Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Regional planning Soil surveys'

Computerized soil information systems (SIS) store and retrieve, much more efficiently than soil maps, the soil information collected from field survey which is essential for land-use planning. The soil is only observed and sampled at a limited number of locations, depths and for a limited number of properties. Information not recorded during survey is missing and if needed must be generated or predicted. New geostatistical techniques for spatial analysis and interpolation of soil data, i.e. the semi-variogram and Kriging, can now be included as on-line capabilities of SIS to equip users with a powerful tool for prediction of the missing information. When there are no records of the wanted property, its values can be estimated by a function on other recorded properties acting as its surrogates. A strategy for model development is provided for the construction of surrogate functions based on multiple regression and curve fitting techniques, to generate the information missing. When no records of the soil property at the depth wanted exist, the values at the required depths are interpolated by a function of the property on the soil depth. Equal-area spline curves reconstruct, piecewise, the depth function quite closely, enabling their use for interpolation of values and depths in a variety of formats. The equal-area spline algorithm is a capability of the Oxford SIS (OXSIS). When the wanted site was unvisited during survey, the information missing is provided by spatial prediction. The predictions may come from means of soil classes or mapping units from conventional survey, or from Kriging interpolation based on spatial analysis by the semi-variogram. In order to select the best predictive tool, the success of these techniques in different situations of sampling effort and variablity were compared. Semi-variograms depicted the spatial structures of 8 selected soil properties. Anisotropic variation in 4 of them was induced by strong trends. Where the semi-variogram was isotropic Kriging was the best tool for prediction if spatial dependence is strong. Fitting elliptical functions to find a model for anisotropy did not give satisfactory results. Where anisotropies or trends precluded ordinary Kriging, map unit means and class means, in that order, gave the best predictions. Success in prediction was related to the structures in the semi-variogram, which when used for reconnaissance helps to infer which technique will give the best predictions so that survey is designed accordingly. Accounting for the trends removed anisotropies and Kriging of de-trended data was possible. Partitioning trends by stratification based in soil mapping units gave a greater improvement in predictions than modelling trends by bicubic spline surfaces and then Kriging the residuals from trend. After trend removal, Kriging did not always make the best predictions and means from classes seemed equally as good as Kriging or even better in some cases. These results indicate that a critical point is to ascertain how to best sample to estimate a reconnaissance semi-variogram for survey design to provide the information missing necessary for land-use planning.

Due to the inappropriate planning and explosive population growth in urban areas, especially in developing countries, sustainable and disaster-safe urbanization has become the most important challenge for governments. Urbanization presents benefits in different ways but has led simultaneously to changes in land use/land cover (LULC), impacting soil quality, runoff, surface temperature, water quality, and promoting climate change. The environmental implications of LULC changes cannot be understood well enough to take precautions without the knowledge of LULC change. This reality is the driving force behind my research, which focuses on impacts of urbanization on flood and soil erosion hazards in Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul is the biggest city in Turkey with its almost 15.000.000 population. In 1999 the Marmara earthquake destroyed the city especially the newly developed zones. Every year Istanbul suffers also from flood damages. Istanbul has been experiencing uncontrolled migration, chiefly from rural areas, since the economic reform policies took place in the second half of the 20th century. These policies forced the city to expand towards the agricultural land and to the coastal areas. Istanbul has been faced with illegal housing and uncontrolled development since then. This developoment has produced significant decreases inproductive agricultural lands and created more impervious areas. Infrastructure development has not matched the rate of the population increase and uncontrolled urbanization, making the city vulnerable increasingly to natural disasters. This dissertation aims to understand the impacts of urbanization on flood and erosion hazards in Istanbul by examining changes in the city using remote sensing (RS) and geographical information systems (GIS) methods. LULC was examined first: Two change detection methods were applied to choose the best peformer for Istanbul. The post-classification comparison (PCC) method produced better results than the principal component analysis (PCA). PCC utilized 1984, 1997, 2001, 2007 and 2010 Landsat images of the study area. These Landsat images were corrected atmospherically and radiometrically using COST Model (Markham and Barker, 1986). After the corrections geometric rectification was performed with the help of 1987 topographic map, 1995 orthophotos, 2005 GPS data. Location and nature of the change were derived for the time periods. Results show that since 1984, agricultural land have been replaced increasingly by urbanization. Flooding and related soil erosion are both natural events. Yet these events can be hazardous; they can harm/destroy lives and property. In recent years these events have become disasters for Istanbul.. We investigated the role of urban growth in such disasters. To understand the urbanization and flood relation better, flood events for each time period were examined using LULC change, runoff information and watershed analysis. Soil erosion events occur slowly and in Istanbul they do not happen frequently (yearly) as with flooding. But some of the locations of erosion that occurred in the past are now urbanized areas. It is thus important to understand how the built environment affects soiol erosion. We applied the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) method for each year in the time series. Prior erosion locations digitized from General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration were compared to predicted locations. The resultant maps indicates that European side of Istanbul is more prone to erosion than Anatolian side.

