Application of simultaneous active and reactive power modulation of SMES unit under unequal mode for power system stabilization

Vol.14, No. 2, May 199

And now I\u27m able to fight for my future : A qualitative exploration of the perspectives and experiences of service users of faith-based NGOs in Ghana

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have grown in their importance in the international development field over the past 30 years. As a result of their rapid expansion and growth in influence, questions about their accountability, including their accountability to their service users, are being raised by key stakeholders (donors, NGO staff, and the service users themselves). Faith-based organizations (FBOs) are an increasingly important sub-group of NGOs, yet few studies exist which examine the accountability of FBOs to their service users. This study aims to help fill the gap in the literature by exploring the perspectives and experiences of FBO service users in Ghana. Data for this study was obtained through individual interviews and focus groups with a total of 24 participants from four FBOs in Ghana. Field observations and conversations with staff complemented the interviews and focus groups. Using qualitative description with overtones of constructivist grounded theory within a framework of Critical Theory, the findings were analyzed, revealing six themes: appreciating what the FBO offers; being limited; dealing with challenges; wanting to learn more; accessing services; and, experiencing success. The results of this study show that the four FBOs are responding to some of the needs of their service users but there is a lack of “downward” accountability, that is, the service users are not able to hold the FBO accountable for their actions. A question that arises from this study is whether FBOs can be both partially downward accountable and still beneficial to the local community. Further study is encouraged to explore the links between downward accountability in FBOs and the experience of service users

And now I\u27m able to fight for my future : A qualitative exploration of the perspectives and experiences of service users of faith-based NGOs in Ghana

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have grown in their importance in the international development field over the past 30 years. As a result of their rapid expansion and growth in influence, questions about their accountability, including their accountability to their service users, are being raised by key stakeholders (donors, NGO staff, and the service users themselves). Faith-based organizations (FBOs) are an increasingly important sub-group of NGOs, yet few studies exist which examine the accountability of FBOs to their service users. This study aims to help fill the gap in the literature by exploring the perspectives and experiences of FBO service users in Ghana. Data for this study was obtained through individual interviews and focus groups with a total of 24 participants from four FBOs in Ghana. Field observations and conversations with staff complemented the interviews and focus groups. Using qualitative description with overtones of constructivist grounded theory within a framework of Critical Theory, the findings were analyzed, revealing six themes: appreciating what the FBO offers; being limited; dealing with challenges; wanting to learn more; accessing services; and, experiencing success. The results of this study show that the four FBOs are responding to some of the needs of their service users but there is a lack of “downward” accountability, that is, the service users are not able to hold the FBO accountable for their actions. A question that arises from this study is whether FBOs can be both partially downward accountable and still beneficial to the local community. Further study is encouraged to explore the links between downward accountability in FBOs and the experience of service users

"It's a life-altering experience": Examining the role of care environments in the experience of breast cancer care

Ontario’s Regional Cancer Programs provide an organized system of adjuvant treatment and follow-up care in its 13 Regional Cancer Centres. For breast cancer patients in particular, these centres become a part of daily activities, as appointments over five years of cancer care result in patients repeatedly accessing these centres at varying frequencies over their treatment periods. The experience of seeking out and receiving care has grown to incorporate cancer care services that exist on a variety of spatial scales, in both formal and informal environments (e.g. support groups, workshops). This study focuses on the role of geography in health behaviors and care experiences of breast cancer patients. Individual interviews were conducted with patients (n=23) attending the Juravinski Cancer Centre in Hamilton, Ontario about their care experiences in their community, and the location and organization of the centre. Rosenstock’s (1966) health belief model and Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory informed the analysis of patient satisfaction and produced attitudes that impact the likelihood of health action. Results demonstrated that patients were generally satisfied with their interactions with health care providers and the design and location of the centre. Parking and perceived disconnect between the centre and community health care providers (e.g. family doctors) were identified as being sources of patient dissatisfaction. Patients made sense of their care experience through ‘routinization’ – fixed times and predictable intervals – of travel and appointment schedules. Satisfaction with accessibility to health care providers when at home (e.g. call-in services) appeared to impact at-home adherence to medication and suggested lifestyle changes. Uptake of community support services depended on patient perceptions of need, suitability and proximity, but went largely unused. Patients’ understanding of their care experiences highlight the need to give greater consideration to geography and the physical care environment in the future planning of breast cancer care services.Master of Arts (MA

Role of thermodynamic and kinetic factors in polymer dissolution in mixed solvents+

A model for polymer dissolution in mixed solvents has been developed with the purpose of explaining the hitherto unexplained maximum in the dissolution rate with the solvent composition. The variation of the interface concentration of both the solvents and the dissolution rate with the composition of the non-solvent in the dissolution medium is predicted. The model predicts an increase in dissolution rate with an increase in low molecular weight non-solvent content of the dissolution medium. However, further increase in the non-solvent content, decreases the dissolution rate. The relative role of kinetic and thermodynamic quality of the solvent is shown to be the reason for this unusual behaviour. The model also predicts reduction in swelling with an increase in non-solvent content of the dissolution medium. The implications of the work in designing mixed solvent systems for microlithography to meet the goal of maximum dissolution rate with minimum swelling are discussed

