Dollars and Sense; Reviewing Industry Implementation of the Climate-Related Disclosures Mandate in New Zealand

The global commitment to sustainable development has catalysed the climate policy environment and its multiverse of non-financial reporting frameworks. One such framework, the TCFD (Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures) is dependent on assumptions that organisations view risk management the same way as the framework’s intent; prioritising the decarbonisation pathway. The purpose of non-financial reporting is to challenge existing business-as-usual values of profit-seeking without regard for the environment. This study employs a systems-based methodology (Critical Systems Heuristics) to uncover the issues that arise as a result of organisations implementing the TCFD, as demonstrated by their risk management process. The key findings of this study show that organisations are primarily motivated by financial growth, which directly competes with the intentions of the TCFD. Mandating the TCFD fails to address the tensions between business-as-usual business models and the regulatory intent towards decarbonisation. The findings raise concerns about the TCFD’s potential effectiveness; unchanged risk management processes risk a continuation of existent best practices leading to status quo outcomes

Systemic evaluation of a community environmental management programme

Community environmental management (CEM) involves achieving environmental objectives through the facilitation of community partnerships, local dialogues, consultations and participative decision making. This is increasingly seen as a solution to some of the more complex environmental issues facing regulatory authorities. However, little has been written about how CEM programmes should be evaluated, and this is particularly concerning given that the establishment of a causal relationship between community participation and environmental outcomes is not straight forward. Anecdotal evidence suggests that CEM programmes have much potential, but the lack of a robust evidence-base for their effectiveness means that their role in resource management is often not well understood or well integrated with other environmental management tools and processes. This paper reports on a project that developed a novel, systemic CEM evaluation methodology and trialled it in an intervention with a regional council in New Zealand. The methodology has the potential to be adapted for other contexts where there is a need for more robust evidence of the value (or otherwise) of CEM

Monograph no. 13: Scoping the potential uses of systems thinking in developing policy on illicit drugs.

This monograph (No. 13) summarises pilot work to scope the potential uses of systems thinking for developing illicit drug policy. Systems approaches have the potential to offer much to drug policy analysis through their use of participatory methods, capacity to deal with multiple simultaneous policy options, and appreciation of the complexity, interconnectedness and dynamic feedback loops associated with policy decisions. The monograph outlines six systems approaches used by the New Zealand team in exploring illicit drug policy. The results of in-depth interviews with five experienced policy makers and a demonstration project around a policy issue are described. The potential utility of systems approaches in illicit drug policy are demonstrated

Toward a transformed system to address child abuse and family violence in New Zealand

Executive Summary Introduction The Glenn Inquiry (TGI) has contracted Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited (ESR) to bring together the relevant experience and expertise to collaboratively model a transformed system to address child abuse and neglect (CAN) and family violence (FV) in New Zealand. Our approach We have treated the task of reducing FV and CAN as a ‘wicked problem’1; that is, reducing FV and CAN is a problem that cannot be solved once and for all, and is not a matter of simply applying expert knowledge. The methods used in this project have been chosen because they are appropriate for working with wicked problems: stakeholder engagement, systems thinking and inter-disciplinary analysis. In this report, we refer to both CAN and FV. We recognise that, for some purposes, dealing with CAN requires particular strategies and treatment; however, the purpose of this report is to develop a transformed system that will reduce both CAN and other forms of FV. While the underlying causes of CAN and other FV may be considered independently, and some responses to each form of abuse will need to be particular, this report proposes a wider system of responses that will enable targeted interventions for each form of abuse. We use the term ‘family violence’ in this report in the sense it has come to be understood in Aotearoa, and is used in Te Rito: New Zealand Family Violence Prevention Strategy. In this use, FV includes intimate partner violence, child abuse and neglect, elder abuse, inter-sibling abuse and parental abuse. The project consisted of four work-streams: A review of the international and national literature on what would constitute a high performing system to address CAN and FV, including a review of New Zealand’s current approach with a focus on government legalisation, policies and initiatives; Qualitative modelling of the system dynamics associated with the existing way in which New Zealand has responded to CAN and FV; A secondary (sociological) analysis of suggestions for system improvement from the People’s Report; and, Developing a systemic model of a transformed system through collaborative workshops with sector experts

