Barriers, drivers and enablers for transitioning towards innovation in the Australian water sector

The Australian water sector needs to adapt to effectively deal with the impacts of climate change on its systems. Challenges as a result of climate change include increasingly extreme occurrences of weather events including flooding and droughts (Pittock, 2011). In response to such challenges, the National Water Commission in Australia has identified the need for the water sector to transition towards being readily adaptable and able to respond to complex needs for a variety of supply and demand scenarios (National Water Commission, 2013). To successfully make this transition, the sector will need to move away from business as usual, and proactively pursue and adopt innovative approaches and technologies as a means to successfully address the impacts of climate change on the Australian water sector. In order to effectively respond to specific innovation challenges related to the sector, including climate change, it is first necessary to possess a foundational understanding about the key elements related to innovation in the sector. This paper presents this base level understanding, identifying the key barriers, drivers and enablers, and elements for innovative practise in the water sector. After initially inspecting the literature around the challenges stemming from climate change faced by the sector, the paper then examines the findings from the initial two rounds of a modified Delphi study, conducted with experts from the Australian water sector, including participants from research, government and industry backgrounds. The key barriers, drivers and enablers for innovation in the sector identified during the initial phase of the study formed the basis for the remainder of the investigation. Key elements investigated were: barriers – scepticism, regulation systems, inconsistent policy; drivers – influence of policy, resource scarcity, thought leadership; enablers – framing the problem, effective regulations, community acceptance. There is a convincing argument for the water sector transitioning to a more flexible, adaptive and responsive system in the face of challenges resulting from climate change. However, without first understanding the challenges and opportunities around making this transition, the likelihood of success is limited. For that reason, this paper takes the first step in understanding the elements surrounding innovation in the Australian water sector.

Studies on serum progesterone levels in Zebu × Holstein heifers during pre- and peripubertal periods

The peripheral serum progesterone levels of six normal Zebu × Holstein heifers (75% Holstein inheritance) during the prepubertal period (−150 days) were low (0.23 ± 0.06 ng/ml). They reached maximal values (0.73 ± 0.06 ng/ml) by −45 days (P<0.05 for progesterone values on −90th vs. −45th days) and thereafter decreased to the base level at the time of puberty. The mean (± SEM) age and body weight at puberty of these six heifers were 720 ± 20.70 days and 260.67 ± 8.82 kg, respectively. The serum progesterone levels remained low (0.38 ± 0.17 ng/ml) during early oestrus (up to 28 h) and gradually increased to 2.3 ± 0.84 ng/ml by the 15th day of the cycle.

Queensland Spanner Crab Fishery : Commercial quota setting for June 2015 – May 2016

The Australian fishery for spanner crabs is the largest in the world, with the larger Queensland (QLD) sector’s landings primarily exported live overseas and GVP valued ~A$5 million per year. Spanner crabs are unique in that they may live up to 15 years, significantly more than blue swimmer crabs (Portunus armatus) and mud crabs (Scylla serrata), the two other important crab species caught in Queensland. Spanner crabs are caught using a flat net called a dilly, on which the crabs becoming entangled via the swimming legs. Quota setting rules are used to assess and adjust total allowable harvest (quota) around an agreed target harvest of 1631 t and capped at a maximum of 2000 t. The quota varies based on catch rate indicators from the commercial fishery and a fishery-independent survey from the previous two years, compared to target reference points. Quota management applies only to ‘Managed Area A’ which includes waters between Rockhampton and the New South Wales (NSW) border. This report has been prepared to inform Fisheries Queensland (Department of Agriculture and Fisheries) and stakeholders of catch trends and the estimated quota of spanner crabs in Managed Area A for the forthcoming quota period (1 June 2015–31 May 2016). The quota calculations followed the methodology developed by the crab fishery Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) between November 2007 and March 2008. The total reported spanner crab harvest was 917 t for the 2014 calendar year, almost all of which was taken from Managed Area A. In 2014, a total of 59 vessels were active in the QLD fishery, the lowest number since the peak in 1994 of 262 vessels. Recent spanner crab harvests from NSW waters have been about 125 t per year. The spanner crab Managed Area A commercial standardised catch rate averaged 0.739 kg per net-lift in 2014, 24% below the target level of 1.043. Mean catch rates declined in the commercial fishery in 2014, although the magnitude of the decreases was highest in the area north of Fraser Island. The NSW–QLD survey catch rate in 2014 was 16.849 crabs per ground-line, 22% above the target level of 13.972. This represented a decrease in survey catch rates of 0.366 crabs per ground-line, compared to the 2013 survey. The Queensland spanner crab total allowable harvest (quota) was set at 1923 t in 2012 and 2013. In 2014, the quota was calculated at the base level of 1631 t. However, given that the 2012 fisheryindependent survey was not undertaken for financial reasons, stakeholders proposed that the total allowable commercial catch (TACC) be decreased to 1777 t; a level that was halfway between the 2012/13 quota of 1923 t and the recommended base quota of 1631 t. The results from the current analysis indicate that the quota for the 2015-2016 financial year be decreased from 1777 t to the base quota of 1631 t.

