National issues raised by IIMA study on development and management of freshwater aquaculture in India: a review

An examination is made of various issues regarding freshwater aquaculture development raised by the IIMA study on inland fish marketing in India. The following topics are discussed: 1)fish production and the resources; 2)desirability for refined methodology for assessment of fish production; 3)pond resource under fish culture; 4)conflicting data and 5)observation on research input for freshwater.

Some problems and issues of sustainable management of mangrove ecosystems of Tamil Nadu, India

Mangrove, a tidal wetland, is a good example of complex land and water system whose resource attributes is neither fully understood from an ecological perspective nor valued comprehensively in economic terms. With increased ecological and social perception of the functions of wetlands, the utility and relative values will increase. The perception, however, varies from society to society. It must be recognized that mangrove forests differ greatly in local conditions and in their ability to produce a wide variety of economic products. What may be highly productive strategy for one country may have little meaning to its neighbor. Therefore, it becomes essential that from among diversity of potential uses of the mangrove environment, specific uses will have to be decided, and management plan developed on site, or area specific basis. It is therefore necessary to arrive at a balance between the views of the ecologists and economists on the management of mangroves. Biological conservation should encompass resource management in the sense that integrity of the biological and physical attributes of the resource base should be sustained and man-induced management practices should not alter an ecosystem to the extent that biological production is eliminated. Sustained yield management for food, fiber and fuel would serve to sustain local fisheries while generating new economic enterprises. This requires the recognition of mangrove environment as a resource with economic value, and managed according to local conditions and national priorities.

Heritage interpretation challenges and management issues at film-induced tourism heritage attractions: Case studies of Rosslyn Chapel and Alnwick Castle

Although previous research has widely acknowledged the phenomenon of film-induced tourism, there is a paucity of research in relation to management of film-induced tourism at built heritage sites. This research, underpinned by a constructivist paradigm, draws on three distinct fields of study – heritage tourism management, film-induced tourism and heritage interpretation – in order to provide a contribution to the heritage management field and address this particular gap in knowledge. Relying on the method of semi-structured interviews with managers, guides and visitors at Rosslyn Chapel (RC) and Alnwick Castle (AC), this thesis provides a rich understanding of how heritage interpretation can address a range of management challenges at heritage sites where film-induced tourism has occurred. These heritage visitor attractions (HVAs) were specifically selected as case studies as they have played different roles in media products. Rosslyn Chapel (RC) was an actual place named in The Da Vinci Code (TDVC) book and then film, whereas Alnwick Castle (AC) served as a backdrop for the first two Harry Potter (HP) films. Findings of this research include a range of management challenges at both RC and AC such as an increase in visitor numbers; seasonality issues; changes in visitor profile; revenue generation concerns; conservation, access, and visitor experience; and the complex relationship between heritage management and tourism activities. The findings also reveal film-induced tourism’s implications for heritage interpretation such as the various visitors’ expectations for heritage interpretation, changes to heritage interpretation as a result of film-induced tourism, and issues with commodification. These findings also demonstrate that film-induced tourism to some extent influenced visitors’ preferences for heritage interpretation, though visitors’ preferences differed from one to another. This thesis argues that, in the context of film-induced tourism at HVAs, as evident from the two case studies considered, heritage interpretation can be a valuable management tool and can also play a significant role in the quality of the visitors’ experience.

Library management systems:current issues and developments

Tedd, L.A. (2006). Library management systems: current issues and developments. Umbrella 2007 conference of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Hatfield, July 2007.

Waste management in Europe: framework, trends and issues

This paper reviews major factors affecting the waste managment sector in Europe, including EU legislation, ECJ rulings, the economic crisis, outsourcing and municipalisation, and employment, including disputes and pay and conditions.

Confined Site Construction: A qualitative investigation of critical issues affecting management of Health and Safety

The construction industry is inherently risky, with a significant number of accidents and disasters occurring, particularly on confined construction sites. This research investigates and identifies the various issues affecting successful management of health and safety in confined construction sites. The rationale is that identifying the issues would assist the management of health and safety particularly in inner city centres which are mostly confined sites. Using empiricism epistemology, the methodology was based on qualitative research approach by means of multiple case studies in three different geographical locations of Ireland, UK and USA. Data on each case study were collected through individual interviews and focus group discussion with project participants. The findings suggest that three core issues are the underlying factors affecting management of health and safety on confined construction sites. It include, (i) lack of space, (ii) problem of co-ordination and management of site personnel, and (iii) overcrowding of workplace. The implication of this is that project teams and their organisations should see project processes from a holistic point of view, as a unified single system, where quick intervention in solving a particular issue should be the norm, so as not to adversely affect interrelated sequence of events in project operations. Proactive strategies should be devised to mitigate these issues and may include detail project programming, space management, effective constructability review and efficient co-ordination of personnel, plant and materials among others. The value of this research is to aid management and operation of brownfield sites by identifying issues impacting on health and safety management in project process.