Awareness, use and attitude by Indiana secondary school vocational agriculture/agribusiness and social science educators toward soil survey reports were determined using a mailed questionnaire. Results were analyzed based on teaching discipline and geographic location (urban and rural). In general, social science respondents were not aware of and did not use soil survey reports as a teaching aid whereas vocational agriculture/ agribusiness respondents did. The majority of educators responded positively to statements regarding usefulness of soil surveys. No significant differences were found between urban and rural areas. Results indicated that teaching discipline was the critical factor in educator use of soil surveys.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306

Trata-se de um levantamento documental e bibliográfico realizado com a finalidade de elaboração de um quadro descritivo das atividades realizadas no Centro Regional de Pesquisas Educacionais de São Paulo (CRPE/SP), durante os anos de 1956 a 1961, período em que Fernando de Azevedo foi seu Diretor Geral. Através do levantamento das pesquisas, cursos e demais atividades desenvolvidas pelo CRPE/SP no período correspondente à sua instalação e primeiros anos de funcionamento, destaca-se a importância de Anísio Teixeira na criação desta instituição que tinha como objetivo central a reconstrução educacional brasileira através da utilização dos conhecimentos provenientes das ciências sociais. No entender de Anísio Teixeira e do grupo de intelectuais que se reuniu em função das atividades que se desenvolveram no Centro ? Fernando de Azevedo, Florestan Fernandes, Dante Moreira Leite, entre outros ? as práticas educacionais alcançariam condições científicas na medida em que se utilizassem do instrumental teórico e metodológico próprio das ciências sociais para a investigação e reflexão a respeito de seus problemas. O trabalho de descrição das atividades desenvolvidas no Centro permitiu a seleção de quatro temas que se mostraram recorrentes nos trabalhos produzidos pelos intelectuais vinculados à essa instituição. São eles: Educação e Ciências Sociais; Desenvolvimento Sócio-Econômico, Mudança Cultural e Educação; Pesquisa Cientifica e Planejamento Educacional; e, Tramitação da Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional. Acrescenta-se ao trabalho descritivo e à apresentação dos temas mais discutidos algumas considerações a respeito do contexto ideológico da época, abordando o desenvolvimentismo do governo Juscelino Kubitschek, a ideologia do desenvolvimento do ISEB e o posicionamento do Centro em relação às discussões que aconteciam. Em decorrência disso, também são destacadas as divergências entre os intelectuais paulistas e isebianos, assim como o vínculo existente entre o Centro e a Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras da USP. Além da utilização da bibliografia existente a respeito do Centro, o levantamento documental realizou-se através da consulta ao Arquivo CRPE/SP do Centro de Memória da Educação da USP; ao Arquivo Fernando de Azevedo do Instituto de Estudos Brasileiros da USP; ao Arquivo Anísio Teixeira do Centro de Pesquisa e Documentação de História Contemporânea do Brasil/CPDOC da Fundação Getúlio Vargas; aos Relatórios Anuais de Atividades do Centro, pertencentes ao Arquivo Histórico do INEP; aos números da revista Pesquisa e Planejamento (boletim do CRPE/SP) e Educação e Ciências Sociais (boletim do CBPE) referentes ao período estudado; e, à série Estudos e Documentos (publicada pelo CRPE/SP). A descrição das atividades do Centro e o estudo do vínculo existente entre esta instituição e a Faculdade de Filosofia da USP possibilitou a avaliação do seu sucesso no cumprimento dos objetivos estabelecidos no início de suas atividades, assim como permitiu avaliar o seu papel no processo de formação de pesquisadores que se dedicariam ao estudos dos problemas educacionais brasileiros a partir de então.