Control aspects in proportionality Markov manpower systems

In this paper, the control aspects of a hierarchical organization under the influence of "proportionality" policies are analyzed. Proportionality policies are those that restrict the recruitment to every level of the hierarchy (except the bottom most level or base level) to be in strict proportion to the promotions into that level. Both long term and short term control analysis have been discussed. In long term control the specific roles of the parameters of the system with regard to control of the shape and size of the system have been analyzed and yield suitable control strategies. In short term control, the attainability of a target or goal structure within a specific time from a given initial structure has been analyzed and yields the required recruitment strategies. The theoretical analyses have been illustrated with computational examples and also with real world data.

Control aspects in proportionality Markov manpower systems

In this paper, the control aspects of a hierarchical organization under the influence of "proportionality" policies are analyzed. Proportionality policies are those that restrict the recruitment to every level of the hierarchy (except the bottom most level or base level) to be in strict proportion to the promotions into that level. Both long term and short term control analysis have been discussed. In long term control the specific roles of the parameters of the system with regard to control of the shape and size of the system have been analyzed and yield suitable control strategies. In short term control, the attainability of a target or goal structure within a specific time from a given initial structure has been analyzed and yields the required recruitment strategies. The theoretical analyses have been illustrated with computational examples and also with real world data. The control of such proportionality systems is then compared with that of the general systems (which do not follow such policies) with some significant conclusions. The control relations of such proportionality systems are found to be simpler and more practically feasible than those of general Markov systems, which do not have such restrictions. Such proportionality systems thus not only retain and match the flexibility of general Markov systems but also have the added advantage of simpler and more practically feasible controls. The proportionality policies hence act as an alternative and more practicably feasible means of control. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Profitable Customer Management: A Study in Retail Banking

The increasing focus of relationship marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) studies on issues of customer profitability has led to the emergence of an area of research on profitable customer management. Nevertheless, there is a notable lack of empirical research examining the current practices of firms specifically with regard to the profitable management of customer relationships according to the approaches suggested in theory. This thesis fills this research gap by exploring profitable customer management in the retail banking sector. Several topics are covered, including marketing metrics and accountability; challenges in the implementation of profitable customer management approaches in practice; analytic versus heuristic (‘rule of thumb’) decision making; and the modification of costly customer behavior in order to increase customer profitability, customer lifetime value (CLV), and customer equity, i.e. the financial value of the customer base. The thesis critically reviews the concept of customer equity and proposes a Customer Equity Scorecard, providing a starting point for a constructive dialog between marketing and finance concerning the development of appropriate metrics to measure marketing outcomes. Since customer management and measurement issues go hand in hand, profitable customer management is contingent on both marketing management skills and financial measurement skills. A clear gap between marketing theory and practice regarding profitable customer management is also identified. The findings show that key customer management aspects that have been proposed within the literature on profitable customer management for many years, are not being actively applied by the banks included in the research. Instead, several areas of customer management decision making are found to be influenced by heuristics. This dilemma for marketing accountability is addressed by emphasizing that CLV and customer equity, which are aggregate metrics, only provide certain indications regarding the relative value of customers and the approximate value of the customer base (or groups of customers), respectively. The value created by marketing manifests itself in the effect of marketing actions on customer perceptions, behavior, and ultimately the components of CLV, namely revenues, costs, risk, and retention, as well as additional components of customer equity, such as customer acquisition. The thesis also points out that although costs are a crucial component of CLV, they have largely been neglected in prior CRM research. Cost-cutting has often been viewed negatively in customer-focused marketing literature on service quality and customer profitability, but the case studies in this thesis demonstrate that reduced costs do not necessarily have to lead to lower service quality, customer retention, and customer-related revenues. Consequently, this thesis provides an expanded foundation upon which marketers can stake their claim for accountability. By focusing on the range of drivers and all of the components of CLV and customer equity, marketing has the potential to provide specific evidence concerning how various activities have affected the drivers and components of CLV within different groups of customers, and the implications for customer equity on a customer base level.