Towards a heart and soul for co-creative research practice: A systemic approach

© Policy Press 2019 The language of co-creation has become popular with policy makers, researchers and consultants wanting to support evidence-based change. However, there is little agreement about what features a research or consultancy project must have for peers to recognise the project as co-creative, and therefore for it to contribute to the growing body of practice and theory under that heading. This means that scholars and practitioners do not have a shared basis for critical reflection, improving practice and debating ethics, legitimacy and quality. While seeking to avoid any premature defining of orthodoxy, this article offers a framework to support researchers and practitioners in discussing the boundaries and the features that are beginning to characterise a particular discourse, such as the one that is unfolding around the concept of co-creation. The paper is the outcome of an online and face-to-face dialogue among an international group of scholars. The dialogue draws on Critical Systems Heuristics’ (Ulrich, 1994) questions concerning motivation (revealing assumptions about its purpose and value), power (interrogating assumptions about who has control and is therefore able to define success), knowledge (surfacing assumptions about experience and expertise) and legitimacy (disclosing moral assumptions). The paper ends by suggesting important areas for further exploration to contribute to the emerging discourse of co-creation in ways that support critical reflection, improved practice, and provide a basis for debating ethics and quality

CHARACTERIZING THERMOMECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF LARGE-FORMAT PRINTED COMPOSITE POLYMER STRUCTURES

Large-format additive manufacturing (LFAM) is a manufacturing technique where a high volume of material is extruded in a layer-by-layer fashion to form structures that typically measure several meters in scale. The LOCI-One system is an LFAM-type system operated by Loci Robotics, Inc. that features a high throughput extruder mounted on a 6-axis robot arm. This research used the LOCI-One system to print single bead walls of 20% by weight carbon fiber reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (CF-ABS) at various layer deposition methods, print speed, layer times, and bead widths. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the printed structures was measured to quantify effects of print conditions on thermomechanical performance. The CTE of the LFAM printed walls was measured using a large-scale digital image correlation system to characterize the distortion of the fiber reinforced composite material in the x- (print direction) and z- (between layers) directions. This study determined that with varying print parameters the CTE measured in the x-direction was largely influenced by bead geometry with the CTE measured in the z-direction relatively unaffected by either the varying parameters or the method in which layer deposition occurred.Mechanical Engineerin

XO-5b: A Transiting Jupiter-sized Planet With A Four Day Period

The star XO-5 (GSC 02959-00729, V=12.1, G8V) hosts a Jupiter-sized, Rp=1.15+/-0.12 Rjup, transiting extrasolar planet, XO-5b, with an orbital period of P=4.187732+/-0.00002 days. The planet mass (Mp=1.15+/-0.08 Mjup) and surface gravity (gp=22+/-5 m/s^2) are significantly larger than expected by empirical Mp-P and Mp-P-[Fe/H] relationships. However, the deviation from the Mp-P relationship for XO-5b is not large enough to suggest a distinct type of planet as is suggested for GJ 436b, HAT-P-2b, and XO-3b. By coincidence XO-5 overlies the extreme H I plume that emanates from the interacting galaxy pair NGC 2444/NGC 2445 (Arp 143).Comment: 10 pages, 9 Figures, Submitted to Ap

He Pikinga Waiora: Supporting Maori health organisations to respond to pre-diabetes

Background Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) is a common long-term condition affecting the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders; one in every four New Zealanders is pre-diabetic. Māori, the Indigenous people of New Zealand, are at an increased risk of developing pre-diabetes and T2D and there are significant inequities between Māori and non-Māori for T2D complications. The purpose of this study was to explore the questions of how the strengths of Māori heath organisations may be leveraged, and how the barriers and constraints experienced by Māori health organisations may be negotiated, for the benefit of Māori; and from a systems perspective, to identify strategic opportunities that may be considered and applied by Māori health organisations, funders and policy makers to respond more effectively to pre-diabetes and reduce health inequities between Māori and non-Māori. Methods Utilising case study methodology, a range of data sources were triangulated including nine semi-structured interviews, documents, and a diabetes system map to identify possible strategic opportunities for key stakeholders to respond more effectively to pre-diabetes. Results Key themes and possible actions to improve health outcomes for Māori with pre-diabetes include: (1) Recognising Māori health organisations as conduits for the community voice and influential partners in the community to effect change; (2) Strengthened partnerships with Māori health organisations for community benefit and to support measurable, evidence-based change and service delivery, particularly when Māori knowledge systems are viewed alongside a Western scientific approach; and (3) Intersectoral integration of health and social services to support provision of whānau-centred care and influence the social determinants of health and local environment. Conclusions Māori health organisations are important actors in systems seeking to improve outcomes and eliminate health inequities. Support from funders and policy makers will be required to build on the strengths of these organisations and to overcome system challenges. To realise improved health outcomes for Māori, the value placed on whānau and community perspectives not only needs to be acknowledged in the implementation of health interventions, health and social policies and funding arrangements, but performance measures, service design and delivery must evolve to accommodate these perspectives in practice