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Improved health indicators, mental and physical health outcomes, and sustainable lifestyle practices have been found among yoga practitioners. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of mixed styles of yoga practice on the health and behaviors of yoga practitioners. The relationship between yoga and body mass index (BMI), self-reported disease diagnosis, participation in other types of physical activity, adoption of healthy and sustainable lifestyle and dietary behaviors, perceived improvements in medical conditions that yoga was used to treat, quality of life resulting from yoga practice, and the reasons for beginning and continuing yoga were observed and tested in this study. Participants (N = 383) were adult yoga practitioners who were recruited using systematic sampling in Facebook social media. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression, ANOVA, McNemar Chi square, and Spearman's correlation. Mean BMI for all yoga styles were in the normal range; however, ashtanga yoga was a significant predictor of low BMI. Self-reported disease diagnosis was significantly lower after beginning yoga practice. The majority of participants also engaged in other types of physical activity and adopted many healthy lifestyle practices. However, general/hatha and other styles of yoga were associated with adopting a greater number of other physical activities and general/hatha, ashtanga, and yoga therapy styles were associated with adopting a greater number of healthy and sustainable lifestyle and dietary behaviors. Medical conditions that yoga was used to treat and quality of life were perceived to be improved as a result of yoga practice. Results of this study confirm previous research findings that demonstrate numerous positive health outcomes from yoga practice.

The anticipated increase in competition among airports means that there is now a greater need for strategic thinking in the airport business industry. In order to succeed, airport management will have to implement new strategic initiatives and identify their key competitive strengths. While many airports are now more active in following strategic directions, there is some deficiency and inconsistency in the literature in this regard. This research relates the theories of strategic management to the case of airports in order to explore the issue of whether the airport business industry is able to apply the different strategies adopted by other industries in order to achieve growth. The research provides an in-depth analysis into the strategies that Dubai International Airport has pursued. This carefully selected case study involves the collection of qualitative data through conducting semi-structured interviews as a primary source of information. Data collected are applied to different well-known business tools including the PESTEL Analysis, the Five Forces Model and the Resource-based View (RBV) of the firm. The research found that there are some strategic differences between the airport industry and other industries. While it is possible for airports to adopt certain strategies, some strategic theories are not very practicable for airports. While Dubai International Airport is not considered very different from other airports, there are some differentiated characteristics in its ownership and management that led it to outperform its rivals. The research proposes that there are a number of key success factors derived from four core areas that led Dubai International Airport to obtain strategic strengths over other airports. These four areas include: General Condition, Competitive Situation, Resource Acquisition and Strategic Direction. These areas are also classified as No Control, Least Control, Some Control and Most Control, respectively. This thesis contributes to the development of a best practice conceptual model that can help airport managers understand and improve their key competitive strengths and success factors.

<p>Currently, the whole globe is faced with serious problems which negatively affect people around the world: increased pollution, excessive waste, and weather pattern changes. ‘Left’ and ‘right’ wing political parties alike have embraced ‘green’ politics and for many of these parties, environmental issues have become a top priority that is very much reflected in their manifestos. This study examines the environmental goals of two of Sweden’s largest political parties and how these ambitions are reflected at a local level. The conclusions I have drawn in the study have been achieved by analysing official documents and by the comparison between two Swedish municipalities. As a result of my research, I have learned that the political leanings of a party are substantial in determining the goals and works for long-term sustainability at a local level. However, whether the prevailing parties are of the ‘left’ or ‘right’ political orientation does not seem to be of big importance because both ‘wings’ in Sweden are very liberal and have very similar environmental goals.