phi Phi and present significant challenges for the pursuit of sustainability. The thesis posits that an effective response to the disaster and pursuit of sustainability are undermined by the political economy of the destination.

During the Progressive Era, literary writers such as Abraham Cahan, Willa Cather, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman engaged with ideas emerging from the newly consolidated educational profession about art's capacity to mediate between individual and social development. These ideas varied widely in their philosophical, pedagogical, and political implications, but all reinforced the authority of professional educators at the expense of democratically elected boards of education. Novels working through these ideas can be usefully theorized as Bildungsromane if the definition of the Bildungsroman is refined to be more sensitive to the wide range of educational philosophies that can inform it, and to the range of attitudes, from critical to worshipful, that it can assume toward these philosophies. This reimagining of the genre opens up the possibility that the Bildungsroman, and the Bildung idea more broadly, can have a more positive political valence than most scholars have acknowledged. In particular, a viable project of aesthetic education can be discerned in the philosophy of John Dewey, although it lacks a clear literary corollary.

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Το ζήτημα της σταδιακής κατάρρευσης ήρθε στο προσκήνιο με την κατάρρευση του κτηρίου Ronan Point Apartment Building στο Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο, το 1968. Με αφορμή το γεγονός αυτό, σχεδόν το σύνολο των κανονισμών οπλισμένου σκυροδέματος ανά τον κόσμο απέκτησε διατάξεις σχετικά με την προστασία κατασκευών από σταδιακή κατάρρευση. Στα πλαίσια αυτού, εξετάζονται δύο διατάξεις πλακολωρίδας δύο ανοιγμάτων υπό το σενάριο της κατάρρευσης της ακραίας στήριξης. Η πρώτη διάταξη είναι οπλισμένη κατά τα συνήθη πρότυπα, ενώ η δεύτερη περιλαμβάνει επιπλέον οπλισμό στο άνω πέλμα των ανοιγμάτων. Οι αναλύσεις διεξάγονται σε περιβάλλον πεπερασμένων στοιχείων ANSYS και συγκρίνονται με αντίστοιχα πειραματικά αποτελέσματα. Συμπεραίνεται ότι οι συνήθεις πλάκες δεν έχουν την δυνατότητα ανάπτυξης μεγάλων μετατοπίσεων και ότι η προσθήκη οπλισμού στο άνω πέλμα των ανοιγμάτων των πλακών προσδίδει σε αυτές την απαραίτητη πλαστιμότητα, ώστε να μπορούν να αναπτύξουν μεγάλεις μετακινήσεις και να αναπτύσσονται δυνάμεις ελκυστήρα. / The issue of progressive collapse came to the foreground with the collapse of the Ronan Point Building in the UK, in 1968. In response to this event, most reinforced concrete codes around the work integrated regulations in regard to protection of buildings against progressive collapse. Two two-span slab assemblies are analysed for the collapse of the outer support. The first assembly is reinforce according to the common practice, while the second has added reinforced to the top end of the spans. The analyses are performed with ANSYS and compared with experimental results. It is concluded that commonly reinforced slabs do not have the ability to withstand large deflections. Additional top end reinforcement gives slabs the necessary plasticity in order for large deflections to be developed and tension (tie) forces to build up in the section.

Providing care for a frail older adult who is suffering from dementia has been described as a stressful experience that may erode psychological well-being and physical health of caregivers. The present study investigated the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), among older family caregivers of persons with neurocognitive disorders, compared with an intervention based on progressive muscle relaxation (PMR). Participants were randomly assigned to either MBSR or PMR (n = 28). The MBSR group showed significantly greater reductions in self-reported levels of depression and isolation from pre- to post-intervention, and those changes remained significant at 8 weeks post-intervention. Both groups showed similar decreases in levels of perceived stress, cortisol awakening response, daily average cortisol, and in resting systolic blood pressure from pre- to post-intervention. Results suggest that MBSR and relaxation-based interventions may both be effective for caregivers, however, further research, employing waitlist control participants will be necessary for unambiguous interpretation of the present results.

This study used an item-based approach to explore the full range of lexical-semantic (word frequency and imageability) and sublexical characteristics (regularity and consistency) of stimulus items. Oral reading and spelling-to-dictation data from 72 adults with acquired alexia/agraphia due to stroke or progressive aphasia were analyzed to determine unique influences of lexical-semantic and sublexical variables on performance. Multiple regression analyses were performed for each etiology and lesion group (i.e., perisylvian stoke, extrasylvian stroke, perisylvian atrophy, and extrasylvian atrophy). As expected, word frequency had a significant influence on reading and spelling performance in almost all contexts. Of particular interest was the consistent finding that written language performance associated with left perisylvian damage was moderated primarily by lexical-semantic features of stimuli (frequency and imageability), whereas performance by those with left extrasylvian damage was strongly influenced by sublexical features of sound-spelling regularity and, to a lesser extent, consistency.