A survey of documents and bibliography was made, for the purpose of elaborating a descriptive overview of the activities occurring in the Centro Regional de Pesquisas Educacionais de São Paulo (CRPE/SP) ? Regional Center for Education Researches of São Paulo ? during the years from 1956 to 1961, the period when Fernando de Azevedo was the General Director. By a survey of the researches, courses and other activities developed by the CRPE/SP, in the period corresponding to its establishment and first years of operation, it is presented the importance of Anísio Teixeira in the creation of this institution that had as its main objective the reconstruction of Brazilian education through the use of knowledge obtained from the social sciences. The concepts of Anísio Teixeira and the group of scholars gathered for the activities taking place at the Center ? Fernando de Azevedo, Florestan Fernandes, Dante Moreira Leite, among others ? were that educational practices would reach scientific status as they used theoretical and methodological means, typical of the social sciences, to investigate and ponder about its problems. The work of description of the activities developed at the Center allowed the selection of four themes that have showed up repeatedly in the work produced by the scholars associated with the institution. They are: Education and Social Sciences; Socioeconomic Development, Cultural Changes and Education; Scientific Research and Educational Planning; and Procedural Steps of the Law of Policies and Basis of Nationwide Education (LDBEN). Added to the descriptive work and presentation of the themes under discussion, there are also considerations about the ideological context of these times, taking into account the drive for development of the Juscelino Kubitschek presidency, the ideology of development of the ISEB and the position of the Center relative to the debates then underway. As a consequence of that, the divergences between \"paulistas\" and \"ISEBian\" scholars are also presented, as well as the bonds existing between the Center and the Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras da USP. Besides using the available bibliography about the Center, the survey of documents was made by access to the Archives of the CRPE/SP in the Centro de Memória da Educação (Center for the Preservation of the Memories of Education) of USP; the Fernando Azevedo Archives in the Institute Brazilian Studies of USP; the Anísio Teixeira Archives of the Center for Research and Documentation of the Recent History of Brazil (CPDOC) of the Getulio Vargas Foundation; the Annual Reports on the Activities of the Center, in the Historic Files of INEP; to issues of the Pesquisa e Planejamento (Research & Planning) magazine (bulletin of the 10 CRPE/SP) and the Educação e Ciências Sociais (Education & Social Sciences) magazine (bulletin of the CBPE) published in the period being studied; and the Estudos e Documentos (Studies & Documents) series (published by the CRPE/SP). The description of the activities of the Center and the study of the bond present between the institution and the Faculdade de Filosofia da USP enabled us to evaluate its success in the achievement of the objectives set at the beginning of its activities, and also allowed an assessment of its role in the process of formation of researchers who dedicated themselves to the study of Brazilian educational problems from that time onwards.

