Water for Life Strategy in Alberta: Changing Priorities in Canadian Water Policy?

Water resources are being stretched to the limit in Alberta and irrigation activities account for more than 70 percent of consumptive water use in the province. Conflicts among users and potential users may be looming. Pollution of surface water and groundwater and outbreaks of water-borne pathogens have been increasing. Freshwater systems are likely to deteriorate further with impending climate change. Following passage of the Alberta Water Act in 1999 and the Irrigation Districts Act in 2000, which allowed limited transfers of water among water users, the Alberta government issued its Water for Life Strategy in late 2003. The strategy’s principal goals include (1) evaluation of the use of economic instruments to manage water demand by 2007; (2) demonstration of best management practices by 2010; and (3) a 30 percent increase in productivity and efficiency over 2005 levels by 2015. This seems to presage a new era in water management in Alberta, but will the necessary changes in water management be forthcoming? This study examines the need for demand-based management and the constraints that make effective changes in water policy problematic. Evidence from a recent study in the St. Mary’s River Irrigation District highlights problems with water markets.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Is the Water Sector Lagging behind Education and Health on Aid Effectiveness? Lessons from Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Uganda

A study in three countries (Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Uganda) assessed progress against the Paris Principles for Aid Effectiveness (AE) in three sectors – water, health and education – to test the assumption that the water sector is lagging behind. The findings show that it is too simplistic to say that the water sector is lagging, although this may well be the case in some countries. The study found that wider governance issues are more important for AE than having in place sector-specific mechanics such as Sector-Wide Approaches alone. National political leadership and governance are central drivers of sector AE, while national financial and procurement systems and the behaviour of actors who have not signed up to the Paris Principles – at both national and global levels – have implications for progress that cut across sectors. Sectors and sub-sectors do nonetheless have distinct features that must be considered in attempting to improve sector-level AE. In light of these findings, using political economy approaches to better understand and address governance and strengthening sector-level monitoring is recommended as part of efforts to improve AE and development results in the water sector

Alberta's Water for Life Strategy: Some early indications of its acceptance by the irrigation industry in Southern Alberta

Water is essential for sustainable agricultural development - for irrigation of crops, livestock watering, processing, and sustaining farm families. Agriculture uses 71 percent of all water diverted for consumptive use in Canada (Environment Canada, 2004), and is by far the greatest water consumer in Canada. In the absence of a Canadian national water strategy, Alberta has developed a long-term water management plan called the Water for Life Strategy. Its successful implementation will depend largely on the participation of irrigators. This study explores the reaction of irrigators to one of the strategy's main goals - a 30 percent increase in water use efficiency and productivity by 2015 over 2005 levels. The study reveals that irrigators vary significantly in their views as to the extent to which this goal can be reached, and the means by which it should be achieved within agriculture. Further, these responses reflect differences among irrigation districts relating to the extent of water stress, on-farm irrigation water efficiency and natural factors that limit crop diversity in some areas. Ultimately the government may have to revise its 30 percent target and tailor the strategy to irrigation districts as opposed to a broad-based approach.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

An investigation into the effect of a novel non-linguistic cognitive intervention on functional communication in global aphasia

