HOUSING-LED REGENERATION IN EAST DURHAM: UNEVEN DEVELOPMENT, GOVERNANCE, POLITICS

This research investigates housing-led regeneration in the post-industrial area of East Durham to examine whether a gap exists between policy expectation and regeneration, on-the-ground. By engaging with the themes of uneven development and stigma and marginality, the thesis argues that housing-led regeneration policies have exacerbated already existing unevenness and marginality, in their bid to regenerate areas and promote sustainability. This process is played out in the face of shifting economic and political issues. The housing and wider economic market boom of the early to mid 2000’s witnessed a shift in the emphasis placed on housing as a driver to renewal in East Durham; an approach which was sharply hit by the housing market slump, credit crunch and accompanying austerity measures. These funding cuts placed a greater emphasis on the private sector to fund (amongst other things) housing. In addition a rescaling of governing structures from regional and local authority to sub-regional has, the research contends, further influenced and shaped uneven development and marginality. Through the lens of post-political theory, this thesis engages with the relationships between those involved in housing-led regeneration to examine conflict within the process, to show how consensus is managed. Empirical data was gathered using the case study of East Durham. This involved the examination of secondary data in the form of government publications, official statistics, and media reports. The data is derived from extensive, in-depth interviewing of a sample of representatives from County Durham Unitary Council; builders and developers; private surveyors and planners; private landlords; social housing providers; property managers; central government agents; and third sector representatives. A range of county, local and community meetings and forums were attended to provide an ethnographic insight into the process of governing and the relationships which exist within the area

An Old Buffet And A China Cup

ANNA Garner took one of her china plates from the buffet and stood gazing at it for a second. She could see her reflected image on its shiny surface. It always startled her for a second whenever she caught a glimpse of herself unexpectedly. She could never quite associate that plump face creased with numerous wrinkles and wreathed with white hair with herself..

Master of Science

thesisThe purpose of this thesis is to explain the role of information in the theory of the firm. This provides a new perspective on how information impacts firm expansion and boundary. Information helps a firm become more certain on how to direct the firm. Uncertainty is the opposite; it causes confusion and problems for the firm. This thesis discusses two ways a firm can develop certainty. The first is through experience and learning. These may require time and effort. The second is through expansion. Expansion increases resources and capacity for the firm to deal with uncertainty. Certainty is manifest as operational intelligence and stability. Operational intelligence is based largely on how the firm operates and stability focuses on the current position of the firm. These two elements of certainty determine the firm boundary

The design and development of a web-based procurement card training program for use at UW-River Falls

Includes bibliographical references

Microphase assisted autocatalysis

The mathematical model developed in this study considered reaction, crystallization, and microphase processes simultaneously to describe autocatalytic microphase action more effectively. Simulations were performed to determine the effect of crystal growth rates, nucleation rates and the initial crystal size distribution on the overall reaction rate enhancement produced by the microphase. The growth kinetics and the crystal size distribution were found to have a significant influence on the heterogeneous reaction rate. These results call into question previous models developed to describe autocatalytic microphases, as none of them include appropriate crystallization kinetic models;In the reaction system of solid calcium citrate and liquid sulfuric acid, the solid reaction product, calcium sulfate, functions as an autocatalytic microphase to enhance the rate of reaction and crystallization. Significant reaction rate enhancement was observed experimentally at the onset of calcium sulfate nucleation creating an autocatalytic effect. Indeed, enhancements approaching a factor of 3 were observed under different initial conditions;The previously proposed microphase mechanism attributes the multiphase reaction rate enhancement to the increase in mass transfer of the sparingly soluble solute from the interface to the bulk reaction phase. This mechanism was experimentally verified when increased mass transfer rates without reaction occurring were found to mirror the reaction rate enhancement. Reaction and mass transfer rate enhancement increased with increasing microphase loading until 1.87 g/L microphase (2.5 g/L CaSO4 crystals), when the effect of new nuclei is negligible. These experimental results were used to validate the theoretical model

Barriers to timely completion of the nursing education program of Saskatchewan (NEPS)

Timely student completion of undergraduate nursing programs in order to produce practicing registered nurses (RNs) is of concern to students, faculty, governments, employers, and health care consumers across Canada. The shortage of health care professionals in Saskatchewan, particularly in nursing, is an immediate and growing concern. The average age of RNs in Saskatchewan is 44.9 years (CIHI, 2003). With the inevitability of retirement of many RNs, recruitment and retention of new nurses is critical to the quality of health care in this province. The looming shortage creates a further challenge for key stakeholders in academia, government, and health regions who hold a vested interest in the retention of nurses educated in Saskatchewan. Currently, little is known about the impact of barriers to timely completion of students in the Nursing Education Program of Saskatchewan (NEPS). Considering the aging nursing workforce, frequent, substantial numbers of nursing graduates are important to meet the demand for health human resources in the province of Saskatchewan (SRNA, 2004). The purpose of this research was to conduct a secondary analysis of the NEPS Database including exit surveys completed by 363 graduates over a three-year period, 2002-2003; 2003-2004; 2004-2005. Group membership was determined by splitting data between graduates who had taken four academic years (September to April) or less to complete the program (timely completers) and those who took longer than four academic years (delayed completers). Objectives were to examine the differences between the two aforementioned groups in terms of the following variables: employment hours, financial burden, student loan status, dollar amount of bursaries awarded during the NEPS, primary responsibility the year prior to the NEPS, significant life changes during the NEPS, Aboriginal ancestry and core course averages. Results show that 86% of females in the study group completed the NEPS in a timely manner compared with 58% of their male counterparts. There was a trend of higher employment hours per week in every year of the NEPS for delayed completers. However, this difference approached statistical significance only for students in year one, t (360) = 1.81, p < .07. Fifty percent of delayed completers had three or more significant life changes during the NEPS. Seventy-five percent of timely completers had two or fewer significant life changes. Students require various forms of support to ensure timely completion of the NEPS. It is anticipated that results of this research will inform policy decisions to facilitate timely completion of the NEPS

