Geospatial threat measurement : an analysis of the threat the diatom Didymosphenia geminata poses to Canterbury, New Zealand : a thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Geographic Information Systems in Massey University, Palmerston North

This thesis provides analysis of the threat Didymosphenia geminata poses to the Canterbury Conservancy of the Department of Conservation More specifically, it examines the relationship between Values, Risk and Hazard to measure the degree of threat posed by the diatom. This is the first time this type of Threat Analysis has been applied to such a problem in this region; and so will provide an important insight into the validity of the application of this methodology to an alien invasive threat. Moreover, it is the first time Values. Risk and Hazard have been modelled together to give an over all threat classification in this context. Risk mitigation is one of the variables that can be measured, managed and priced; factoring this into the model is also discussed. Qualitative and quantitative Values and Risk information is provided by Department of Conservation staff; some from their local knowledge and some from biodiversity datasets which have been collected over time. The Risk data is supplemented by fishing access data supplied by the two local Fish and Game Council Offices. Where available, further Values and Risk data has been gleaned from existing datasets in order to supplement the existing data. The Hazard data is taken from the work done by NIWA in 2005 and 2007; the latter being generated after field surveys were conducted on D. geminaia infected sites in the South Island

Building Sustainable Partnerships to Promote Women's Political Representation in Southeast Asian Region

In a democratic country, gender equality is an element that needs to be guaranteed by the government, particularly in political positions such as in government offices, political parties, and other decision-making institutions. Unfortunately, such condition faces a significant obstacle that comes in the form of patriarchy system in the society, especially in the parliament as an institution representing the society. Currently, there is already an internationally recognized minimum target of 30% women as political representatives in the legislature bodies, as part of the initiative to promote women representation in the parliament. It is expected that with this target, women would have a starting point to claim their rights and to have a significant influence in the decision-making process

Barriers to European bioenergy expansion

The European Commission has set challenging targets for renewable energy expansion in Europe as part of its strategy to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Expansion of existing bioenergy capacity has a key role to play in ensuring these targets are met. However, significant technical and non-technical barriers to deployment of biomass technologies remain throughout Europe, the latter often being more difficult to address. Non-technical barriers are fundamental obstacles to biomass development. They represent limits or boundaries to the extent of deployment, often related to institutional frameworks, perceptions, socio-economic issues or engagement of and interfaces with related technology sectors. This paper presents an analysis, characterization and prioritization of the current non-technical barriers to thermo-chemical bioenergy expansion in Europe. Policy, economics and stakeholder understanding are strategically important if bioenergy potential is to be realized. Detailed policy evaluation with case study history from 4 European member states shows continuity of policy instruments is critical and specific support instruments work better than more general mechanisms. Improved stakeholder understanding (with the general public as a relevant stakeholder group) is key to increasing the acceptability of bioenergy. This requires different parallel strategies for different sectors/target groups. Promotional campaigns, dissemination of information to key multipliers, provision of independent factual information to the public, appropriate frameworks for handling approvals for new plants, forums for stakeholder interaction and certification schemes all have a role to play in improving bioenergy acceptability

Building scale in community impact investing through nonfinancial performance measurement

The measurement of nonfinancial performance is becoming increasingly important in the community impact investing industry, where individuals and institutions actively deploy capital in low-income domestic markets for both financial and social returns. Quality data ensure that the creation of jobs, construction of community facilities, financing of affordable housing, and other benefits that characterize the sector are delivered cost-effectively and transparently. This paper discusses the limited practice and future direction of nonfinancial performance measurement by revisiting four key questions: ; 1. Does nonfinancial performance measurement really matter for investors? ; 2. If it does matter, is nonfinancial performance measurement even possible? ; 3. If nonfinancial performance is possible to measure, what form should it take? ; 4. How will nonfinancial performance measurement increase community impact investing? ; The paper examines the barriers to a more robust regime of nonfinancial performance measurement and posits both that innovation in the sector ought to be driven by the discrete but explicit needs and demands of investors, and that greater accountability has a special role to play in making disclosure more attractive. The report concludes that nonfinancial performance measurement directly informs the investment process and is essential to growing community impact investing because it provides latent sources of capital with market-level information on the tradeoffs between financial and social return. Although the industry is unlikely to discover the “silver bullet” of nonfinancial performance measurement in the near future, there is reason to be hopeful: measurement strategies can – and will – converge through private- and public-sector innovation.Community development

State estimation applied to active distribution networks with minimal measurements

Traditionally, state estimation is applied to transmission networks to improve security and redundancy of the measurement system. This paper describes the application of state estimation to distribution networks in order to extend the observability of the network. Key features of this application are that the network is active, minimal real measurements are available and that there is minimal communications infrastructure. this paper presents results ffrom a field trial whihc manages voltages in an 11kV distribution network with distributed generation. The paper highlights the problems associated with this application and presents some solutions

Impact at Scale: Policy Innovation for Institutional Investment With Social and Environmental Benefit

Explores policy options to maximize impact investing opportunities for institutional investors and accelerate the development of impact investing practices and products. Presents case studies of and insights from investors and service providers

Transient and periodic fluid motions in rotating systems

Imperial Users onl