Volcanic risk assessment: integrating hazard and social vulnerability analysis

Merged with duplicate record 10026.1/867 on 12.04.2017 by CS (TIS)The vulnerability of communities at risk from volcanic activity at Volcan Tungurahua, Ecuador and Mount Rainier in the USA provided the focus for this thesis. The research aimed to develop an integrated approach to risk assessments that combined both hazard and vulnerability analysis. In phase one, the study developed a novel methodology to assess volcanic threat that utilised previously published data. This semi-quantitative approach integrated measures of both hazard and exposure factors, allowing the relative threat to different communities to be ranked. By avoiding the complex quantitative analysis associated with traditional risk assessments of the multiple hazards associated with volcanic activity, this methodology may be applied where comprehensive historic and geological data may be lacking, as well as facilitating understanding amongst non-specialists and members of the public. The second phase of the research investigated human vulnerability, with an exploratory study carried out in Ecuador. This utilised a questionnaire survey aimed at eliciting an individual’s beliefs and attitudes towards volcanic risk, which provided the basis for a more comprehensive exploration of social vulnerability conducted in the USA. This investigated further the role of socio-economic features and psychological characteristics, such as risk perception, hazard salience and self-efficacy, in promoting self-protective behaviour, and examined the relative importance of these factors in determining vulnerability. The theoretical underpinnings of this research suggest that individuals with certain socio-economic characteristics may incur greater losses during a disaster, whilst perceptual processes may influence how an individual responds to a hazardous event. Little evidence was found to support the socio-economic model of vulnerability, which prevented the integration of the two research phases. However, perceptual factors were found to be significant predictors in the adoption of protective hazard adaption. This suggests that targeting risk mitigation and communication strategies to address these psychological constructs may be more important for reducing overall vulnerability than focusing efforts towards specific socio-economic groups.ESRC/NER

Legacy of Shame: A Psychoanalytic History of Trauma in The Bluest Eye

The Bluest Eye is Toni Morrison’s troubling short novel which focuses on the lives of a traumatized and disempowered African-American family and the community in which they live. The book openly discusses a variety of social taboos carried out by various members of a Black community in Lorain, Ohio. The most disturbing being the rape of a young Black girl, resulting in pregnancy by her father. Through the omniscient narration of a teenage girl, readers are thrown into the lives and thoughts of the adults and children within this community as they attempt to deal with these extraordinary situations as they occur. The goal of this thesis is to show through a primarily psychoanalytical lens, how living in communities rife with racism and prejudices helped to mold the dynamics of the Breedlove’s lives

Estimation of the hydrological response to invasive alien plants in the upper Blyde River catchment.

Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.The change in total evaporation through alteration of vegetative cover is a major influence on catchment hydrology. The transformation of grassland and scrub habitats to commercial tree plantations, as well as the uncontrolled spread of invasive alien plants (lAPs) to ecologically sensitive systems, riparian zones in particular, are a threat to biodiversity and integrity of natural systems. Furthermore, critical low flow periods are of particular concern to water managers and local communities, as well as the associated impacts of potentially compromised water resources for rural livelihoods. The Working for Water (WfW) programme was implemented in 1995 by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and its main goals are to remove lAPs in order to improve water supply while at the same time providing employment to marginalised communities. In this study, the hydrological response to lAPs in the Upper Blyde River catchment is assessed. This is done by developing a classification structure for lAPs as a land use using detailed mapping available from WfW for use in a hydrological model, and then configuring and running the ACRU hydrological model for the Upper Blyde River catchment in Mpumalanga. In the classification, lAPs are represented as spatially explicit land use units in the ACRU model according to the type of habitat they invade, viz. riparian or non-riparian; as well as by type of plant, i.e. tree or shrub; and their area and density. The results obtained from simulating catchment hydrological responses using the ACRU model indicate that riparian lAPs have a great er impact on streamflow than do landscape invasions alone, specifically during periods of low flow. An increase in streamflow after removing lAPs from riparian and non-riparian habitats is a consistent outcome at both subcatchment and catchment scales. Using a spatially explicit method in order to model the hydrological response of different types of lAPs for different density classes in both riparian and non-riparian habitats is found to be a useful technique in determining the degree to which lAPs influence catchment streamflow. Recommendations for future research include focussing hydrological assessments of lAPs on critical flow periods and their impacts on water quality; investigation into the water use of invasive and indigenous vegetation for more accurate estimates from modelling exercises; and finally, applying the classification system for lAPs with other land use sensitive hydrological models for validation, and their wider application by incorporating methodologies into guidelines for use by WfW at national and provincial level

Journal of African Christian Biography: v. 3, no. 1

A publication of the Dictionary of African Christian Biography with U.S. offices located at the Center for Global Christianity and Mission at Boston University. This issue focuses on: 1. “Creole Saga”: The Gambia’s Liberated African Community in the 19th Century: The Stories of J. A. B. Horton, G. C. Nicol, J. R. Maxwell, and J. D. Richards by Asi Florence Mahoney. Introduction by Gabriel Leonard Allen. 2. The Contribution of Daniel William Alexander to the Birth and Growth of Eastern Orthodoxy in East Africa. 3. Biographies by Stephan Hayes and Louise Pirouet. Introduction by Fr. Evangelos Thiani. 4. Recent Print and Digital Resources Related to Christianity in Africa

