Analyzing Supply Chain and Water Quality Management in the Soft-shell Clam (Mya arenaria) Fishery under the Impact of Shellfish Closures in Downeast Maine

Water quality issues have affected Maine’s soft-shell clam fishery which is of great significance to community livelihood, social employment and tourism. To ensure shellfish product safety for consumers, state government issues temporary closures on clam flats. As a result, access to this fishery resources has been decreased and has caused revenue losses to fishing communities. Despite the improvements in understanding the financial losses of shellfish closures, there is a lack of knowledge about stakeholder perceptions and actions under such impact. This master’s thesis looked closely at the clam dealers across the supply chain and water quality management in the soft-shell clam fishery. I used a mixed-method case study approach to explore key stakeholder responses to and perceptions about shellfish management. On the qualitative side, I conducted semi-structured interviews with certified shellfish dealers in the fall, 2017 (n=9). I gathered quantitative dealer reports to explore interactions of dealers (n=61) with fishers concerning five different species during 2008-2014 in Downeast Maine. I compared the characteristics of the supply chain in Downeast Maine and Midcoast Maine. To understand the water quality management on paper and in practice, I collected policy documents and past stakeholder interview data. In Chapter 2, I evaluated the supply chain structure and geographical scale in the soft-shell clam fishery and clam dealers’ daily trade performances. Results highlighted the differences of soft-shell clam supply chain geographical scales between Midcoast and Downeast Maine in terms of the upstream sources and downstream outlets of the clams. In terms of the trade interactions, I found high loyalty in harvesters when choosing how many dealers to sell their landings to. In Chapter 3, I examined the water quality management through policy documents and stakeholder interviews. It demonstrated the top-down direction of policy implementation from federal to municipal level. Stakeholder interviews showed high diversity in terms of perceptions about pollution issues, water quality management, policy compliance and adaptations during closures. Results also revealed the lack of municipal participation in the management, leading to limited room for adaptations in different water quality conditions. The results of this study underlined the importance to understand the supply chain in the fishery to inform shellfish management from market perspectives. The complexity of stakeholder perceptions advocates for more active participation of municipalities in the water quality management to enable adaptations during temporary closures

Hydrodynamic behaviour of gliding hydrofoil crafts

A new type of high-speed craft, called a Gliding-Hydrofoil Craft (GHC), has recently been developed in Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, China. This craft is similar to a planing hull but with a hydrofoil in the front part of its body. The fixed hydrofoil improves the seakeeping properties and stability of the craft compared with a conventional planing hull. In addition, the GHC has a more simple structure and higher stability when compared to a hydrofoil craft. Unlike conventional planing hulls and hydrofoil crafts, the study of hydrodynamics of GHC has been overlooked. The present work aims to advance our understanding on hydrodynamics of GHC, both model tests and numerical investigations are presented. To study its hydrodynamic characteristics, model tests are carried out in a towing tank, and the total resistance, trim angle and wetted area of the craft in the cases with different Froude numbers are measured. For the purpose of comparison, model tests have also been carried out for the hull without the hydrofoil. This thesis presents analysis on the experimental data and discusses the effects of the submerged depth and initial attack angle of the hydrofoil on the hydrodynamic features of the GHC. On this basis, the FLUENT software is then adopted to numerically investigate the hydrodynamics of the GHC. The accuracy of the FLUENT addressing this problem is validated by comparing the numerical solutions with the experimental data. The validation cases include 2D hydrofoil in current, Wigley hull with steady forward speed. Good agreement between numerical results and experimental data was obtained. Considering the significance of the turbulence involved in the problem, especially near the hydrofoil, a numerical investigation aiming to find a suitable turbulence model has been carried out. After being validated, 3D numerical simulations on both the planing craft and the GHC in steady flow are considered. The resistance coefficient, pressure coefficient and wave pattern with different Froude number are investigated. Some results are compared with experiment data obtained in the model tests. The wave pattern, velocity field and pressure distribution near the hulls are discussed in detail as well as the influence of the hydrofoil. Finally, the hydrodynamic performance of GHC in unsteady flow is investigated. Three cases were considered: ship berthing, leaving the harbour and turning navigation direction; which are very commonly seen unsteady examples in reality. The preliminary results presented in this thesis have confirmed the significant effects due to the unsteady procedure and imply the need of carrying out unsteady simulations in the future

Forbrukere og bioenergi : virkninger av atferdsmessige faktorer på energibruk til oppvarming i norske husholdninger

