An assessment of the value of pastoral development in Northland

This paper presents the results of an economic study of farm development in Northland. In this study, records were collected of 32 dairy farm case histories which had increased butterfat production by 105% in an average of 6 years, and 18 sheep farm case histories for which wool production increased 116% over a 7-year period. Also included are data supplied by the Lands and Survey Department on the economic outcome of two land development blocks. In this paper, attention is focused on the cash costs and benefits of development and their valuation by economic methods. Nevertheless, the deficiencies of this approach are recognized, because cash costs and benefits are only one dimension of the outcome of development and the method used for valuing this outcome makes assumptions about the values of the farmer and society.This research was generously funded by the Commercial Rank of Australia to mark their 100th Anniversary

Interventions to improve obstetric emergency referral decision making, communication and feedback between health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review

Objective: The objective of the study was to review the evidence on interventions to improve obstetric emergency referral decision making, communication and feedback between health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Register and CINAHL Plus was conducted to identify studies on obstetric emergency referral in SSA. Studies were included based on pre-defined eligibility criteria. Details of reported referral interventions were extracted and categorised. The Joanna Biggs Institute Critical Appraisal checklists were used for quality assessment of included studies. A formal narrative synthesis approach was used to summarise findings guided by the WHO's referral system flow. Results: A total of 14 studies were included, with seven deemed high quality. Overall, 7 studies reported referral decision-making interventions including training programmes for health facility and community health workers, use of a triage checklist and focused obstetric ultrasound, which resulted in improved knowledge and practice of recognising danger signs for referral. 9 studies reported on referral communication using mobile phones and referral letters/notes, resulting in increased communication between facilities despite telecommunication network failures. Referral decision making and communication interventions achieved a perceived reduction in maternal mortality. 2 studies focused on referral feedback, which improved collaboration between health facilities. Conclusion: There is limited evidence on how well referral interventions work in sub-Saharan Africa, and limited consensus regarding the framework underpinning the expected change. This review has led to the proposition of a logic model that can serve as the base for future evaluations which robustly expose the (in)efficiency of referral interventions

Plant Community Changes Over 54 Years Within the Great Basin Experimental Range, Manti-La Sal National Forest

Plant community changes and natural succession over time impact forage values, watershed quality, wildlife habitat, and ecosystem dynamics. Comparisons were made between a vegetation map of community types completed in 1937 by the U.S. Forest Service, and vegetation maps compiled in 1990 of the same areas by satellite imagery, and through 1991 areal photo interpretation combined with ground truthing. The study area includes nearly all of the drainage in Ephraim Canyon located in central Utah which consists of 6,027 acres (2,439 ha). Elevation ranges from 6,600 to 10,400 feet (2,040 to 3,210 m). Vegetation types ranged from pinyon-juniper woodland through oakbrush, mountain shrub, aspen, conifer and subalpine herbland. The comparison showed significant plant community changes and successional trends over the 54 year period

Spectral and Spatial Characteristics of Solar Flare Hard X-Ray Emission: A Non-Uniformly Ionised Thick Target Approach

