Tourism Policy and Planning in Michigan: Why Adding Sustainability is Important

The tourism industry relies on the exploitation of resources, the environment, and often communities and cultures as well. Whereas Michigan’s tourism industry is likely to continue growing into the foreseeable future, industry stakeholders must work to guarantee the viability of tourism as the industry grows. This research includes a compilation of policy, planning, and strategy recommendations to incorporate sustainability into the Michigan tourism industry. Specifically, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the triple bottom line are identified as ideal frameworks through which tourism planning and policy should flow. Suggestions for first steps include adopting an industry-standard definition of sustainability, a national rating system to benchmark stakeholder organizations and businesses, and the use of certification bodies to verify sustainable practices. Research and theories are drawn from think tanks and experts in tourism policy and planning, ecotourism, and sustainability. The resulting recommendations include: endorsing the SDGs and the triple bottom line as a framework by which to develop a sustainable tourism industry; administering stakeholder and community engagement throughout the processes of creating and implementing a sustainable tourism plan; considering sustainable tourism models and strategies; and conducting regular evaluation and assessment of the statewide plan and the impacts of the industry. The creation of a plan with these recommendations will appropriately address the problems of exploitation, growth, and development resulting from tourism in Michigan

Benzisoxazoles: new routes to coleophomone analogues

This project has been part of an ongoing interest in metabolites with a cyclic tricarbonyl motif 1, usually enolised. Coleophomones A C have a unique architecture with the cyclic tricarbonyl motif embedded in an 11-membered ring: A & B exist in aldol equilibrium, B & C are geometric isomers, and D lacks the macrocycle.1,2 Antifungal & antibiotic activity, and inhibition of human heart chymase & bacterial cell-wall transglycosylase, has generated synthetic interest. In an approach distinct from reported studies,3 we propose 4-carbonyl-substituted isoxazoles, from dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides, as building blocks for the tricarbonyl framework. During this investigation precursors to the macrocycles of coleophomones A, B, C and analogues were developed. En route to these precursors we have uncovered and probed a facile and highly unusual benzisoxazole to oxazole rearrangement. *Schemes and figures relating to the abstract can be found within the document proper

Identifying Pathways to Well-Managed School Sanitation Services in Low-Income Countries

The continued maintenance of sanitation services post-implementation is a persistent challenge in less-developed countries that can often negate the anticipated health and economic impacts of sanitation investments. The school setting, in particular, may present an even greater test of service longevity due to the greater number and rapid turnover of stakeholders. In response, a number of drivers of well-maintained services have been posited in white and grey literature. However, there is a surfeit of factors and we lack evidence of which conditions are necessary and sufficient for continued service provision over time. This dissertation analyzes case schools in Peru, Belize, and Bangladesh to identify causal pathways to continued (and discontinued) maintenance of school sanitation services post-intervention. A novel method, Qualitative Comparative Analysis, facilitates the evaluation of collective influences and offers multiple models or a "roadmap" of conditions that provide high likelihood for continued maintenance of school sanitation. Barriers and pathways to well-managed school sanitation are discussed for each study location specifically, followed by a multi-country cross-case fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to provide more generalizable results. Based on case data from Peru, Belize and Bangladesh, two sufficient pathways to well-maintained school sanitation are identified as well as three pathways to poorly maintained services. Both pathways to well-maintained sanitation include high quality construction and local involvement in planning and construction, in combination with a local champion in one pathway and with financial support from the government and community in the second. All sufficient pathways to poorly maintained services include the absence of financial support from either the government, community or both, indicating the significance of reliable financial access to on-going maintenance and the negative impact that the absence of support for recurrent costs can have on capital investment. This dissertation provides empirical evidence for multiple sufficient pathways to well-managed (and poorly managed) school sanitation in Peru, Belize and Bangladesh. The research methods and findings may have widespread implications for improving the reliability of sanitation and hygiene service provision in low-income schools, increasing potential for positive health and education impacts, as well as more effective resource utilization

Effects of resonant excitation, pulse duration and intensity on photoelectron imaging of a dianion

The photoelectron imaging of the indigo carmine dianion is used to demonstrate the effects of resonance excitation, pulse duration and pulse intensity on the photoelectron spectra and angular distributions of a dianion. Excitation of the S1 state leads to an aligned distribution of excited state dianions. The photoelectron angular distribution following subsequent photodetachment within a femtosecond laser pulse is primarily determined by the repulsive Coulomb barrier. Extending the timescale for photodetachment to nanoseconds leads to dramatic changes in both the spectral and angular distributions. These observations are explained in terms of statistical detachment of electrons, either from the monoanion, or from the ground state of the dianion following a number of photon cycles through the S1 ← S0 transition. At high intensity, new electron emission channels open up, leading to emission below the repulsive Coulomb barrier. This has been assigned to strong-field induced detachment and the effect of an electric field on the Coulomb barrier is discussed in terms of the photoelectron spectra and angular distributions

