New directions for housing research due to climate change in New Zealand

Research concerned with energy and housing in NZ has focussed on the costs-effectiveness of maintaining warmth. Studies have concentrated on heat loss from houses and the efficiency of heating systems. One of the consequences of this has been Government subsidies for insulation and heat pump installations to reduce energy consumption in winter months. This has led to a significant growth in the heat pump market. Research is indicating that these devices are not significantly decreasing the demand for electricity in the winter. Of greater concern is that there is an increase in demand for electricity for cooling purposes which introduces a new and significant electrical load in the summer. This paper will outline the research currently being undertaken on the long-term impact of both climate change and energy depletion and the consequences for Building Code standards and ‘sustainability’ rating tools for housing. In New Zealand there has been a general shift in peak electrical demand from winter towards summer which has increased the risk of inadequate supplies in summer months. Climate change will not only alter the seasonal demand for electricity it will also impact on seasonal supply. About 50% of the water used for hydro electricity generation comes from glacial melt-water during the summer. The glaciers are now retreating due to climate change and it has been estimated that most glaciers will have melted by about 2040. NZ will not only experience ‘peak oil’ and ‘peak gas’ but also ‘peak hydro’. This will significantly increase the cost of electricity and the risk of interrupted supplies. The paper concludes that consideration should be given to subsidising long-lasting improvements to the fabric of houses rather than subsidising short-lived equipment such as heat pumps. Rating tools for the ‘sustainability’ of new and refurbished housing should also address this problem and actively discourage equipment that results, not only in increased electricity consumption, but also does not allow the human body the ability to adapt over time to the predicted increased average temperatures in New Zealand

Special issue of International Journal of Human Resource Management. A contextualized approach to Talent Management: Advancing the field

Postprint (published version

Field guide for forest mapping with high resolution satellite data

This manual is targeted at guiding the collection of adequate field information in a relatively short time, for calibrating and validating classifications and biophysical parameters derived from satellite images of high spatial resolution for forest monitoring. It aims to support of monitoring deforestation and forest degradation in the context of the UN-REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) programme. Experience gained from field surveys carried out in conjunction with the Tanzania Forest Service in 2012, 2013 and 2014 in the Pugu Hills Forest Reserve is used to demonstrate the methods of data collection and analysis. The field data collected in this work were used to produce maps of forest cover, basal area and biomass. These maps were transferred to the Tanzania Forest Service to support their forest inventoryJRC.H.3-Forest Resources and Climat

Manual del usuario para la herramienta del CCI de validación del cambio en la cobertura vegetal/ocupación del suelo

El proyecto TREES-3 del CCI tiene por objeto estimar los cambios en la cobertura forestal a nivel continental y regional para el cinturón tropical y para los períodos 1990-2000 y 2000-(2005)-2010 basándose en una muestra sistemática de los mapas de cambios en la cobertura forestal. Se ha desarrollado un sistema para el tratamiento y evaluación de los cambios en la cobertura vegetal a partir de un amplio conjunto de datos de imágenes de resolución media multitemporales (unidades de muestra de 20 km x 20 km analizadas a partir de imágenes del satélite Landsat). La principal tarea es evaluar, de la manera más exacta posible y para cada unidad de muestra, la cobertura forestal y el cambio en esta entre dos fechas. El análisis incluye un paso final crucial consistente en la verificación visual y la asignación final de etiquetas de cobertura vegetal, efectuado por funcionarios nacionales responsables de los bosques o expertos en teledetección de los países tropicales. La interpretación visual se lleva a cabo de manera interdependiente en imágenes de dos fechas a fin de verificar y ajustar las etiquetas preasignadas a cada segmento para las diferentes fechas. Con esta finalidad se ha desarrollado una aplicación dedicada autónoma. La aplicación es una interfaz gráfica de usuario denominada «herramienta del CCI de validación del cambio en la cobertura vegetal», cuya finalidad es proporcionar una interfaz de fácil manejo con un conjunto optimizado de órdenes para navegar por un conjunto de datos de imágenes de satélite y mapas de la cobertura vegetal, evaluarlos y corregir fácilmente las etiquetas de ocupación del suelo según corresponda. En esta tarea la FAO está colaborando con el CCI en el marco del “Global Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) Remote Sensing Survey”. El CCI añadió funcionalidades a esta herramienta para permitir el etiquetado de clases de ocupación del suelo que forman parte de la clasificación FRA. El presente documento técnico, titulado «Manual de instrucciones para la herramienta del CCI de validación del cambio en la cobertura vegetal/ocupación del suelo» (JRC Land Cover/Use Change Validation Tool) describe el procedimiento de instalación de la herramienta en un ordenador personal, así como las características detalladas de la interfaz gráfica de usuario. Los autores agradecen las aportaciones de los usuarios de la herramienta, especialmente la información respecto a cualquier problema de software o las sugerencias para la mejora de futuras versiones.JRC.H.3-Forest Resources and Climat

