Scenario analysis of alternative vegetation management options on the greenhouse gas budget of two grazing businesses in north-eastern Australia

The emerging carbon economy will have a major impact on grazing businesses because of significant livestock methane and land-use change emissions. Livestock methane emissions alone account for similar to 11% of Australia's reported greenhouse gas emissions. Grazing businesses need to develop an understanding of their greenhouse gas impact and be able to assess the impact of alternative management options. This paper attempts to generate a greenhouse gas budget for two scenarios using a spread sheet model. The first scenario was based on one land-type '20-year-old brigalow regrowth' in the brigalow bioregion of southern-central Queensland. The 50 year analysis demonstrated the substantially different greenhouse gas outcomes and livestock carrying capacity for three alternative regrowth management options: retain regrowth (sequester 71.5 t carbon dioxide equivalents per hectare, CO2-e/ha), clear all regrowth (emit 42.8 t CO2-e/ha) and clear regrowth strips (emit 5.8 t CO2-e/ha). The second scenario was based on a 'remnant eucalypt savanna-woodland' land type in the Einasleigh Uplands bioregion of north Queensland. The four alternative vegetation management options were: retain current woodland structure (emit 7.4 t CO2-e/ha), allow woodland to thicken increasing tree basal area (sequester 20.7 t CO2-e/ha), thin trees less than 10 cm diameter (emit 8.9 t CO2-e/ha), and thin trees <20 cm diameter (emit 12.4 t CO2-e/ha). Significant assumptions were required to complete the budgets due to gaps in current knowledge on the response of woody vegetation, soil carbon and non-CO2 soil emissions to management options and land-type at the property scale. The analyses indicate that there is scope for grazing businesses to choose alternative management options to influence their greenhouse gas budget. However, a key assumption is that accumulation of carbon or avoidance of emissions somewhere on a grazing business (e.g. in woody vegetation or soil) will be recognised as an offset for emissions elsewhere in the business (e.g. livestock methane). This issue will be a challenge for livestock industries and policy makers to work through in the coming years.

Land condition monitoring information for reef catchments: a new era

Land condition monitoring information is required for the strategic management of grazing land and for a better understanding of ecosystem processes. Yet, for policy makers and those land managers whose properties are situated within north-eastern Australia's vast Great Barrier Reef catchments, there has been a general lack of geospatial land condition monitoring information. This paper provides an overview of integrated land monitoring activity in rangeland areas of two major Reef catchments in Queensland: the Burdekin and Fitzroy regions. The project aims were to assemble land condition monitoring datasets that would assist grazing land management and support decision-makers investing public funds; and deliver these data to natural resource management(NRM) community groups, which had been given increased responsibility for delivering local environmental outcomes. We describe the rationale and processes used to produce new land condition monitoring datasets derived from remotely sensed Landsat thematic mapper (TM) and high resolution SPOT 5 satellite imagery and from rapid land condition ground assessment. Specific products include subcatchment groundcover change maps, regional mapping of indicative very poor land condition, and stratified land condition site summaries. Their application, integration, and limitations are discussed. The major innovation is a better understanding of NRM issues with respect to land condition across vast regional areas, and the effective transfer of decision-making capacity to the local level. Likewise, with an increased ability to address policy questions from an evidence-based position, combined with increased cooperation between community, industry and all levels of government, a new era has emerged for decision-makers in rangeland management.

Teacher Education, School Effectiveness and Improvement : A Study of Academic and Professional Qualification on Teachers' Job Effectiveness in Nigerian Secondary Schools

