Equity policies in higher education : a legal evaluation of institutional responses

ABSTRACT Higher education equity policies have for as long as they have existed provoked serious legal controversy, especially in the largest system of higher education, i.e. the USA. In as much as these legal troubles have not arisen (yet) in Ghana, it can’t be taken for granted that such problems are far-fetched. In that sense this study is a work ahead of its time; in drawing analogies from American case Law, the work attempts to predict the possible legal issues that may arise in the Ghanaian jurisdiction and the possible legal solutions. It does this in the context of the Gender affirmative action policy and the less endowed School policy implemented by the University of Ghana. To achieve this broad goal, the work proceeded by identifying the main features of these policies, the rationale for their adoption and the procedures for their implementation. Within an analytical framework of the filter model, carved out of the tenets of sociological jurisprudence, the project, using a legal methodology, evaluated the legal merits of these policies against the standards set by the Constitution of Ghana, as well as the Narrow tailoring analysis and Instrumental test evolved by American Jurisprudence. After carefully examining the legal literature as well as policy documents available, it was discovered that the two policies as implemented are bereft of the crucial standards of fairness and non-discrimination required by the constitution and therefore have weak legs to stand on in Law. It was also discovered that the procedures for their implementation are not sufficiently narrowly tailored to pass the legal test. For these reasons, the work ends by suggesting ways of improving such policies to make them more legally passable

Assessing uncertainty in housing stock infiltration rates and associated heat loss: English and UK case studies

Strategies to reduce domestic heating loads by minimizing the infiltration of cold air through adventitious openings located in the thermal envelopes of houses are highlighted by the building codes of many countries. Consequent reductions of energy demand and CO2e emission are often unquantified by empirical evidence. Instead, a mean heating season infiltration rate is commonly inferred from an air leakage rate using a simple ratio scaled to account for the physical and environmental properties of a dwelling. The scaling does not take account of the permeability of party walls in conjoined dwellings and so cannot differentiate between the infiltration of unconditioned ambient air that requires heating, and conditioned air from adjacent dwellings that does not. A stochastic method is presented that applies a theoretical model of adventitious infiltration to predict distributions of mean infiltration rates and the associated total heat loss in any stock of dwellings during heating hours. The method is applied to the English and UK housing stocks and provides probability distribution functions of stock infiltration rates and total heat loss during the heating season for two extremes of party wall permeability. The distributions predict that up to 79% of the current English stock could require additional purpose-provided ventilation to limit negative health consequences. National models predict that fewer dwellings are under-ventilated. The distributions are also used to predict that infiltration is responsible for 3–5% of total UK energy demand, 11–15% of UK housing stock energy demand, and 10–14% of UK housing stock carbon emissions

HYDROCARBON ACTIVITY ON GHANA'S CONTINENTAL SHELF: REQUIREMENTS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW

The purpose of this thesis is to identify and discuss the international environmental law requirements imposed on Ghana with respect to offshore hydrocarbon activity and how Ghana has so far responded to these requirements in its national laws and practices. The study further seeks to ascertain the adequacy of these responses in the light of their legal implications. To achieve this, the international requirements are discussed under various themes; likewise Ghana's responses and the relationship between requirements and responses are identified in subsequent chapters. It was generally discovered that Ghana has made modest gains towards fulfilling its international law obligations for offshore hydrocarbon activity. It was however obvious from the findings that much more needs to be done when it comes to implementation to enable Ghana fully meet the requirements of international environmental law. The study ends by making recommendations in this regard

Optimizing Hydronic System Performance in Residential Applications

Even though new homes constructed with hydronic heat comprise only 3% of the market (US Census Bureau 2009), of the 115 million existing homes in the United States, almost 14 million of those homes (11%) are heated with steam or hot water systems according to 2009 US Census data. Therefore, improvements in hydronic system performance could result in significant energy savings in the US. When operating properly, the combination of a gas-fired condensing boiler with baseboard convectors and an indirect water heater is a viable option for high-efficiency residential space heating in cold climates. Based on previous research efforts, however, it is apparent that these types of systems are typically not designed and installed to achieve maximum efficiency. Furthermore, guidance on proper design and commissioning for heating contractors and energy consultants is hard to find and is not comprehensive. Through modeling and monitoring, CARB sought to determine the optimal combination(s) of components - pumps, high efficiency heat sources, plumbing configurations and controls - that result in the highest overall efficiency for a hydronic system when baseboard convectors are used as the heat emitter. The impact of variable-speed pumps on energy use and system performance was also investigated along with the effects of various control strategies and the introduction of thermal mass