How energy consumers behave, namely, what type and how much of different energy products and services they consume, direct and indirect affects the environment, as well as personal (and collective) well-being. Understanding the decision-making process behind energy consumption is thus important if we want to influence people’s energy consumption and achieve the goals of sustainable energy consumption. In this thesis, I study choices related to energy consumption for residential heating by using an integrated behavioural study approach that employs perspectives from economics, psychology and sociology. The analyses in this thesis are based on two Norwegian nation-wide household survey datasets, which are used in combination with a discrete choice econometric modelling framework. By modelling consumers’ choices, we may identify barriers and drivers for sustainable energy consumption. The analytical approaches are innovative, and the research results should shed light on how Norwegian households use energy in their homes. The dissertation consists of four empirical papers that have the following goals: (a) to evaluate the determinants of investments in heating equipment and investigate how motivations and environmental attitudes affect the heating investment choice in Norwegian households (paper I); (b) to explore a new methodology for modelling the consumption share of storable energy goods and examine the impact of perceptions of heating equipment and attitudes towards biomass consumption on the choice of the primary heat source in households (paper II); (c) to test the effect of lifestyle variables on households’ firewood demand (paper III); and (d) to identify the role of procrastination and environmental awareness on energy saving activities (paper IV). As a methodological assessment, I also use household characteristics (age, income, education, household size, etc.) and residence characteristics (dwelling size, age, type, etc.) as variables in the modelling process. The results indicate that perceptions concerning the appearance, efficiency, cost, required time and effort and environmental impact differ greatly between different types of heating equipment (woodstoves, pellet stoves, electric ovens and air-to-air heat pumps). Perceptions concerning the attributes of the heating equipment and attitudes towards different energy sources are both important in explaining the type of heating investment and the choice of primary heat source (paper I and II). People whose main motivation is to reduce costs are more likely to invest in heat pumps, whereas investors in pellet stoves are more concerned about the impact of the heating source on the environment (paper I). Furthermore, the annual costs and effectiveness of the equipment are the most important factors in explaining firewood consumption, while access to firewood and pellets and environmental considerations are important factors in explaining the share of pellet stove use in residential heating (paper II). In paper III, urban lifestyle and comfort concerns are shown to be negatively associated with firewood demand. Moreover, access to cheap firewood has a significant positive effect on the demand for firewood (paper III). Lastly, results from the study on the effect of procrastination on energy saving behaviour reveal that the degree of procrastination affects people’s heating energy saving behaviour. People with a higher tendency to procrastinate are less likely to engage in energy saving activities in general, especially with respect to activities that demand effort and time, such as investing in new equipment (paper IV). The estimation results illustrate the importance of taking into account internal motivational factors, such as attitudes and perceptions, in explaining people’s energy consumption. For example, it is important to employ measures that aim to reduce procrastination to realise the underlying energy saving potential in Norwegian households. The interdisciplinary study approach enriches our knowledge of individual decision making related to energy consumption. It can also improve the effectiveness of energy and environmental policy. We need more empirical studies that focus on energy end users’ behaviour from different social science perspectives, especially a behavioural economics perspective.Hva slags energikilder forbrukerne velger og hvor mye de forbruker, har direkte og indirekte virkning på miljøet, så vel som på personlig (og kollektiv) trivsel. Å forstå beslutningsprosessen bak folks energiforbruk er viktig hvis vi ønsker å påvirke deres energiatferd og oppnå mål om mer bærekraftig energiforbruk. I denne avhandlingen bruker jeg integrerte atferdsstudier til å utforske valg av ulike boligoppvarmingsløsninger ved å benytte tilnærminger fra økonomi, psykologi og sosiologi. Studien er basert på datasett fra to landsdekkende husholdningsundersøkelser i Norge, og bruker økonometriske modeller for diskrete valg. Ved å modellere forbrukernes beslutninger kan vi systematisk identifisere hindringer og drivere for bærekraftig energibruk. De analytiske metodene er innovative og forskningsresultatene belyser hvordan norske husholdninger bruker energi i sine hjem. Avhandlingen består av fire empiriske artikler som har følgende mål: (a) å identifisere faktorer som påvirker investeringer i oppvarmingsutstyr, og å undersøke hvordan motiver og miljøholdninger påvirker investeringsvalg relatert til oppvarming i norske husholdninger (artikkel I), (b) å utforske en ny metodikk for å modellere andelen av ulike energiformer brukt til oppvarming i husholdningene , og å undersøke effekten av ulike oppfatninger og holdninger til bioenergi på valg av husholdningens viktigste varmekilde (artikkel II), (c) å teste effekten av livsstilsvariabler på husholdningenes etterspørsel etter fyringsved (artikkel III), og (d) å undersøke i hvilken grad prokrastinering og miljøbevissthet påvirker iverksetting av energisparingstiltak (artikkel IV). Som kontrollvariabler har jeg også tatt in husholdningsegenskaper (alder, inntekt, utdanning, husholdningsstørrelse, etc.) og kjennetegn ved boligen (boligstørrelse, alder, type osv.) som variabler i modelleringen. Resultatene viser at oppfatninger om utstyrets utseende, effektivitet, kostnader, tid og innsats som kreves for å bruke utstyret og miljøpåvirkning varierer sterkt mellom de fire oppvarmingsløsningene (vedovner, pelletsovner, elektriske ovner og luft-til-luft varmepumper). Oppfatninger om utstyrets oppvarmingsegenskaper og holdninger til ulike energikilder er begge viktige for å forklare investeringer i nytt oppvarmingsutstyr og valg av hovedvarmekilde (artikkel I og II). Folk som har som sitt viktigste motiv å redusere kostnadene har størst sannsynlighet for å investere i varmepumper, mens de som investerer i pelletsovner er mer opptatt av miljøet (artikkel I). Videre er årlige kostnader og oppvarmingseffektivitet de viktigste faktorene bak økende forbruk av fyringsved, mens enkel tilgang til ved og pellets samt miljøhensyn er avgjørende for å øke andelen av pellets til boligoppvarming (artikkel II). I artikkel III fant vi at urban livsstil og ønsker om komfort var negativt assosiert med etterspørsel etter ved. Vi fant også at tilgang til billig brensel hadde en signifikant positiv effekt på etterspørselen (artikkel III). Til slutt viste resultatene fra studien av effekten av prokrastinering på energisparende atferd at graden av prokrastinering påvirker folks oppvarmings- og energisparende atferd. Folk som oppgir høyere tendens til å utsette ting har mindre sannsynlighet for å engasjere seg i energisparing generelt, og spesielt når det kommer til aktiviteter som krever innsats og tid som å investere i nytt utstyr. Det er derfor viktig å sette inn tiltak som tar sikte på å redusere prokrastinering for å realisere potensialet for energisparing (artikkel IV). Resultatene fra denne oppgaven og deres implikasjoner viser viktigheten av å ta hensyn til interne forhold, som for eksempel beslutningstakernes holdninger og oppfatninger, når man forklarer folks energiatferd. Den tverrfaglige studietilnærmingen beriker vår kunnskap om individuell beslutningstaking og valg av energiløsninger. Resultatene kan også brukes til å utvikle en mer effektiv energi-og miljøpolitikk. Vi trenger flere empiriske studier som fokuserer på energiforbrukernes atferd fra ulike samfunnsvitenskapelige innfallsvinkler, spesielt fra et atferdsøkonomisk perspektiv