This academic work begins with a compact presentation of the general background to the study, which also includes an autobiography for the interest in this research. The presentation provides readers who know little of the topic of this research and of the structure of the educational system as well as of the value given to education in Nigeria. It further concentrates on the dynamic interplay of the effect of academic and professional qualification and teachers' job effectiveness in secondary schools in Nigeria in particular, and in Africa in general. The aim of this study is to produce a systematic analysis and rich theoretical and empirical description of teachers' teaching competencies. The theoretical part comprises a comprehensive literature review that focuses on research conducted in the areas of academic and professional qualification and teachers' job effectiveness, teaching competencies, and the role of teacher education with particular emphasis on school effectiveness and improvement. This research benefits greatly from the functionalist conception of education, which is built upon two emphases: the application of the scientific method to the objective social world, and the use of an analogy between the individual 'organism' and 'society'. To this end, it offers us an opportunity to define terms systematically and to view problems as always being interrelated with other components of society. The empirical part involves describing and interpreting what educational objectives can be achieved with the help of teachers' teaching competencies in close connection to educational planning, teacher training and development, and achieving them without waste. The data used in this study were collected between 2002 and 2003 from teachers, principals, supervisors of education from the Ministry of Education and Post Primary Schools Board in the Rivers State of Nigeria (N=300). The data were collected from interviews, documents, observation, and questionnaires and were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods to strengthen the validity of the findings. The data collected were analyzed to answer the specific research questions and hypotheses posited in this study. The data analysis involved the use of multiple statistical procedures: Percentages Mean Point Value, T-test of Significance, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Cross Tabulation. The results obtained from the data analysis show that teachers require professional knowledge and professional teaching skills, as well as a broad base of general knowledge (e.g., morality, service, cultural capital, institutional survey). Above all, in order to carry out instructional processes effectively, teachers should be both academically and professionally trained. This study revealed that teachers are not however expected to have an extraordinary memory, but rather looked upon as persons capable of thinking in the right direction. This study may provide a solution to the problem of teacher education and school effectiveness in Nigeria. For this reason, I offer this treatise to anyone seriously committed in improving schools in developing countries in general and in Nigeria in particular to improve the lives of all its citizens. In particular, I write this to encourage educational planners, education policy makers, curriculum developers, principals, teachers, and students of education interested in empirical information and methods to conceptualize the issue this study has raised and to provide them with useful suggestions to help them improve secondary schooling in Nigeria. Though, multiple audiences exist for any text. For this reason, I trust that the academic community will find this piece of work a useful addition to the existing literature on school effectiveness and school improvement. Through integrating concepts from a number of disciplines, I aim to describe as holistic a representation as space could allow of the components of school effectiveness and quality improvement. A new perspective on teachers' professional competencies, which not only take into consideration the unique characteristics of the variables used in this study, but also recommend their environmental and cultural derivation. In addition, researchers should focus their attention on the ways in which both professional and non-professional teachers construct and apply their methodological competencies, such as their grouping procedures and behaviors to the schooling of students. Keywords: Professional Training, Academic Training, Professionally Qualified, Academically Qualified, Professional Qualification, Academic Qualification, Job Effectiveness, Job Efficiency, Educational Planning, Teacher Training and Development, Nigeria.

Kestävä kehitys globaalin ajan hyvinvointiyhteiskunnan haasteena

The objective of the dissertation was to determine the concept of sustainable development according to current understanding and to analyze the structuration of sustainable daily life and how it varies between different groups. The present dissertation is both a literature-based theoretical study and data-based empirical research. The theoretical framework of the study was a greated model of the Structuration of Sustainability in Everyday Life. The model is based on a synthesis of Giddens Theory of Structuration (1984), Spaargaren JA van Vliet's Theory of Consumption as Social Practices (2000) and principles of sustainable development. According to the model created, sustainable everyday life is generated in a context of internal and external factors compromising the interests of ecosystems, society and business. The literature used in the thesis included international and national statements on sustainable development and research into sustainability and the transition to sustainable societies. The data were collected at Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. The discretionary sample consisted of students of social services (n = 210) and were collected using the semantic differential technique. The data were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods. The results showed that the value placed on ecological, economic and social sustainability increased with age. Activity in non governmental organizations was associated with the acceptance of sustainable development as a whole and especially with global responsibility. Women's everyday life promoted sustainability more than men´s. People living in Helsinki had more sustainable ways of living than those living in the surrounding municipalities because of greater recycling and the low importance given to ownership. Prefering vegetarian food turned out to be a real opportunity for a more sustainable way of living because there were few barriers identified. Contradictory human behavior occurred when advanced sustainable consumer were ready to risk their health. The importance of communality was high and it was considered an aspect of health. The most significant obstacles to sustainable development in daily life were high costs, lack of knowledge and busyness. Similar attitudes towards sustainable development translate into different people´s behavior, which indicates complexities of the behaviour change in the context of sustainable development. The role of non governmental organizations is significant in increasing global responsibility. Education presents an opportunity to increase sustainability, but there are challenges to face from system thinking and in understanding entities in a state of transition towards sustainable everyday life. The responsibility of policy makers is paramount because high costs create a barrier to a sustainable way of living. The implementation of the concept of sustainable development should be focused on the planetary ethics which cover humans, animals, plants and ecosystems. Keywords: Sustainable development, sustainable thinking, behaviour change  

