Towards a multilevel model of the high performance work systems–workplace safety relationship

Human Resource (HR) systems and practices generally referred to as High Performance Work Practices (HPWPs), (Huselid, 1995) (sometimes termed High Commitment Work Practices or High Involvement Work Practices) have attracted much research attention in past decades. Although many conceptualizations of the construct have been proposed, there is general agreement that HPWPs encompass a bundle or set of HR practices including sophisticated staffing, intensive training and development, incentive-based compensation, performance management, initiatives aimed at increasing employee participation and involvement, job safety and security, and work design (e.g. Pfeffer, 1998). It is argued that these practices either directly and indirectly influence the extent to which employees’ knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics are utilized in the organization. Research spanning nearly 20 years has provided considerable empirical evidence for relationships between HPWPs and various measures of performance including increased productivity, improved customer service, and reduced turnover (e.g. Guthrie, 2001; Belt & Giles, 2009). With the exception of a few papers (e.g., Laursen &Foss, 2003), this literature appears to lack focus on how HPWPs influence or foster more innovative-related attitudes and behaviours, extra role behaviors, and performance. This situation exists despite the vast evidence demonstrating the importance of innovation, proactivity, and creativity in its various forms to individual, group, and organizational performance outcomes. Several pertinent issues arise when considering HPWPs and their relationship to innovation and performance outcomes. At a broad level is the issue of which HPWPs are related to which innovation-related variables. Another issue not well identified in research relates to employees’ perceptions of HPWPs: does an employee actually perceive the HPWP –outcomes relationship? No matter how well HPWPs are designed, if they are not perceived and experienced by employees to be effective or worthwhile then their likely success in achieving positive outcomes is limited. At another level, research needs to consider the mechanisms through which HPWPs influence –innovation and performance. The research question here relates to what possible mediating variables are important to the success or failure of HPWPs in impacting innovative behaviours and attitudes and what are the potential process considerations? These questions call for theory refinement and the development of more comprehensive models of the HPWP-innovation/performance relationship that include intermediate linkages and boundary conditions (Ferris, Hochwarter, Buckley, Harrell-Cook, & Frink, 1999). While there are many calls for this type of research to be made a high priority, to date, researchers have made few inroads into answering these questions. This symposium brings together researchers from Australia, Europe, Asia and Africa to examine these various questions relating to the HPWP-innovation-performance relationship. Each paper discusses a HPWP and potential variables that can facilitate or hinder the effects of these practices on innovation- and performance- related outcomes. The first paper by Johnston and Becker explores the HPWPs in relation to work design in a disaster response organization that shifts quickly from business as usual to rapid response. The researchers examine how the enactment of the organizational response is devolved to groups and individuals. Moreover, they assess motivational characteristics that exist in dual work designs (normal operations and periods of disaster activation) and the implications for innovation. The second paper by Jørgensen reports the results of an investigation into training and development practices and innovative work behaviors (IWBs) in Danish organizations. Research on how to design and implement training and development initiatives to support IWBs and innovation in general is surprisingly scant and often vague. This research investigates the mechanisms by which training and development initiatives influence employee behaviors associated with innovation, and provides insights into how training and development can be used effectively by firms to attract and retain valuable human capital in knowledge-intensive firms. The next two papers in this symposium consider the role of employee perceptions of HPWPs and their relationships to innovation-related variables and performance. First, Bish and Newton examine perceptions of the characteristics and awareness of occupational health and safety (OHS) practices and their relationship to individual level adaptability and proactivity in an Australian public service organization. The authors explore the role of perceived supportive and visionary leadership and its impact on the OHS policy-adaptability/proactivity relationship. The study highlights the positive main effects of awareness and characteristics of OHS polices, and supportive and visionary leadership on individual adaptability and proactivity. It also highlights the important moderating effects of leadership in the OHS policy-adaptability/proactivity relationship. Okhawere and Davis present a conceptual model developed for a Nigerian study in the safety-critical oil and gas industry that takes a multi-level approach to the HPWP-safety relationship. Adopting a social exchange perspective, they propose that at the organizational level, organizational climate for safety mediates the relationship between enacted HPWS’s and organizational safety performance (prescribed and extra role performance). At the individual level, the experience of HPWP impacts on individual behaviors and attitudes in organizations, here operationalized as safety knowledge, skills and motivation, and these influence individual safety performance. However these latter relationships are moderated by organizational climate for safety. A positive organizational climate for safety strengthens the relationship between individual safety behaviors and attitudes and individual-level safety performance, therefore suggesting a cross-level boundary condition. The model includes both safety performance (behaviors) and organizational level safety outcomes, operationalized as accidents, injuries, and fatalities. The final paper of this symposium by Zhang and Liu explores leader development and relationship between transformational leadership and employee creativity and innovation in China. The authors further develop a model that incorporates the effects of extrinsic motivation (pay for performance: PFP) and employee collectivism in the leader-employee creativity relationship. The papers’ contributions include the incorporation of a PFP effect on creativity as moderator, rather than predictor in most studies; the exploration of the PFP effect from both fairness and strength perspectives; the advancement of knowledge on the impact of collectivism on the leader- employee creativity link. Last, this is the first study to examine three-way interactional effects among leader-member exchange (LMX), PFP and collectivism, thus, enriches our understanding of promoting employee creativity. In conclusion, this symposium draws upon the findings of four empirical studies and one conceptual study to provide an insight into understanding how different variables facilitate or potentially hinder the influence various HPWPs on innovation and performance. We will propose a number of questions for further consideration and discussion. The symposium will address the Conference Theme of ‘Capitalism in Question' by highlighting how HPWPs can promote financial health and performance of organizations while maintaining a high level of regard and respect for employees and organizational stakeholders. Furthermore, the focus on different countries and cultures explores the overall research question in relation to different modes or stages of development of capitalism.