DNA-V – A CONTEXTUAL APPROACH TO MENTAL HEALTH AS A BENCHMARK FOR EVIDENCE-BASED PSYCHOLOGICAL EDUCATION AT SCHOOL

The article attempts at outlining the development of the holistic approach to the mental health of children and adolescents worldwide and contextualises it with the Polish background. Accordingly, it provides examples of actions undertaken in the Polish educational policy to introduce a holistic approach to the mental health of children and adolescents through various education, care, prevention and wellness-oriented programmes which have been established and conducted within the last two decades. Moreover, the article attempts to explain how context-focused and evidence-based mental health approaches, such as mindfulness, positive psychology, development of psychological flexibility, can be used as an alternative to content-focused actions that have been taken worldwide so far. In the paper, a developmental-contextual behavioural model called DNA-V is used to refer to a concrete example of how psychological education could integrate evidence-informed interventions into a social and individual context, as well as to promote the healthy transition from puberty to adulthood.W artykule wskazano założenia polskiej polityki oświatowej ostatnich lat, mające na celu bardziej kompleksowe ujęcie zdrowia psychicznego dzieci i młodzieży. Starając się pokazać stosowane w innych krajach skuteczne rozwiązania praktyczne, przedstawiono przykłady opartych na dowodach naukowych podejść kontekstualnych i możliwości ich implementacji w codziennej rzeczywistości szkolnej. Zaprezentowana perspektywa stanowi alternatywę dla wciąż obecnych w Polsce, skoncentrowanych na treści programów edukacyjno-wychowawczych, profilaktycznych czy promocji zdrowia. Wykorzystując założenia modelu DNA-V, ukazano, jak edukacja psychologiczna może integrować różne interwencje w taki sposób, by podejmowane działania uwzględniały społeczny i indywidualny kontekst funkcjonowania uczniów oraz wspierały prawidłowy proces dojrzewania młodych ludzi

On IT Control Weaknesses in Auditors’ Reports on Internal Control

By analysing auditors’ SOX 404 reports from 2004 to 2009 we find after 2006 that reporting of information technology control weaknesses (ITWs) decreased significantly, primarily by Big 4 firms. This change appears to reflect Big 4 reporting practices in response to a change in auditing standards rather than the nature of Big 4 clients’ internal control systems, suggesting that SOX 404 auditors’ reports have become less informative. We find associations between ITW reporting and both non-ITW and financial misstatement reporting are moderated by auditor type and time period (2004-2006 vs. 2007-2009). Based on frequency of reporting, the relative ordering of individual ITWs, while differing over time, is similar over auditor type, company size and industry. We identify a small number of non-ITWs in SOX 404 reporting that may hold practical implications for an auditor’s consideration of IT control testing and an educator’s teaching of IT and non-IT controls

Psychosocial intervention for carers of people with dementia: What components are most effective and when? A systematic review of systematic reviews

Psychosocial interventions for carers of people with dementia are increasingly recognized as playing an important role in dementia care. We aim to systematically review the evidence from existing systematic reviews of psychosocial interventions for informal carers of people with dementia.  Thirty-one systematic reviews were identified; following quality appraisal, data from 13 reviews, rated as high or moderate quality, were extracted.  Well-designed, clearly structured multi-component interventions can help maintain the psychological health of carers of people with dementia and delay institutionalization of the latter. To be most effective, such interventions should include both an educational and a therapeutic component; delivery through a support group format may further enhance their effectiveness.  Successful translation of evidence into practice in this area remains a challenge. Future research should focus on determining the most cost-effective means of delivering effective multi-component interventions in real-world settings; the cost-effective potential of technology-based interventions is considerable

'Forc'd to limb my own Child': Nathaniel Lee's reuse of The Massacre of Paris in The Princess of Cleve and The Duke of Guise

This thesis examines the ways in which the Restoration dramatist Nathaniel Lee reuses his banned history play The Massacre of Paris in both his bawdy comedy The Princess of Cleve and the politically controversial drama The Duke of Guise, which was written in collaboration with the Poet Laureate John Dryden. Chapter 1 presents a brief biography of Lee and situates the three plays within their historical context; it concludes with a literature review. Chapter 2 examines Lee’s adaptation of Davila’s The History of the Civil Wars of France in The Massacre of Paris. Contrary to the prevailing critical view of the work as simplistic anti-Catholic propaganda, the play is shown to be a complex and nuanced tragedy. Chapter 3 demonstrates for the first time that Lee constructs his parts of The Duke of Guise to recreate the emotional orchestration of The Massacre of Paris, thus circumventing the ban upon that play in order to bring a similar work to the stage. Informed by the study of Lee’s methods of adaptation presented in Chapters 2 and 3, Chapter 4 examines the printed text of The Princess of Cleve and proposes a reconstruction of the non-extant performance text which incorporates reused material from The Massacre of Paris. This material is shown to be the mechanism by which Lee converts Lafayette’s romantic novel La Princesse de Clèves into a comedy. Chapter 5 surveys Lee’s career over the decade which elapsed between the banning of The Massacre of Paris and the play’s first performance. It presents evidence which suggests that the repeated recycling of the text was driven by Lee’s response to his changing circumstances, rather than being an indicator of his declining mental health. The interconnection and unusual construction of the three plays examined in this thesis are shown to support Lee’s claim to be an innovator of the Restoration stage, demonstrating that he continually sought new ways to create theatre which evokes a powerful emotional response from audiences