Sedan 1950-talet har åkermarken i Sverige minskat med en miljon hektar. Samtidigt ökar befolkningsmängden stadigt och i Stockholms län beräknas invånarantalet passera tre miljoner till 2040. För att kunna möta behoven av både mat, boende och infrastruktur krävs noggrann planering för att inte förstöra viktiga möjligheter och resurser för framtida generationer. Syftet med rapporten är att med hjälp av en litteraturstudie och en intervju undersöka olika marktypers egenskaper och dess lämplighet inom olika användningsområden i Stockholms län. Vidare undersöks hur olika marktyper, främst åkermark, värderas i kommunernas planeringsprocesser idag. Lämpliga områden för odling respektive byggnation karteras också i ArcGIS och jämförs med regionala planer för länet. Resultatet visar att den enskilt viktigaste egenskapen för vilka marker som är bäst lämpade för jordbruk respektive byggnation är den geologiska sammansättningen. För åkermark krävs en lerig jordart, det vill säga en mycket liten kornstorlek, för att exempelvis kunna binda vatten och näringsämnen till växterna. Mycket finkorniga jordarter som lera och silt är däremot mindre lämpliga att bygga ur geoteknisk synpunkt, då främst morän men även berg och sand är att föredra. Idag räknas åkermarken som ett väsentligt samhällsintresse av nationell betydelse men det finns inget som förhindrar kommuner att exploatera dessa områden. Skyddet av åkermark är idag ett mycket omdiskuterat ämne och många aktörer, däribland Jordbruksverket och olika riksdagspartier, har länge argumenterat för att stärka skyddet av detta. Mycket av den samhällsplanering som sker idag baseras på den åkermarksgradering som utfördes 1971 baserat på skördestatistik från 1969. Den värdering av åkermark som kommuner och myndigheter har att utgå ifrån vid bland annat översiktsplanering och bedömning av mark är således femtio år gammal. Detta medför en risk att marker prioriteras felaktigt och inte utnyttjas på bästa sätt då dess egenskaper kan ha förändrats under ett halvt sekel. En ny åkermarksgradering är därför en viktig prioritet.
Since the 1950s the arable land in Sweden decreased with a million hectares. At the same time the population is steadily increasing and in the region of Stockholm the total population number is estimated to reach three million before 2040. To meet the demands of food, housing and infrastructure it takes careful planning to not destroy important values and resources for future generations. The objective of this report is to analyze different soil properties and their eligibility in different areas of use in the region and how soil, mainly arable soil, is valued in municipalities planning today. This is done with a literature study and an interview and also mapping in ArcGIS. The result shows that the single most important property in deciding which soils are most suitable for agriculture and building is the geological structure. Arable land needs a loamy soil to be able to provide water and nutrients for the plants. Building requires a larger size of particles and soil types like moraine, rock and sand is more suitable. Arable land is today considered as a public interest of national importance but there is nothing prohibiting municipalities to exploit these areas. The protection of arable land is a widely discussed subject and many actors, among others the Swedish Board of Agriculture and government parties, has argued to increase the protection. A major portion of the current community planning is based on the grading of arable land made in 1971, based on harvest statistics from 1969. Consequently, the valuation of arable land that is accessible for municipalities and authorities is fifty years old. This causes a risk that soil areas is wrongly prioritized and not used for the most suitable purpose as its properties may have changed during half a century. A new grading of arable land is therefore an important prioritization.