</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-11T13:54:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAO SUSIANNE.pdf: 16683052 bytes, checksum: 0261f2a50ae66e7f795cabb674cc70cd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-11-13 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas / The main objective of this work was to analyze the influence of urban areas for the production of vegetables in the community City of God, located in New Town district, the northern of Manaus. The problem came from the following question: How urbanization is influencing the agricultural production units in the city of Manaus? From there, it was appointed as a hypothesis that urbanization expands on units of agricultural production in Manaus, a fact which is aggravated by the lack of planning by the government to maintain such spaces in the city. The strategy consisted of systematic approach in order to study the proposed topic in its entirety. On the research method, the case study was seen as the most appropriate to arrest the problem. The unit of study was represented by agricultural production units of the community City of God had 10 farmers as subjects. Based on the results, it was found that the production processes of the space it enters the agricultural production units in the context of urban sprawl are population growth in the city of Manaus and new expansion of public roads. Due to the constant human occupation in the vicinity of agricultural areas, there may be reduction of both the production of vegetables, a fact that is harmful to the farmer. Regarding the relationship between farmers and the environment, the activity does not harm the environment despite use of available natural resources, of chemical fertilizers and / or insecticides. Among the environmental resources used, the water stream as it sets used and then are land use, and wood dust collection fruit. Through direct observation were seen following the processes of environmental vulnerability in the Community waterways polluted and silted, exhausted soils, areas of bare soil slopes, erosion and inadequate disposal of solid waste. Faced with environmental problems, farmers know that a degraded environment, causes damage to agricultural production, acting directly on the quality and quantity of vegetables, harvest time of production and occupational health. Linked the difficulties is the lack of assistance by the Government, because the community is replaced by demands for basic infrastructure and urban facilities in general - a fact that interfere with the implementation of agriculture in the area concerned. Moreover, farmers in the city do not have public policies that meet the category. However, considerable portion of respondents believe that agriculture in the city can expand the current urbanization in Manaus, because there would be a greater demand for food on population growth. / O objetivo principal desse trabalho consistiu em analisar a influência da urbanização nos espaços de produção de hortaliças na comunidade Cidade de Deus, localizada no bairro Cidade Nova, zona Norte da cidade de Manaus/AM. O problema partiu do seguinte questionamento: Como a urbanização está influenciando as unidades de produção agrícola na cidade de Manaus? A partir daí, foi apontada como hipótese que a urbanização se expande sobre as unidades de produção agrícola em Manaus, fato que se agrava devido à falta de planejamento pelo poder público para a manutenção de tais espaços na cidade. A estratégia metodológica consistiu na abordagem sistêmica com a finalidade de estudar o tema proposto em sua totalidade. Sobre o método de pesquisa, o estudo de caso foi visto como o mais adequado para apreensão do problema. A unidade da pesquisa foi representada pelas unidades de produção agrícola da comunidade Cidade de Deus que teve 10 agricultores como sujeitos. Foi constatado que os processos de produção do espaço que inserem as unidades de produção agrícolas no contexto da expansão urbana são a expansão demográfica na cidade de Manaus e criação/expansão de vias públicas. Devido à constante ocupação humana nas proximidades das áreas agrícolas, pode haver diminuição do espaço da produção de hortaliças; fato que representa riscos ao agricultor. No que diz respeito à relação entre agricultor e ambiente, a atividade não prejudica o ambiente apesar do uso dos recursos naturais disponíveis, do adubo químico e/ou de inseticidas, segundo a visão dos trabalhadores. Entre os recursos ambientais empregados, a água do igarapé configura como mais utilizado; em seguida estão o uso da terra, pó e coleta de frutos. Por meio da observação direta foram visualizados os seguintes processos de vulnerabilidade ambiental na Comunidade: cursos d água poluídos e assoreados, empobrecimento dos solos, áreas de encostas sem cobertura vegetal, erosões e disposição inadequada de resíduos sólidos. Diante da problemática ambiental, os agricultores sabem que um ambiente degradado traz prejuízos à produção agrícola, agindo diretamente na qualidade/quantidade de hortaliças, tempo de colheita da produção e na saúde do trabalhador. Atrelada as dificuldades está a falta de assistência pelo poder público, pois a comunidade passa por demandas de infra-estrutura básica e equipamentos urbanos em geral fato que interfere no desenvolvimento da agricultura na localidade em questão. Por outro lado, os agricultores da cidade não dispõem de políticas públicas que visem atender a categoria. Mesmo assim, parcela considerável dos entrevistados acredita que a agricultura na cidade pode expandir com a urbanização vigente em Manaus, pois haveria uma maior demanda por produtos alimentícios diante do crescimento populacional.

