by Li Wai-man, Peter. / Bibliography: leaves 121-122 / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1986

Muito se têm noticiado sobre as possibilidades de expansão do uso do gás combustível como energético no âmbito comercial e residencial, porém entende-se que tal promessa deveria ser precedida de uma vasta e ampla discussão estratégica sobre os mecanismos necessários a serem desenvolvidos pelos agentes da sociedade para que tal expansão possa se concretizar. Dentro desse enfoque, entende-se como preocupante o desconhecimento a respeito das características de produtos e serviços utilizados, bem como o baixo grau de capacitação da indústria de prestação de serviços de instalações, andando de mãos dadas com a própria indústria da construção civil. Sem produtos ou serviços adequados é difícil prever a possibilidade concreta da expansão do gás no segmento residencial. Obviamente existem as abordagens sobre mudanças culturais a respeito da utilização do gás como energético, disponibilidade de aparelhos adequados para sua utilização, fatores econômicos envolvendo o preço do gás e uma centena de outros temas complementares. Todos esses tópicos podem ser considerados estratégicos. A dissertação pretende focar o problema da conformidade e da conseqüente disponibilização de produtos e serviços ao mercado. O trabalho explora as estratégias utilizadas para provocar melhoria e capacitação de segmentos de mercado, atrelando-os à resultados de competência e competitividade, através de monitoramento da sua conformidade com requisitos de produtos e serviços previamente estabelecidos. Discorre-se sobre as estratégias passíveis de serem utilizadas para fomento do desenvolvimento deste segmento de mercado e aborda-se os modelos válidos de avaliação de conformidade existentes atualmente no Brasil, discutindo propostas para o caso específico do monitoramento da infra-estrutura de distribuição de gás combustível no país. Utilizando-se, então, de um arcabouço de estruturas teóricas, apresenta-se um caso real do ponto de vista do mercado consumidor, particularizando a atuação da Comgás no Estado de São Paulo, discorrendo sobre as preocupações da empresa com relação à conformidade no mercado e estabelecendo paralelos entre tais iniciativas, as premissas teóricas e lacunas existentes no processo. O trabalho levanta o histórico técnico sobre modelos de avaliação de conformidade, apresentando um exercício de reflexão a respeito de propostas a serem potencialmente adotadas pelo segmento de mercado no caso de construção da infra-estrutura para condução e distribuição de gás combustível aos consumidores finais. / It has been noticed about the possibilities of gas uses expansion in commercial and residential scope, however it understands that such promise would have to be preceded of a great strategic discussion concerning the necessary ways to be developed for the society agents so that such expansion can be materialize. Looking for this approach, its worry about the unfamiliarity regarding the products and services characteristics, as well as the low degree of services installations industry qualification, walking together with the building construction industry. Without adequate products or services it is difficult to foresee the concrete possibility of the gas expansion in the residential segment. Obviously its necessary to consider the aspects on cultural changes regarding the gas uses, availability of gas appliances, economic factors involving the gas price and a hundred of other complementary subjects. All these topics can be considered like strategic. The paper intends to focus the problem of the conformity and the consequent availability of products and service to the market. The work explores the strategies used to improve qualification of market segments, connecting them with the results of ability and competitiveness, through inspection of its conformity with requirements of products and services previously established. It is discoursed on the strategies to be used for promotion this market segment development and currently approaches the valid conformity evaluation models existing of conformity in Brazil, arguing proposals for the specific case of the combustible gas distribution infrastructure inspection in the country. Using the theoretical structures, it presents a real case of the consuming market point of view, distinguishing the performance of the Comgás in the São Paulo State, discoursing on the concerns of the company with regard to conformity in the market and establishing parallel between such initiatives, the theoretical premises and existing gaps in the process. The paper raises the description technician on conformity models evaluation, presenting an exercise of reflection regarding proposals to be potentially adopted for the market segment in case of infrastructure construction for gas conduction and distribution to the end consumers.