The advantage of Spanish multinational enterprises in Latin America

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) from Spain made large foreign direct investments (FDIs) in Latin America between 1990 and 2002, making Spain the second largest direct investor in this region since 1998, behind the United States. This dissertation explains the reasons that led Spanish firms to make these FDIs, as well as their operations in Latin America. Seven Spanish MNEs were included in this study, BBVA and SCH (banking), Telefónica (telecommunications), Endesa, Iberdrola and Unión Fenosa (public utilities), and Repsol-YPF (oil and natural gas). Quantitative and qualitative data were used. Data were collected from the firms' annual reports, from their archives and from personal interviews with senior executives, as well as from academic and specialized publications. ^ Results indicate that the large Spanish FDIs in Latin America were highly concentrated in a few firms from five sectors. The FDIs of these firms alone accounted for 70 percent of total Spanish FDI in Latin America in this period. The reasons for these investments were firm-specific and sector specific. A series of institutional conditions existed in Spain between the 1970s and the 1990s that allowed the employees of the firms to develop the knowledge and devise strategies to adjust to that set of conditions. First, the policies of the Spanish state favored the creation of large firms in these sectors, operating under conditions of monopoly sometimes. Secondly, the consumers put pressure on the firms to provide better and cheaper products as the Spanish economy grew and modernized. Thirdly, the employees of the firms had to adjust their services and products to the demands of the consumers and to the constraints of the state and the market. They adjusted the internal organization of the firm to be able to produce the goods and services that the market demanded. Externally, they also adopted patterns of interaction with outside agents and institutions. This patterned behavior was the “corporate culture” of each firm and the “normative framework” in which their employees operated. When the managers of the firms perceived that there were similar conditions in Latin America, they decided to operate there as well by making FDIs. ^

Estudo da incorporação de resíduos de perfuração para aplicação em cimentação de poços de petróleo