Orientador: Carlos Roberto Espindola
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Agricola
Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-05T13:41:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Margatho_SilvanaMariaFranco_D.pdf: 1380936 bytes, checksum: 75378147a2b6b7013453830304809f71 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004
Resumo: A partir de avaliações do meio físico e do diagnóstico das atividades desenvolvidas na região do Médio Pardo (SP), principalmente as agrícolas, efetuou-se um estudo da adequabilidade de uso de suas terras, com vistas ao planejamento regional e às possibilidades de inserção do ecoturismo como uma alternativa de desenvolvimento sustentável. Um dos suportes ao estudo foi a carta de solos, justamente com técnicas de sensoriamento remoto e do sistema de informação geográfica; a avaliação das terras foi estabelecida a partir do sistema de aptidão agrícola, com integração de informações pelo SIG Idrisi for Windows versão 32.0. Os planos de informação para entrada no SIG foram, basicamente, a mencionada carta de solos, dados climáticos, cartas topográficas, e uso das terras. Este último componente foi obtido por processamento digital de imagens TML/Landsat, tendo sido os demais digitalizados por teclado. O confronto dos mapas de aptidão de uso do solo e do mapa de uso atual, por sobreposição, permitiu o estabelecimento das áreas de uso adequado e de uso inadequado, a partir dos quais chegou-se ao mapa de áreas mais aptas ao ecoturismo, no qual a declividade representou um índice de grande peso (limite máximo de 13% para práticas agrícolas usuais). As áreas de maior complexidade para o desenvolvimento sustentado são aquelas mapeadas como uso não adequado com superutilização do solo, portanto mais suscetíveis à degradação. Com o presente trabalho, poder-se-ão readequar as alternativas de uso inserindo-se aí as áreas mais propicias ao ecoturismo regional
Abstract: From the evaluation of land areas and diagnosis of activities developed in the area of the Medio Pardo(SP),mainly the agricultural, the study was established on adequacy of land use, focused on regional planning and possibilities of Ecotourism insert as an alternative for the sustainable development. One of the supporting tool was the soil map, with the remote sensoring techniques and the Geographic Information System; the land evaluation was established from the SIG Idrisi for Windows version 2.0.The data plans for the SIG input were, basically, the mencioned: soil map, climatic data, topographic chart and land use. The current land use was obtained by TM/Landsat digital image processing. All the other information was bring to digital format on keyboard. The analysis of the suitability map and the current land use map, done by overlaying, showed areas with adequate and inadequate use, from which were established maps of areas able to Ecotourism , where the inclination represents a big percentage (more than 13% of the inclination). The areas with of biggest complexity for the sustained development are those indicated as inadequate use where there is an overuse of the soil, therefore more susceptible to degradation. With the current study, it will be possible to readequate the use alternatives including the most suitable areas for the regional Ecotourism
Doutorado
Planejamento e Desenvolvimento Rural Sustentável
Doutor em Engenharia Agrícola

This paper explores two potential land use planning strategies that can be used to preserve and enhance the economic viability of agricultural operations surrounded by suburban development in Santa Barbara County’s Eastern Goleta Valley: buffers between agriculture and other land uses, and agritourism. In the case of buffers, academic literature is examined to determine how effective buffers are at various tasks (filtering runoff, mitigating dust and wind, providing habitat, etc.) and how to construct buffers to maximize their effectiveness. Land use plans and codes from several California jurisdictions are studied to see how buffers are put to use. Academic literature is then reviewed to discover the benefits and potential drawbacks of agritourism to agricultural operations and the larger area. The zoning codes from the top five agritourism counties in California are evaluated to see how effective they are at facilitating five common agritourism uses; these best practices are then compared to the current zoning in Santa Barbara County. This paper concludes by summarizing the applicability of the literature and case studies to Eastern Goleta Valley, and proposes a new zoning designation and other policies to help maintain the urban agriculture operations. This new zoning designation includes a 30-foot minimum width for buffers and a three-tier categorization of land uses capable of promoting agritourism.

