Critical look at the characteristics of Donkey Fever: signs, symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

This thesis envisions sustainable forestry communities in Northern Ontario. Forestry communities struggle to maintain a quality of life against obstacles such as external (often global) economic pressures on the community’s forestry operation, youth out-migration and lack of local control over their natural resources. Principle aims in this thesis are to understand the built environment of small, remote forestry communities; to propose a vision for community self-sufficiency and long-term sustainability; and lastly, to identify the role of architecture in envisioning a built environment that might evolve alongside principles for long-term sustainability. The design exploration is focused on enhancing the quality of place in the north through effective integration with the boreal forest and its renewable resources. Scandinavian models emerging in towns with similar ecological conditions to Canada suggest that rethinking the use of local ecological resources might lead to appropriate architectural response in the region – one which offers stronger identity for these forestry communities. Such design processes are centered on two main questions: what overall framework will allow communities themselves to self-organize local resources, culture and knowledge towards long-term sustainability and regional identity?; and how can architecture and design specifically contribute to these objectives as well as sustain forestry communities?

This thesis envisions sustainable forestry communities in Northern Ontario. Forestry communities struggle to maintain a quality of life against obstacles such as external (often global) economic pressures on the community’s forestry operation, youth out-migration and lack of local control over their natural resources. Principle aims in this thesis are to understand the built environment of small, remote forestry communities; to propose a vision for community self-sufficiency and long-term sustainability; and lastly, to identify the role of architecture in envisioning a built environment that might evolve alongside principles for long-term sustainability. The design exploration is focused on enhancing the quality of place in the north through effective integration with the boreal forest and its renewable resources. Scandinavian models emerging in towns with similar ecological conditions to Canada suggest that rethinking the use of local ecological resources might lead to appropriate architectural response in the region – one which offers stronger identity for these forestry communities. Such design processes are centered on two main questions: what overall framework will allow communities themselves to self-organize local resources, culture and knowledge towards long-term sustainability and regional identity?; and how can architecture and design specifically contribute to these objectives as well as sustain forestry communities?

This research is set in the context of a collaborative agreement between the Industrial Design Department, University of Canberra and the Faculty of Applied Art and Design at Ubon Rajathanee University in the northeast or Isan region of Thailand. In this thesis the textile production of the region was studied with an objective of evaluating the potential for product design process to positively influence production outcomes. Traditional textile production techniques could be lost because these processes are complex and slow, and the current environment, both physical and operational, is changing rapidly. Product design and the design process are relevant to the industrial development of Thailand and village textile production could benefit from structured design and manufacturing strategies that have a consumer focus and improved production outcomes. From a critical review of the relevant literature, it was found that village weavers valued the traditions of their craft and traditional patterns and colours were important in terms of cultural identity and village social organization. Product design process or more specifically, the Generic Design Process (GDP) was reviewed and a model developed that adapted the GDP to the prevailing research environment. The findings led to a program of field research including village interviews where the major issue of the devaluation of traditional natural material dyeing techniques was identified. Field experiments tested alternative dyeing techniques which were evaluated in a survey by village weavers. During the field research care was taken to adapt to the way in which village weavers lived and worked as the two activities were closely interrelated. The degree of skill and knowledge residing in the aging women, who constitute the majority of village weavers, in extensive and profound, and is often described as an example of local wisdom. The theoretical and experimental work has been related, with appropriate results and conclusions, to the potential for maintaining traditional natural dyeing processes albeit with different preservation techniques. The findings from this research suggests that product design processes are appropriate for village production and that the tradition of natural material colour dyes will survive, new colours were created and the potential for new trade in preserved colour dye products. Substantial databases of useful relevant information have been compiled and recommendations are made for future research.

The consequences of over-reliance on fossil fuels for energy supply, namely climate change and security of supply, are pushing for the use of local, renewable energy sources which are usually variable in nature, prompting the need for energy storage. Today, there is a trend towards distributed energy storage, justified by the distributed nature of renewable energy sources and the important share of energy consumption in buildings. Important information on such small scale energy storage installations, however, is still missing and the results of the existing literature vary widely. To account for these research gaps, a thorough characterisation of energy storage technologies is performed, together with the dimensioning and optimisation of such installations in buildings, as well as some aspects of their impact on the grid.It is found that storage is still far from grid parity and expensive when compared to other solutions, although necessary for a high share of renewables. Also, energy storage is subject to important economies of scale and technical limitations that counter the reasoning for a distributed approach. There is an important lack of practical information on several energy storage technologies, and many studies on distributed storage use downsized values from large-scale installations that do not correctly depict smaller installations, leading to biased results. Nevertheless, today, lithium-ion batteries seem to be the most appropriate electrical energy storage technology for buildings, being well adapted to short term storage. On the other hand, a very high share of renewables will push for long term storage, itself a challenge given the high cost brought by a low utilisation factor. A high share of distributed generation also impacts the grid, a problem which most final consumers have no economic incentive to mitigate. Storage by itself, without a sound control strategy, does not help as it tends to increase the load variability while the peak load remains the same. Specific control algorithms could change that but incentives must be present, namely through the adaptation of current grid tariffs that do not correctly allocate existing costs. These findings are essential in the future planning of energy systems as well as in energy policy. / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur et technologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

To date the concept of the bioeconomy - an economy based primarily on biogenic instead of fossil resources - has largely been associated with visions of "green growth" and the advancement of biotechnology and has been framed from within an industrial perspective. However, there is no consensus as to what a bioeconomy should effectively look like, and what type of society it would sustain. In this paper, we identify different types of narratives constructed around this concept and carve out the techno-political implications they convey. We map these narratives on a two-dimensional option space, which allows for a rough classification of narratives and their related imaginaries into four paradigmatic quadrants. We draw the narratives from three different sources: (i) policy documents of national and supra-national authorities; (ii) stakeholder interviews; and (iii) scenarios built in a biophysical modelling exercise. Our analysis shows that there is a considerable gap between official policy papers and visions supported by stakeholders. At least in the case of Austria there is also a gap between the official strategies and the option space identified through biophysical modelling. These gaps testify to the highly political nature of the concept of the bioeconomy and the diverging visions of society arising from it.