The classical continuum theory is not capable of predicting failure without an external crack growth criteria and treats the interface having zero thickness. Alternatively, a nonlocal continuum theory referred to as peridynamic theory eliminates these shortcomings by utilizing formulation that uses displacements, rather than derivatives of displacements, and including material failure in its constitutive relations through the response functions. This study presents a new response function as part of the peridynamic theory to include thermal loading. Furthermore, an efficient numerical algorithm is presented for solution of peridynamic equations. Solution method relies on the discretization of peridynamic equations at collocation points resulting in a set of ordinary differential equations with respect to time. These differential equations are then integrated using explicit methods. In order to improve numerical efficiency of the computations, spatial partitioning is introduced through uniform grids as arrays of linked lists. Furthermore, the domain of interest is divided into subunits each of which is assigned to a specific processor to utilize parallel processing using OpenMP. In order to obtain the static solutions, the adaptive dynamic relaxation method is developed for the solution of peridynamic equations. Furthermore, an approach to couple peridynamic theory and finite element analysis is introduced to take advantage of their salient features. The regions in which failure is expected are modeled using peridynamics while the remaining regions are modeled utilizing finite element method. Finally, the present solution method is utilized for damage prediction of many problems subjected to mechanical, thermal and buckling loads.

Criticism surrounding the children of the Gladney family in Don DeLillo’s novel White Noise remains a contested issue. I argue the children and their social environment reflect Lee Edelman’s analysis of the Child figure and its bolstering of reproductive futurism. The Child figure upholds a heteronormative social order that precludes equal rights and social viability for non-normative family structures and those opposed to an inherently conservative ideology. I find the continually evolving family structure elicits new dynamics among its members, offering greater social independence for all, which institutes a stronger familial bond and ensures a greater chance for its vitality. The Gladney family share such a dynamic; this is observed through the specific roles its members perform and the relations among them. Furthermore, I contend the Gladney family represent a model for maintaining group vitality, which is first required for organized political action against our inequitable social order.

The Saint Lawrence Lowlands in eastern Canada contain extensive deposits of marine soils deposited in post-glacial seas during and following the retreat of the most recent continental glacier. These marine soils include silt and clay deposits known collectively as Champlain clay. When the pore fluid in these marine deposits has changed over time to a lower salinity, the clay can become very sensitive, or demonstrate substantial strength loss after reaching the peak strength with sufficient strain under undrained load conditions. Sensitive clay soils are subject to a peculiar type of very large landslide that typically involves great extents of nearly horizontal ground, usually occurring suddenly and without warning. These landslides tend to be described as “retrogressive” in the literature and practice, implying that they develop as a series of successive small failures that advance rearward until a final stable position is reached. The work of this thesis is organized into four different themes, with an overall objective of understanding the hazard and risk associated with large landslides in sensitive clay to linear infrastructure such as railways. The first theme, documented in Chapter 2, develops a number of spatial relationships between specific physiographic and geologic features and landslide occurrence or absence, as determined through air photo analysis and a review of the literature. The second theme, documented in Chapter 3, presents the construction of a digital database of large landslides in sensitive clay in eastern Canada, for the purposes of studying landslide susceptibility, hazard and risk. The third theme, documented in Chapters 4 and 5, presents and defends a novel mechanical model for development of these large landslides. This model suggests the landslides develop progressively, rather than retrogressively, and the science of fracture mechanics is employed to substantiate the model. The fourth theme, documented in Chapters 6 and 7, synthesizes the findings of the earlier themes and presents a methodology for estimating landslide susceptibility in Champlain clay. That approach is then extended to develop an understanding of the hazard. The concluding chapter extends that work to present an initial appreciation of landslide risk to railways. / Thesis (Ph.D, Geological Sciences & Geological Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2009-04-23 13:22:19.53

This study examines the work of Elwyn Stuart Richardson, director and teacher of Oruaiti School between 1949 and 1962, an experimental school in Northland, New Zealand and places it with the context of the history of art education in New Zealand. After documenting the historical and educational reform contexts of the first half of the twentieth century, Richardson’s philosophy of art education is framed through an analysis of moments of his early life, schooling and teaching experiences. Richardson (1925-) is best known for his book In the Early World published by the New Zealand Council of Educational Research in 1964. The book describes his work as a teacher at Oruaiti and highlights his pedagogical belief that the most powerful learning arises out of children’s own lives and experiences, that learning through the arts raises students’ potential for self-knowledge, critical discernment, imagination, understanding, awareness and empathy for others, and that the arts have an important role to play in the fostering of community and social reform. The administration of art and craft education in the New Zealand primary school during Richardson’s years at Oruaiti was shaped by early advances in manual and technical education. The development of these reforms and the varied educational doctrines school officials used to advocate for the inclusion of these subjects in the curriculum are examined from 1885 to 1920. As well, significant educational policies and events in the 1920s provided exposure to progressive education ideology from abroad. These initiatives contributed to the great interest in child art which grew out of the New Education movement of the 1930s. New ideas about the development of artistic ability in children led to innovative policies in art and craft education that transformed teaching practices and the place of art and craft in New Zealand schools during the 1940s and 1950s. The newly formed Art and Craft Branch of the Department of Education in 1946 reorganised the administration of art education to change public perceptions of art, create contexts of art appreciation and develop community education in tandem with primary school art education. Examining Richardson’s educational biography is another lens used to understand his philosophy and pedagogy. Oruaiti's status as an experimental school is explored through the unique relationship of Oruaiti School to the Art and Craft Branch of the Department of Education. Further, Richardson’s developing educational philosophy, in particular his ideas about artistic ability in children and the growth of aesthetic standards, is explored relative to the teaching practices of his day. The study also uncovers the critical role that science played in Richardson’s educational pedagogy and curriculum and the profound influence Richardson’s early educative experiences were to have on the development of his educational philosophy. Locating Richardson’s work within its historical context demonstrates both that he worked in an environment which was hospitable to educational experimentation in the field of art and crafts, and that, on many levels, he transcended the educational practices of his times.