Addressing the wicked problem of water resource management: An ecosystem services approach

This paper develops a systematic assessment of the sustainability of ecosystem services provided by rivers impacted by water storage projects. Given the conflicting preferences amongst stakeholders and the incomplete, uncertain and contradictory understanding about river ecology it is recognized that managing water resources sustainably is a wicked problem. In order to address this wicked problem, the methods of multi-criteria analysis and graph analysis are applied, in accordance with integrated water resource management, to assess the potential of investing in water storage projects and explore for sustainable solutions through the construction of an ecosystem services index.Ecosystem services, ecosystem services index, graph analysis, integrated water resource management, multi-criteria analysis, sustainability, wicked problems, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q15, Q25, Q27, Q51, Q58, Q57,

Evaluating the sustainability of impounded river systems and the cost-effectiveness of dam projects: An ecosystem services approach

In recent times, there has been increasing demand in the Canterbury region of New Zealand for the abstraction of water from rivers. The impact of this demand has lead to unacceptable minimum river flows and has adversely affected river ecology. In an effort to resolve these issues dams have been constructed. To evaluate the impact of these dam projects on all river values, an ecosystem services approach is developed. This ecosystem services approach coupled with various evaluation methods are applied for the purposes of assessing the cost-effectiveness of the Opuha Dam and the sustainability of the Opihi river system now modified by the Opuha Dam. To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of this dam project cost utility analysis is applied through the development of an ecosystem services index (ESI). The index is constructed from the aggregation of normalized indicators that represent each ecosystem service and preferential weights of each ecosystem service. The evaluation of sustainability is considered both according to weak and strong criteria. Weak sustainability is evaluated by a non-declining ecosystem services index over time. Strong sustainability is evaluated by the thresholds or safe minimum standards where an ecosystem service, as represented by an indicator, should not pass below. Fifteen ecosystem services provided by the Opihi river were identified and data for forty-two indicators was compiled to assess the provision of these services pre- and post-dam. Fifteen regional and six local stakeholder representatives were interviewed to elicit preferential weights for each ecosystem service. Assessment of both the ESI and safe minimum standards indicates that since dam construction the river has progressed towards both weak and strong sustainability in its provision of ecosystem services. The cost-effectiveness of the dam however was poor. While further work remains to refine the approach, namely to develop more effective indicators of river ecosystem services, the work does present a novel method to evaluate the impacts of dams on river systems.Cost utility analysis, dam projects, ecosystem services, impounded river systems, indicators and sustainability., Environmental Economics and Policy, Q15, Q25, Q27, Q51, Q58, Q57,

The Corrected Log N-Log Fluence Distribution of Cosmological Gamma-Ray Bursts

Recent analysis of relativistically expanding shells of cosmological gamma-ray bursts has shown that if the bursts are cosmological, then most likely total energy (E_0) is standard and not peak luminosity (L_0). Assuming a flat Friedmann cosmology (q_o = 1/2, Lambda = 0) and constant rate density (rho_0) of bursting sources, we fit a standard candle energy to a uniformly selected log N-log S in the BATSE 3B catalog correcting for fluence efficiency and averaging over 48 observed spectral shapes. We find the data consistent with E_0 = 7.3^{+0.7}_{-1.0} X 10^{51} ergs and discuss implications of this energy for cosmological models of gamma-ray bursts.Comment: A five page LateX file that uses the Revtex conference proceedings macro aipbook.sty, and includes three postscript figures using psfig. To Be published in the Proceedings of the Third Hunstville Symposium on Gamma-Ray Bursts, eds. C. Kouveliotou, M.S. Briggs and G.J. Fishman (New York:AIP). Postscript version availible at http://nis-www.lanl.gov/~jsbloom/LOG_S.p

The Union Forever: Lincoln, Grant, and the Civil War

A Prominent Historian’s Life’s Work Investigating Three Giants John Y. Simon was an exceptional scholar. As the founding editor of The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant in 1964, John presided over the project for forty years and thirty-one volumes, setting the gold standard for document...