During the drilling of oil and natural gas are generated solid waste, liquid and gaseous. These solid fragments, which are known as cuttings, are carried to the surface through the drilling fluid. Furthermore, this fluid serves to cool the bit, keeping the internal pressure of the well, and others. This solid residue is very polluting, because it has incorporated beyond the drilling fluid, which has several chemical additives harmful to the environment, some heavy metals that are harmful to the environment, such as lead. To minimize the residue generated, are currently being studied numerous techniques to mitigate the problems that such waste can cause to the environment, like addition of cuttings in the composition of soil cement brick masonry construction, addition of cuttings on the clay matrix for the manufacture of solid masonry bricks and ceramic blocks and coprocessing of the cuttings in cement. So, the main objective of this work is the incorporation of cuttings drilling of oil wells, the cement slurry used in the cementing operation of the well. This cuttings used in this study, arising from the formation Pendências, was milled and separated in a sieve of 100 mesh. After grinding had a mean particle sike in order of 86 mm and crystal structure containing phases of quartz and calcite type, characteristic of the Portland cement. Were formulated and prepared slurries of cement with density 13 lb / gal, containing different concentrations of gravel, and realized characterization tests API SPEC 10A and RP 10B. Free water tests showed values lower than 5.9% and the rheological model that best described the behavior of the mixtures was the power. The results of compressive strength (10.3 MPa) and stability (Dr <0.5 lb / gal) had values within the set of operational procedures. Thus, the gravel from the drilling operation, may be used as binders in addition to Portland cement oil wells, in order to reuse this waste and reduce the cost of the cement paste.

Sustentabilidade e gestão da pesca artesanal na costa do Semiárido Potiguar (RN), Brasil

T he socio - economy of the coastal municipalities of Rio Grande do Norte semiarid coast was analyzed th r ou g h by the actors, ant hropogenic implications, fishing environment and composition of its fish fauna, as well as the trend of product ion landed by the artisanal fleet with the aim of identifying the sustainability and management. In this study, were used participatory methodologies, monthly data of rainfall between September 2001 and December 2010; landings of the artisanal fleet during January 2001 to December 2010; and socioeconomic (IBGE, 2002/2010), (IDEMA, 2011/2012), (MPA, 2010; 2012), UNDP and MS (2013). Based on these data, we performed analysis of variance were performed using the method of Analytic Hierarchy Process (HAP) and s tatistical models of multiple regression and time series. It was identified that the occupation of the coastal and marine zone through salt industry, tourism, shrimp farming, oil and gas and wind energy reconfigured the environment and attracted new actors . Rainfall influenced the catches, of which 35% occur in the rainy season, 40% in the dry season and 25% independent. Production increased 55%, in the period analyzed , being landed in 31 ports spread over 11 municipalities, cap tured in environments mangrov e/ estuarine (23%), coastal (46%) and oceanic (31%). Despite market up 41 species, were commercialized in the region production concentrated in eight, mainly landed in Macau and Caiçara North, by vessels of small and medium - sized (motorized and sailboats) . Highlights included three species ( Hirundichthys affins , Coryphaena hippurus and Opisthonema oglinum ), which together accounted for 63.3% of the whole volume. It was found that the motorized vessels tripled in number while sailboats reduced by half. Landin gs by different types of vessels tend to increase over time, while the small sailboats vessels, decrease. The introduction of more new motorized vessels and sailboats also tend to increase production. The study concluded that GDP and HDI of coastal countie s increased however inequality persisted. The potential of artisanal fishing is in the stage “ unfavorable ” of development and the trend in fish production is to grow over time and with the entry of more vessels. However, it is urgent that the state actions to promote and enhance planning to restore fish stocks in a sustainable and profitable fisheries standards. Therefore, it is recommend the strategic use of natural resources in a sustainable development perspective.

A regulação da exploração e produção de hidrocarbonetos não convencionais no Brasil

The global energy crisis triggered the possibility of unconventional hydrocarbons exploration and production, culminating in the US energy revolution as well as making other countries interested in the development of these natural resources. The justification for this research comes from Brazil's interest in the use of hydraulic fracturing techniques in unconventional resources since the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) organized the 12th acquisition process and published the Resolution no. 21 of April 10, 2014. The conflict between economic viability and the social and environmental damage from exploration and production of unconventional hydrocarbons in Brazil resulted in the search for a legal solution that would consider the economic, social and environmental interests. The main purpose here is to analyze the regulation of unconventional oil exploration and production in Brazil in order to show lack of regulatory instruments so far. The specific objectives are to investigate how the lack of effective regulation may ultimately prevent the development itself, analyze the importance of systematization of a new regulatory tool for ensuring legal security and energy, identify the key negative environmental and social impacts, and suggest possibilities approaches within the new regulatory framework. The research methodology stands out the hypothetico-deductive model as approach, and the comparative model as procedural method. Moreover, the research techniques used here are performance of a theoretical and descriptive questioning over literature search, analysis of Brazilian standardization and case laws, and a brief comparative study, in order to provide suggested approaches for a new regulatory framework.