Content: Sustainable tannery effluent treatment system in achieving required discharge standards including Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) is one of the major challenges faced by the World Leather Industry. Conventional treatment system reduces Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Suspended Solids (SS), heavy metals etc. and not the TDS and salinity. To achieve the TDS level, the tanneries in South India were forced to adopt Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) system by incorporating Reverse Osmosis (RO) system and Multiple Effect Evaporator (MEE). Though recovery of water is beneficial to certain extend in adopting ZLD system, the major challenges are high energy consumption, huge operation & maintenance cost and no safe disposal method for large quantity of mixed/contaminated salt generated from MEE. In view of the challenges faced in adoption of ZLD system, sustainable major technological developments have been made to control more than 50% of TDS in the effluent by adopting cleaner tanning process, segregation of saline streams, treatment and recovery of chromium and salt for reuse by the member units. The balance composited waste stream with low TDS is further treated and taken for mixing/dilution with treated domestic sewage to achieve all discharge standards including TDS. This development is being implemented in many tannery clusters in India such as Pallavaram in South India and Jajmau, Unnao, Banthar, etc. in North India. The Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) are being upgraded with financial support from Govt. of India and respective State Governments. Take-Away: Improved Chrome Recovery System for Reuse, Recovery of Salt from Saline Stream and Reuse, Sustainable TDS Management

Nigeria is presently being faced with a growing electricity demand problem following its population growth rate. The total installed capacity is far less than the current demand for electricity supply. As a way of bridging out this supply gap, the federal government is mobilizing all of its potential energy options. Coal is widely used for power generation in many countries. But today, the continued usage of coal for power generation is being challenged by the disturbing global warming phenomenon. This is due to the quantity of uncontrolled carbon dioxide emission from traditional coal-fired power plants. The aim of this dissertation is to critically analyse the future of the Nigerian coal power stations following the need to do carbon dioxide emission control necessary for ensuring a sustainable environment. Achieving this aim entails the appraisal of environmental regulation standards and cost structures of carbon dioxide (C02) emission reduction options for the coal power stations. Controlling carbon dioxide emission from existing coal power stations requires retrofit system that captures and effectively sequestrates the captured CO2. The cost and performance effect of the CO2 retrofit system on the existing power plant can be simulated with standard computer software models. In this study the lECM-cs computer modelling tool for power plants was used in determining the cost and performance impacts of applying an Amine-based C02 capture system to the Oji river power station in Nigeria. With the lECM-cs model, it was established that reducing C02 emission imposes an additional cost on the power plant which increases the unit cost of electricity generated. This additional cost index requires economic justification for its acceptance. This is due to the need to demonstrate its viability judging from the cost of electricity generated from other sources in the Nigerian economy. For the Oji river case, the station is old and requires extensive renovation. This causes a cost escalation over and above the cost associated with the CO2 sequestration system. As such, Oji coal power station does not have an economic future if C02 emission sequestration becomes obligatory. The future of coal power stations in Nigeria can be considered from two scenarios: one where the current national environmental standard is retained and another where it is revised. The revision classifies CO2 as a pollutant which makes its emission reduction imperative for coal power plants. Under the current standard, building modern large capacity pulverized coal-fired power plants with improved steam cycles should be encouraged. But with the review of the national standard, the focus should be on building new large capacity coal power stations with integrated CO2 emission control. This will ensure an environmentally friendly future for coal power stations in Nigeria. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Nigeria is presently being faced with a growing electricity demand problem following its population growth rate. The total installed capacity is far less than the current demand for electricity supply. As a way of bridging out this supply gap, the federal government is mobilizing all of its potential energy options. Coal is widely used for power generation in many countries. But today, the continued usage of coal for power generation is being challenged by the disturbing global warming phenomenon. This is due to the quantity of uncontrolled carbon dioxide emission from traditional coal-fired power plants. The aim of this dissertation is to critically analyse the future of the Nigerian coal power stations following the need to do carbon dioxide emission control necessary for ensuring a sustainable environment. Achieving this aim entails the appraisal of environmental regulation standards and cost structures of carbon dioxide (C02) emission reduction options for the coal power stations. Controlling carbon dioxide emission from existing coal power stations requires retrofit system that captures and effectively sequestrates the captured CO2. The cost and performance effect of the CO2 retrofit system on the existing power plant can be simulated with standard computer software models. In this study the lECM-cs computer modelling tool for power plants was used in determining the cost and performance impacts of applying an Amine-based C02 capture system to the Oji river power station in Nigeria. With the lECM-cs model, it was established that reducing C02 emission imposes an additional cost on the power plant which increases the unit cost of electricity generated. This additional cost index requires economic justification for its acceptance. This is due to the need to demonstrate its viability judging from the cost of electricity generated from other sources in the Nigerian economy. For the Oji river case, the station is old and requires extensive renovation. This causes a cost escalation over and above the cost associated with the CO2 sequestration system. As such, Oji coal power station does not have an economic future if C02 emission sequestration becomes obligatory. The future of coal power stations in Nigeria can be considered from two scenarios: one where the current national environmental standard is retained and another where it is revised. The revision classifies CO2 as a pollutant which makes its emission reduction imperative for coal power plants. Under the current standard, building modern large capacity pulverized coal-fired power plants with improved steam cycles should be encouraged. But with the review of the national standard, the focus should be on building new large capacity coal power stations with integrated CO2 emission control. This will ensure an environmentally friendly future for coal power stations in Nigeria. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Currently, the whole globe is faced with serious problems which negatively affect people around the world: increased pollution, excessive waste, and weather pattern changes. ‘Left’ and ‘right’ wing political parties alike have embraced ‘green’ politics and for many of these parties, environmental issues have become a top priority that is very much reflected in their manifestos. This study examines the environmental goals of two of Sweden’s largest political parties and how these ambitions are reflected at a local level. The conclusions I have drawn in the study have been achieved by analysing official documents and by the comparison between two Swedish municipalities. As a result of my research, I have learned that the political leanings of a party are substantial in determining the goals and works for long-term sustainability at a local level. However, whether the prevailing parties are of the ‘left’ or ‘right’ political orientation does not seem to be of big importance because both ‘wings’ in Sweden are very liberal and have very similar environmental goals.

