Exploring the Role of Natural Gas in U.S. Trucking (Revised Version)

The recent emergence of natural gas as an abundant, inexpensive fuel in the United States could prompt a momentous shift in the level of natural gas utilized in the transportation sector. The cost advantage of natural gas vis-à-vis diesel fuel is particularly appealing for vehicles with a high intensity of travel and thus fuel use. Natural gas is already a popular fuel for municipal and fleet vehicles such as transit buses and taxis. In this paper, we investigate the possibility that natural gas could be utilized to provide fuel cost savings, geographic supply diversity and environmental benefits for the heavy-duty trucking sector and whether it can enable a transition to lower carbon transport fuels. We find that a small, cost-effective intervention in markets could support a transition to a commercially sustainable natural gas heavyduty fueling system in the state of California and that this could also advance some of the state’s air quality goals. Our research shows that an initial advanced natural gas fueling system in California could facilitate the expansion to other U.S. states. Such a network would enable a faster transition to renewable natural gas or biogas and waste-to-energy pathways. Stricter efficiency standards for natural gas Class 8 trucks and regulation of methane leakage along the natural gas supply chain would be necessary for natural gas to contribute substantially to California’s climate goals as a trucking fuel. To date, industry has favored less expensive technologies that do not offer the highest level of environmental performance

Multilevel governance challenges in transitioning towards a national approach for REDD+:Evidence from 23 subnational REDD+ initiatives

Although REDD+ was conceived as a national approach to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, many of the early advances have been at the subnational level. It is critical to link these subnational efforts to emerging national REDD+ frameworks, including with respect to finance and benefit distribution, setting reference levels, measurement, reporting and verification (MRV), land policy and safeguards. We use evidence from interviews with proponents from 23 subnational REDD+ initiatives in six countries to characterize the multilevel governance challenges for REDD+. We analyse the differences in perceived challenges between subnational jurisdictional programs and project-based initiatives, and then analyse proponents’ perceptions of the relationship between government policies at multiple levels and these REDD+ initiatives. We find important multilevel governance challenges related to vertical coordination and information sharing and horizontal and inter-sectoral tensions, as well as concerns over accountability, equity and justice. Though the shift to a nested, jurisdictional or national REDD+ is sometimes approached as a technical design issue, this must be accompanied by an understanding of the interests and power relations among actors at different levels. We outline challenges and suggest priority areas for future research and policy, as countries move towards a national REDD+ system

Designing a First Year Experience Course for IS Students

First Year Experience (FYE) courses target entering students and introduce them to the college environment and expectations for the college classroom. These courses have gained increasing popularity due to their positive impact on retention of students, as well as increased graduation rates. This workshop will describe how to design a FYE course specifically targeting IS students. The IS focused FYE course should improve the retention of students in information technology and information systems. As IS departments face declining enrollment, retaining the students who do select IS majors is of critical importance. Workshop participants will create a basic syllabus for the specially focused FYE course and will complete activities that will prepare them to propose and deliver the course at their university

Student Perceptions of Diversity Issues in IT

This study examines student perceptions regarding the desirability of diversity in the IT workplace. Several diversity variables were included: age, disability status, ethnicity, and gender. Participants included upper division students with declared majors in IT fields, as well as upper division students enrolled in an Accounting Information Systems course. We analyzed their perceptions in relation to diversity, along with distinguishing factors influencing the choice ofIT as a career. We administered the Diversity Perceptions Inventory (DPI) to 162 undergraduate students from three institutions. Using multivariate analysis of variance, we found no significant differences in a number of areas: gender, age, work experience, disability status. We did find significant differences in perceptions based on ethnicity (p \u3c 0.05), as well as differences based on college major (p\u3c0.05). The paper concludes with recommendations and implications

Women in Science and Technology: A Freshman Seminar

First Year Experience (FYE) courses target entering students and introduce them to the college environment and expectations for the college classroom. These courses have gained increasing popularity due to their positive impact on retention of students, as well as increased graduation rates. This case study describes a FYE course implemented to try to improve the retention of women in information technology, information systems, computer science, and other scientific fields. We have already offered the course once and are currently offering it a second time. In this presentation, we will describe lessons learned and provide recommendations for developing similar courses at other universities