A regulação da exploração e produção de hidrocarbonetos não convencionais no Brasil

The global energy crisis triggered the possibility of unconventional hydrocarbons exploration and production, culminating in the US energy revolution as well as making other countries interested in the development of these natural resources. The justification for this research comes from Brazil's interest in the use of hydraulic fracturing techniques in unconventional resources since the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) organized the 12th acquisition process and published the Resolution no. 21 of April 10, 2014. The conflict between economic viability and the social and environmental damage from exploration and production of unconventional hydrocarbons in Brazil resulted in the search for a legal solution that would consider the economic, social and environmental interests. The main purpose here is to analyze the regulation of unconventional oil exploration and production in Brazil in order to show lack of regulatory instruments so far. The specific objectives are to investigate how the lack of effective regulation may ultimately prevent the development itself, analyze the importance of systematization of a new regulatory tool for ensuring legal security and energy, identify the key negative environmental and social impacts, and suggest possibilities approaches within the new regulatory framework. The research methodology stands out the hypothetico-deductive model as approach, and the comparative model as procedural method. Moreover, the research techniques used here are performance of a theoretical and descriptive questioning over literature search, analysis of Brazilian standardization and case laws, and a brief comparative study, in order to provide suggested approaches for a new regulatory framework.

A study of methods used to analyze total oil and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in produced water: steps towards the validation of molecularly imprinted polymers for use in marine environmetns

Produced water is a by-product of offshore oil and gas production, and is released in large volumes when platforms are actively processing crude oil. Some pollutants are not typically removed by conventional oil/water separation methods and are discharged with produced water. Oil and grease can be found dispersed in produced water in the form of tiny droplets, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are commonly found dissolved in produced water. Both can have acute and chronic toxic effects in marine environments even at low exposure levels. The analysis of the dissolved and dispersed phases are a priority, but effort is required to meet the necessary detection limits. There are several methods for the analysis of produced water for dispersed oil and dissolved PAHs, all of which have advantages and disadvantages. In this work, EPA Method 1664 and APHA Method 5520 C for the determination of oil and grease will be examined and compared. For the detection of PAHs, EPA Method 525 and PAH MIPs will be compared, and results evaluated. APHA Method 5520 C Partition-Infrared Method is a liquid-liquid extraction procedure with IR determination of oil and grease. For analysis on spiked samples of artificial seawater, extraction efficiency ranged from 85 – 97%. Linearity was achieved in the range of 5 – 500 mg/L. This is a single-wavelength method and is unsuitable for quantification of aromatics and other compounds that lack sp³-hybridized carbon atoms. EPA Method 1664 is the liquid-liquid extraction of oil and grease from water samples followed by gravimetric determination. When distilled water spiked with reference oil was extracted by this procedure, extraction efficiency ranged from 28.4 – 86.2%, and %RSD ranged from 7.68 – 38.0%. EPA Method 525 uses solid phase extraction with analysis by GC-MS, and was performed on distilled water and water from St. John’s Harbour, all spiked with naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, and pyrene. The limits of detection in harbour water were 0.144, 3.82, 0.119, and 0.153 g/L respectively. Linearity was obtained in the range of 0.5-10 g/L, and %RSD ranged from 0.36% (fluorene) to 46% (pyrene). Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are sorbent materials made selective by polymerizing functional monomers and crosslinkers in the presence of a template molecule, usually the analytes of interest or related compounds. They can adsorb and concentrate PAHs from aqueous environments and are combined with methods of analysis including GC-MS, LC-UV-Vis, and desorption electrospray ionization (DESI)- MS. This work examines MIP-based methods as well as those methods previously mentioned which are currently used by the oil and gas industry and government environmental agencies. MIPs are shown to give results consistent with other methods, and are a low-cost alternative improving ease, throughput, and sensitivity. PAH MIPs were used to determine naphthalene spiked into ASTM artificial seawater, as well as produced water from an offshore oil and gas operation. Linearity was achieved in the range studied (0.5 – 5 mg/L) for both matrices, with R² = 0.936 for seawater and R² = 0.819 for produced water. The %RSD for seawater ranged from 6.58 – 50.5% and for produced water, from 8.19 – 79.6%.