Gain calibration of CCD systems at VBO

The system gain of two CCD systems in regular use at the Vainu Bappu Observatory, Kavalur, is determined at a few gain settings. The procedure used for the determination of system gain and base-level noise is described in detail. The Photometrics CCD system at the 1-m reflector uses a Thomson-CSF TH 7882 CDA chip coated for increased ultraviolet sensitivity. The gain is programme-selected through the parameter 'cgain' varying between 0 and 4095 in steps of 1. The inverse system gain for this system varies almost linearly from 27.7 electrons DN-1 at cgain = 0 to 1.5 electrons DN-1 at cgain = 500. The readout noise is less than or similar 11 electrons at cgain = 66. The Astromed CCD system at 2.3-m Vainu Bappu Telescope uses a GEC P8603 chip which is also coated for enhanced ultraviolet sensitivity. The amplifier gain is selected in discrete steps using switches in the controller. The inverse system gain is 4.15 electrons DN-1 at the gain setting of 9.2, and the readout noise approximately 8 electrons.

Queuing Network Models for Aircraft Availability and Spares Management

Interactions of major activities involved in airfleet operations, maintenance, and logistics are investigated in the framework of closed queuing networks with finite number of customers. The system is viewed at three levels, namely: operations at the flying-base, maintenance at the repair-depot, and logistics for subsystems and their interactions in achieving the system objectives. Several performance measures (eg, availability of aircraft at the flying-base, mean number of aircraft on ground at different stages of repair, use of repair facilities, and mean time an aircraft spends in various stages of repair) can easily be computed in this framework. At the subsystem level the quantities of interest are the unavailability (probability of stockout) of a spare and the duration of its unavailability. The repair-depot capability is affected by the unavailability of a spare which in turn, adversely affects the availability of aircraft at the flying-base level. Examples illustrate the utility of the proposed models.

Controls on river terrace formation in New Zealand

[EUS] Artikulu honek, argitaratutako bibliografiaren bidez, Zeelanda Berriko ibai-terrazen garapenari eragiten dieten agente morfogenetikoak aztertzen ditu. Erreferentzia gisa Ipar Irlako 4 kasu eta Hego Irlako 3 kasu erabili dira. Oro har, ibai-terrazak sortzeko orduan, klima, sedimentuen erabilgarritasunan eta prezipitazioan duen eraginaren bitartez, eragile nagusiena da. Altxaketa tektonikoak forma hauen kontserbazioa eragiten du. Hainbat kasutan, gertaera asaldatzaileen ondorioz sortutako sedimentu kopuru handiek, fase morfogenetiko desberdinak eragin dituzte lokal/erregional mailan, nazional/kontinental mailan beharrean. Gertaera asaldatzaileen artean, besteak beste, ekarpen bolkaniko naturalak eta gizakiok bultzatutako lur erabilera aldaketen ondorioz sortutako sedimentu ekarpenak barneratzen dira.

Prospects of fisheries development in India by 2000 AD

The fishery resources of India are extensive. The demand for fish for domestic consumption will be at least 10 million by 2000 AD. With proper planning and management, fish production from inland, brackishwater and marine sources can be increased to 5 million tonnes, 1 million tonne and 4 million tonnes respectively. But the increase in the last 37 years is approximately equals 2.1 million tonnes over the base level of 1950. If the present trend is continued, the expected fish production will be approximately equals 6 million tonnes by 2000 AD, and hence, only approximately equals 60% of the domestic demand can be met.