Understanding social determinants of healthcare access from the perspective of Hispanic Latino immigrants in Louisville, Ky.

In the last decade, the total foreign-born population in the U.S. has grown exponentially, with the Hispanic Latino immigrants (HLI) experiencing the greatest growth. The literature clearly identifies that HLI experience significant health disparities as a result of the negative impact of influential social determinants of health, such as access to healthcare services. Barriers to healthcare access among HLI are related to the access dimensions of accessibility, availability, affordability, and acceptability. Despite research on the barriers to healthcare for this population, issues of access from the perspective of immigrant community members are poorly understood. There is an increased need to understand barriers and facilitators to healthcare access as perceived by HLI themselves to develop culturally appropriate strategies aimed at eliminating healthcare access inequities and health disparities. The purpose of this dissertation was to critically explore the perceived barriers and facilitators to primary healthcare access among HLI residing in highly concentrated communities of the southern metropolitan city of Louisville, KY. Critical ethnographic methods and postcolonial theory were used to investigate access to healthcare in this community within historical, sociocultural, economic and political contexts. Twenty participants were interviewed for this study using a semi-structured interview guide and descriptive survey form. Participant observations, document reviews and geospatial analysis assisted in providing in-depth understanding of findings within various contexts. Research findings revealed that significant barriers and facilitators to healthcare access were closely related to historical, sociocultural, political and economic contexts that shaped HLI health experiences in Louisville. These social determinants of healthcare access were influenced by the underlying social structures of race, ethnicity, power and oppression embedded in the colonial histories of the Americas. Additionally, findings indicated that although providers and HLI recipients shared similar perspectives on healthcare access, discrepancies between the provision and utilization of healthcare services were perpetuated by the social determinants of healthcare access. Findings from this study provide several implications and recommendations for healthcare systems, community programs, nursing, policy reform and future programs of research focused on enhanced culturally appropriate interventions and programs addressing the perceived needs of HLI in the Louisville community

The Defense of Berlin

Originally published in 1963. In 1958 Nikita Khrushchev demanded that the United States, Great Britain, and France withdraw from West Berlin. His demands eventually resulted in the division of Germany's capital city through the building of the Berlin Wall. In The Defense of Berlin, Jean Edward Smith discusses Berlin from the time of arrangements set during the war through 1962, with an emphasis on the effect that the crisis of division had on the city

The Effects of a Closed-Chain, Eccentric Training Program on Hamstring Injuries of a Professional Football Cheerleading Team

Objective Hamstring injuries are a common occurrence among professional football cheerleaders. The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of an eccentric, closed-chain hamstring exercise intervention on hamstring injury–associated pain during the course of the football season among professional football cheerleaders. Methods Forty-three female cheerleaders participated in an eccentric, closed-chain hamstring exercise intervention protocol provided by doctors of chiropractic that incorporated loops of elastic-band or Thera-Band Loops (Hygenic Corporation, Akron, OH) during practice and at home during the regular football season. Hamstring injury–related pain was assessed in June, during team selection; in September, at the start of the season; and in December, at the end of season. No intervention was applied between June and September, although the sample participated in 4 hours of practice 2 to 3 times per week. The intervention was applied to the entire sample regardless of hamstring injury–related pain during the regular football season between September and December. The interventions included 2 exercises and were completed bilaterally 2 times per week at each biweekly practice and were encouraged to be done at least 3 additional times per week at home on nonpractice days. Results Among the subsample who reported hamstring-related injury pain between June and September, the exercise intervention significantly decreased (P \u3c .007) pain between September (6.07 ± 0.58) and December (3.67 ± 0.65). Conclusions The eccentric, closed-chain hamstring exercise intervention reduced hamstring injury–related pain among this group of professional football cheerleaders