This paper is a part of the course PPU305 at Mälardalen University, the bachelor thesis. A companycurrently developing an electric bicycle had a concept of an innovative wheel containing no spokesand no hub. This meant that the functions these components usually fill needed to be solved in anotherway. The method for this product development process has been a combination of the genericalmethod, design thinking and the method used at the company. While the author was planning onworking with the generical method but soon became aware of the completely different method by thecompany, a more flexible method was adapted.With this background, two research questions were formulated:RQ 1: How can the driveline be constructed to fit with the planned design in an electric bicyclewheel?RQ 2: How does the development process work for the electric bicycle and its wheel in the companyin question, compared to other product development processes?The result was a framework carefully designed to be made of as little material as possible but still bestrong enough. This framework has two sides and is what mainly holds up the construction and makesit resistant to dynamic loads. Material selected for this construction is carbon fibre due to its lowdensity and high tensile strength. This work includes every part of the bicycle’s wheel including theskeleton framework mentioned above and everything between the two walls. The author has selectedmotor, bearings and spur gears suitable for the vehicle and made mounts and necessary fixtures forall.To decide that the framework was designed as efficiently as possible, several simulations inSolidWorks Simulation were made where different designs were compared against each other. Everyadjustment in the designed were direct results of the simulations. Although the simulations cannotfully replace a physical test, it gives an idea of how well the construction reacts to loads. To makesure that the material selected would stand the loads as expected, the material in question was orderedfrom planned deliverer and tested in a tensile test machine. This gave more accurate data regardingthe material properties that data collected from Granta Edupack, a material database. About thedevelopment process at the company, it was discovered that it has both similarities and differences tothe generic product development process and Design thinking. The biggest difference with the bothprocesses was the short-termed planning. The process most similar with the one used at the companywas Design thinking since they both depend on agility and creative thinking with iterative processes. / Detta arbete är utfört inom ramarna för kursen PPU305 vid Mälardalens högskola och är ettexamensarbete på högskoleingenjörsnivå. Ett företag som arbetade med utvecklingen av en elcykelföreslog ett koncept av ett innovativt hjul helt utan ekrar eller nav. Detta innebar att funktionerna somdessa komponenter fyllde behövde lösas på annat sätt. Metoden för detta produktutvecklingsprojekt ären kombination av den generiska produktutvecklingsprocessen, Design thinking samt metoden somanvändes vid företaget. Författaren hade inledningsvis intentionen att enkom arbeta med dengeneriska metoden, men upptäckte att detta inte var helt kompatibelt med metoden som användes vidföretaget. Detta ledde till en ändring av metodik. Med detta som bakgrund formulerades tvåforskningsfrågor:• Hur kan drivlinan konstrueras för att passa in i den tänkta designen för ett elcykelhjul?• Hur fungerar utvecklingsprocessen för elcykeln och dess hjul i det aktuella företaget, jämförtmed andra produktutvecklingsprocesser?Resultatet blev en fackverkskonstruktion som ersätter ekrarnas bärande funktion. Fackverket äromsorgsfullt designat för att optimera balansen mellan låg vikt och styrka. Fackverket är uppdelat itvå lika sidor och tar upp dynamisk last som hjulet utsätts för under färd. Materialval för dennakonstruktion är kolfiber på grund av sin låga densitet och höga styrka. Detta arbete inkluderarkonstruktion av alla cykelhjulets komponenter som sitter mellan dessa fackverksväggar. Författarenhar även valt ut en motor, rullningslager och kugghjul lämpliga för konstruktionen, samt designatfästen och nödvändiga fixturer för samtliga komponenter.Under designarbetet med fackverksväggarna gjordes åtskilliga iterationer av kraftsimulationer iSolidWorks Simulation och designmodifieringar i syfte att säkerställa en så stark konstruktion sommöjligt. Resultaten av kraftsimuleringarna kan inte till fullo återspegla verkliga lastförhållanden, mendet kan ge en grundläggande bild av hur konstruktionen reagerar på last. För att säkerställa att detvalda materialet lever upp till förväntningarna beställdes materialet från avsedd leverantör ochtestades i en dragprovsmaskin. Detta gav mer precisa materialdata än vad den huvudsakliga källan förmaterialdata, Granta EduPack, kunde ge. Gällande utvecklingsprocessen vid företaget befanns att denbåde har stora skillnader och likheter med den generiska produktutvecklingsprocessen och Designthinking. Den största skillnaden mot bägge metoder är upplägget av den kortsiktiga planeringen. Mestpåminde företagets metod om Design thinking, då de båda bygger på agil ledning och kreativttänkande med iterativa processer.