Background: Global aphasia is a severe communication disorder affecting all language modalities, commonly caused by stroke. Evidence as to whether the functional communication of people with global aphasia (PwGA) can improve after speech and language therapy is limited and conflicting. This is partly because cognition is essential for successful functional communication and in global aphasia it can be severely impaired. Cognitive treatments aimed at improving functional communication in people with aphasia exist, but few have been trialled with PwGA and none have robustly demonstrated gains. This study explored the effect of a novel cognitive intervention on the functional communication skills of PwGA. Method: A survey investigated the practices, challenges and research priorities of UK based speech and language therapists. Intervention for PwGA was found to commonly target choice-making or non-verbal communication. However, co-occurring cognitive difficulties were reported to limit progress and present a challenge when engaging clients. Synthesising these findings with a review of the literature, a non-linguistic intervention targeting the cognitive skills underpinning functional communication was developed and delivered to six participants (recruited from NHS and independent neurorehabilitation services), three times weekly for up to 6 weeks. A multiple baseline case series design investigated changes in functional communication (as measured by a proxy rating of communication independence and quality, and a new scenario-based observational tool), cognition and auditory comprehension. Results: Participants completed this novel intervention programme in an average of nine sessions. Five out of six participants made significant gains in functional communication as measured by a proxy, and non-verbal semantics. Auditory comprehension also significantly improved in two individuals. Conclusion: There is preliminary evidence that this intervention can improve functional communication in some PwGA. Findings add to the evidence that cognition is critical to functional communication and highlight the benefit of treating cognition via non- linguistic means in PwGA

Challenges for Water Researchers in Alberta in a Climate of Policy Uncertainty

A safe and plentiful supply of surface water is crucial to the well-being of every resident of Alberta. The effective and efficient use of surface water is central to economic growth and environmental sustainability. As the necessary but competing demands on surface water intensify, the awareness of its limited supply increases. This is particularly evident in southern Alberta, which has experienced significant agricultural, industrial and population growth. In addition to its use for extensive irrigation, surface water in the South Saskatchewan River basin is vital to meet drinking and sanitation needs in rural and urban communities. Management of this key resource involves many researchable issues– water supply, water treatment, water distribution, wastewater collection and processing, flood control, navigation, hydropower production, aquatic recreation – which interact with each other and with government policies. The purpose of this article is to outline the priorities for socio-economic research on surface water resource issues in light of the ever-changing legal and policy frameworks in Alberta.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Specific heat across the superconducting dome in the cuprates

The specific heat of the superconducting cuprates is calculated over the entire phase diagram. A d-wave BCS approach based on the large Fermi surface of Fermi liquid and band structure theory provides a good description of the overdoped region. At underdoping it is essential to include the emergence of a second energy scale, the pseudogap and its associated Gutzwiller factor, which accounts for a reduction in the coherent piece of the electronic Green's function due to increased correlations as the Mott insulating state is approached. In agreement with experiment, we find that the slope of the linear in T dependence of the low temperature specific heat rapidly increases above optimum doping while it is nearly constant below optimum. Our theoretical calculations also agree with recent data on Bi$_2$Sr$_{2-\rm x}$La$_{\rm x}$CuO$_{6+\delta}$ for which the normal state is accessed through the application of a large magnetic field. A quantum critical point is located at a doping slightly below optimum.Comment: submitted to PRB; 8 pages, 5 figure

Signatures of Fermi surface reconstruction in Raman spectra of underdoped cuprates

We have calculated the Raman B$_{1g}$ and B$_{2g}$ spectra as a function of temperature, as well as doping, for the underdoped cuprates, using a model based on the resonating valence-bond spin-liquid. We discuss changes in intensity and peak position brought about by the presence of a pseudogap and the implied Fermi surface reconstruction, which are elements of this model. Signatures of Fermi surface reconstruction are evident as a sharp rise in the doping dependence of the antinodal to nodal peak ratio which occurs below the quantum critical point. The temperature dependence of the B$_{1g}$ polarization can be used to determine if the superconducting gap is limited to the Fermi pocket, as seen in angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy, or extends beyond. We find that the slope of the linear low energy B$_{2g}$ spectrum maintains its usual d-wave form, but with an effective gap which reflects the gap amplitude projected on the Fermi pocket. Our calculations capture the main qualitative features revealed in the extensive data set available on the HgBa$_2$CuO$_{4+\delta}$ (Hg-1201) cuprate.Comment: 13 pages, 14 figure

Lower levels of damaged protein biomarkers in the plasma of overweight type 2 diabetic men following supplementation with a standardised bilberry extract

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