LANDCARE: A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE

Land Economics/Use,

Valuing natural assets

Key points New Zealand producers and consumers get much value from natural assets. Much of this value is intangible. This is a fundamental reason to make special effort to measure the value of natural assets, to make sure we make the right decisions about their use and conservation.But a key barrier to using economic valuation is the cost and uncertainty of values obtained from the variety of techniques being used. This is a real issue, to the extent that doubts are being expressed in resource management cases whether economics has much to add when considering environmental effects.To remove this barrier, valuations need to be cheaper and easier to compare. A standardised technique could provide relative values for different types of natural asset or service. This would make economic value estimates from across a range of natural asset settings more consistent.Developing a practical, reliable standardised technique would involve: building on studies done to date , showing how much economic activity depends on natural assets in a robust and comparable waycarrying out a meta - analysis, to obtain consistent and comparable value estimates for a range of ensure economic activities from economic impact studies done to datelearning how biophysical cause - and - effect relationships translate into economic value, to identify the sensitivity of econo mic activity to changes in natural assets , such as biodiversitycommissioning a stated preference study of the value of broad categories of natural assets, as a starting point for identifying value in specific situations. Decision - makers need to understand how and where economic valuation can support their decisions. Providing them with explanatory materials will help.It is important to make progress. There is currently a gap in the knowledge about the full contribution of natural assets to New Zealand’s economic well-being. This creates a risk that natural assets will be undervalued. Ecosystems and the valuable services they provide may be lost or damaged.Economic valuation of environmental assets can fill the knowledge gap. To date, non-market valuations in New Zealand do not appear to have been used much to make management choices in conservation, whether those relate to responding to pest incursions or to economic development.A less ad hoc approach to weighing up the value of natural assets can make treatment of natural assets more consistent in decisions, and increase the efficiency of use of natural resources. A better approach is needed so studies inform policy and decisions about New Zealand’s natural assets. Our proposed approach could improve understanding of the value of natural assets — giving them more consistent weight in decisions, and improving the way we manage them

Exploring how Health-related Quality of Life (HRQOL) is experienced among patients living with HIV associated TB in Khayelitsha, South Africa

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a construct that has received attention in research for nearly four decades. However, renewed interest in this field came about with advances in medical technology and health policies. Better treatment options and policies, which enables greater access to health care, have improved health outcomes, such as leading to an extension in life expectancy. This rings particularly true for Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and associated illnesses such Tuberculosis (TB). However, improvements in health outcomes are not necessarily accompanied by satisfactory patient experiences of HRQOL. Health-related quality of life is predominantly studied through quantitative research methodologies. However, the measures used are not entirely tailored to the South African context. Consequently, this mini-dissertation aims to explore HRQOL using qualitative methodological inquiry within the South African context. This mini dissertation is structured around the three following components: A research protocol (Part A) which addresses HRQOL in a South African context with particular focus on HIV and TB. Part B is a literature review examining existing HIV, TB and HRQOL literature, with emphasis on the South African context. The final section (Part C) is a manuscript for a journal article prepared to be published. Part C focuses on the social experience of HRQOL and how it is the central construct to experiencing HRQOL in South Africa as opposed to an individualised view in Western settings. The findings from this mini dissertation can add to the limited existing HRQOL literature in South Africa, by providing a perspective on how HRQOL is experienced in this country. The knowledge obtained here can further aid in the development or improvement of interventions and policies which aim to not only improve patient health outcomes, but HRQOL as well. Lastly, it can provide valuable information to those focused on developing quantitative HRQOL tools that are appropriate for use in South Africa

Using Time-Lapse Three Dimensional Vertical Seismic Profiling to Monitor Injected Fluids During Geologic Carbon Sequestration

Two three-dimensional vertical seismic profiles (3D-VSP) were acquired at the KGS Marvin Blan No. 1 CO2 sequestration research well outside of Cloverport in Hancock County, Ky. The initial (preinjection) survey was performed September 15-16, 2010, and was followed by the injection of 361.2 metric tons of supercritical CO2 and then 584 m3 of 2 percent potassium chloride water (to displace the remaining CO2 in the wellbore) on September 22, 2010. After injection, the well was shut in with a downhole pressure of 17.5 MPa at the injected reservoir depth of 1,545.3 m. A second 3D-VSP was acquired September 25-26, 2010. These two surveys were combined to produce a time-lapse 3D-VSP data volume in an attempt to monitor and image the subsurface changes caused by the injection. Less than optimum surface access and ambient subsurface noise from a nearby active petroleum pipeline compromised the quality of the data, preventing imaging of the CO2 plume in the subsurface. Some changes in the post-injection seismic response (both wavelet character and an apparent seismic pull-down within the injection zone) are interpreted to be a result of the injection process, however, and imply that the technique could still be valid under different circumstances