User Manual for the JRC Land Cover/Use Change Validation Tool

The JRC TREES-3 project aims at estimating forest cover changes at continental and regional levels for the Tropical belt for the periods 1990-2000 and 2000-(2005)-2010 based on a systematic sample of forest cover change maps. An operational system has been developed for the processing and change assessment of a large data set of multi-temporal medium resolution imagery (sample units of 20 km x 20 km size analysed from with Landsat imagery). The main task is to assess as accurately as possible for each sample unit the forest cover and forest cover change between two dates. The analysis includes a crucial final step of visual verification and final assignment of land cover labels which is carried out by forestry national officers or remote sensing experts from tropical countries. The visual interpretation is conducted interdependently on two-date imagery to verify and to adjust the labels pre-assigned to each segment for the different dates. A dedicated stand-alone application has been developed for this purpose. The application is a graphical user interface, called the JRC Land Cover/Use Change Validation Tool. The aim of this tool is to provide a user-friendly interface, with an optimised set of commands to navigate through and assess a given dataset of satellite imagery and land cover maps, and to correct easily the land-cover labels as appropriate. The present technical document, entitled ¿User Manual for the JRC Land Cover Change Validation Tool¿ describes the steps for the installation of the tool on a personal computer, as well as the detailed features of this dedicated graphical user interface. The authors welcome feedbacks from potential users of the tool, in particular reporting of any potential software issue or providing suggestions for improvements of future versions of the tool.JRC.DDG.H.3-Global environement monitorin

CarbEF: a software for reporting carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation under REDD+

This document describes a carbon emission reporting method based on maps of forest changes. The method is based on the Intergovermental Panel on Climate Changes (IPCC) guidelines to define forests, deforestation, and forest degradation from multi-temporal tree cover change maps. The CarbEF module of the IMPACT toolbox software implements this method and produces reports. CarbEF module reports ‘activity’ data and carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation using: (i) A map of tree cover loss, usually generated from multi-temporal tree cover maps at fine spatial resolution (i.e. maps of tree cover loss at <30m resolution), (ii) a national forest definition and (iii) forest carbon stock values (from national data or other scientific literature).JRC.D.1-Bio-econom

Talent management: context matters

There is little doubt that the attraction, development, and retention of talent are nowadays one of the most critical challenges faced by companies worldwide. Despite the increasing scholarly attention during the last years many questions remain, particularly, those related to how (and why) talent management (TM) is conceived, implemented and developed within organizations, not to mention about its outcomes or effectiveness. We argue that organizational context has been underappreciated in TM research, which is an omission since context affects the occurrence, meaning and implementation of TM. Therefore, we edited a special issue which seeks to contribute to advance our knowledge of how contextual factors affect the conceptualization, implementation and effectiveness of TM. In this opening article, we offer a brief overview of how context is integrated in previous TM research. We then introduce the four articles in this special issue and their contributions which addresses gap in TM research and, finally, we offer some suggestions on how to improve contextualized TM researchPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Manuel d'utilisation de l'outil du CCR pour la validation des changements du couvert végétal / de l'utilisation des terres

