Development and trial of a methodology for the quantification and evaluation of home composting in Palmerston North, New Zealand : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Environmental Management (without major) at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Home composting and commercial composting can be regarded as part of the Municipal Solid Waste Management system. Currently, in Palmerston North and more broadly in New Zealand, home composting plays an important, but an unquantified role in waste diversion. In Palmerston North, the quantity of organic waste diverted from landfill via home composting is not captured in the City’s official ‘waste assessment’ or recorded in the ‘waste management and minimisation plan’. Additionally, there appears to be little local social and technical data on why, who, when, what and how well home composting is practised. The aim of this study was to develop and implement a methodology for a mixed-method quantitative-qualitative study for the quantification and evaluation of home composting practices in Palmerston North. The development process for the research methodology drew upon an international literature review of scientific research, a range of municipal best practice guidelines for home composting and referenced elements of the New Zealand composting standard. The data collection for this study involved a combined telephone and door-to-door survey of 300 households (that is, approximately 1% of occupied dwellings, randomly selected from across all 15 suburbs in the City). To support the physical data collection, a novel home composting evaluation tool was also developed and trialled for empirical and quality assurance evaluation. The overall participation rate recorded in the present study (64%) was high and both data collection methods proved to be viable, yielding positive results. 36% of the households who participated in the present study were home composters which could mean that about 10,761 households in the occupied dwellings of the City practise home composting. At the time of the survey, it appears that nearly 4005 tonnes of organic waste was being treated via home composting processes. The results also indicated positive quality assurance of the home composting process and the resulting compost in the City. Whilst most of the study participants have a positive experience towards home composting, nuisance insects, rodents and odour problems were reported as issues. In terms of motivation around current and future home composting practices, a range of support options appears to be available for Councils to encourage and enhance this positive environmental practice

African traditional medicine and western medicine and infant health in Ghana

Only abstract. Paper copies of master’s theses are listed in the Helka database (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Electronic copies of master’s theses are either available as open access or only on thesis terminals in the Helsinki University Library.Vain tiivistelmä. Sidottujen gradujen saatavuuden voit tarkistaa Helka-tietokannasta (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Digitaaliset gradut voivat olla luettavissa avoimesti verkossa tai rajoitetusti kirjaston opinnäytekioskeilla.Endast sammandrag. Inbundna avhandlingar kan sökas i Helka-databasen (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Elektroniska kopior av avhandlingar finns antingen öppet på nätet eller endast tillgängliga i bibliotekets avhandlingsterminaler.This thesis studies and analyses the effects of the interplay between African Traditional Medicine land Western Medicine on infant health and attempts to restore their health in the Central region of Ghana. The core of the study was to detect parents actions when their infants fell sick as well as measure the socio-economic conditions with infants health. The primary aim however, is to look for parents/social meaning of illness, methods and problems of medication in Ghana and their 1significance in reducing infant mortality. The study is based in Cape Coast, the ancient capital of Ghana, it is descriptive, exploratory and the japproach of my research is qualitative methodology and the principal research method was; unstructured and semi-structured interviews with 50 respondents. Also the materials of the thesis contain secondary sources such as published data from surveys. The study shows that the first people to act with regard to an attempt to restore a child's health may be the parents. The study further shows that people make sense of illness through known; relationships such as, family members, care providers, and known cultural categories such as wichcraft/oracles, and biomedical health care promotions. The study provides evidence to conclude that there are two medical systems in Ghana, African !traditional medicine and Western medicine and the two systems should be allowed to work side by side

Water and Organic Nitrate Detection in an AMS: Laboratory Characterization and Application to Ambient Measurements

Atmospheric aerosols were studied by three different means. Laboratory experiments determined the relative ionization efficiency of water (RIE$_{H2O}$) in an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometers (AMS), simulation chamber experiments gave insight to the reaction products of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) oxidation products, and the findings were applied to two field campaign measurements at Cabauw, NL, in May 2008 and February 2009. Knowing the liquid water content of aerosol particles is vital for the assessment of their climate forcing potential. A value of 2 for RIE$_{H2O}$ was determined by studying oxalate salts with different amounts of crystal water. BVOCs contribute much more to the global budget of VOCs than anthropogenic ones but oxidation products in terms of secondary organic aerosol often correlate to anthropogenic tracers such as NOx from fossil fuel burning. In atmospheric simulation chamber experiments, organic nitrates from BVOC-NO$_{3}$ oxidation showed higher vapor pressures than pure organic compounds produced in the same reactions. Organic nitrates comprised up to approx. 41 % of the particulate phase. A specific fragmentation ratio of nitrate (NO$_{2}^{+}$/NO$^{+}$) of 0.1 was found by high resolution AMS analysis differing strongly from the value of 0.4 known for the most abundant ambient NO$_{3}$ specie (NH$_{4}$NO$_{3}$). Ambient average particulate mass loadings were 9.72 $\mu$g/m$^{3}$ dominated by organics (40 %) in 2008 and 5.62 $\mu$g/m3 dominated by nitrate (42 %) in 2009. Data comparison to collocated instruments showed good agreement. Positive Matrix Factorization analysis of the particulate organic fraction distinguished semi and low volatile oxygenated organic aerosol (OOA) as well as hydrocarbon like organic aerosol (HOA) in both campaigns. An additional highly oxygenated OA with a mass spectrum very similar to fulvic acid was found in 2008. The average contribution of organic nitrate to the particulate nitrate mass was 34.9 % in 2008 and 5.2 % in 2009

Exportation of Timber in Ghana: The Menace of Illegal Logging Operations

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the linkage between external timber trade in Ghana and the increased incidence of illegal chainsaw operations which do not only threaten the country’s forests and other natural resources but also the erosion of the basis for sustainable agriculture which is the main-stay of the country’s economy. It uses ethnographic data from case studies of a recent research in selected forest reserves fringe communities in High Forest Zone of the country to explain the frustrations of local people with government policies that favour export to the neglect of local demand for timber and wood products. Although government pronouncements suggest that it is gaining an upper hand in the battle against illegal logging operations, evidence on the ground suggests that the greater part of the lumber on the local markets is supplied through illegal means predominated by itinerant chainsaw operators and their urban financiers . The paper concludes that the country’s forest and tree resources face massive degradation and overexploitation if the government does not take a bold decision on illegal logging, especially the activities of chainsaw operators. An option, though unpalatable and politically sensitive, may be the mainstreaming of chainsaw operations through the re-introduction of limited permits to registered local groups of timber traders and their chainsaw operators to supply the domestic market. This should be under a system which enjoins such groups to be collectively responsible for the activities of their members. And, the government should also strengthen the Forestry Services Division (FSD) to design and operationalize an enhanced monitoring and surveillance system of logging activities.Economic recovery program (ERP), Timber exportation, Illegal chainsaw operation, Timber traders, High forest zone, Forestry services division (FSD)