Element enrichment and U-series isotopic characteristics of the hydrothermal sulfides at Jade site in the Okinawa Trough

The geochemical and U-series isotopic characteristics of hydrothermal sulfide samples from the Jade site (127A degrees 04.5'E, 27A degrees 15'N, water depth 1300-1450 m) at Jade site in the Okinawa Trough were analyzed. In the hydrothermal sulfide samples bearing sulfate (samples HOK1 and HOK2), the LREEs are relatively enriched. All the hydrothermal sulfide samples except HOK1 belong to Zn-rich hydrothermal sulfide. In comparison with Zn-rich hydrothermal sulfides from other fields, the contents of Zn, Pb, Ag, Cd, Au and Hg are higher, the contents of Fe, Al, Cr, Co, Ni, Sr, Te, Cs, Ti and U lower, and the Pb-210 radioactivity ratios and Pb-210/Pb ratios very low. In the hydrothermal sulfide mainly composed of sphalerite, the correlations between rare elements Hf and U, and Hf and Mn as well as that between dispersive elements Ga and Zn, are strongly positive; also the contents of Au and Ag are related to Fe-sulfide, because the low temperature promotes enrichment of Au and Ag. Meanwhile, the positive correlations between Fe and Bi and between Zn and Cd are not affected by the change of mineral assemblage. Based on the Pb-210/Pb ratios of hydrothermal sulfide samples (3.99x10(-5)-5.42x10(-5)), their U isotopic composition (U-238 content 1.15-2.53 ppm, U-238 activity 1.07-1.87 dpm/g, U-234 activity 1.15-2.09 dpm/g and U-234/U-238 ratio 1.07-1.14) and their Th-232 and Th-230 contents are at base level, and the chronological age of hydrothermal sulfide at Jade site in the Okinawa Trough is between 200 and 2000 yr.

黄骅坳陷马东地区沙河街组重力流水道储层评价及剩余油研究

In this paper, taking Madong district of Huanghua depression as a case, based on the theory of sequence stratigraphy, sedimentology, reservoir geology and geophysics, according to core analysis, seismic attribute analysis, logging constrained inversion, multi-data correlation of strata, reservoir modeling, etc. the lower and middle first member of Shahejie formation of the study area was forecasted and evaluated. As a result, a number of reservoir prediction and remaining oil distribution methods suitable to oil exploitation of gravity flow channel reservoir are presented. Scientific foundation is provided to the next adjustment of development program and exploitation of the remaining oil. According to high resolution sequence stratigraphy theory, precise stratigraphic framework was founded, the facies types and facies distribution were studied under the control of stratigraphic framework, the technologies of seismic attribute abstraction and logging constrained inversion. Result shows that gravity flow channel, as the main facies, developed in the rising period of base-level cycle, and it was formed during the phase of contemporaneous fault growth. As the channel extends, channel width was gradually widened but thickness thined. The single channels were in possession of a great variety of integrated modes, such as isolated, branching off, merging and paralleling, forming a kind of sand-mud interblending complex sedimentary units. Reservoir quality differs greatly in vertical and horizontal direction, and sedimentary microfacies is main controlling factor of the reservoir quality. In major channel, deposition thickness is great, and petrophysical property is well. While in marginal channel, reservoir is thinner, and petrophysical property is unfavorable. Structure and reservoir quality are main factors which control the oil and gas distribution in the study area. On the basis of the research about the reservoir quality, internal, planar and 3-D reservoir heterogeneities are characterized, and the reservoir quality was sorted rationally. At last, based on the research of reservoir numerical simulation of key well group, combined with reservoir performance analysis and geological analysis above, remaining oil distribution patterns controlled by internal rhythm of gravity flow channel were set up. Through this research, a facies-restrained reservoir prediction method integrating multi-information was presented, and potential orientation of remaining oil distribution in gravity flow channel reservoir is clarified.