Hard X-ray emission in flares is a signature of high energy electron populations in the solar plasma. The major role these populations have in many solar flare models means that the spectral, spatial and temporal characteristics of hard X-rays will be associated with many of the diverse plasma processes ocuring during a flare. These include where and how energy release occurs, which mechanism may accelerate the particles, some methods of energy transport through the flare and eventually the radiative and atmospheric response to the distribution of the flare energy budget. The work of this thesis has been concerned with the effects introducing the non-uniform ionisation profile of the flare atmosphere has on the thick target HXR spectra and consequent interpretation of the spectra. This has involved both the theoretical modelling and observational analysis of X-ray flare emission. The data for this research was primarily obtained from the instruments on board the YOHKOH satellite. These instruments include a hard X-ray spectrometer (HXS), a grazing incidence soft X-ray telescope (SXT) and a Fourier-synthesis hard X-ray telescope (HXT). Also available is high resolution hard X-ray spectra taken by the HIREX balloon experiment. Chapter 1 gives an overview of hard X-ray observations from solar flares and describes how these observations are interpreted in the context of the varying hard X-ray production models and the implications therefore on acceleration mechanisms. This chapter also includes a brief descripition of other flare emissions, mechanisms for energy release and how these mechanisms are incorporated into the physical model of flares. Chapter 2 introduces the formulation used in this analysis for including a non-uniform ionisation profile into the the thick target model of HXR production. Using this formalism, comparisons are made of HXR yields and inferred electron spectra for the fully ionised atmosphere with a more realistic step-function atmosphere. In doing so the differing spectral characteristics of these models are desrcribed, the ultimate effect on energy and number flux budgets for these differing spectra determined and the resultant non-uniqueness of the HXR bremsstrahlung inversion for a non-uniform atmosphere discussed. Prom this point the analysis of HXR spectra moves in two directions. Firstly in Chapter 3 high resolution data from the HIREX balloon experiment is inverted using regularisation techniques. In previous analyses of this dataset, which are described in detail during this chapter, the features in the photon spectra and inferred electron spectra were thought to be suggestive of a particular mechanism of acceleration (d.c. field acceleration). In our analysis, we investigate if these features in the inferred electron spectra can instead be reproduced by choosing an appropriate atmospheric struture, and therefore cannot be considered signatures of any particular acceleration mechanism. In chapter 4 a second approach is taken to utilise HXR spectra as a diagnostic of the flare atmosphere. By assuming that the observed spectral features are caused entirely by the effects on non-uniform ionisation, (i.e. the electron population is featureless, so any break is caused by the propagation effect) and incorporating the response function of the spectrometer we attempt to relate HXR spectra to particular coronal column density. In chapter 5 this approach is used for HXR spectral observations taken by the hard X-ray spectrometer onboard YOHKOH. Based on these spectral observations estimates of the amount of material between the acceleration site and the top of the chromosphere are made. These values can be compared to estimates of the column density for the SXR loops using SXT and also those given by time of flight analysis of the hard X-ray bursts to determine if the estimates are physically realistic. Finally, in chapter 6, results of the previous chapters are drawn together, providing a summary of the work achieved in this thesis. At the same time improvements to the analysis are discussed as are the possibilites for this analysis with the expected festival of data available soon from HESSI

The Impact of Power Outage “Dumsor” on the Hotel Industry: Evidence from Ghana

Ghana has for several years been experiencing massive power blackouts popularly nicknamed 'Dumsor,' which means on and off in the Akan dialect. The role of electricity in Ghana’s economy is prodigiously significant for growth and development. The purpose of the study was to explore the impact of power outage (‘Dumsor’) on the hotel industry in Ghana. The study adopted an explanatory research design covering a stratified sample of 100 drawn from 5, 4, 3 and 2 stars hotels across major cities in Ghana. A set of structured questionnaires was used to collect data and analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. The validity/reliability test indicates that the questions were 89% reliable to be used for explanatory analysis of the study and achieved a response rate of 93%. There was a general outcry of unreliable power supply as majority of the respondents indicated the hotels experienced lights out intermittently and unannounced within a week for not less than 12 hours per day which has led to low productivity (86%). Also 92% of the respondents indicated that the effect of ‘dumsor’ has led to high production cost, high rate of redundancy of employees, an increase in maintenance cost, damage to plant/equipments/appliance and perishability of items. The five independent variables accounted for 90% of variations as a result of the power outages and were thus critical to the smooth operations of the hotel industry in Ghana. The study also revealed that an increase in power outages by one unit will increase and worsen the situation (redundancy, perishability of items, and cost of alternative power supply, damage to plant/equipment/appliances and maintenance cost) by 0.401, 0.228, 0.426, 0.218 and 0.316 respectively. To improve on this menace energy crisis, the government and stakeholders should put mechanisms in place to avert this energy canker. Government should have the political will and put incentives in the area of power generation to make it workable. Keywords: Hotel industry, power outage (‘Dumsor’), power supply, explanatory research design and regression coefficients