Muito se têm noticiado sobre as possibilidades de expansão do uso do gás combustível como energético no âmbito comercial e residencial, porém entende-se que tal promessa deveria ser precedida de uma vasta e ampla discussão estratégica sobre os mecanismos necessários a serem desenvolvidos pelos agentes da sociedade para que tal expansão possa se concretizar. Dentro desse enfoque, entende-se como preocupante o desconhecimento a respeito das características de produtos e serviços utilizados, bem como o baixo grau de capacitação da indústria de prestação de serviços de instalações, andando de mãos dadas com a própria indústria da construção civil. Sem produtos ou serviços adequados é difícil prever a possibilidade concreta da expansão do gás no segmento residencial. Obviamente existem as abordagens sobre mudanças culturais a respeito da utilização do gás como energético, disponibilidade de aparelhos adequados para sua utilização, fatores econômicos envolvendo o preço do gás e uma centena de outros temas complementares. Todos esses tópicos podem ser considerados estratégicos. A dissertação pretende focar o problema da conformidade e da conseqüente disponibilização de produtos e serviços ao mercado. O trabalho explora as estratégias utilizadas para provocar melhoria e capacitação de segmentos de mercado, atrelando-os à resultados de competência e competitividade, através de monitoramento da sua conformidade com requisitos de produtos e serviços previamente estabelecidos. Discorre-se sobre as estratégias passíveis de serem utilizadas para fomento do desenvolvimento deste segmento de mercado e aborda-se os modelos válidos de avaliação de conformidade existentes atualmente no Brasil, discutindo propostas para o caso específico do monitoramento da infra-estrutura de distribuição de gás combustível no país. Utilizando-se, então, de um arcabouço de estruturas teóricas, apresenta-se um caso real do ponto de vista do mercado consumidor, particularizando a atuação da Comgás no Estado de São Paulo, discorrendo sobre as preocupações da empresa com relação à conformidade no mercado e estabelecendo paralelos entre tais iniciativas, as premissas teóricas e lacunas existentes no processo. O trabalho levanta o histórico técnico sobre modelos de avaliação de conformidade, apresentando um exercício de reflexão a respeito de propostas a serem potencialmente adotadas pelo segmento de mercado no caso de construção da infra-estrutura para condução e distribuição de gás combustível aos consumidores finais. / It has been noticed about the possibilities of gas uses expansion in commercial and residential scope, however it understands that such promise would have to be preceded of a great strategic discussion concerning the necessary ways to be developed for the society agents so that such expansion can be materialize. Looking for this approach, its worry about the unfamiliarity regarding the products and services characteristics, as well as the low degree of services installations industry qualification, walking together with the building construction industry. Without adequate products or services it is difficult to foresee the concrete possibility of the gas expansion in the residential segment. Obviously its necessary to consider the aspects on cultural changes regarding the gas uses, availability of gas appliances, economic factors involving the gas price and a hundred of other complementary subjects. All these topics can be considered like strategic. The paper intends to focus the problem of the conformity and the consequent availability of products and service to the market. The work explores the strategies used to improve qualification of market segments, connecting them with the results of ability and competitiveness, through inspection of its conformity with requirements of products and services previously established. It is discoursed on the strategies to be used for promotion this market segment development and currently approaches the valid conformity evaluation models existing of conformity in Brazil, arguing proposals for the specific case of the combustible gas distribution infrastructure inspection in the country. Using the theoretical structures, it presents a real case of the consuming market point of view, distinguishing the performance of the Comgás in the São Paulo State, discoursing on the concerns of the company with regard to conformity in the market and establishing parallel between such initiatives, the theoretical premises and existing gaps in the process. The paper raises the description technician on conformity models evaluation, presenting an exercise of reflection regarding proposals to be potentially adopted for the market segment in case of infrastructure construction for gas conduction and distribution to the end consumers.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references.