Thesis (M. Town and regional planning)--Stellenbosch University , 2000.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: An ever increasing segment of the population in the current low density category contributes to the sprawling South African city as we know it today. To provide for the housing needs o f people, precious agricultural land is being used, and the historic character o f towns is being destroyed. Densification of the city structure has been put forward as a solution to this problem. In this way, different components of the city may be connected and existing infrastructure may be optimally utilised. The concept of densification is gaining popularity in all spheres o f planning. The implementation of densification requires suitable policy, as well as the strict application of the aforesaid. A densification policy must include consultation with all parties involved with a view to finding a balance between the need for land for development purposes, the conservation of agricultural land, the conservation of the historic character o f towns and cities, as well as being in the public interest. A theoretical investigation was done in which all aspects regarding densification, and its implementation in the South African context were studied. Attention was also given to policy formulation. This was followed by an empirical study, based on the Paarl municipal region as an example, in an attempt to reconcile theory and practice. It was found that although densification enjoys great support, the perception held by professional planners as to appropriate methods for the achievement o f higher densities did not correspond wholly with theoretical arguments in this regard. It was also found that it is important to view densification in relation to the environment in which it is applied, and to create an executable policy for a specifically designated area.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Snelgroeiende bevolkingsgetalle in ‘n lae-digtheidsmilieu dra by tot die uitgebreide Suid- Afrikaanse stad soos ons dit vandag ken. In die proses word kosbare landbougrond gebruik om in die behuisingsbehoefte van die mens te voorsien en die historiese karakter van dorpe word vernietig. As oplossing vir hierdie probleem word verdigting van die stad voorgestel, om sodoende verskillende komponente van die stad te verbind en reeds bestaande infrastruktuur tot die optimum te benut. Die konsep van verdigting geniet toenemende gewildheid in alle sfere van beplanning. Implementering van verdigting kan slegs deur die daarstelling van geskikte beleid en die toepassing daarvan geskied. By die formulering van ‘n verdigtingsbeleid moet alle rolspelers in die proses geraadpleeg word en ‘n middeweg tussen die behoefte aan grond vir ontwikkeling, die bewaring van kosbare landbougrond, die bewaring van die historiese karakter van ‘n stad en die publiek se belange gevind word. ‘n Deeglike teoretiese ondersoek is geloods, wat teoretiese aspekte omtrent verdigting en die implementering van verdigting binne die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks ondersoek het. Daar is ook aandag aan beleidsformulering gegee. Dit is opgevolg deur ‘n empiriese studie wat binne Paarl se munisipale gebied uitgevoer is en teoretiese inligting met die praktyk probeer versoen. In hierdie studie is bevind dat alhoewel verdigting van die stad groot ondersteuning geniet, die persepsie van professionele persone in die beplanningsprofessie oor metodes om hoër digthede te bereik, nie heeltemal met die voorgestelde metodes vervat in teoretiese bronne ooreenstem nie. Daar is ook bevind dat dit belangrik is om verdigting binne die konteks van die omgewing waarin dit toegepas word, te beskou en sodoende ‘n uitvoerbare beleid vir ‘n spesifieke omgewing op te stel.

L’objectif du présent travail est l’analyse du fonctionnement des aménagements antiérosifs les plus répandus en Tunisie, les banquettes et les lacs collinaires. L’évaluation des banquettes a été basée sur leur caractérisation, le diagnostic de leur état, leur incidence sur le développement et la croissance de la culture de l’orge et leur impact sur certains paramètres physico-chimiques du sol. La reconstitution des apports hydriques, l’estimation des prélèvements pour l’irrigation et la détermination des apports solides moyens et exceptionnels ont été utilisés comme indicateurs pour l’évaluation des lacs collinaires. L’analyse diachronique a mis en évidence l’importance des cultures annuelles du périmètre aménagé en banquettes et la régression des espaces réservés aux terrains de parcours au cours du temps. Les résultats montrent que certaines banquettes ont été surdimensionnées tel que pour les écartements, les superficies des inter-ouvrages et leur longueur. Le diagnostic de l’état des ouvrages montre qu’une forte proportion des banquettes a été affectée par diverses formes de dégradation qui semblent être en rapport avec l’événement pluvieux exceptionnel de l’hiver 2003. L’évaluation des effets de l’aménagement en banquettes sur la production des céréales montre que la croissance, le développement végétatif et la production de matière sèche de la culture d’orge ont été significativement améliorés pour la zone située à proximité de l’ouvrage en comparaison avec la zone non aménagée. Après plus de trois décennies de la réalisation de l’aménagement, l’accroissement du rendement attribué à la mise en œuvre des banquettes a été évalué à 33% à proximité du bourrelet et à près de 10% en intégrant la superficie de l’ensemble de l’inter-banquette. Par ailleurs, l’aménagement en banquettes permet d’accroître la profondeur du sol, la teneur en matière organique, la capacité de rétention de l’eau, la fraction fine du sol et de réduire le taux de cailloux dans la zone limitrophe des ouvrages. Le taux de carbonates, le pH et la conductivité électrique semblent être non affectés par la mise en œuvre des banquettes. L’évaluation des prélèvements annuels, pour les besoins en eau d’irrigation, en moyenne durant la période de suivi, au niveau des lacs collinaires sur l’oued Fathiza I, l’oued Ras Rmal et l’oued Sned sont plus faibles que les apports effectifs indiquant une sous-utilisation de l’eau. Les apports moyens effectifs représentent entre 36% et 195% des apports estimés selon les ouvrages. Les apports solides moyens initialement estimés pour chacun des trois ouvrages ont été sous évalués se traduisant ainsi par une sédimentation prématurée. Les taux élevés de sédimentation risquent de compromettre la durée de vie des réservoirs. Les pertes de capacité, à la suite des précipitations exceptionnelles de l’hiver 2003, varient de 3,5% à 7,3% de la capacité initiale. Ces taux de sédimentation montrent l’impact des évènements paroxysmiques sur l’érosion au niveau des bassins versants de ces lacs collinaires. La spatialisation de la sédimentation à travers les cuvettes montre que l'essentiel du dépôt solide a lieu à l'amont des cuvettes.