Legislation Concerning Reporting of Child Sexual Abuse and Child Trafficking in India: A Closer Look

The increasing rate of child sexual abuse and child trafficking has become a serious concern for national and international policy makers. Because these acts are criminal, result in serious harms to the child, and occur in closed scenarios where the situation is concealed, it is very important for people who become aware of the acts to report the incidents to the appropriate authority. Reporting of incidents could help provide justice to the victim and penalize the perpetrators. In addition, it would help us to understand the nature and magnitude of the problem. The objective of this chapter is first to review the Indian legislation concerning mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect, and second to consider the potential for mandatory reporting of two categories of child maltreatment in particular in the Indian context: sexual abuse and child trafficking.

Predicting the cost of eradication for 41 Class 1 declared weeds in Queensland

The feasibility of state-wide eradication of 41 invasive plant taxa currently listed as ‘Class 1 declared pests’ under the Queensland Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002 was assessed using the predictive model ‘WeedSearch’. Results indicated that all but one species (Alternanthera philoxeroides) could be eradicated, provided sufficient funding and labour were available. Slightly less than one quarter (24.4%) (n = 10) of Class 1 weed taxa could be eradicated for less than $100 000 per taxon. An additional 43.9% (n = 18) could be eradicated for between $100 000 and $1M per taxon. Hence, 68.3% of Class 1 weed taxa (n = 28) could be eradicated for less than $1M per taxon. Eradication of 29.3% (n = 12) is predicted to cost more than $1M per taxon. Comparison of these WeedSearch outputs with either empirical analysis or results from a previous application of the model suggests that these costs may, in fact, be underestimates. Considering the likelihood that each weed will cost the state many millions of dollars in long-term losses (e.g. losses to primary production, environmental impacts and control costs), eradication seems a wise investment. Even where predicted costs are over $1M, eradication can still offer highly favourable benefit:cost ratios. The total (cumulative) cost of eradication of all 41 weed taxa is substantial; for all taxa, the estimated cost of eradication in the first year alone is $8 618 000. This study provides important information for policy makers, who must decide where to invest public funding.

The social consequences of control: Accounting for indentured labour in Fiji 1879 - 1920

Purpose: This is a study of the social consequences of accounting controls over labour. It examines the system of tasking used to control Indian indentured workers using a governmentality approach in the historical context of Fijian sugar plantations during the British colonial period, from 1879 to 1920. Method/ Methodology: Archival data consisting of documents from the Colonial Secretary’s Office, reports and related literature on Indian indentured labour was accessed from the National Archives of Fiji. In addition, documented accounts of the experiences of indentured labourers over the period of the study give voice to the social costs of the indenture system, highlighting the social impact of accounting control systems. Findings: Accounting and management controls were developed to extract surplus value from Indian labour. The practice of tasking was implemented in a plantation structure where indentured labourers were controlled hierarchically through a variety of calculative monitoring practices. This resulted in the exploitation and consequent economic, social and racial marginalisation of indentured workers. Originality: The paper contributes to the growing body of literature highlighting the social effects of accounting control systems. It exposes the social costs borne by indentured workers employed on Fijian sugar plantations. Practice/ Research Implications: The study promotes better understanding of the practice and impact of accounting as a technology of government and control within a particular institutional setting, in this case the British colony of Fiji. By highlighting the social implications of these controls in their historical context, we alert corporations, government policy makers, accountants and workers to the socially damaging effects of exploitive management control systems.

