Emissions trading schemes around the world

Australia’s emissions trading scheme ETS, known as the Carbon Pricing Mechanism (CPM), came into force on 1 July 2012 as part of the Clean Energy Future package. As the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Greg Combet has stated frequently, Australia is not the only country to have legislated an ETS. In 2010 the Parliamentary Library provided a listing of all ETSs in operation around the world in its Greenhouse gas emissions: still trading after all these years publication. Since then, there has been some progress globally and a number of changes. On 2 May 2012, (for example) the South Korean National Assembly passed legislation for its own type of ETS.This paper provides an overview of international carbon trading in mandatory schemes and presents the current status on legislated multinational, national and regional ETSs around the globe as at the end of April 2013. New proposals relating to existing schemes and emerging schemes in overseas jurisdictions are made on an ongoing basis, so readers should take account of any new developments when assessing future situations. The paper includes two appendices, a map and a table which summarise and consolidate the information on ETSs for easy reference

Australian climate change policy: a chronology

This paper presents a record of Australian climate change policies. Key international developments are also included to provide global context. Introduction Climate change is a long-term, global problem. Long-term problems generally require stable but flexible policy implementation over time. However, Australia’s commitment to climate action over the past three decades could be seen as inconsistent and lacking in direction. At times Australia has been an early adopter, establishing the world’s first government agency dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions; signing on to global climate treaties the same day they are created; establishing the world’s first emissions trading scheme (ETS) (albeit at a state level); and pioneering an innovative land-based carbon offset scheme. But at other times, and for many reasons, Australia has erratically altered course: disbanding the climate change government agency, creating a new one then disbanding that; refusing to ratify global treaties until the dying minute; and introducing legislation to repeal the national ETS

Investigating professional identity in undergraduate physiotherapy education

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.Clinical practice remains an integral part of the training of physiotherapy students. It is seen as an effective way of socialising students into the profession. By placing students in a clinical setting where under the guidance of clinicians and clinical educators, they are able to put their classroom taught procedures into practice it is believed that they then start to develop an understanding of what being a physiotherapist entails. Drawing on Lave and Wenger's model of situated learning, this research sets out to understand how final year physiotherapy students begin to develop their identity as physiotherapists. The research looks at the positioning of students within specific communities of practice and the nature of the learning that occurs within these communities

Timeline of Australian climate change policy

This paper presents a record of Australian climate change policies, including key international developments to provide global context.IntroductionClimate change is a long-term, global problem. Long-term problems generally require stable but flexible policy implementation over time. However, Australia’s commitment to climate action over the past three decades could be seen as inconsistent and lacking in direction. At times Australia has been an early adopter, establishing the world’s first government agency dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions; signing on to global climate treaties the same day they are created; establishing the world’s first emissions trading scheme (ETS) (albeit at a state level); and pioneering an innovative land-based carbon offset scheme. But at other times, and for many reasons, Australia has erratically altered course: disbanding the climate change government agency, creating a new one then disbanding that; refusing to ratify global treaties until the dying minute; and introducing legislation to repeal the national ETS

Do physiotherapy students perceive that they are adequately prepared to enter clinical practice? An empirical study

Objective. To determine the perceived level of preparedness for clinical practice of third-year physiotherapy students.Design. A prospective, descriptive study, using questionnaires to determine subjective perceptions and clinical test marks for objective measures ofperformance, was undertaken. Two different cohorts were recruited of third-year students entering clinical practice for the first time.Method. A 17-item questionnaire relating to areas of competence was developed. Results of questionnaire scores and test scores from the 2 cohorts were amalgamated and analysed. Participants were grouped according to their clinical placement. The internal consistency of the  questionnaire was tested using Cronbach’s alpha. As this was high at 0.847, the individual scores were added together and the mean score calculated. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to establish if there was a significant difference in scores across different areas of competency and on test marks, across the different clinical settings.Main outcomes measure. Means and 95% confidence intervals of the mean scores of each component of competence indicated a significant differencebetween the scores (p<0.001). One-way ANOVA and post hoc analysis revealed that the students perceived themselves as better prepared in affect (generic skills) than for intervention and overall preparedness ((F(4, 264)=4.8601, p<0.001). There were no significant differences between thecompetency mean scores (F(4,53)=0.804, p=0.528), or in the mean test scores, across the placements (F(4, 77)=0.438, p=0.781).Results. Most of the students perceived their level of preparedness as relatively high across all areas of competence, regardless of placement. Students also achieved satisfactory (>60%) test scores, indicating realistic estimations of their ability.Conclusion. The sense of readiness confirms the alignment of the classroom curriculum and clinical expectations, which has largely come about through the positioning of permanent clinical educators as essential links between the classroom and the clinical setting

Constructing Identities, Countering Identities & Questioning Anarchy - How China’s Belt and Road calls for new understandings in conventional IR

This thesis is a constructivist qualitative case study of China’s ambitious and world-spanning Belt and Road Initiative as an identity building exercise, and it reviews and criticizes popular approaches to the rise of China offered by China threat theory, offensive realism, and classical realism, but also the perspective of power transition theory. It is a theoretical exercise that offers a constructivist alternative to the problematic Western centric bias and over-emphasis on anarchy and materialism provided by offensive and classical realism, and it systematically investigates the potential significance of identity to the rise of great power China. It theoretically models three processes of identity building based on the literature review and applies the model to the document analysis which results in the indication of a fourth complementary process of identity building. This constructivist approach also questions and expands the traditional understanding within IR of a great power and anarchy. This thesis offers an alternative approach to the rise of China not yet offered in the field of IR

Kretsløpsøkonomi og bevissthet: - må det til en bevissthetsendring i samfunnet?

Masteroppgave i økologisk økonomi (MBA) - Nord universitet 201