Major Lower Paleozoic Horizons of the Southern Illinois Basin

The geology exposed at the surface in the southern Illinois Basin has been mapped in great detail by countless workers over the past century. With the exception of limited and scattered exposures in incised river valleys, the oldest rocks exposed outside of the Jessamine, Nashville, and Ozark Domes surrounding the Illinois Basin are Mississippian in age. Extensive deposits of Cambrian–Devonian sediments occur in the subsurface above crystalline basement in this region, however. All available data for the region were analyzed to produce a single, comprehensive set of interpretations. The data used in this study include 1:24,000-scale geologic quadrangle maps, oil and gas well data from 1,764 wells, more than 900 mi of proprietary reflection-seismic profiles, and public-domain potential-fields data (gravity and aeromagnetic surveys). The data were used to interpret the structure of eight stratigraphic horizons in the subsurface: the top and base of the New Albany Shale, the top and base of the Maquoketa Shale, the top of the Knox Supergroup, the top of the Eau Claire Formation, the top of the Reelfoot Arkose, and the top of Precambrian basement rocks

A Comparative Evaluation of Gait between Children with Autism and Typically Developing Matched Controls

Anecdotal reports suggest children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) ambulate differently than peers with typical development (TD). Little empirical evidence supports these reports. Children with ASD exhibit delayed motor skills, and it is important to determine whether or not motor movement deficits exist during walking. The purpose of the study was to perform a comprehensive lower-extremity gait analysis between children (aged 5–12 years) with ASD and age- and gender-matched-samples with TD. Gait parameters were normalized to 101 data points and the gait cycle was divided into seven sub-phases. The Model Statistic procedure was used to test for statistical significance between matched-pairs throughout the entire gait cycle for each parameter. When collapsed across all participants, children with ASD exhibited large numbers of significant differences (p \u3c 0.05) throughout the gait cycle in hip, knee, and ankle joint positions as well as vertical and anterior/posterior ground reaction forces. Children with ASD exhibited unique differences throughout the gait cycle, which supports current literature on the heterogeneity of the disorder. The present work supports recent findings that motor movement differences may be a core symptom of ASD. Thus, individuals may benefit from therapeutic movement interventions that follow precision medicine guidelines by accounting for individual characteristics, given the unique movement differences observed

Profit or public service? Tensions and alignment in private planning practice

© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/The growth of employment opportunities for planners working in the private sector has resulted in a rapid change in the composition of the planning profession in the UK, with over 40% of Royal Town Planning Institute members now employed in private practice. Existing writing on private planning practice is somewhat circumspect, with the private sector being associated largely with a profit-driven approach. Drawing on interviews with private sector planners, this paper argues that this fails to reflect the lived reality of private sector planners, and in so doing sets out an alternative and more nuanced characterisation of private practice.Peer reviewe

STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION OF AN INTRACRATONIC RIFT SYSTEM; MISSISSIPPI VALLEY GRABEN, ROUGH CREEK GRABEN, AND ROME TROUGH OF KENTUCKY, USA