Aquatic invasive alien species – top issues for their management. Outcomes from the IFI/EIFAAC conference “Freshwater Invasives – Networking for Strategy”

In November 2014, a new EU Regulation to address Invasive Alien Species (IAS) and protect biodiversity was published. This entered into force across the EU in January 2015. The aim of the Regulation is to ‘prevent the introduction of, control or eradicate alien species which threaten ecosystems, habitats or species’. In an effort to provide focus to the Regulation prior to its publishing and to identify the major issues relating to Invasive Alien Species in Europe, the views of invasive species experts from around the world were sought. These were consolidated at an international conference (Freshwater Invasives - Networking for Strategy (FINS)) that was held in Ireland in April 2013. A major outcome from this meeting of experts was the production of the Top 20 IAS issues that relate primarily to freshwater habitats but are also directly relevant to marine and terrestrial ecosystems. This list will support policy makers throughout the EU as preparations are made to implement this important piece of legislation. A further outcome from the conference was the formation of an expert IAS Advisory Group to support EIFAAC in its work on invasive species

Project Management within an Urban Site Context: Issues considering External Stakeholders

Large construction projects create numerous hazards, making it one of the most dangerous industries in which to work. This element of risk increases in urban areas and can have a negative impact on the external stakeholders associated with the project, along with their surrounding environments. The aim of this paper is to identify and document, in an urban context, the numerous issues encountered by on-site project managers from external stakeholders and how they affect a construction project. In addressing this aim, the core objective is to identify what issues are involved in the management of these stakeholders. In order to meet this requirement, a qualitative methodology encompassing an informative literature review followed by five individual case study interviews. The data gathered is assessed qualitatively using mind mapping software. A number of issues are identified which have an impact on the external stakeholders involved, and also how they affected proceedings on site. Collectively the most commonly occurring issues are environmental, legal, health and safety and communication issues. These ranged from road closures and traffic disruption to noise, dust and vibrations from site works. It is anticipated that the results of this study will assist and aid project managers in identifying issues considering external stakeholders, particularly on urban construction projects. A wide range of issues can develop depending on the complexity and nature of each project, but this research will illustrate and reinforce to project managers, that identifying issues early, effective communication and appropriate liaising can be used to manage the issues considering external stakeholders.

Socio-Economic Issues and Sustainable Fishery Management .A Case Study of Kerala

Department of Applied Economics, Cochin University of Science and Technology.

Channel Adaptive MAC Protocol with Traffic-Aware Distributed Power Management in Wireless Sensor Networks-Some Performance Issues

In Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), neglecting the effects of varying channel quality can lead to an unnecessary wastage of precious battery resources and in turn can result in the rapid depletion of sensor energy and the partitioning of the network. Fairness is a critical issue when accessing a shared wireless channel and fair scheduling must be employed to provide the proper flow of information in a WSN. In this paper, we develop a channel adaptive MAC protocol with a traffic-aware dynamic power management algorithm for efficient packet scheduling and queuing in a sensor network, with time varying characteristics of the wireless channel also taken into consideration. The proposed protocol calculates a combined weight value based on the channel state and link quality. Then transmission is allowed only for those nodes with weights greater than a minimum quality threshold and nodes attempting to access the wireless medium with a low weight will be allowed to transmit only when their weight becomes high. This results in many poor quality nodes being deprived of transmission for a considerable amount of time. To avoid the buffer overflow and to achieve fairness for the poor quality nodes, we design a Load prediction algorithm. We also design a traffic aware dynamic power management scheme to minimize the energy consumption by continuously turning off the radio interface of all the unnecessary nodes that are not included in the routing path. By Simulation results, we show that our proposed protocol achieves a higher throughput and fairness besides reducing the delay

Drinking water issues in Rural India: Need for stakeholders’ participation in Water resources management

Water is the very essential livelihood for mankind. The United Nations suggest that each person needs 20-50 litres of water a day to ensure basic needs of drinking, cooking and cleaning. It was also endorsed by the Indian National Water Policy 2002, with the provision that adequate safe drinking water facilities should be provided to the entire population both in urban and in rural areas. About 1.42 million rural habitations in India are affected by chemical contamination. The provision of clean drinking water has been given priority in the Constitution of India, in Article 47 conferring the duty of providing clean drinking water and improving public health standards to the State. Excessive dependence of ground water results in depletion of ground water, water contamination and water borne diseases. Thus, access to safe and reliable water supply is one of the serious concerns in rural water supply programme. Though government takes certain serious steps in addressing the drinking water issues in rural areas, still there is a huge gap between demand and supply. The Draft National Water Policy 2012 also states that Water quality and quantity are interlinked and need to be managed in an integrated manner and with Stakeholder participation. Water Resources Management aims at optimizing the available natural water flows, including surface water and groundwater, to satisfy competing needs. The World Bank also emphasizes on managing water resources, strengthening institutions, identifying and implementing measures of improving water governance and increasing the efficiency of water use. Therefore stakeholders’ participation is viewed important in managing water resources at different levels and range. This paper attempts to reflect up on portray the drinking water issues in rural India, and highlights the significance of Integrated Water Resource Management as the significant part of Millennium Development Goals, and Stakeholders’ participation in water resources management.