Optimizing Hydronic System Performance in Residential Applications

Even though new homes constructed with hydronic heat comprise only 3% of the market (US Census Bureau 2009), of the 115 million existing homes in the United States, almost 14 million of those homes (11%) are heated with steam or hot water systems according to 2009 US Census data. Therefore, improvements in hydronic system performance could result in significant energy savings in the US. When operating properly, the combination of a gas-fired condensing boiler with baseboard convectors and an indirect water heater is a viable option for high-efficiency residential space heating in cold climates. Based on previous research efforts, however, it is apparent that these types of systems are typically not designed and installed to achieve maximum efficiency. Furthermore, guidance on proper design and commissioning for heating contractors and energy consultants is hard to find and is not comprehensive. Through modeling and monitoring, CARB sought to determine the optimal combination(s) of components - pumps, high efficiency heat sources, plumbing configurations and controls - that result in the highest overall efficiency for a hydronic system when baseboard convectors are used as the heat emitter. The impact of variable-speed pumps on energy use and system performance was also investigated along with the effects of various control strategies and the introduction of thermal mass

Domestic Solar Water Heating System for the Engineering Building on Campus

The purpose of our senior design project was to learn in-depth about solar thermal systems\ud while implementing and analyzing our own solar thermal design for Hicks, the Engineering Building. We\ud worked within the time allocated to us to assemble a working complete solar thermal system that was\ud capable of heating the water in Hicks building without the help of an electric heater

56th & Walnut - A Philly Gut Rehab Development

Load-bearing brick-masonry multifamily buildings are prevalent in urban areas across much of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. In most instances, these buildings are uninsulated unless they have been renovated within the past two decades. Affordable housing capital budgets typically limit what can be spent and energy improvements often take a back seat to basic capital improvements such as interior finish upgrades and basic repairs. The Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings is researching cost-effective solution packages for significant energy efficiency and indoor air-quality improvements in these urban buildings

56th & Walnut - A Philly Gut Rehab Development

Load-bearing brick-masonry multifamily buildings are prevalent in urban areas across much of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. In most instances, these buildings are uninsulated unless they have been renovated within the past two decades. Affordable housing capital budgets typically limit what can be spent and energy improvements often take a back seat to basic capital improvements such as interior finish upgrades and basic repairs. The Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings is researching cost-effective solution packages for significant energy efficiency and indoor air-quality improvements in these urban buildings

Predicting Envelope Leakage in Attached Dwellings

The most common method for measuring air leakage is to use a single blower door to pressurize and/or depressurize the test unit. In detached housing, the test unit is the entire home and the single blower door measures air leakage to the outside. In attached housing, this 'single unit', 'total', or 'solo' test method measures both the air leakage between adjacent units through common surfaces as well air leakage to the outside. Measuring and minimizing this total leakage is recommended to avoid indoor air quality issues between units, reduce energy losses to the outside, reduce pressure differentials between units, and control stack effect. However, two significant limitations of the total leakage measurement in attached housing are: for retrofit work, if total leakage is assumed to be all to the outside, the energy benefits of air sealing can be significantly over predicted; for new construction, the total leakage values may result in failing to meet an energy-based house tightness program criterion. The scope of this research is to investigate an approach for developing a viable simplified algorithm that can be used by contractors to assess energy efficiency program qualification and/or compliance based upon solo test results

Imaging the Time Course, Morphology, Neuronal Tissue Compression, and Resolution of Cerebral Microhemorrhages in Mice Using Intravital Two-Photon Microscopy: Insights into Arteriolar, Capillary, and Venular Origin

Cerebral microhemorrhages (CMHs, microbleeds), a manifestation of age-related cerebral small vessel disease, contribute to the pathogenesis of cognitive decline and dementia in older adults. Histological studies have revealed that CMHs exhibit distinct morphologies, which may be attributed to differences in intravascular pressure and the size of the vessels of origin. Our study aimed to establish a direct relationship between the size/morphology of CMHs and the size/anatomy of the microvessel of origin. To achieve this goal, we adapted and optimized intravital two-photon microscopy-based imaging methods to monitor the development of CMHs in mice equipped with a chronic cranial window upon high-energy laser light-induced photodisruption of a targeted cortical arteriole, capillary, or venule. We assessed the time course of extravasation of fluorescently labeled blood and determined the morphology and size/volume of the induced CMHs. Our findings reveal striking similarities between the bleed morphologies observed in hypertension-induced CMHs in models of aging and those originating from different targeted vessels via multiphoton laser ablation. Arteriolar bleeds, which are larger (> 100 μm) and more widely dispersed, are distinguished from venular bleeds, which are smaller and exhibit a distinct diffuse morphology. Capillary bleeds are circular and smaller (< 10 μm) in size. Our study supports the concept that CMHs can occur at any location in the vascular tree, and that each type of vessel produces microbleeds with a distinct morphology. Development of CMHs resulted in immediate constriction of capillaries, likely due to pericyte activation and constriction of precapillary arterioles. Additionally, tissue displacement observed in association with arteriolar CMHs suggests that they can affect an area with a radius of ~ 50 μm to ~ 100 μm, creating an area at risk for ischemia. Longitudinal imaging of CMHs allowed us to visualize reactive astrocytosis and bleed resolution during a 30-day period. Our study provides new insights into the development and morphology of CMHs, highlighting the potential clinical implications of differentiating between the types of vessels involved in the pathogenesis of CMHs. This information may help in the development of targeted interventions aimed at reducing the risk of cerebral small vessel disease-related cognitive decline and dementia in older adults