As indicated by drilling and geophysical data, the Mississippi Valley Graben, the Rough Creek Graben, together with the Rome Trough of eastern Kentucky and West Virginia, are fault-bounded graben structures filled with as much as 27,000 feet of Early to Middle Cambrian sediments. Detailed regional mapping of Cambrian and younger strata within and surrounding these structures indicates that they formed contemporaneously. The proximity of these structures suggests they developed within the same regional stress fields and tectonic environments. These three structures are mechanically and kinematically connected, and formed part of a single continent-scale rift system produced during the breakup of Rodinia and the separation of Laurentia from Amazonia. Data including stratigraphic tops from 1,764 wells, interpretations of 106 seismic profiles, aeromagnetic and gravity survey analysis, and mapped surface geology and structures were used within this project. Seven stratigraphic packages resolvable in both geophysical well logs and reflection seismic profiles were mapped in the subsurface across parts of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Tennessee. These stratigraphic units were then analyzed through structure maps, isopachous maps, and across 12 regional well-based cross sections. Detailed analysis of thickness patterns of seven major stratigraphic packages was used to identify the locations and timing of major fault movements within the study area. The regional patterns of fault movements through time were used to investigate how the structures evolved in response to the tectonic episodes in southeastern Laurentia during the Cambrian through Devonian Periods. Active rifting of the Precambrian crystalline bedrock began by the Early Cambrian, and resulted in a thick deposit of Reelfoot Arkose and Eau Claire Formation within the Mississippi Valley and Rough Creek Grabens, and the Rome Formation and Conasauga Group within the Rome Trough. Major tectonic extension ended by the Late Cambrian, prior to the deposition of the Knox Supergroup. Counter-clockwise rotation of the regional sigma-1 stress field between the Middle Ordovician and Early Mississippian (Taconic through Acadian Orogenies) resulted in the reactivation of varying sets of preexisting faults through time. The locations, orientations, and timing of these active faults relate to the deep architecture of the rift system

Structural Evolution and Petroleum Potential of a Cambrian Intracratonic Rift System: Mississippi Valley Graben, Rough Creek Graben, and Rome Trough

Drilling and geophysical data demonstrate that the Mississippi Valley Graben, Rough Creek Graben, and Rome Trough are fault-bounded structures filled with as much as 27,000 ft of Cambrian sediments. Data including stratigraphic tops from 1,764 wells, 106 seismic profiles, aeromagnetic and gravity surveys, and mapped surface geology at a scale of 1:24,000 were used to study seven stratigraphic packages across parts of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Tennessee. Detailed analysis of the thickness patterns of these stratigraphic packages was used to interpret the locations and timing of movement along major fault systems in the study area. Active rifting of the Precambrian crystalline bedrock began by the Early Cambrian and resulted in thick, sand-rich deposits of the Reelfoot Arkose in the Mississippi Valley Graben and Rough Creek Graben, and the Rome Formation in the Rome Trough. Subsidence continued in these grabens during the Middle to Late Cambrian, leading to deposition of an alternating succession of shales and carbonates (Eau Claire Formation of the Illinois Basin and Conasauga Group of the Appalachian Basin) on top of the coarse clastic Reelfoot Arkose and Rome Formation. Although the tectonic extension that formed these features ended by the Late Cambrian, fault-zone reactivation during the Taconic, Acadian, and Alleghenian Orogenies altered fault-block orientations and produced areas of basin inversion, possibly creating numerous deep structural traps for hydrocarbons sourced by the Cambrian shales of the Eau Claire Formation and Conasauga Group

Assessing Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) Potential in Kentucky to Augment Energy Production from Renewable Resources

Fossil fuel power plants in Kentucky have some of the highest emissions of greenhouse gasses in the United States. One potential strategy for mitigating greenhouse gasses from electric power generation is the co-installation of Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) and a renewable source such as photovoltaic solar electricity generation (PV solar generation). CAES with complementary co-installed PV solar generation enhances stand-alone PV solar generation because CAES power is available at night. CAES, however, requires both a site where large volumes of compressed air can be stored in the subsurface, and a heat source to prepare the stored air prior to entering the electricity-generating turbines. Co-installed PV solar electricity can provide the required thermal energy, but compressed air storage can be problematic. The two existing CAES plants, in Germany and Alabama, store compressed air in subsurface solution-mined salt caverns, however the thick salt deposits necessary to develop a compressed air storage cavern are not a part of Kentucky’s geology. Six compressed air storage models were reviewed as part of this project: acid solution-mined caverns, abandoned limestone mines, advanced energy storage in mined air storage chambers, depleted gas fields aquifer storage; and cased wellbore energy storage. Each of these models has the potential for application in Kentucky. Two issues need to be addressed in applying CAES and its variations in Kentucky: ownership of the subsurface pore space where compressed air would be stored in depleted geologic reservoirs and aquifers, and social equity of the CAES electric power generation process. Pore space ownership is addressed under both state and federal law, generally from the standpoint of natural gas storage in depleted gas fields. These storage reservoirs would require an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) injection permit. CAES models that do not impact porosity or groundwater may require other state and federal operational permits. Because CAES is both site-flexible and easily scalable, it provides a starting point for the conversation surrounding energy equity in the U.S. CAES with co-installed PV solar electricity generation provides a path to equitable power generation for all Americans