Simulation of Cavity Flow by the Lattice Boltzmann Method

A detailed analysis is presented to demonstrate the capabilities of the lattice Boltzmann method. Thorough comparisons with other numerical solutions for the two-dimensional, driven cavity flow show that the lattice Boltzmann method gives accurate results over a wide range of Reynolds numbers. Studies of errors and convergence rates are carried out. Compressibility effects are quantified for different maximum velocities, and parameter ranges are found for stable simulations. The paper's objective is to stimulate further work using this relatively new approach for applied engineering problems in transport phenomena utilizing parallel computers.Comment: Submitted to J. Comput. Physics, late

New South Wales drug court evaluation: Cost-effectiveness, CHERE Project Report 17a

In this report we examine an issue central to the creation of the NSW Drug Court: namely its cost-effectiveness, compared with conventional sanctions, in reducing drug-related crime. We were particularly fortunate in undertaking this evaluation, to receive the support and cooperation of the Drug Court and the Attorney General in evaluating the Drug Court using a randomised controlled trial. Randomised controlled trials, in which individuals are randomly allocated to ?treatment? and ?control? groups are recognised as being the ?gold standard? when it comes to outcome evaluation. They provide more assurance of control over extraneous factors which might otherwise bias an evaluation than any other form of research design. To our knowledge, this is the first occasion on which a criminal justice program in Australia has been evaluated using a randomised control design. The evaluation is a first in one other way as well. Very few evaluations of criminal justice or crime prevention programs (either in Australia or overseas) pay much heed to the cost of the program. This greatly hampers the capacity of Government to make rational decisions about the allocation of scarce resources across competing programs. Of course, decisions on programs which affect the liberty of citizens cannot, and should not, be made on the grounds of cost-effectiveness alone. Nevertheless it is to be hoped that our efforts will convince others of the feasibility and value of introducing cost-effectiveness analyses into criminal justice evaluation.Economic evaluation, treatment programs

Opportunistic Wireless Control Over State-Dependent Fading Channels

The heterogeneous system consisting of the wireless control system (WCS) and mobile agent system (MAS) is ubiquitous in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) systems. Within this system, the positions of mobile agents may lead to shadow fading on the wireless channel that the WCS is controlled over and can significantly compromise the WCS's performance. This paper focuses on the controller design for the MAS to ensure the performance of WCS in the presence of WCS and MAS coupling. Firstly, the constrained finite field network (FFN) with profile-dependent switching topology is adopted to proceed the operational control for the MAS. By virtue of the algebraic state space representation (ASSR) method, an equivalent form is obtained for the WCS and MAS coupling. A necessary and sufficient condition in terms of constrained set stabilization is then established to ensure the Lyapunov-like performance with expected decay rate. Finally, a graphical method together with the breath-first searching is provided to design state feedback controllers for the MAS. With this method, it is easy to check the constrained set stabilization of MAS and to ensure the performance requirements of WCS in the presence of WCS and MAS coupling. The study of an illustrative example shows the effectiveness of the proposed method

A sensitive and rapid HPLC-DAD method for the determination of 3-hydroxy-1,2-dimethyl-4-pyridone and its distribution in rats

Purpose: To establish a sensitive and rapid method for the determination of the tissue distribution of 3-hydroxy-1,2-dimethyl-4-pyridone (L1) in vivo, and its plasma protein binding capacity.Methods: This study optimized a reverse-phase HPLC method for specific and sensitive determination of L1 as well as its plasma and tissue  distributions. The optimized method was used to determine the plasma protein-binding capacity of L1 in Wistar rats.Results: A rapid, sensitive and simple HPLC-DAD method was established for studying the plasma and tissue distribution of L1. Following TI  administration, its liver concentrations peaked at 60 min and 360min, followed 360 min later with peak level in the kidney (second highest). The L1 concentration was significantly lower after 360 min than after 60 min, and values of its mean binding to plasma proteins was 5.2 % at different L1 concentrations.Conclusion: These results indicate that L1 is a drug with rapid-absorption and rapid-elimination thath is distributed widely in vivo in rats. Moreover, the drug has a weak plasma protein-binding capacity. Keywords: 3-Hydroxy-1,2-dimethyl-4-pyridone, Distribution, Alzheimer’s disease, Therap

In Search of Infall Motion in Molecular Clumps. IV. Mapping of the Global Infall Sources

We have used the IRAM 30-m telescope to map some targets with HCO$^+$ (1-0) and H$^{13}$CO$^+$ (1-0) lines in order to search for gas infall evidence in the clumps. In this paper, we report the mapping results for 13 targets. All of these targets show HCO$^+$ emissions, while H$^{13}$CO$^+$ emissions are observed in ten of them. The HCO$^+$ integrated intensity maps of ten targets show clear clumpy structures, and nine targets show clumpy structures in the H$^{13}$CO$^+$ maps. Using the RADEX radiative transfer code, we estimate the column density of H$^{13}$CO$^+$, and determine the abundance ratio [H$^{13}$CO$^+$]/[H$_2$] to be approximately 10$^{-12}$ to 10$^{-10}$. Based on the asymmetry of the HCO$^+$ line profiles, we identify 11 targets show blue profiles, while six clumps have global infall evidence. We use the RATRAN and two-layer models to fit the HCO$^+$ line profiles of these infall sources, and analyze their spatial distribution of the infall velocity. The average infall velocities estimated by these two models are 0.24 -- 1.85 km s$^{-1}$ and 0.28 -- 1.45 km s$^{-1}$, respectively. The mass infall rate ranges from approximately 10$^{-5}$ to 10$^{-2}$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$, which suggests that intermediate- or high-mass stars may be forming in the target regions