Dissertations / Theses on the topic '059999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified'

An environmentally-based systems approach to sustainability analyses of organic fruit production systems in New Zealand. This research introduces an approach for the assessment of the sustainability of farming systems. It is based on the premises that sustainability has an environmental bottom line and that there is very limited substitutability between natural capital and other forms of capital. Sustainability assessment is undertaken through analyses of energy and material flows of the system and their impacts on the environment. The proposed sustainability assessment approach is based on two high level criteria for sustainability: efficient use of energy and non-degradation of the environment from energy and material use. Sustainability assessment of organic orchard systems in New Zealand was undertaken to demonstrate this approach. Five indicators which address the two criteria for the sustainability of the orchard systems are the energy ratio, the CO2 ratio, changes in the soil carbon level, nutrient balances, and the leaching of nitrogen. Organic kiwifruit and organic apple systems are modelled based on their key energy and material flows and their interactions with the natural environment. The energy and material flows are converted into appropriate energy and matter equivalents based on coefficients taken from the published literature. Sustainability indicators are estimated over one growing season using two computer modelling tools, Overseer® and Stella®, in a life cycle approach. Sustainability assessment of the organic orchard systems suggests that the approach is useful for evaluating energy use and key environmental impacts that occur in soil, water and atmosphere. The results indicate that the model organic orchard systems are sustainable in terms of energy use and are a net sink of CO2-equivalent emissions. The implication of this result is that organic orchard systems potentially could trade carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol. The findings also suggest that the sustainability assessment approach is capable of identifying the trade-offs within the sustainability indicators associated with particular management practices. Further research to improve and validate the proposed approach is essential, before it can be practically used for decision making at the orchard level and for policy making at the national level.

The health of the environment is integral to the health and wellbeing of the people. When the balance between Atua, whenua and tangata is disrupted, desecrated, disturbed or violated, it can have a detrimental impact on these relationships. This research study explored alternative indigenous paradigms for conceptualizing an environmental health framework that would improve the potency and health of all living things. A key question of the research study was to explore how Ngati Kuri sought to strengthen their relationship and connection with the natural world. The Hapu established Te Tai O Marokura health and social services as a vehicle to improve potency: healthy environments, healthy people. The specificity of Ngati Kuri experiences provided a broader context for researching and theorizing about restorative models that utilized traditional knowledge localized to a particular area. Another key question was to examine how Maori cultural values that were embedded within a worldview, could offer insights and constructs for new ways of being and thinking in the modern world. Kaupapa Maori philosophical positioning and theorizing informed the approaches and practices underpinning the study. The key aspects of the methodology were constructed around the tikanga principles of tinorangatiratanga, whakapapa and kaitiakitanga to provide a rationale for the collaboration formed with the Hapu. At the heart of the thesis is the validity given to the collective ownership of indigenous knowledge which challenges the fictional notion of a singular, temporally bound authorship. The thesis reflects the whakawhanaungatanga (reciprocal understanding) relationship between the Tuakana represented by Miriama Kahu and the Teina, Benita Wakefield working collaboratively with the Kaitiaki construct group formed to ensure that the use of indigenous knowledge and its transmission processes had honest transparency. The Tuakana was responsible for providing guidance, wisdom and mentoring to the Teina, the enrolled academic student responsible for producing the written thesis. These innovative collaborative Kaupapa Maori methods and practices in the study have tested the boundaries of conventional doctoral processes, breaking university academic regulations and challenging the western academy in the political nature of collective knowledge production and validity of indigenous knowledge. Qualitative and quantitative processes, approaches and methods were also utilized to inform the study and to ensure reflexivity of research practices. The key findings of the study were: • Improving potency requires a depth of intimacy and connection with all living things that involves a reciprocal understanding of the relationship between Atua, whenua and tangata. • Indigenous knowledge is localized to a spatial area and embedded within a worldview that validates and affirms cultural values and beliefs which continue to have relevance in more contemporary times. • The transformative nature of alternative indigenous paradigms must encompass the totality of creation, humanity and their genealogical and inter-generational linkages to all life. A major contribution of this PhD has been to create new knowledge, ways of thinking and meaning for restoring potency through the environmental health conceptual framework grounded in cultural and spiritual values. The specific focus on Ngati Kuri traditional knowledge authentic to the Hapu and their application, has significantly contributed towards constructing alternative indigenous approaches for meeting the challenges within the modern world.

Irish agriculture is becoming increasingly regulated, with restrictions on fertiliser application rates and stocking rates to reduce nitrate (NO₀⁻) leaching losses. However these regulations have been, to date, based on minimal field research. The purpose of this study was to determine the actual leaching losses of nitrate from Irish dairy pasture at a range of stocking rates, and to investigate the effectiveness of the nitrification inhibitor DCD at reducing nitrate leaching losses where these are deemed excessive. In grazed pastures, a major source of leached nitrate is the urine patch, where a high rate of N is applied in one application. This trial recorded the losses from urine and non-urine areas of pasture separately. Nitrate leaching losses from three soils were recorded using lysimeters at Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, over two years. Total nitrate losses were higher from the freely drained Clonakilty and Elton soils than from the heavy Rathangan soil. Mean nitrate losses from urine patches ranged from 16 - 233 kg nitrate-N / ha⁻¹, and were reduced by up to 53% when DCD was applied. DCD also reduced peak and mean nitrate-N concentrations in many cases. In addition, DCD halved the nitrous oxide (N₂O) emission factor on the Rathangan soil, caused increases in pasture N content, and increased herbage yield in some treatments. The distribution of urine patches under dairy grazing was recorded using GPS at Kilworth, Co. Cork. Cows were also found to deposit 0.359 urine patches per grazing hour. A model was produced to predict field-scale nitrate leaching losses from dairy pasture at a range of stocking rates. At 2.94 cows per hectare, the highest stocking rate, annual field N loss was below 34 kg nitrate-N ha⁻¹, mean drainage N concentrations were below 5.65 mg nitrate-N L⁻¹ (the EU drinking water guideline value), and the worst-case-scenario autumn peak concentration did not exceed 21.55 mg nitrate-N L⁻¹ (above the EU Maximum Allowable Concentration (MAC) but below the World Health Organisation (WHO) drinking water limit). DCD reduced total annual field N loss by 21% (a conservative estimate), and also reduced mean and peak nitrate concentrations. Provided fertiliser application rates are at or below 291 kg N ha⁻¹, and based on current legislative values for drinking water quality, this trial does not support any blanket restrictions on the stocking rate of Irish dairy farms. However where particularly high water quality is required, DCD shows potential as a useful tool to achieve low nitrate concentrations.

Despite the importance of a high white clover (Trifolium repens) content in temperate pastoral systems in terms of livestock performance and nitrogen fixation, the proportion of white clover in grass-clover pastures is often low (<20%). This thesis examined in two experiments whether the white clover content of pastures could be improved by sowing white clover with alternative grass species to diploid perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). In a pasture experiment, DM production, pasture composition and morphology of grass-clover mixtures was measured over the establishment year (January 2007 to January 2008) where white clover was sown in fine mixtures with diploid perennial ryegrass, tetraploid perennial ryegrass, timothy (Phleum pratense L.) and cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.). Pastures were irrigated and rotationally grazed with on-off grazing with Coopworth ewe hoggets. Total annual DM production of pasture was more than 20% higher in tetraploid (12521 kg DM ha⁻¹) and diploid (11733 kg DM ha⁻¹) perennial ryegrass than timothy (9751 kg DM ha⁻¹) and cocksfoot (9654 kg DM ha⁻¹). However, timothy (5936 kg DM ha⁻¹) and cocksfoot (5311 kg DM ha⁻¹) had more than four times higher white clover annual DM production than tetraploid (1310 kg DM ha⁻¹) and diploid (818 kg DM ha⁻¹) ryegrass. Pasture growth rate at the first three harvests in autumn was significantly greater in tetraploid and diploid ryegrass than timothy and cocksfoot. Timothy and cocksfoot had a higher proportion of white clover than tetraploid and diploid perennial ryegrass throughout the entire year. This was due to more and larger white clover plants in timothy and cocksfoot plots. In a grazing preference experiment, the partial preference of sheep for white clover offered in combination with the same grass species as in the pasture experiment was measured in five grazing tests in May, September, October, November and December 2007. Pastures were sown in January 2007. Paired plots (grass and clover both 4.2 m x 10 m) were grazed by three Coopworth ewe hoggets between 9am and 5pm, and preference was recorded by decline in pasture mass and visual scan sampling for grazing time. Grazing preference for clover was generally low throughout these tests (e.g. average apparent DM intake from clover = 47%; average grazing time from clover = 44%). Several explanations are proposed for this low preference including a high N content and intake rate of the grass relative to the clover. No significant differences were found among the grass treatments in total grass grazing time, total clover grazing time, ruminating time, the proportion of grazing time on clover, selective coefficient for clover and DM intake percentage from clover at any date. There was no significant change in overall sward surface height (SSH) decline among grass treatments throughout all the tests except December 2007 when the overall SSH decline for cocksfoot was significantly lower than the other species. The study indicated that the rapid growth rate of perennial ryegrass in the early phase of pasture establishment, rather than differences in partial preference, was the key factor limiting white clover content in the mixed swards relative to cocksfoot and timothy pastures. It is concluded that high clover-containing pastures capable of delivering high per head performance can be established through the use of slow establishing pasture species such as timothy and cocksfoot.

Utilizing environmental DNA (eDNA) for the detection of species in the field is a potentially cost-effective and time-saving technology that may be useful in understanding the distribution and abundance of threatened or endangered species such as the Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus). I describe the development of an eDNA assay for the species and evaluate its ability to detect eDNA in laboratory and field conditions. In the field samples, I also investigated the potential for abiotic conditions to influence eDNA detection. Species-specific primers and probe were designed to amplify a 152 bp segment of the massasauga COI gene. Target eDNA could be detected in samples containing as little as 100 copies of target DNA/μL. Water samples collected from laboratory housed snakes indicated that eDNA can be detected in water 56 days after massasauga removal. Field samples were taken from crayfish burrows, known overwintering habitat for the species, from four sites that vary in snake use as ascertained by traditional visual surveys. Of the 60 burrows sampled, seven had a positive detection for massasauga eDNA with no difference in detection rate between DNA extracted from burrow water and burrow sediment. Occupancy models fitted to burrow water indicated that larger amounts of total DNA in a sample may increase the probability of detection of a massasauga eDNA. Large confidence intervals in site occupancy (ѱ) and burrow detection (Θ) values suggest that a larger sample size is needed for more reliable occupancy models. Abiotic conditions within crayfish burrows varied among sites but correlation with eDNA detection was not supported. Estimates of qPCR detection within a burrow with eDNA (ρ) suggest that up to 10 qPCR replicates per burrow sample may be necessary. Further studies need to examine eDNA degradation in the field, improve upon the limit of detection, and sample a larger number of sites for eDNA sampling to be a stand-alone survey method for Eastern Massasaugas.

Many animal species invest in extended parental care for their offspring. Parental care is costly, and natural selection favors investment strategies which maximize reproductive success. Biparental care is relatively rare, but when it does occur it has been found to increase success in terms of offspring survival and growth and in terms of future reproductive opportunities. In burying beetles (Nicrophorus spp.), both male and female participate in extended parental care. However, the fitness benefits of biparental care in burying beetles have been difficult to establish, with some studies reporting significantly smaller broods produced when both male and female are present. Variation in environmental conditions, such as temperature, is an important part of the context in which biparental care evolves. I hypothesize that biparental care acts as a buffer against environmental variation. This hypothesis predicts that biparental care will lead to greater reproductive success compared to uniparental care when temperature is increased during a reproductive attempt. I also tested the load-lightening hypothesis, which holds that biparental care benefits future reproduction by lowering the costs of reproduction. This predicts that the additional care by the other parent will allow females to rear higher quality second broods. I conducted a male removal experiment at two temperature treatments, using the species Nicrophorus orbicollis. I measured reproductive success during manipulated first brood and during second broods which females reared without a male, regardless of prior experience. I found that, contrary to my hypothesis, biparental care at the higher temperature resulted in reduced reproductive success compared to uniparental care. I found no effect of biparental care on the success of second broods. Instead, I found evidence of reproductive restraint associated with the higher temperature treatment in delayed egg-laying and increased feeding during second broods.

Effective enrichments for farm animals are increasingly important to address public concerns about farm animal welfare and improve the welfare of the animals we raise. The public’s concern has increased in recent years as the management and care that farmers give their animals has become more apparent to them. Some of the conditions in which animals are kept are emotionally not appealing to the public. One such condition is farrowing crates for sows and piglets. The sows are confined in a small space with no social contact and cannot perform nesting behaviors. Farrowing crates are widely used though, as they allow farmers to handle piglets without fear of sow aggression, meet individual sow nutritional needs, and personalize care. Piglet mortality due to crushing is also decreased with crate use. Sow welfare in farrowing crates can be improved through environmental enrichments. Enrichments improve welfare by increasing species-specific behaviors, creating a more complex environment, reducing abnormal behaviors, and increasing an animal’s ability to cope with stressful situations. For pigs, different enrichments have been shown to decrease stereotypies, like sham chewing and bar biting, decrease harmful redirected behavior towards pen mates, like tail biting and belly nosing, increased exploratory behavior, and increase positive affect. Straw has been found to be the best enrichment for pigs because it allows them to perform motivational behaviors such as rooting, foraging, and nest building. It is also complex, manipulatable, destructible, and ingestible, which are important attributes of effective enrichments. Unfortunately, straw cannot be used in farms that have slurry systems, as the straw will fall through the slats into the pit below and cause drainage issues. This includes farrowing crates. There have been a few studies on alternative enrichments for sows in crates, like cloth tassels, but they are not as effective as straw and are rarely used on farm.

Most enrichments target pigs’ motivations to forage, root, graze, or build nests. Pigs perform other behaviors and may have other motivations that enrichments have not targeted yet. One such behavior is scratching. In a semi-natural environment, pigs will rub against trees and bushes. In confinement, pigs rub on fences, walls, and even allow people to scratch them with their hands. There have been no recorded studies done on scratching enrichment for pigs. Many studies have been done in the dairy industry exploring rotating brushes. These brushes have been implemented successfully on commercial farms and are used by cows to groom and scratch themselves. A similar device may allow pigs to also satisfy their itch. Our aim is to provide scratching enrichment to sows in farrowing crates. Since there have been no studies recorded on scratching enrichment or scratching in pigs in general, several steps had to take place before addressing the topic for sows in crates. The first project’s aim was to see what materials pigs prefer to scratch on and their willingness to use such an enrichment.

The first project consisted of 2 experiments. Exp. 1 was a pilot study where 5 different materials on scratch posts were presented to a pen of gestating sows. The scratch posts were constructed from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes, boards, and a gate post. Five different materials were attached to the boards: white, soft, long-bristled brushes (White Brush), red, hard, short-bristled brush (Red Brush), black, short-bristled, astro-turf-like mat (Plastic Mat), colorful coir, hard, short-bristled mat (Fiber Mat), and blue, plastic, large-round-bristled combs (Plastic Combs). The 8 sows received all 5 scratch posts in their pen for a habituation day and then 7 d of testing. During testing, video was continuously recorded from which 2 behaviors were collected; scratching and interacting. Sows scratched the most on Plastic Mat followed by Fiber Mat, Plastic Combs, and Red Brush. The White Brush was scratched on the least. The top 3 preferences were chosen to proceed to Exp. 2.

Experiment 2 for sow preference was performed on several pens (N=14) of sows and gilts with Plastic Mat, Fiber Mat, and Plastic Combs to narrow the preference down to 2 materials to proceed to the farrowing crates. The experiment was carried out in repetitions. Each repetition tested 4 pens at a time. The scratch posts were modified from Exp. 1 and each material was placed in a pen. Due to material destruction only 2 repetitions were carried out, both ending a little early (N=8). During the first repetition (Rep 1), sows ate and destroyed all the Plastic Combs within 2 d. The Plastic Comb scratch posts were pulled from the study and the second repetition (Rep 2) only had the Plastic Mat and Fiber Mat represented. An observation was made that one of the pens in Rep1 had extra feed on their floor and were not destroying their materials as fast as the other pens. So for Rep 2, more modifications to the scratch posts were made and the sows were given a little extra feed. The scratch posts were still destroyed in Rep 2 proving that the sows’ hunger and motivation to perform oral manipulations overwhelmed scratching behaviors. However, from the data that was collected sows spent more time and more frequently interacted with the Fiber Mat compared to the Plastic Mat. They more frequently and spent more time interacting than scratching with the enrichments but scratched on both enrichments the same amount of time and frequency (Durations: F_1,112.6 = 13.63, P = 0.0003; Frequencies: F_1,111.9 = 19.72, P < 0.0001).

The plastic and fiber mats were presented to sows in farrowing crates for the second project by default. Sows (N=18) of parities 2 (P2) and 3 (P3) were housed for 25 d and assigned no enrichment (Control) or to a scratch pad treatment of plastic mats (Plastic) or fiber mats (Fiber). All were assessed for lesions, abnormal behaviors, eating and scratching behaviors, and time spent in different postures and behaviors. Scratching bouts occurred in short durations and were intermittent throughout the day. Parity 2 Plastic sows scratched for a longer total duration than P2 and P3 Fiber sows, P3 Plastic sows, and P2 Control sows (F_2,11 = 11.94, P = 0.002). Parity 2 Plastic sows also displayed scratching bouts more frequently than all except P3 Control sows (F_2,11 = 18.46, P = 0.0003). There were no body lesion differences between treatments (P > 0.05). Abnormal behaviors (P > 0.05) and proportion of time spent in different postures (F_2,94 = 0.0003, P = 0.999) did not differ among treatments.

In conclusion, if a sow is experiencing hunger while in gestation pens this motivation may be overwhelming any other behavior needs. Scratch posts were destroyed and eaten. In this sort of environment, focusing on an enrichment that meets the need to forage and root would be more successful. Sows still scratched on the posts, so their preference and scratching use was still recorded to an extent to proceed to the experiment in farrowing crates. In farrowing crates, plastic scratch pads may be a suitable enrichment as they increased the natural behavior of scratching and did not increase abnormal behaviors. More research is needed to refine the scratch pad design and identify additional measures needed to examine the suitability of scratch pads as a form of environmental enrichment for sows in farrowing crates. In addition, the behavioral characteristics and sows’ underlying motivation for scratching need to be studied because very little is known about scratching behavior of sows. If sows are motivated to scratch, and scratching helps improve their welfare, then scratching enrichment may be beneficial to sows and farmers.

The aim of this thesis is to enquire into genetic approaches for improving milk yield from dairy cattle in order to overcome the milk shortage in Bangladesh. Survey work on the dairy industry was carried out to reveal its current status. The collected data of different genotypes (Pabna cattle, Australian-Friesian-Sahiwal Pabna, Holstein Pabna, Jersey Pabna, and Sahiwal Pabna) from 1999 to 2001, and in two seasons, were used to predict model parameters, fit-statistics and total lactation yields, by fitting ten lactation curve models. Best fitting model(s) were chosen on the basis of fit-statistics. The input parameters from best fiting model(s) were used for: developing a deterministic model; estimating the profitability of individual cows; estimating whole farm profitability; and for developing a profit function to estimate the economic values of traits in breeding objectives. The individual cow performances for different traits were stochastically simulated in respect of additive genetic, permanent and temporary error, herd and age effects, and mendelian sampling under progeny and parent-average testing breeding schemes based on three selection objectives applied over on 20 year period. Genetic gains in different traits were calculated from the regression of trait values on the selection index. The estimated lactation curves model parameters, and predicted lactation milk yield were significantly different between breeds, years and seasons. From four fit-statistics values, the CCC value was considered superior, and this value indicated that the Nelder model best represented the test day records. The net annual income for Holstein Pabna cattle was the highest (US$229) and was lowest (US$115) for Pabna cattle, while all other genotypes were intermediate. The economic values (EVs) of milk yield for all genotypes were similar (US$0.32), and due to payment for milk volume only, the EVs of fat and protein were negative. EVs of liveweight, calving intervals and calving rate were negative, but survivability was positive in all genotypes. The parent-average testing selection scheme showed higher genetic gains than progeny testing. The highest (US$15.80) genetic gain was obtained for milk yield when selection was for milk merit only. The study will assist in undertaking a genetic improvement programme for the increase of milk production in Bangladesh and thereby enhance food security. (Key words: Dairy cattle, genetic improvements, models, stochastic).

A Phenomenological Analysis of Emergent Design is performed based on the foundations of General Schemas Theory. The concept of Sign Engineering is explored in terms of Hermeneutics, Dialectics, and Ontology in order to define Emergent Systems and Meta-systems Engineering based on the concept of Meta-dialectics. Phenomenology, Ontology, Hermeneutics, and Dialectics will dominate our inquiry into the nature of the Emergent Design of the System and its inverse dual, the Meta-system. This is an speculative dissertation that attempts to produce a philosophical, mathematical, and theoretical view of the nature of Systems Engineering Design. Emergent System Design, i.e., the design of yet unheard of and/or hitherto non-existent Systems and Meta-systems is the focus. This study is a frontal assault on the hard problem of explaining how Engineering produces new things, rather than a repetition or reordering of concepts that already exist. In this work the philosophies of E. Husserl, A. Gurwitsch, M. Heidegger, J. Derrida, G. Deleuze, A. Badiou, G. Hegel, I. Kant and other Continental Philosophers are brought to bear on different aspects of how new technological systems come into existence through the midwifery of Systems Engineering. Sign Engineering is singled out as the most important aspect of Systems Engineering. We will build on the work of Pieter Wisse and extend his theory of Sign Engineering to define Meta-dialectics in the form of Quadralectics and then Pentalectics . Along the way the various ontological levels of Being are explored in conjunction with the discovery that the Quadralectic is related to the possibility of design primarily at the Third Meta-level of Being, called Hyper Being. Design Process is dependent upon the emergent possibilities that appear in Hyper Being. Hyper Being, termed by Heidegger as Being (Being crossed-out) and termed by Derrida as Differance, also appears as the widest space within the Design Field at the third meta-level of Being and therefore provides the most leverage that is needed to produce emergent effects. Hyper Being is where possibilities appear within our worldview. Possibility is necessary for emergent events to occur. Hyper Being possibilities are extended by Wild Being propensities to allow the embodiment of new things. We discuss how this philosophical background relates to meta-methods such as the Gurevich Abstract State Machine and the Wisse Metapattern methods, as well as real-time architectural design methods as described in the Integral Software Engineering Methodology . One aim of this research is to find the foundation for extending the ISEM methodology to become a general purpose Systems Design Methodology. Our purpose is also to bring these philosophical considerations into the practical realm by examining P. Bourdieu?s ideas on the relationship between theoretical and practical reason and M. de Certeau?s ideas on practice. The relationship between design and implementation is seen in terms of the Set/Mass conceptual opposition. General Schemas Theory is used as a way of critiquing the dependence of Set based mathematics as a basis for Design. The dissertation delineates a new foundation for Systems Engineering as Emergent Engineering based on General Schemas Theory, and provides an advanced theory of Design based on the understanding of the meta-levels of Being, particularly focusing upon the relationship between Hyper Being and Wild Being in the context of Pure and Process Being.

The relationship between guide dog handlers in New Zealand and their guide dogs was investigated to identify the reasons why some partnerships are successful while others are not. A two-part study was designed to explore the match between the handler and the dog to improve the outcome of the matching process. A focus group discussion with people who had a range of visual acuity and experience with mobility aids was conducted as a preliminary measure to help develop the survey questionnaire that was used in the second part of the study. Fifty current and/or previous handlers, who had used a total of 118 dogs, were interviewed about their prior expectations and the outcome of the partnerships. Results indicated that the majority of matches were successful, and quality of life was improved for most participants because of using a dog. Around a quarter of the matches were considered unsuccessful, although not all mismatched dogs were returned. Mismatches arose predominantly from problems concerning the dogs' working behaviour followed by the dogs' social/home behaviour. However, dogs were also returned for health problems and a few were returned for personal issues concerning the handler. Compatibility between the handler and the dog, and the fulfilment of expectations were positively associated with better matches. Factors relating to mobility, including a handler's ability to control a dog, made the biggest contribution to success, but non-work related issues, such as companionship and enhancement of social interactions were also significant. Other factors that appeared to be associated with a good outcome included an accurate assessment of workload, having a good relationship with the guide dog instructor, and having a little useful vision - especially if this deteriorated over the time a dog was used. Other findings suggested that the use of a dog improved travel performance, regardless of how well the participants' perceived their travel ability to have been before the dog was acquired, and that second dogs were less favoured than the first ones. These results have permitted a series of recommendations to be proposed to the guide dog industry regarding characteristics of handler and dog that are important for a successful match.

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The relationship between guide dog handlers in New Zealand and their guide dogs was investigated to identify the reasons why some partnerships are successful while others are not. A two-part study was designed to explore the match between the handler and the dog to improve the outcome of the matching process. A focus group discussion with people who had a range of visual acuity and experience with mobility aids was conducted as a preliminary measure to help develop the survey questionnaire that was used in the second part of the study. Fifty current and/or previous handlers, who had used a total of 118 dogs, were interviewed about their prior expectations and the outcome of the partnerships. Results indicated that the majority of matches were successful, and quality of life was improved for most participants because of using a dog. Around a quarter of the matches were considered unsuccessful, although not all mismatched dogs were returned. Mismatches arose predominantly from problems concerning the dogs' working behaviour followed by the dogs' social/home behaviour. However, dogs were also returned for health problems and a few were returned for personal issues concerning the handler. Compatibility between the handler and the dog, and the fulfilment of expectations were positively associated with better matches. Factors relating to mobility, including a handler's ability to control a dog, made the biggest contribution to success, but non-work related issues, such as companionship and enhancement of social interactions were also significant. Other factors that appeared to be associated with a good outcome included an accurate assessment of workload, having a good relationship with the guide dog instructor, and having a little useful vision - especially if this deteriorated over the time a dog was used. Other findings suggested that the use of a dog improved travel performance, regardless of how well the participants' perceived their travel ability to have been before the dog was acquired, and that second dogs were less favoured than the first ones. These results have permitted a series of recommendations to be proposed to the guide dog industry regarding characteristics of handler and dog that are important for a successful match.

The thesis proposes and defends a maxim which can serve as a foundation and guideline for professional ethics in nursing, the maxim that nurses should act so far as possible to promote patient's self-determination. The thesis is informed by philosophical ethics and by knowledge of professional nursing practice.

The land-grant university system was founded in the 19th century as a public means to help improve people’s everyday lives. A century and a half later, the challenges that the public faces to live a quality life are constantly changing, creating a need for the land-grant system to respond and adapt to continue to fulfill its mission. While the literature contains a wealth of conceptual papers addressing the role and mission of land-grant universities, relatively few papers could be found that reported empirical data or proposed and tested metrics for public engagement constructs. The current study sought to address this void in the literature through the investigation of factors influencing Indiana residents’ level of interest in engaging with Purdue University. Mail survey methods were used in which up to three contacts were made with adult members of 4,500 Indiana households identified through address-based sampling. Stratified random sampling was employed to ensure adequate rural household participation for other project purposes. Usable responses were received from 1,003 households representing 87 Indiana counties for a total response rate of 26%.