水利水电岩溶发育深度的定量化理论研究

The distribution in outcrop of carbonate rocks in China is about 3.44×106km2 and accounts for over one third of the total area of the country, mainly in the Yangtze valley and the Yungui tableland ,and there is a great plenty of Water and hydropower resources in these carbonate area. A large number of projects will be built in order to develop the Water and hydropower resources. They are facing amount of complicated problems of karsts, specially the problem of the depths of karsts below water, which is a key problem that hasn’t been solved well theoretically. So, systematically research in quantitative analysis of the problem is necessary, which is very important to solve the inconsistency between current theories and facts, and is helped to foresee the depth of karsts below water and decrease the expense of the engineering. For the problem mentioned above, the thesis makes a detailed research on the length of corrosion of karsts water, based on the kinetics of corrosion, and founds the primary theory about the processes of four typical geologic elements, which are single fracture, single conduit, porous limestone and fractured limestone. And it has done a deep research upon the characterties and kinetics of corrosion of the four typical geologic elements by simulation using the programme edited by the author. The thesis also makes a discussion on the general model and process of the form of caves by using the founded theory. According to the characteristic of Water Resource and Hydropower engineering, the thesis creates three representative flow-dissolution models for three types of common geologic conditions under the induction of the theory kinetics of corrosion of karsts water. It has done quantitative research upon the process of dissolution and brought out primary theory about quantitative analysis of the depth of karsts below water as well. It found that the depth of karsts below water relates to the specific geologic conditions and the time of dissolution by simulation based on typical parameters and deep analysis of the result. That is to say there are karsts caves in any depths in flow areas of groundwater in specific geologic conditions and appropriate time. The thesis also discourses three basic problems that frequently encountered in the reconnaissance of Water Resource and Hydropower engineering, which are karsts base level, essential conditions of karsts, the comparability of caves and terrace, and indicates the importance of time in karsts. Finally, as an application, the karsts of the scheming Qianzhong water resource engineering is analyzed by the primary theory founded of quantitative analysis. The result of the application comes to a conclusion that the theory accords with the facts properly.

奇异性分析方法及其在储层预测中的应用研究

In research field of oil geophysical prospecting, reservoir prediction is refers to forecasting physical properties of petroleum reservoir by using data of seismic and well logging, it is a research which can guide oil field development. Singularities of seismic and logging data are caused by the heterogeneity of reservoir physical property. It's one of important methods that using singularity characteristics of seismic and logging data to study the reservoir physical property in recently. Among them, realization of reservoir quantitative prediction by analyzing singularity of the data and enhancing transition description of data is difficulty in method research. Based on wavelet transform and the fractal theory, the paper studied the singularity judgment criterion for seismic and logging data, not only analyzed quantitative relation between singularity data and reservoir physical property, but also applied it in practical reservoir prediction. The main achievements are: 1. A new method which provides singular points and their strength information estimation at only one single scale is proposed by Herrmann (1999). Based on that, the dissertation proposed modified algorithm which realized singularity polarity detection. 2. The dissertation introduced onset function to generalize the traditional geologic boundaries variations model which used singularity characteristics to represent the abruptness of the lithologic velocity transition. We show that singularity analysis reveals generic singularity information conducted from velocity or acoustic impedance to seismogram based on the convolution seismic-model theory. Theory and applications indicated that singularity information calculated from seismic data was a natural attribute for delineating stratigraphy boundaries due to its excellent ability in detecting detailed geologic features. We demonstrated that singularity analysis was a powerful tool to delineate stratigraphy boundaries and inverse acoustic impedance and velocity. 3. The geologic significances of logging data singularity information were also presented. According to our analysis, the positions of singularities indicate the sequence stratigraphic boundary, and there is subtle relationship between the singularity strength and sedimentary environment, meanwhile the singularity polarity used to recognize stratigraphic base-level cycle. Based on all those above, a new method which provided sedimentary cycle analysis based on the singularity information of logging data in multiple scales was proposed in this dissertation. This method provided a quantitative tool for judging interface of stratum sequence and achieved good results in the actual application.