Doctorat en environnement
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Thesis (M.B.A.)-Business Studies Unit, Durban University of Technology, 2007 iv, 116 leaves
The research assesses employee readiness at eThekwini Electricity to form part of the Regional Electricity Distributor, which had been legislated by Government. The premise of the study is to investigate, identify and understand key factors likely to promote or inhibit effective readiness to change. If these factors can be measured by the organisation, an evaluation of the difficulty of the change effort can then be used to plan accordingly. By assessing readiness for change in the organisation, Top Management will be in a position to identify gaps that may exist between their own expectations about the change effort and those of other organisational members.

The intent of this thesis is to challenge our society’s existing options for the care and processing of the deceased, and to design a space and a ritual which are both deeply meaningful and ecologically beneficial. The community for whom this architecture is designed currently lacks the religious or cultural rituals which would otherwise guide them through the process of laying of their loved ones to rest. For this community, both traditional burial and cremation are devoid of meaning and culturally irrelevant ways of dealing with the deceased, in addition to being unnecessarily wasteful processes. Likewise, the community for which I am designing is decidedly urban, and made up of people for whom the city is the chosen site for living. This city dweller loves the bustling, complicated, concrete and steel metropolis reality. I posit they would find a deep comfort in becoming part of the city after dying. However, it is my position that a deep connection to the cycles of nature is critical in order for the dead to rest peacefully, and for the living to properly grieve. Therefore, I propose that the space I am designing – and its processes within - will be deeply rooted in the cycles of nature, for it is only by truly comprehending our part in these cycles that we can grieve and heal.

Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution is one of the leading causes of water quality problems in the United States. Bioretention has become one of the more frequently used stormwater management practices for addressing NPS pollution in urbanized watersheds in New England. Yet despite increased acceptance, bioretention is not widely practiced. This study explores and evaluates the efficacy of bioretention for protecting urban water quality. This research found that numerous monitoring methods are used by researchers and industry experts to assess the effectiveness of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) and low impact development (LID) practices that include bioretention. The two most common methods for analyzing and evaluating water quality data are pollutant removal efficiency and effluent quality. While effluent quality data is useful for characterizing classes of BMP treatment performance on a statistical basis, pollutant removal efficiency is more representative of the actual pollutant load being reduced by the stormwater treatment practice over time, and is used in Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) assessments. However, despite this difference, monitoring is still arguably the best method for determining the effectiveness of stormwater treatment practices. Monitoring of bioretention performance results is needed to inform improvements to design standards and guidance to aid state and local municipalities in the proper selection of bioretention/stormwater controls. This study advocates for instituting fine-scale, “safe-to-fail” design experiments as part of an adaptive management process that is used to advance bioretention design guidance and future applications of monitoring practice(s) that target reduction of pollutants in downstream receiving waterbodies. This innovative approach could result in increased use of bioretention in New England urban environments.