A probabilistic approach to assess hydrate formation and design preventive measures

Formation of hydrates is one of the major flow assurance problems faced by the oil and gas industry. Hydrates tend to form in natural gas pipelines with the presence of water and favorable temperature and pressure conditions, generally low temperatures and corresponding high pressures. Agglomeration of hydrates can result in blockage of flowlines and equipment, which can be time consuming to remove in subsea equipment and cause safety issues. Natural gas pipelines are more susceptible to burst and explosion owing to hydrate plugging. Therefore, a rigorous risk-assessment related to hydrate formation is required, which assists in preventing hydrate blockage and ensuring equipment integrity. This thesis presents a novel methodology to assess the probability of hydrate formation and presents a risk-based approach to determine the parameters of winterization schemes to avoid hydrate formation in natural gas pipelines operating in Arctic conditions. It also presents a lab-scale multiphase flow loop to study the effects of geometric and hydrodynamic parameters on hydrate formation and discusses the effects of geometric and hydrodynamic parameters on multiphase development length of a pipeline. Therefore, this study substantially contributes to the assessment of probability of hydrate formation and the decision making process of winterization strategies to prevent hydrate formation in Arctic conditions.

Determinação de teor de biodieseis de algodão e pinhão manso em misturas com diesel usando espectroscopia no infravermelho médio e quadrados mínimos parciais

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel derived from vegetable oils or animal fats, which can be a total or partial substitute for diesel. Since 2005, this fuel was introduced in the Brazilian energy matrix through Law 11.097 that determines the percentage of biodiesel added to diesel oil as well as monitoring the insertion of this fuel in market. The National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) establish the obligation of adding 7% (v/v) of biodiesel to diesel commercialized in the country, making crucial the analytical control of this content. Therefore, in this study were developed and validated methodologies based on the use of Mid Infrared Spectroscopy (MIR) and Multivariate Calibration by Partial Least Squares (PLS) to quantify the methyl and ethyl biodiesels content of cotton and jatropha in binary blends with diesel at concentration range from 1.00 to 30.00% (v/v), since this is the range specified in standard ABNT NBR 15568. The biodiesels were produced from two routes, using ethanol or methanol, and evaluated according to the parameters: oxidative stability, water content, kinematic viscosity and density, presenting results according to ANP Resolution No. 45/2014. The built PLS models were validated on the basis of ASTM E1655-05 for Infrared Spectroscopy and Multivariate Calibration and ABNT NBR 15568, with satisfactory results due to RMSEP (Root Mean Square Error of Prediction) values below 0.08% (<0.1%), correlation coefficients (R) above 0.9997 and the absence of systematic error (bias). Therefore, the methodologies developed can be a promising alternative in the quality control of this fuel.

Identifying the Structure and Fate of Wastewater Derived Organic Micropollutants by High-resolution Mass Spectrometry

Human activities represent a significant burden on the global water cycle, with large and increasing demands placed on limited water resources by manufacturing, energy production and domestic water use. In addition to changing the quantity of available water resources, human activities lead to changes in water quality by introducing a large and often poorly-characterized array of chemical pollutants, which may negatively impact biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems, leading to impairment of valuable ecosystem functions and services. Domestic and industrial wastewaters represent a significant source of pollution to the aquatic environment due to inadequate or incomplete removal of chemicals introduced into waters by human activities. Currently, incomplete chemical characterization of treated wastewaters limits comprehensive risk assessment of this ubiquitous impact to water. In particular, a significant fraction of the organic chemical composition of treated industrial and domestic wastewaters remains uncharacterized at the molecular level. Efforts aimed at reducing the impacts of water pollution on aquatic ecosystems critically require knowledge of the composition of wastewaters to develop interventions capable of protecting our precious natural water resources.