The impacts of alder (alnus spp.) and salmon (oncorhynchus spp.) on aquatic nutrient dynamics and microbial communities in southwestern Alaska

Understanding the direction and impact of nutrient fluxes across ecosystem boundaries is fundamental to ecology. Nitrogen (N)-fixation by alder (Alnus spp.) and Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) provide key nutrient subsidies to freshwater systems. Southwestern (SW) Alaska supports some of the greatest salmon runs in the world. Alder is also a prevalent constituent of the regional vegetation. The importance of alder-derived nutrients (ADN) in the tundra is expected to increase as alder cover expands under climate warming, and as salmon harvesting reduces marine-derived nutrients (MDN) in salmon-spawning habitats. I evaluated the drivers and impacts of alder- and salmon-derived nutrients on aquatic systems by analyzing stream and lake water chemistry from a suite of 26 streams and 13 lakes, over a four-year period in SW Alaska. Additional water samples from all the study lakes were collected for analyses of microbial community structure and function. I statistically modeled relationships among aquatic nutrient concentrations, alder and salmon abundance, physiographic features within each watershed, and meteorological conditions to determine the ultimate controls on aquatic nutrient dynamics in this region. To assess the relative impacts of alder and salmon on aquatic microbial communities, I compared shifts in bacterial community composition and microbial function with catchment physical features and lake-water chemistry. I also measured microbial metabolic responses to N, P, and N+P enrichment to assess variation in nutrient limitation. My results reveal that watershed elevation is a key factor controlling the quantities of alder-derived N in streams. Elevation was inversely related to alder cover and N yield (ρ = -0.8 and -0.73 respectively, P < 0.05 for both). Alder cover had the largest influence on stream N (β estimate = 0.56, P < 0.05). In streams, higher P was associated with lower temperatures, possibly reflecting reduced P demand under low rates of metabolic activity. Stream N:P declined with elevation, suggesting that increased alder cover exacerbates aquatic P-limitation. In lakes, alder and salmon drive different nutrient cycles. Alder was the main driver of N (β estimate = 0.58, P < 0.05) in the spring, while relative catchment area and salmon drove P in the summer (β estimates = 0.42 and 0.32, respectively, P < 0.05 for both). However, elevation was inversely related to alder cover and lake N (ρ = -0.81 and -0.77 respectively, P < 0.05 for both). Also, accounting for relative catchment area weakened the relationship between salmon density and lake P (parameter estimate = 0.45, P = 0.08). Together, these results indicate that watershed physiography dictates lake nutrient dynamics in this region. Salmon had greater impacts on aquatic microbial community structure and function than alder. Seasonal shifts in bacterial community composition (F = 7.47, P < 0.01) were related to changes in lake N and phosphorus (P) concentrations (r2 = 0.19 and 0.16, both P < 0.05), and putrescine degradation (r2 = 0.13, P = 0.06), indicating the influx of, and microbial utilization of MDN. In contrast, alder cover was not related to microbial function, likely because alder-derived N provided less resource diversity than MDN. In response to nutrient additions, higher metabolic activity occurred among microbial communities from lakes with elevated Chl a concentrations (β estimates for +N, +P and +NP treatments = 0.78, 0.92, and 0.81, respectively, all P < 0.07) and larger relative catchment areas (β estimates for +N, +P and +NP treatments = 0.57, 0.54, and 0.53 respectively, all P < 0.05) in the spring. Thus, I infer that declining salmon abundance is likely to affect aquatic microbial community structure and function, but that watershed and lake features will potentially mediate these responses to nutrient loading. Overall, my research shows that aquatic nutrient regimes are ultimately driven by physiographic features that modulate the impacts of alder and salmon in freshwater systems. These results demonstrate that alder cannot buffer aquatic ecosystems from declining salmon, and that the watershed characteristics may have a greater influence on aquatic productivity than commonly assumed. Results from my microbial analyses also indicate that certain watershed features can make the metabolic response of lakes more vulnerable to increased allochthonous loading. Thus, it is likely watershed features will constrain aquatic system responses to future environmental change

A survey of performance rating research in work measurement

Call number: LD2668 .R4 IE 1988 D48Master of ScienceIndustrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineerin

A long view of liberal peace and its crisis

The ‘crisis’ of liberal peace has generated considerable debate in International Relations. However, analysis is inhibited by a shared set of spatial, cultural and temporal assumptions that rest on and reproduce a problematic separation between self-evident ‘liberal’ and ‘non-liberal’ worlds, and locates the crisis in presentist terms of the latter’s resistance to the former’s expansion. By contrast, this article argues that efforts to advance liberal rule have always been interwoven with processes of alternative order-making, and in this way are actively integral, not external, to the generation of the subjectivities, contestations, violence and rival social orders that are then apprehended as self-evident obstacles and threats to liberal peace and as characteristic of its periphery. Making visible these intimate relations of co-constitution elided by representations of liberal peace and its crisis requires a long view and an analytical frame that encompasses both liberalism and its others in the world. The argument is developed using a Foucauldian governmentality framework and illustrated with reference to Sri Lanka

Application of superconducting magnetic energy storage unit in multi-machine power systems

Vol.41, pp.493-504, 200

Lake Pittsfield Illinois National Nonpoint Source Monitoring Program Project

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