Young people's perceptions of the wood products industry : a relational view

The basis for this study was in poor attractiveness of the wood products industry among young people as a field to study and work in. The purpose was to produce new information of how to improve the relationship between young people and the wood products industry in order to better attract young people with different relational orientation. A survey was conducted among students of comprehensive schools and students of wood industry at vocational schools selected by systematic cluster sampling. The final sample consisted of 613 students. The study combined the theories and concepts of relationships, communication and trust of several disciplines. In addition, it applied theories of relationship marketing, stakeholders, publics, involvement and concepts of reputation and values. It studied the central relational elements in the form of antecedents, relationship state and its consequences. The study examined, how young people with different background and level of interest perceive wood industry as a field to study and work in from relational point of view, what are the central deficiencies in perceived relational elements and what are the public relations activities enhancing the relationship between wood industry and young people with less and high interest in the sector. The results indicate poor visibility of the wood industry among young people: unfamiliarity with the industry and unawareness of the opportunities to study in the field. It appeared that instead of increasing only information sharing, interactive communication in different forms is needed. The study also suggests that behaviors of the industry sector advancing perceived trustworthiness are of crucial importance. Moreover, the wood industry needs to pay attention to its behaviors and communication also among other stakeholder groups, especially the media, as reputation plays an important role in building up trust and satisfaction between young people and the sector. Finally, the less and highly interested young people were found to assess the relationship partly through different relational elements. In order to develop the relationship with highly interested young people they should be regarded clearly as future employees of the wood industry through activities affirming that they are desired and valued employees in the sector. Further, openness of information disclosure, whether concerning current situation or future prospects, seems to increase credibility and attractiveness of the wood industry. Highly interested young people were also found to appreciate socially responsible activities. The less interested young people seem to be insecure about the reliability of the wood industry as an employer, as well as, its ability and interest to invest in young people s skills. In addition,involvement in issues relevant for young people was found crucial in enhancing the relationship with the less interested young people.The conclusions of the study provide tools for enhancing the attractiveness of the wood industry among young people not only to the industry itself, but also to its advocates, teachers and student counselors of comprehensive and vocational schools, authorities and policy makers.

Plant species diversity of buffer zones in agricultural landscapes: in search of determinants from the local to regional scale

Buffer zones are vegetated strip-edges of agricultural fields along watercourses. As linear habitats in agricultural ecosystems, buffer strips dominate and play a leading ecological role in many areas. This thesis focuses on the plant species diversity of the buffer zones in a Finnish agricultural landscape. The main objective of the present study is to identify the determinants of floral species diversity in arable buffer zones from local to regional levels. This study was conducted in a watershed area of a farmland landscape of southern Finland. The study area, Lepsämänjoki, is situated in the Nurmijärvi commune 30 km to the north of Helsinki, Finland. The biotope mosaics were mapped in GIS. A total of 59 buffer zones were surveyed, of which 29 buffer strips surveyed were also sampled by plot. Firstly, two diversity components (species richness and evenness) were investigated to determine whether the relationship between the two is equal and predictable. I found no correlation between species richness and evenness. The relationship between richness and evenness is unpredictable in a small-scale human-shaped ecosystem. Ordination and correlation analyses show that richness and evenness may result from different ecological processes, and thus should be considered separately. Species richness correlated negatively with phosphorus content, and species evenness correlated negatively with the ratio of organic carbon to total nitrogen in soil. The lack of a consistent pattern in the relationship between these two components may be due to site-specific variation in resource utilization by plant species. Within-habitat configuration (width, length, and area) were investigated to determine which is more effective for predicting species richness. More species per unit area increment could be obtained from widening the buffer strip than from lengthening it. The width of the strips is an effective determinant of plant species richness. The increase in species diversity with an increase in the width of buffer strips may be due to cross-sectional habitat gradients within the linear patches. This result can serve as a reference for policy makers, and has application value in agricultural management. In the framework of metacommunity theory, I found that both mass effect(connectivity) and species sorting (resource heterogeneity) were likely to explain species composition and diversity on a local and regional scale. The local and regional processes were interactively dominated by the degree to which dispersal perturbs local communities. In the lowly and intermediately connected regions, species sorting was of primary importance to explain species diversity, while the mass effect surpassed species sorting in the highly connected region. Increasing connectivity in communities containing high habitat heterogeneity can lead to the homogenization of local communities, and consequently, to lower regional diversity, while local species richness was unrelated to the habitat connectivity. Of all species found, Anthriscus sylvestris, Phalaris arundinacea, and Phleum pretense significantly responded to connectivity, and showed high abundance in the highly connected region. We suggest that these species may play a role in switching the force from local resources to regional connectivity shaping the community structure. On the landscape context level, the different responses of local species richness and evenness to landscape context were investigated. Seven landscape structural parameters served to indicate landscape context on five scales. On all scales but the smallest scales, the Shannon-Wiener diversity of land covers (H') correlated positively with the local richness. The factor (H') showed the highest correlation coefficients in species richness on the second largest scale. The edge density of arable field was the only predictor that correlated with species evenness on all scales, which showed the highest predictive power on the second smallest scale. The different predictive power of the factors on different scales showed a scaledependent relationship between the landscape context and local plant species diversity, and indicated that different ecological processes determine species richness and evenness. The local richness of species depends on a regional process on large scales, which may relate to the regional species pool, while species evenness depends on a fine- or coarse-grained farming system, which may relate to the patch quality of the habitats of field edges near the buffer strips. My results suggested some guidelines of species diversity conservation in the agricultural ecosystem. To maintain a high level of species diversity in the strips, a high level of phosphorus in strip soil should be avoided. Widening the strips is the most effective mean to improve species richness. Habitat connectivity is not always favorable to species diversity because increasing connectivity in communities containing high habitat heterogeneity can lead to the homogenization of local communities (beta diversity) and, consequently, to lower regional diversity. Overall, a synthesis of local and regional factors emerged as the model that best explain variations in plant species diversity. The studies also suggest that the effects of determinants on species diversity have a complex relationship with scale.

Work, aging, and retirement in Australia: Introduction to the special issue

Australia has an aging population and workforce, and policy makers and organizations increasingly encourage older workers to remain on the job longer and even beyond traditional retirement age. After a brief review of important demographic and political developments, we introduce the 8 articles included in this special issue on work, aging, and retirement in Australia. The articles include an overview of the Australian retirement income system, 6 articles reporting quantitative analyses of cross-sectional and longitudinal data provided by large samples of Australian workers and retirees, and a qualitative study which analyzes interviews with human resource managers. Overall, the articles demonstrate that research on work, aging, and retirement in Australia is flourishing, sophisticated, and diverse both in terms of content and methodologies. We close with a brief review of topics and research questions related to work, aging, and retirement that remain to be addressed in the Australian context in future research.

Influence of different nitrogen rates and DMPP nitrification inhibitor on annual N2/O emissions from a subtropical wheat–maize cropping system

Global cereal production will need to increase by 50% to 70% to feed a world population of about 9 billion by 2050. This intensification is forecast to occur mostly in subtropical regions, where warm and humid conditions can promote high N2O losses from cropped soils. To secure high crop production without exacerbating N2O emissions, new nitrogen (N) fertiliser management strategies are necessary. This one-year study evaluated the efficacy of a nitrification inhibitor (3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate—DMPP) and different N fertiliser rates to reduce N2O emissions in a wheat–maize rotation in subtropical Australia. Annual N2O emissions were monitored using a fully automated greenhouse gas measuring system. Four treatments were fertilized with different rates of urea, including a control (40 kg-N ha−1 year−1), a conventional N fertiliser rate adjusted on estimated residual soil N (120 kg-N ha−1 year−1), a conventional N fertiliser rate (240 kg-N ha−1 year−1) and a conventional N fertiliser rate (240 kg-N ha−1 year−1) with nitrification inhibitor (DMPP) applied at top dressing. The maize season was by far the main contributor to annual N2O emissions due to the high soil moisture and temperature conditions, as well as the elevated N rates applied. Annual N2O emissions in the four treatments amounted to 0.49, 0.84, 2.02 and 0.74 kg N2O–N ha−1 year−1, respectively, and corresponded to emission factors of 0.29%, 0.39%, 0.69% and 0.16% of total N applied. Halving the annual conventional N fertiliser rate in the adjusted N treatment led to N2O emissions comparable to the DMPP treatment but extensively penalised maize yield. The application of DMPP produced a significant reduction in N2O emissions only in the maize season. The use of DMPP with urea at the conventional N rate reduced annual N2O emissions by more than 60% but did not affect crop yields. The results of this study indicate that: (i) future strategies aimed at securing subtropical cereal production without increasing N2O emissions should focus on the fertilisation of the summer crop; (ii) adjusting conventional N fertiliser rates on estimated residual soil N is an effective practice to reduce N2O emissions but can lead to substantial yield losses if the residual soil N is not assessed correctly; (iii) the application of DMPP is a feasible strategy to reduce annual N2O emissions from sub-tropical wheat–maize rotations. However, at the N rates tested in this study DMPP urea did not increase crop yields, making it impossible to recoup extra costs associated with this fertiliser. The findings of this study will support farmers and policy makers to define effective fertilisation strategies to reduce N2O emissions from subtropical cereal cropping systems while maintaining high crop productivity. More research is needed to assess the use of DMPP urea in terms of reducing conventional N fertiliser rates and subsequently enable a decrease of fertilisation costs and a further abatement of fertiliser-induced N2O emissions.

Predictive modelling to aid the regional-scale management of a vertebrate pest

Extensive resources are allocated to managing vertebrate pests, yet spatial understanding of pest threats, and how they respond to management, is limited at the regional scale where much decision-making is undertaken. We provide regional-scale spatial models and management guidance for European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in a 260,791 km(2) region in Australia by determining habitat suitability, habitat susceptibility and the effects of the primary rabbit management options (barrier fence, shooting and baiting and warren ripping) or changing predation or disease control levels. A participatory modelling approach was used to develop a Bayesian network which captured the main drivers of suitability and spread, which in turn was linked spatially to develop high resolution risk maps. Policy-makers, rabbit managers and technical experts were responsible for defining the questions the model needed to address, and for subsequently developing and parameterising the model. Habitat suitability was determined by conditions required for warren-building and by above-ground requirements, such as food and harbour, and habitat susceptibility by the distance from current distributions, habitat suitability, and the costs of traversing habitats of different quality. At least one-third of the region had a high probability of being highly suitable (support high rabbit densities), with the model supported by validation. Habitat susceptibility was largely restricted by the current known rabbit distribution. Warren ripping was the most effective control option as warrens were considered essential for rabbit persistence. The anticipated increase in disease resistance was predicted to increase the probability of moderately suitable habitat becoming highly suitable, but not increase the at-risk area. We demonstrate that it is possible to build spatial models to guide regional-level management of vertebrate pests which use the best available knowledge and capture fine spatial-scale processes.

Patterns of service utilisation within Australian hepatology clinics: High prevalence of advanced liver disease

Accepted Article Abstract Background: Liver diseases in Australia are estimated to affect 6 million people with a societal cost of $51 billion annually. Information about utilization of specialist hepatology care is critical in informing policy makers about the requirements for delivery of hepatology-related health care. Aims: This study examined etiology and severity of liver disease seen in a tertiary hospital hepatology clinic, as well as resource utilisation patterns. Methods: A longitudinal cohort study included consecutive patients booked in hepatology outpatient clinics during a 3 month period. Subsequent outpatient appointments for these patients over the following 12 months were then recorded. Results: During the initial 3 month period 1471 appointments were scheduled with a hepatologist, 1136 of which were attended. 21% of patients were “new cases”. Hepatitis B (HBV) was the most common disease etiology for new cases (37%). Advanced disease at presentation varied between etiology, with HBV (5%), Hepatitis C (HCV) (31%), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (46%) and alcoholic liver disease (ALD) (72%). Most patients (83%) attended multiple hepatology appointments, and a range of referrals patterns for procedures, investigations and other specialty assessments were observed. Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of HBV in new case referrals. Patients with HCV, NAFLD and ALD have a high prevalence of advanced liver disease at referral, requiring ongoing surveillance for development of decompensated liver disease and liver cancer. These findings that describe patterns of health service utilisation among patients with liver disease provide useful information for planning sustainable health service provision for this clinical population