Deep Coastal Marine Taphonomy: Investigation into Carcass Decomposition in the Saanich Inlet, British Columbia Using a Baited Camera

Decomposition and faunal colonization of a carcass in the terrestrial environment has been well studied, but knowledge of decomposition in the marine environment is based almost entirely on anecdotal reports. Three pig carcasses were deployed in Saanich Inlet, BC, over 3 years utilizing Ocean Network Canada’s VENUS observatory. Each carcass was deployed in late summer/early fall at 99 m under a remotely controlled camera and observed several times a day. Dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, density and pressure were continuously measured. Carcass 1 was immediately colonized by Munida quadrispina, Pandalus platyceros and Metacarcinus magister, rapidly scavenged then dragged from view by Day 22. Artifacts specific to each of the crustaceans’ feeding patterns were observed. Carcass 2 was scavenged in a similar fashion. Exposed tissue became covered by Orchomenella obtusa (Family Lysianassidae) which removed all the internal tissues rapidly. Carcass 3 attracted only a few M. quadrispina, remaining intact, developing a thick filamentous sulphur bacterial mat, until Day 92, when it was skeletonized by crustacea. The major difference between the deployments was dissolved oxygen levels. The first two carcasses were placed when oxygen levels were tolerable, becoming more anoxic. This allowed larger crustacea to feed. However, Carcass 3 was deployed when the water was already extremely anoxic, which prevented larger crustacea from accessing the carcass. The smaller M. quadrispina were unable to break the skin alone. The larger crustacea returned when the Inlet was re-oxygenated in spring. Oxygen levels, therefore, drive the biota in this area, although most crustacea endured stressful levels of oxygen to access the carcasses for much of the time. These data will be valuable in forensic investigations involving submerged bodies, indicating types of water conditions to which the body has been exposed, identifying post-mortem artifacts and providing realistic expectations for recovery divers and families of the deceased

Onset of action and seizure control in Lennox-Gaustaut syndrome: focus on rufinamide

Lennox-Gaustaut syndrome is an electroclinical epilepsy syndrome characterized by the triad of electroencephalogram showing diffuse slow spike-and-wave discharges and paroxysmal fast activity, multiple intractable seizure types, and cognitive impairment. The intractability to seizure medications and cognitive impairment gives rise to eventual institutionalized patient care. Only a small subset of seizure medications has been shown to be helpful in seizure control. Most patients take up to 3 medications at high therapeutic dosing and are susceptible to medication-induced side effects. The lack of medication efficacy in seizure control has led one meta-analysis to conclude that there is no single medication that is highly efficacious in controlling seizures in this syndrome. On this background, a new and structurally novel seizure medication, rufinamide, has been found to be beneficial in the treatment of seizures in this syndrome. In a multicenter, double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled study, rufinamide was found to reduce seizures by over 30%. More importantly, it reduced the frequency of the seizure type that induces most of the morbidity of this syndrome, the drop seizure, by over 40%. There were few side effects, the medication was well tolerated, and in the open labeled extension study, tolerance was not found. In this review, we describe the main electroclinical features of Lennox-Gaustaut syndrome and summarize the few controlled studies that have contributed to its rational treatment. Currently, there is no single agent or combination of agents that effectively treat the multiple seizure types and co-morbidities in this syndrome. Our focus will be on the role of the new medication rufinamide in seizure reduction in patients with Lennox-Gaustaut syndrome

Effect of Fluctuating Temperatures on the Development of a Forensically Important Blow Fly, \u3cem\u3eProtophormia terraenovae\u3c/em\u3e (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Experiments were conducted to compare the immature development of Protophormia terraenovae (Robineau-Desvoidy) at fluctuating temperatures of 4-28 and 9-23°C to their mean constant temperature, 16°C. Overall development was fastest at the greater fluctuation and slowest at the constant temperature but showed similar percentages of development time in each stage. The rate summation effect is suspected to have caused this difference in development rate because fluctuations above the mean increase the rate relatively more than temperatures below the mean can lower the rate

Establishing Lower Developmental Thresholds for a Common BlowFly: For Use in Estimating Elapsed Time since Death Using Entomologyical Methods

Forensic entomology is a science used to estimate a post-mortem interval (PMI). Larvae develop at predictable rates and the time interval for this development can be used to estimate the PMI. Environmental temperatures are not constant and fluctuate with the photoperiod. In early and late insect seasons, temperatures can drop to below threshold temperatures where development essentially ceases. Threshold temperatures differ for different species and should be determined by raising insects at the extremely low temperatures. The lower threshold temperature for Protophormia terraenovae for egg hatch is 10.3°C ; for first instar larvae to molt to second instar larvae it is is 10.7°C ; it falls between 10.7 and 11 °C to reach third instar, and is 11 °C to reach post feeding third instar larvae. In order to pupate, the temperature threshold falls between 11.5 and 11.7 °C and adult emergence is completed only at temperatures above 11.7°C. It was shown that if P. terraenovae was raised at a higher temperature for a period of time and only exposed to temperatures below thresholds at a later larval stage, development could continue