The goal of this dissertation was to develop a robust, extensible and high-throughput framework for the comprehensive characterization of organic micropollutants in wastewaters by high-resolution accurate-mass mass spectrometry. High-resolution mass spectrometry provides the most powerful analytical technique available for assessing the occurrence and fate of organic pollutants in the water cycle. However, significant limitations in data processing, analysis and interpretation have limited this technique in achieving comprehensive characterization of organic pollutants occurring in natural and built environments. My work aimed to address these challenges by development of automated workflows for the structural characterization of organic pollutants in wastewater and wastewater impacted environments by high-resolution mass spectrometry, and to apply these methods in combination with novel data handling routines to conduct detailed fate studies of wastewater-derived organic micropollutants in the aquatic environment.

In Chapter 2, chemoinformatic tools were implemented along with novel non-targeted mass spectrometric analytical methods to characterize, map, and explore an environmentally-relevant “chemical space” in municipal wastewater. This was accomplished by characterizing the molecular composition of known wastewater-derived organic pollutants and substances that are prioritized as potential wastewater contaminants, using these databases to evaluate the pollutant-likeness of structures postulated for unknown organic compounds that I detected in wastewater extracts using high-resolution mass spectrometry approaches. Results showed that application of multiple computational mass spectrometric tools to structural elucidation of unknown organic pollutants arising in wastewaters improved the efficiency and veracity of screening approaches based on high-resolution mass spectrometry. Furthermore, structural similarity searching was essential for prioritizing substances sharing structural features with known organic pollutants or industrial and consumer chemicals that could enter the environment through use or disposal.

I then applied this comprehensive methodological and computational non-targeted analysis workflow to micropollutant fate analysis in domestic wastewaters (Chapter 3), surface waters impacted by water reuse activities (Chapter 4) and effluents of wastewater treatment facilities receiving wastewater from oil and gas extraction activities (Chapter 5). In Chapter 3, I showed that application of chemometric tools aided in the prioritization of non-targeted compounds arising at various stages of conventional wastewater treatment by partitioning high dimensional data into rational chemical categories based on knowledge of organic chemical fate processes, resulting in the classification of organic micropollutants based on their occurrence and/or removal during treatment. Similarly, in Chapter 4, high-resolution sampling and broad-spectrum targeted and non-targeted chemical analysis were applied to assess the occurrence and fate of organic micropollutants in a water reuse application, wherein reclaimed wastewater was applied for irrigation of turf grass. Results showed that organic micropollutant composition of surface waters receiving runoff from wastewater irrigated areas appeared to be minimally impacted by wastewater-derived organic micropollutants. Finally, Chapter 5 presents results of the comprehensive organic chemical composition of oil and gas wastewaters treated for surface water discharge. Concurrent analysis of effluent samples by complementary, broad-spectrum analytical techniques, revealed that low-levels of hydrophobic organic contaminants, but elevated concentrations of polymeric surfactants, which may effect the fate and analysis of contaminants of concern in oil and gas wastewaters.

Taken together, my work represents significant progress in the characterization of polar organic chemical pollutants associated with wastewater-impacted environments by high-resolution mass spectrometry. Application of these comprehensive methods to examine micropollutant fate processes in wastewater treatment systems, water reuse environments, and water applications in oil/gas exploration yielded new insights into the factors that influence transport, transformation, and persistence of organic micropollutants in these systems across an unprecedented breadth of chemical space.

Capacity Investment in Renewable and Conventional Energy Sources

This dissertation studies capacity investments in energy sources, with a focus on renewable technologies, such as solar and wind energy. We develop analytical models to provide insights for policymakers and use real data from the state of Texas to corroborate our findings.

We first take a strategic perspective and focus on electricity pricing policies. Specifically, we investigate the capacity investments of a utility firm in renewable and conventional energy sources under flat and peak pricing policies. We consider generation patterns and intermittency of solar and wind energy in relation to the electricity demand throughout a day. We find that flat pricing leads to a higher investment level for solar energy and it can still lead to more investments in wind energy if considerable amount of wind energy is generated throughout the day.

In the second essay, we complement the first one by focusing on the problem of matching supply with demand in every operating period (e.g., every five minutes) from the perspective of a utility firm. We study the interaction between renewable and conventional sources with different levels of operational flexibility, i.e., the possibility

of quickly ramping energy output up or down. We show that operational flexibility determines these interactions: renewable and inflexible sources (e.g., nuclear energy) are substitutes, whereas renewable and flexible sources (e.g., natural gas) are complements.

In the final essay, rather than the capacity investments of the utility firms, we focus on the capacity investments of households in rooftop solar panels. We investigate whether or not these investments may cause a utility death spiral effect, which is a vicious circle of increased solar adoption and higher electricity prices. We observe that the current rate-of-return regulation may lead to a death spiral for utility firms. We show that one way to reverse the spiral effect is to allow the utility firms to maximize their profits by determining electricity prices.

(Table 1) Hydrocarbon gas composition of sediment and gas hydrate collected in video-guided grabs from Chapopote

In the Campeche Knolls, in the southern Gulf of Mexico, lava-like flows of solidified asphalt cover more than 1 square kilometer of the rim of a dissected salt dome at a depth of 3000 meters below sea level. Chemosynthetic tubeworms and bivalves colonize the sea floor near the asphalt, which chilled and contracted after discharge. The site also includes oil seeps, gas hydrate deposits, locally anoxic sediments, and slabs of authigenic carbonate. Asphalt volcanism creates a habitat for chemosynthetic life that may be widespread at great depth in the Gulf of Mexico.

Three Essays on Economic Development in the Natural Resources Sector

This thesis examines two ongoing development projects that received financial support from international development organizations, and an alternative mining tax proposed by the academia. Chapter 2 explores the impact of commoditization of coffee on its export price in Ethiopia. The first part of the chapter traces how the Ethiopian’s current coffee trade system and commoditization come to be. Using regression analysis, the second part tests and confirms the hypothesis that commoditization has led to a reduction in coffee export price. Chapter 3 conducts a cost-benefit analysis on a controversial, liquefied natural gas export project in Peru that sought to export one-third of the country’s proven natural gas reserves. While the country can receive royalty and corporate income tax in the short and medium term, these benefits are dwarfed by the future costs of paying for alternative energy after gas depletion. The conclusion is robust for a variety of future energy-price and energy-demand scenarios. Chapter 4 quantifies through simulation the economic distortions of two common mining taxes, the royalty and ad-valorem tax, vis-à-vis the resource rent tax. The latter is put forward as a better mining tax instrument on account of its non-distortionary nature. The rent tax, however, necessitates additional administrative burdens and induces tax-avoidance behavior, both leading to a net loss of tax revenue. By quantifying the distortions of royalty and the ad-valorem tax, one can establish the maximum loss that can be incurred by the rent tax. Simulation results indicate that the distortion of the ad-valorem tax is quite modest. If implemented, the rent tax is likely to result in a greater loss. While the subject matters may appear diverse, they are united by one theme. These initiatives were endorsed and supported by authorities and development agencies in the aim of furthering economic development and efficiency, but they are unlikely to fulfill the goal. Lessons for international development can be learnt from successful stories as well as from unsuccessful ones.

Measuring Solar Energy Potentials in Residential Environments: A Comparative Study of Three Neighbourhoods in Kingston, Ontario

Photovoltaic (PV) systems offer a way to generate electricity locally in an urban setting while avoiding the environmental impacts of more widely used energy sources such as oil, coal, nuclear and natural gas. This report attempts to measure the benefits of incorporating solar technologies into urban residential land uses and identifies challenges to their widespread use by comparing implementation among three distinct residential neighbourhoods common to Canadian cities. The City of Kingston, Ontario is used as the location for this study.

Data Science Seminar: Generic Big Data Processing for Advancing Situation Awareness and Decision-Support

The generation of heterogeneous big data sources with ever increasing volumes, velocities and veracities over the he last few years has inspired the data science and research community to address the challenge of extracting knowledge form big data. Such a wealth of generated data across the board can be intelligently exploited to advance our knowledge about our environment, public health, critical infrastructure and security. In recent years we have developed generic approaches to process such big data at multiple levels for advancing decision-support. It specifically concerns data processing with semantic harmonisation, low level fusion, analytics, knowledge modelling with high level fusion and reasoning. Such approaches will be introduced and presented in context of the TRIDEC project results on critical oil and gas industry drilling operations and also the ongoing large eVacuate project on critical crowd behaviour detection in confined spaces.