松辽盆地南部大情字井地区CO2埋存体地质格架及储层建模

Increasing attentions have been paid to the subsurface geological storage for CO2 in view of the huge storage capacity of subsurface reservoirs. The basic requirement for subsurface CO2 storage is that the CO2 should be sequestrated as supercritical fluids (physical trapping), which may also interact with ambient reservoir rocks and formation waters, forming new minerals (chemical trapping). In order to the effective, durable and safe storage for CO2, enough storage space and stable sealing caprock with strong sealing capacity are necessitated, in an appropriate geological framework. Up till now, hydrocarbon reservoirs are to the most valid and appropriate CO2 storage container, which is well proven as the favorable compartment with huge storage capacity and sealing condition. The thesis focuses on two principal issues related to the storage and sealing capacity of storage compartment for the Qingshankou and Yaojia formations in the Daqingzijing block, Southern Songliao Basin, which was selected as the pilot well site for CO2-EOR storage. In the operation area, three facies, including deltaic plain, deltaic front and subdeep-deep lake facies associations, are recognized, in which 11 subfacies such as subaqueous distributary channel, river- mouth bar, interdistributary bay, sheet sandbody, crevasse splay and overflooding plain are further identified. These subfacies are the basic genetic units in the reservoir and sealing rocks. These facies further comprise the retrogradational and progradational depositional cycles, which were formed base- level rise and fall, respectively. During the regressive or lake lowstand stage, various sands including some turbidites and fans occurred mostly at the bottom of the hinged slope. During the progradation stage, these sands became smaller in size and episodically stepped backwards upon the slope, with greatly expanded and deeped lake. However, most of Cretaceous strata in the study area, localized in the basin centre under this stage, are mainly composed of grey or grizzly siltstones and grey or dark grey mudstones intercalated with minor fine sandstones and purple mudstones. On the base of borehole and core data, these siltstones are widespread, thin from 10 to 50 m thick, good grain sorting, and have relative mature sedimentary structures with graded bedding and cross- lamination or crossbeds such as ripples, which reflect strong hydrodynamic causes. Due to late diagenesis, pores are not widespread in the reservoirs, especially the first member of Qingshankou formation. There are two types of pores: primary pore and secondary cores. The primary pores include intergranular pores and micropores, and the secondary pores include emposieus and fracture pores. Throat channels related to pores is also small and the radius of throat in the first, second and third member of Qingshankou formation is only 0.757 μm, 0.802 μm and 0.631 μm respectively. In addition, based on analyzing the probability plot according to frequency of occurrence of porosity and permeability, they appear single- peaked distribution, which reflects strong hetero- geneity. All these facts indicate that the conditions of physical property of reservoirs are not better. One reason may be provided to interpret this question is that physical property of reservoirs in the study area is strong controlled by the depositional microfacies. From the statistics, the average porosity and permeability of microfacies such as subaqueous distributary channel, channel mouth bar, turbidites, is more than 9 percent and 1md respectively. On the contrary, the average porosity and permeability of microfacies including sand sheet, flagstone and crevasse splay are less than 9 percent and 0.2md respectively. Basically, different hydrodynamic environment under different microfacies can decide different physical property. According to the reservoir models of the first member of Qingshankou formation in the No. well Hei47 block, the character of sedimentary according to the facies models is accord to regional disposition evolution. Meantime, the parameter models of physical property of reservoir indicate that low porosity and low permeability reservoirs widespread widely in the study area, but the sand reservoirs located in the channels are better than other places and they are the main sand reservoirs. The distribution and sealing ability of fault- fractures and caprock are the key aspects to evaluate the stable conditions of compartments to store CO2 in the study area. Based on the core observation, the fractures widespread in the study area, especially around the wells, and most of them are located in the first and second member of Qingshankou formation, almost very few in the third member of Qingshankou formation and Yaojia formation instead. In addition, analyzing the sealing ability of eleven faults in the three-dimensional area in the study area demonstrates that most of faults have strong sealing ability, especially in the No. well Hei56 and Qing90-27. To some extent, the sealing ability of faults in the No. well Hei49, Qing4-6 and Qing84-29 are worse than others. Besides, the deposition environment of most of formations in the study area belongs to moderately deep and deep lake facies, which undoubtedly take advantage to caprocks composed of mudstones widespread and large scale under this deposition environment. In the study area, these mudstones distribute widely in the third member of Qingshankou formation, Yaojia and Nenjiang formation. The effective thickness of mudstone is nearly ~550m on an average with few or simple faults and fractures. In addition, there are many reservoir beds with widely- developed insulated interbeds consist of mudstones or silty mudstone, which can be the valid barrier to CO2 upper movement or leakage through diffusion, dispersion and convection. Above all, the closed thick mud caprock with underdeveloped fractures and reservoir beds can be taken regard as the favorable caprocks to provide stable conditions to avoid CO2 leakage.