Effect of Internal Energy on the Repulsive Coulomb Barrier of Polyanions

The nature of the repulsive Coulomb barrier in isolated molecular polyanions is studied by means of the photodetachment dynamics of the S1 excited state of the fluorescein dianion which is bound solely by the repulsive Coulomb barrier. Photoelectron spectra reveal a feature at a constant electron kinetic energy, regardless of the excitation energy. This is explained by using an adiabatic tunneling picture for electron loss through successive repulsive Coulomb barriers correlating to vibrationally excited states. This physical picture is supported by time-resolved photoelectron spectra, showing that the tunneling lifetime is also invariant with excitation energy

Reflecting theologically on the impact of HIV in Edinburgh with particular reference to infected people, health and social care professionals, Scottish churches and local agency, Waverley Care.

This thesis discusses the impact of HIV in Edinburgh on infected individuals, professionals and the Scottish churches. It is grounded in contextual practical theology, offering reflexive responses to evidence gleaned from oral histories. The thesis documents the development of a local agency, Waverley Care, exploring the influences and pressures that contributed to its distinctive ethos. The author was employed as chaplain to people living with HIV from 2000 – 2016; the pastoral and professional relationships that emerged from that ministry form the foundation for the research. Unstructured interviews were conducted and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse, interpret and reflect on the resultant material. Personal stories and perspectives were shared, both by people living with HIV and by professionals in the field. The impact of living with HIV is shown by discussing issues such as the ongoing impact of HIV-related stigma and the challenges associated with living long-term with the condition. Attention is paid to the challenges arising as a result of multiple bereavements and the resultant spiritual questions that emerge. The impact on physicians is also evidenced, in particular the transition from treating patients before the advent of effective medication, to the situation in 2016 when HIV has been re-classified as a chronic illness. Recommendations on areas of ongoing concern are made for decision makers in public health, the churches and Waverley Care. Deep reflective analysis is offered, using the Stations of the Cross and models from bereavement work to provide frameworks for understanding. The contribution of the Scottish churches to the establishment of support services is recognised; the churches’ influence, both positive and negative on discourse on human sexuality is discussed. The research evidences the impact of the provision of spiritual care within a secular agency, showing that it is possible to create sacred space and to deliver a sacramental ministry within a non-church setting

Steiner's Shoah : a conversation in silence

This study explores George Steiner's approach to the historical and literary representation of the Shoah. Steiner's conception of human language as a vibrant living organism, the prime carrier of both civilization and its opposite--nihilism, is foundational to his thought on Holocaust representation and, therefore, forms the spine of this thesis. Initially calling for silence in relation to the Shoah, Steiner has modified his conception of "silence" now to act as a metaphor, warning against the use of ordinary linguistic techniques when speaking or writing about the tremendum, the Holocaust. He argues that much of what is produced on the subject of the Holocaust is inadequate, even harmful in its tendency to add a kind of acceptability to the phenomenon by reducing and reproducing it within normal, articulate, acceptable language. Based on his own controversial theory of the causes of antisemitism in Western culture, "the blackmail of transcendence", Steiner argues that the only language into which the essential Shoah experience can be translated is theological

Strongly aligned molecules inside helium droplets in the near-adiabatic regime

Iodine (I$_2$) molecules embedded in He nanodroplets are aligned by a 160 ps long laser pulse. The highest degree of alignment, occurring at the peak of the pulse and quantified by $\langle \cos^2 \theta_{2D} \rangle$, is measured as a function of the laser intensity. The results are well described by $\langle \cos^2 \theta_{2D} \rangle$ calculated for a gas of isolated molecules each with an effective rotational constant of 0.6 times the gas-phase value, and at a temperature of 0.4 K. Theoretical analysis using the angulon quasiparticle to describe rotating molecules in superfluid helium rationalizes why the alignment mechanism is similar to that of isolated molecules with an effective rotational constant. A major advantage of molecules in He droplets is that their 0.4 K temperature leads to stronger alignment than what can generally be achieved for gas phase molecules -- here demonstrated by a direct comparison of the droplet results to measurements on a $\sim$ 1 K supersonic beam of isolated molecules. This point is further illustrated for more complex system by measurements on 1,4-diiodobenzene and 1,4-dibromobenzene. For all three molecular species studied the highest values of $\langle \cos^2 \theta_{2D} \rangle$ achieved in He droplets exceed 0.96.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure