title: In situ mixing of organic matter decreases hydraulic conductivity of denitrification walls in sand aquifers

authors: Barkle, Gregory F.

abstract: In a previous study, a denitrification wall was constructed in a sand aquifer using sawdust as the carbon substrate. Ground water bypassed around this sawdust wall due to reduced hydraulic conductivity. We investigated potential reasons for this by testing two new walls and conducting laboratory studies. The first wall was constructed by mixing aquifer material in situ without substrate addition to investigate the effects of the construction technique (mixed wall). A second, biochip wall, was constructed using coarse wood chips to determine the effect of size of the particles in the amendment on hydraulic conductivity. The aquifer hydraulic conductivity was 35.4 m/d, while in the mixed wall it was 2.8 m/d and in the biochip wall 3.4 m/d. This indicated that the mixing of the aquifer sands below the water table allowed the particles to re-sort themselves into a matrix with a significantly lower hydraulic conductivity than the process that originally formed the aquifer. The addition of a coarser substrate in the biochip wall significantly increased total porosity and decreased bulk density, but hydraulic conductivity remained low compared to the aquifer. Laboratory cores of aquifer sand mixed under dry and wet conditions mimicked the reduction in hydraulic conductivity observed in the field within the mixed wall. The addition of sawdust to the laboratory cores resulted in a significantly higher hydraulic conductivity when mixed dry compared to cores mixed wet. This reduction in the hydraulic conductivity of the sand/sawdust cores mixed under saturated conditions repeated what occurred in the field in the original sawdust wall. This indicated that laboratory investigations can be a useful tool to highlight potential reductions in field hydraulic conductivities that may occur when differing materials are mixed under field conditions.

text: In situ mixing of organic matter decreases hydraulic conductivity of denitrification walls in sand aquifers In a previous study, a denitrification wall was constructed in a sand aquifer using sawdust as the carbon substrate. Ground water bypassed around this sawdust wall due to reduced hydraulic conductivity. We investigated potential reasons for this by testing two new walls and conducting laboratory studies. The first wall was constructed by mixing aquifer material in situ without substrate addition to investigate the effects of the construction technique (mixed wall). A second, biochip wall, was constructed using coarse wood chips to determine the effect of size of the particles in the amendment on hydraulic conductivity. The aquifer hydraulic conductivity was 35.4 m/d, while in the mixed wall it was 2.8 m/d and in the biochip wall 3.4 m/d. This indicated that the mixing of the aquifer sands below the water table allowed the particles to re-sort themselves into a matrix with a significantly lower hydraulic conductivity than the process that originally formed the aquifer. The addition of a coarser substrate in the biochip wall significantly increased total porosity and decreased bulk density, but hydraulic conductivity remained low compared to the aquifer. Laboratory cores of aquifer sand mixed under dry and wet conditions mimicked the reduction in hydraulic conductivity observed in the field within the mixed wall. The addition of sawdust to the laboratory cores resulted in a significantly higher hydraulic conductivity when mixed dry compared to cores mixed wet. This reduction in the hydraulic conductivity of the sand/sawdust cores mixed under saturated conditions repeated what occurred in the field in the original sawdust wall. This indicated that laboratory investigations can be a useful tool to highlight potential reductions in field hydraulic conductivities that may occur when differing materials are mixed under field conditions.

year: 2008

title: Sex and gender in World of Warcraft: Identities, love, and power

authors: Todd, Cherie Jane

subjects: gender

abstract: This thesis examines how gamers construct sex and gender in the online game World of Warcraft (WoW), with a particular focus on connections between intimate relationships and gendered power relations. Every year more people choose to play online games but despite this ‘gaming culture’ continues to be dominated by masculinist discourse that works to marginalise those who do not conform to patriarchal and heteronormative ways of being. This in turn impacts upon the ways in which gamers ‘perform’ or ‘do’ their identities including interacting and communicating with others. This research utilises feminist poststructuralist theories to examine: how gamers construct and perform their sexed and gendered identities in WoW; the intimate and loving relationships gamers establish and maintain in WoW and beyond; and, the ways in which gendered power relations are constructed in WoW’s online gaming culture and how this affects gamers relationships both online and offline. Butler’s theory regarding performativity is also utilised to aid in the analysis of gendered and sexual identities within WoW.

The theoretical lens informs the choice of methods. Interviews, online questionnaires, follow-up email questionnaires, discussions within online game forum websites, and autoethnography were used to examine 57 participants’ (35 men and 22 women) experiences of WoW’s ‘gaming culture’ and their relationships with other players. The findings are organised across three substantive chapters. The first focuses on the body and how gender and sexuality are represented via avatars in WoW. It also highlights how people who do not conform to heteronormative ideals and values are marginalised. The second substantive chapter discusses participants’ experiences of intimate and loving relationships in WoW, including how obstacles such as geographical distance are negotiated in relationships between gamers. In addition, I highlight how gaming can be understood as a sensory experience, where emotion and affect are important elements in contemporary game design, and how these elements are evident in WoW and the relationships that evolve within that space. The third and final substantive chapter examines the culture of online games, including the ways in which sexism and misogyny are evident within WoW and the wider gaming community. In particular, I look at how women are positioned in games, as players, game designers, and game critics. 

Considering the growing practice of gaming as an ‘everyday’ social activity – as well as the depth and intensity of friendships and intimate relationships between gamers – encourages a more critical understanding of the normative and powerful ways in which bodies and online spaces are mutually constituted. WoW as a digital world has distinctive spatial aspects. This study adopts a feminist geographical approach in order to contribute to critical discussions on the relationship between gender and sexual subjectivities, intimate relationships in WoW, and the culture of gaming.

text: Sex and gender in World of Warcraft: Identities, love, and power This thesis examines how gamers construct sex and gender in the online game World of Warcraft (WoW), with a particular focus on connections between intimate relationships and gendered power relations. Every year more people choose to play online games but despite this ‘gaming culture’ continues to be dominated by masculinist discourse that works to marginalise those who do not conform to patriarchal and heteronormative ways of being. This in turn impacts upon the ways in which gamers ‘perform’ or ‘do’ their identities including interacting and communicating with others. This research utilises feminist poststructuralist theories to examine: how gamers construct and perform their sexed and gendered identities in WoW; the intimate and loving relationships gamers establish and maintain in WoW and beyond; and, the ways in which gendered power relations are constructed in WoW’s online gaming culture and how this affects gamers relationships both online and offline. Butler’s theory regarding performativity is also utilised to aid in the analysis of gendered and sexual identities within WoW.

The theoretical lens informs the choice of methods. Interviews, online questionnaires, follow-up email questionnaires, discussions within online game forum websites, and autoethnography were used to examine 57 participants’ (35 men and 22 women) experiences of WoW’s ‘gaming culture’ and their relationships with other players. The findings are organised across three substantive chapters. The first focuses on the body and how gender and sexuality are represented via avatars in WoW. It also highlights how people who do not conform to heteronormative ideals and values are marginalised. The second substantive chapter discusses participants’ experiences of intimate and loving relationships in WoW, including how obstacles such as geographical distance are negotiated in relationships between gamers. In addition, I highlight how gaming can be understood as a sensory experience, where emotion and affect are important elements in contemporary game design, and how these elements are evident in WoW and the relationships that evolve within that space. The third and final substantive chapter examines the culture of online games, including the ways in which sexism and misogyny are evident within WoW and the wider gaming community. In particular, I look at how women are positioned in games, as players, game designers, and game critics. 

Considering the growing practice of gaming as an ‘everyday’ social activity – as well as the depth and intensity of friendships and intimate relationships between gamers – encourages a more critical understanding of the normative and powerful ways in which bodies and online spaces are mutually constituted. WoW as a digital world has distinctive spatial aspects. This study adopts a feminist geographical approach in order to contribute to critical discussions on the relationship between gender and sexual subjectivities, intimate relationships in WoW, and the culture of gaming.

year: 2015

title: Experiencing cultural tourism: Visitors at the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, New Zealand

authors: Ryan, Chris

subjects: indigenous tourism

abstract: This study reports results derived from semistructured interviews with 40 visitors to the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua, New Zealand. The article discusses briefly the mode of data capture used and adopts an approach of identifying classifications of a primarily functional nature to list reasons why people visit such a site and what it is they seek. In general, visitors reported high levels of satisfaction, yet the cultural component of their experience was primarily reported in terms of the visit being informative and entertaining. Additionally, whereas modest levels of interest in things Maori seemed to motivate visits to other Maori sites, the actual list of other locations being nominated was few in number. The impression results that visits are made to Maori sites because this is a "done thing" when visiting New Zealand, but overall, the level of interest shown by most visitors in indigenous culture is modest.

text: Experiencing cultural tourism: Visitors at the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, New Zealand This study reports results derived from semistructured interviews with 40 visitors to the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua, New Zealand. The article discusses briefly the mode of data capture used and adopts an approach of identifying classifications of a primarily functional nature to list reasons why people visit such a site and what it is they seek. In general, visitors reported high levels of satisfaction, yet the cultural component of their experience was primarily reported in terms of the visit being informative and entertaining. Additionally, whereas modest levels of interest in things Maori seemed to motivate visits to other Maori sites, the actual list of other locations being nominated was few in number. The impression results that visits are made to Maori sites because this is a "done thing" when visiting New Zealand, but overall, the level of interest shown by most visitors in indigenous culture is modest.

year: 2006