Le projet TREES-3 du CCR a pour objectif d¿estimer les changements dans le couvert forestier aux échelles continentales et régionales dans les régions tropicales qui sont survenus au cours des années 1990 à 2000 et 2000 à (2005)-2010 sur la base d¿un échantillon systématique de cartes révélant les changements du couvert forestier. Un système opérationnel a été mis au point pour traiter et évaluer les changements dans un grand nombre de sites à partir d¿images multi-temporelles de moyenne résolution spatiale (unités d¿échantillonnage de 20 km x 20 km analysées à partir d¿images Landsat). L¿objectif principal est d¿évaluer le plus précisément possible, pour chaque unité d¿échantillonnage, le couvert forestier et le changement dans celui-ci entre deux dates. L¿analyse comprend une étape ultime d¿une importance cruciale qui consiste à vérifier visuellement et à attribuer l¿identification finale des couverts végétaux. Cette dernière étape est confiée aux soins d¿agents forestiers nationaux ou d¿experts en télédétection, issus de pays tropicaux. L¿interprétation visuelle s¿effectue de manière interdépendante à partir d¿images pris à deux dates différentes afin de vérifier et d¿ajuster les classes de végétation préalablement attribuées à chaque segment aux différentes dates. Une application autonome a été spécialement conçue à cette fin. Dénommée «Outil du CCR pour la validation des changements du couvert végétal», cette application est une interface utilisateur graphique conviviale dont la série optimisée de commandes permet, d¿une part, de naviguer à des fins d¿évaluation dans un ensemble d¿images satellitaires et de cartes représentant le couvert végétal et, d¿autre part, de corriger aisément, le cas échéant, les classes de couvert végétal. La FAO collabore avec le CCR à ce travail dans le cadre de l¿enquête par télédétection qui est menée à bien au titre de l¿évaluation des ressources forestières mondiales (FRA). Le CCR a ajouté à l¿outil une fonctionnalité qui permet aussi d¿étiqueter les classes d¿utilisation des terres qui relèvent de la classification utilisée par la FAO. Le présent document, intitulé «Manuel d¿utilisation de l¿outil du CCR pour la validation des changements du couvert végétal / de l¿utilisation des terres», explique la procédure à suivre pour installer le logiciel sur un ordinateur personnel et décrit en détail les caractéristiques de cette interface utilisateur graphique spécifique. Les auteurs remercient d¿ores et déjà les utilisateurs potentiels de l¿outil de bien vouloir leur faire part de leurs commentaires et en particulier de les tenir informés de tout problème logiciel éventuel ou de leur faire parvenir toute suggestion d¿améliorations pour les futures versions de l¿outil.JRC.DDG.H.3-Global environement monitorin

Manual de utilização de ferramenta do Centro Comum de Investigação para validação das mudanças da cobertura vegetal e do uso da terra

O projeto TREES-3 do CCI tem como objetivo avaliar mudanças da cobertura vegetal na região tropical que ocorreram entre 1990 e 2000, e entre 2000-(2005)-2010. Para isto, foram processadas e avaliadas mudanças da cobertura vegetal em uma grande quantidade de imagens de satélite multi-temporais de resolução espacial média (unidades amostrais de 20 km x 20 km de imagens Landsat). Desta forma, o projeto TREES-3 busca avaliar para cada uma das unidades amostrais a cobertura florestal e as mudanças da cobertura vegetal ocorrida num quinquénio ou década com a mais alta precisão possível. A análise da mudança da cobertura vegetal e do uso da terra inclui também uma etapa de validação visual da classificação das imagens de satélite para atribuir as classes definitivas. Para esta etapa, o CCI desenvolveu uma ferramenta computacional chamada ‘‘Ferramenta do CCI para validação das mudanças da cobertura vegetal e do uso da terra’’. Esta ferramenta é utilizada por agentes florestais nacionais ou especialistas em sensoriamento remoto provenientes de países tropicais. Nesta ferramenta, a interpretação visual das imagens de satélite é efetuada de maneira simultânea utilizando imagens de dois períodos diferentes. Desta forma, é possível verificar e ajustar classes de uso da terra que foram previamente definidas. Neste trabalho, a FAO colabora com o CCI no âmbito do projeto de levantamento por sensoriamento remoto para avaliação dos recursos florestais mundiais (FRA). O CCI agregou na ferramenta computacional uma função que permite atribuir classes de uso da terra que fazem parte da classificação utilizada pela FAO. O presente documento, intitulado ‘‘Manual de utilização de ferramenta do Centro Comum de Investigação para validação das mudanças da cobertura vegetal e do uso da terra”, explica o procedimento para instalação da ferramenta e descreve as características da interface gráfica do usuário.JRC.H.3-Forest Resources and Climat