Maintaining environmental values in a commercial environment : a framework for commercial development in Victoria's national parks

This research has focussed on the development of a commercial business model (CBM) for providing tourism and support service based commercial activities in Victoria's national parks which also allowed for the protection of the parks natural values. National parks are vital if we as a nation are to retain our natural heritage - but the public sector land stewards of these important assets are facing increasing funding and user pressures. The result is a growing focus on the commercialisation of our national parks to provide services and generate the revenue required to maintain these assets. However, this has resulted in the exacerbation of a long existing conflict - these commercial operators are primarily focus on the achievement of a commercial return, while the land stewards' main responsibility is in the protection of the natural values of these assets. In completing this project an abductive research approach (using grounded theory) has been adopted. Specifically, the research activities undertaken included data collection via a number of techniques including stakeholder interviews, detailed examination of existing commercial arrangements, literature research on international approaches and models, development of a suggested commercial business model based on a synthesise of the research outcomes and, finally, obtaining user feedback. The use of the various data sources, and subsequent sourcing of user feedback facilitated the triangulation of the research results. The findings from this research challenge a number of the practices currently adopted in the structuring of commercial activities suggesting that these practices are inhibiting the quality of the service being provided to the national park visitor along with the level of protection being afforded to the parks natural values. The resulting CBM provides park managers with a framework for identification and structuring of commercial business activities, practical guidance on the actions required in the completion of a concession process and identification of a number of the relevant issues which need to be considered and addressed in establishing and managing a national park concession. The CBM has been developed specifically for application within Victoria's national parks (based on a public/private sector relationship). The output will also provide guidance on methods for embedding natural values on public/private sector relationships in other settings

Quiet propulsive lift for commuter airlines

The performance of STOL or RTOL aircraft and NASA's research program to provide options for future design and certification of quiet propulsive-life transports is described

An overview of the quiet short-haul research aircraft program

An overview of the Quiet Short Haul Research Aircraft (QSRA) Program is presented, with special emphasis on its propulsion and acoustic aspects. A description of the NASA technical participation in the program including wind tunnel testing, engine ground tests, and advanced aircraft simulation is given. The aircraft and its systems are described and, measured performance, where available, is compared to program goals. Preliminary data indicate that additional research and development are needed in some areas of which acoustics is an example. Some of these additional research areas and potential experiments using the QSRA to develop the technology are discussed. The concept of the QSRA as a national flight research facility is explained

Peak Oil? Oil Supply and Accumulation

capital differential accumulation peak oilFROM THE ARTICLE: Peak oil will come. When it does, its effects on the global economy are uncertain. In the meantime, the oil companies must keep the following plates spinning: faith in oil as the energy source of capitalism, a high enough price to remain on top of the corporate world, a low enough and steady enough price to avoid contributing to a lengthy recession, or even a depression. While the differential perspective on accumulation makes it clear that growth is not synonymous with the corporate interest -- as long as everyone else is declining faster than you, then you are differentially accumulating -- depressions are dangerous for their unpredictability and their potential to threaten the capitalist status quo. . . . Undoubtedly, one of these plates will drop. The question is: which one? The consequences of the answer to that question will come more immediately than the geologically necessary peak in production and should be of greater concern

Death Grip: Scapegoating the Subprime Loser

Capitalizing morality and accumulating through crisis

Low sea-surface salinity off northeastern South America in summer 1964

Between 24 July and 10 September 1964, low sea-surface salinity was present off South America between 5°N and 100°N in the form of two partly merged tongues extending more than 600 n. mi. east of 50°W. Near 9°N, 50°W, a marked eastward flow was found and identified as the Equatorial Counter Current; it apparently brought in much of the freshened water encountered east of 50°W...

Castoriadis, Veblen and the 'Power Theory of Capital'

capital capitalization differential accumulation labour valueA critical examination of value theories, capital accumulation and organized powe

The Enduring Power of GE

differential accumulation GE powerGeneral Electric (GE) has demonstrated extraordinary longevity in the upper echelon of U.S. corporations. From 1925 to 2013, the company has never fallen below 10th in the rankings of firms by market capitalization. The only other firm to match this feat is the oil giant ExxonMobil. GE’s durability is remarkable given the political, cultural, and technological tumult of the 20th century. In this presentation, I will consider possible reasons for GE’s dominance. This study of GE is part of an effort to develop a new field of Accumulation Studies. *** D.T. Cochrane. PhD student at the Graduate Program in Social and Political Thought, York University ([email protected]) This presentation is the fourth in the Second Speaker Series on the Capitalist Mode of Power, organized by capitalaspower.com and sponsored by the York Department of Political Science and the Graduate Program in Social and Political Thought. Refreshments will be served and all are welcome. WHEN: Tuesday, November 17, 2015, 3:00-5:00 pm WHERE: Verney Room, 674 South Ross, Keele Campus of York Universit

Differentiating Diamonds: Transforming Knowledge and the Accumulation of De Beers

advertising De Beers diamonds differential accumulation mass consumptionIn 1939, the De Beers diamond company faced a dire situation. The company’s accumulation had been dwindling for decades. The Great Depression not only pushed diamond sales to historic lows, it shifted American attitudes around consumption and thriftiness to the detriment of the luxury object. In this article, I bring together Liz McFall’s assertion that advertising needs to be studied as a “specific commercial device” with Jonathan Nitzan and Shimshon Bichler’s capitalas-power theory of value (CasP), which emphasizes differential accumulation. Both McFall and CasP challenge analyses that treat capitalism as an undifferentiated totality. It is from this perspective of differentiated commercial struggle that I analyze De Beers’ early advertising campaigns as well as the market research by N.W. Ayer that preceded them. My analysis focuses on an educational component intended to transform the diamond knowledge of the masses. The analysis demonstrates how the research informed the campaign that emerged in contingent relation with various facets of American society and was transformed by changes emergent with WWII