Spatial and temporal variability in midge (Nematocera) assemblages in shallow Finnish lakes (60−70 °N) : community-based modelling of past environmental change

Multi- and intralake datasets of fossil midge assemblages in surface sediments of small shallow lakes in Finland were studied to determine the most important environmental factors explaining trends in midge distribution and abundance. The aim was to develop palaeoenvironmental calibration models for the most important environmental variables for the purpose of reconstructing past environmental conditions. The developed models were applied to three high-resolution fossil midge stratigraphies from southern and eastern Finland to interpret environmental variability over the past 2000 years, with special focus on the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), the Little Ice Age (LIA) and recent anthropogenic changes. The midge-based results were compared with physical properties of the sediment, historical evidence and environmental reconstructions based on diatoms (Bacillariophyta), cladocerans (Crustacea: Cladocera) and tree rings. The results showed that the most important environmental factor controlling midge distribution and abundance along a latitudinal gradient in Finland was the mean July air temperature (TJul). However, when the dataset was environmentally screened to include only pristine lakes, water depth at the sampling site became more important. Furthermore, when the dataset was geographically scaled to southern Finland, hypolimnetic oxygen conditions became the dominant environmental factor. The results from an intralake dataset from eastern Finland showed that the most important environmental factors controlling midge distribution within a lake basin were river contribution, water depth and submerged vegetation patterns. In addition, the results of the intralake dataset showed that the fossil midge assemblages represent fauna that lived in close proximity to the sampling sites, thus enabling the exploration of within-lake gradients in midge assemblages. Importantly, this within-lake heterogeneity in midge assemblages may have effects on midge-based temperature estimations, because samples taken from the deepest point of a lake basin may infer considerably colder temperatures than expected, as shown by the present test results. Therefore, it is suggested here that the samples in fossil midge studies involving shallow boreal lakes should be taken from the sublittoral, where the assemblages are most representative of the whole lake fauna. Transfer functions between midge assemblages and the environmental forcing factors that were significantly related with the assemblages, including mean air TJul, water depth, hypolimnetic oxygen, stream flow and distance to littoral vegetation, were developed using weighted averaging (WA) and weighted averaging-partial least squares (WA-PLS) techniques, which outperformed all the other tested numerical approaches. Application of the models in downcore studies showed mostly consistent trends. Based on the present results, which agreed with previous studies and historical evidence, the Medieval Climate Anomaly between ca. 800 and 1300 AD in eastern Finland was characterized by warm temperature conditions and dry summers, but probably humid winters. The Little Ice Age (LIA) prevailed in southern Finland from ca. 1550 to 1850 AD, with the coldest conditions occurring at ca. 1700 AD, whereas in eastern Finland the cold conditions prevailed over a longer time period, from ca. 1300 until 1900 AD. The recent climatic warming was clearly represented in all of the temperature reconstructions. In the terms of long-term climatology, the present results provide support for the concept that the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index has a positive correlation with winter precipitation and annual temperature and a negative correlation with summer precipitation in eastern Finland. In general, the results indicate a relatively warm climate with dry summers but snowy winters during the MCA and a cool climate with rainy summers and dry winters during the LIA. The results of the present reconstructions and the forthcoming applications of the models can be used in assessments of long-term environmental dynamics to refine the understanding of past environmental reference conditions and natural variability required by environmental scientists, ecologists and policy makers to make decisions concerning the presently occurring global, regional and local changes. The developed midge-based models for temperature, hypolimnetic oxygen, water depth, littoral vegetation shift and stream flow, presented in this thesis, are open for scientific use on request.

Save Left Shark: Katy Perry, Intellectual Property, and 3D Printing

There has been much interest in how intellectual property law, policy and practice will adapt to the emergence of 3D printing and the maker movement. Intellectual property lawyers will have to grapple with the impact of additive manufacturing upon a variety of forms of intellectual property — including copyright law, trade mark law, designs law, patent law and trade secrets. The disruptive technology of 3D printing will both pose opportunities and challenges for legal practitioners and policy makers.A performance by pop princess Katy Perry at the 2015 Super Bowl has sparked a public controversy over intellectual property, internet memes and 3D printing.