The diploma thesis deals with financial self-sufficiency of non-profit and non-governmental organisations operating in the cultural sector. The theoretical part describes all methods of financing. Emphasis is placed on the cooperation with donors and on fundraising through social networks. To make the comparison of financing easier, different legal forms of non-profit organisations with examples are mentioned. The practical part of the thesis presents five different Czech cultural non-profit organizations. The structures of their financial resources are described, financial analyses are performed, and the percentages of self-sufficiency are determined. The analyses show that none of the organizations is self-sufficient. The thesis presents recommendations on how to increase the percentage of self-sufficiency. The thesis explores importance of the crowdfunding in the Czech republic and describes the cooperation with donors in observed organisations.

abstract: The primary focus of this research is the poorly understood relationship between water insufficiency and broad-scale social change, in the semi-arid lower Salt River Valley, in central Arizona. The overarching research question guiding this research is if water insufficiency could have prompted sociopolitical change among the Hohokam. Specifically, the research investigates if long-term water deficits were a catalyst for the two most consequential transformations in Hohokam history – the Preclassic/Classic transition (A.D. 1070-1100/1150) and the early to late Classic period transition (ca. A.D. 1300). This research used extensive historical aerial photographs and cultural resource management excavation data to complete the largest-scale reconstruction of Hohokam irrigation. These lines of evidence provided exceptional insight into the developmental histories of eight major irrigation systems along the lower Salt River, four of which are newly defined here. Also, historic Salt River streamflow trends are leveraged to refine previously reconstructed annual flow discharges. The irrigation system reconstruction provided the means for estimating irrigation demand through irrigated acreage, and monthly streamflows supplied the amount of water available during key points in the two agricultural cycles per year. Together, irrigation demand and water availability provided necessary data to identify persistent water shortages during Hohokam history between A.D. 740 and 1450. The findings discussed in this dissertation demonstrate that water insufficiency likely had no notable effect related to either the Preclassic/Classic or early to late Classictransitions in the lower Salt River Valley. Instead, there was possibly enough water through time for Hohokam farmers to meet agricultural demands. Three substantial additional insights were gained from this research. First, an extremely large flood, occurring either during the late Colonial or early Sedentary periods, may have profoundly altered irrigation agriculture and social organization in the valley. Second, during at least the Sedentary and Classic periods, Hohokam irrigation was structured into standardized irrigation units (SIU), a far more complex and efficient method of irrigation than previously perceived along the lower Salt. Third, a bedrock reef located near Canal System 2, and not at other lower Salt irrigation systems, is plausibly a determinate in Canal System 2’s longevity. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2020

When the pandemic hit, and grocery stores and other necessities started to shut down and create havoc amongst the general public, it became clear that having the ability to rely on a self-sufficient homestead might be the only way to survive and thrive. As a graduate student who has studied architecture and sustainability, this idea seems possible. As an average human with no prior architectural or homesteading knowledge, this idea is daunting. This thesis is asking, is there a systematic way to develop a tool to evaluate, and aid in the design of, a self-sustaining, off-grid homestead? Can this tool make homesteading and living a self-sufficient, off-grid lifestyle more attainable to any person who wishes to try it out? With these questions in mind, the Homestead Helper Handbook: A Guide to Help Start a Self-Sufficient, Off-Grid Homestead in New England from the Ground Up has been developed to offer a cohesive approach, detailing the components that could go into the makeup of the homestead. Suggestions regarding the site, livestock, crops, and built structures will be made based off of specific input values of the future homesteader, leaving the reader with a well-rounded, precise breakdown and understanding of what might go into the homestead, allowing it to successfully function off-grid and self-sufficiently. Thus, it makes the idea of living a self-sufficient and off-grid life in New England more attainable to any human who wishes to do so.

This dissertation is concerned with the documentation and analysis of contemporary responses of a particular segment of Greek society to the economic crisis that has impacted on Greece, Europe and the wider capitalist world. Based on ethnographic research conducted in multiple sites, including the city of Athens and the village of Kandyla, I argue that dynamic contemporary connections exist between rural and urban Greece in relation to these responses. I also argue that contemporary responses to the crisis among this segment of society, notably small-business people, are constructed through and built upon strategies that have long histories in Greek village life and that are informed by responses to earlier crises, the memories of which are kept alive both materially and discursively. These responses are rooted in and performed in what Herzfeld has called “collective identification” evident in a set of shared sentiments among research participants regarding the valorisation of hard work and the principle of self-sufficiency, the parasitic nature of the Greek state, the constant production of insiders and outsiders in relation to the state, the use of reciprocity in business contexts, and the deployment of stereotypes regarding youths and politicians. / Dissertation (MSocSci) University of Pretoria, 2017. / Anthropology and Archaeology / MSocSci / Unrestricted