Forests are embedded in diverse forest governance, resource use, and resource user settings which are linked as components of social-ecological systems. This dissertation examines forest health at a landscape scale, governance at a community scale, and livelihoods at a household scale within a social ecological system; I develop a measure of forest health, the Bare Ground Index, derived from satellite imagery and combine this with socioeconomic data to examine relationships between forest health and forest governance and livelihoods across central India. This body of work has identified livelihood and governance approaches that provide social benefits and maintain healthy forests in central India, a landscape with globally important biodiversity and socially and historically marginalized people. This context is reflected in additional human-dominated landscapes where identifying sustainable development solutions that provide social and environmental benefits is a priority. As forests are lost, gained, and degraded around the world, satellite data has been a powerful tool in collecting estimates of forest cover change but less widely adopted to measure forest degradation, largely due to challenges in common interpretations of operational measures. In chapter 1, coauthors and I develop landscape-scale land cover and forest health datasets for central India. First, we identified land cover, including tree cover and bare ground, from Planet Labs Very High-Resolution satellite data using a Random Forest classifier, resulting in a 3-meter (m) thematic map with 83.00% overall accuracy. Second, we operationalize a measure of forest health and derived the Bare Ground Index (BGI), a normalized index that is a ratio of bare ground to tree cover at 90 m resolution. The BGI was mapped across forest (>10% tree cover). Although open areas occur naturally throughout the tropical dry forest of central India, results from field data indicated that the BGI served as a proxy for measuring the intensity of cattle presence in a landscape where grazing has changed forest composition. The BGI was developed as an indicator of forest health and now serves as a baseline to monitor future changes to a tropical dry forest landscape at an unprecedented spatial scale. In chapter 2, coauthors and I integrated the BGI with socioeconomic data from surveys to households and locally elected leaders to assess forest health and governance patterns across 238 villages at the community-scale. We experimentally selected 80 total villages as treatment and control groups and used this dataset in various statistical analyses to assess the extent of exposed bare ground within forests around villages with and without local institutions involved in making decisions about the forest. Forest had less bare ground within forest where there was a local institution compared to villages without an institution at 3 and 5 kilometers (kms), distances that households traveled from the village to graze cattle or collect Non-Timber Forest Products, firewood, and fodder. Having a local forest institution was more strongly associated with bare ground within forest at 3 and 5 kms than measures of local forest use. In villages with institutions, the authority to modify rules about forest use was relatively more important than the length of time the institution had been established for bare ground within forest. Establishing formal institutions with authority over forest management is important to promote forest cover around forest-dependent communities but it is necessary to ensure that forest governance does not worsen existing socioeconomic disparities. Bare ground within forests near and far (1 and 10 kms) villages was not different in places with and without formal local institutions and was most strongly associated with local forest uses. Both formal forest institutions and forest uses like collecting firewood for cooking or wood for construction material impact forests in central India. In my third and final chapter, coauthors and I examined firewood collection patterns and the adoption of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) using surveys from 4,994 households in central India. Firewood collection is pervasive across central India’s rural communities and mainly used for cooking or heating. We adopted an energy justice approach, which emphasizes questions about who does and does not have access to alternative cooking fuels, because historically marginalized groups comprise a significant portion of central India’s total population. It was important to integrate social justice issues in a system where resource users experience multiple disparities, such as high levels of poverty. We found that despite overall growth in LPG use, disparities in access to clean cooking fuels remained and the probability of cooking with LPG was lowest for socially and historically marginalized households (i.e., Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste, and Other Backward Caste). While 90% of LPG-using households continued to use firewood, households that have owned LPG for more years spent less time collecting firewood, indicating a waning reliance on firewood over time. This study found evidence that policies targeting communities with marginalized social groups living near forests can further accelerate LPG adoption and displace firewood use. My thesis examined components of a social ecological system at landscape, community, and household scales. I integrated insights from across social and ecological disciplines to identify strategies for sustainable development in central India. First, I developed an operational measure of forest health. Following chapters identified characteristics of governance and livelihood interventions that present potential pathways towards achieving benefits for conservation and people. Environmental and development goals should be harmonized so that the central Indian landscape can continue to support biodiversity and people. My approach can be replicated across additional social ecological systems by linking a landscape-scale resource condition to community governance and household socioeconomic patterns.

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

The main goal of this economic paper is to analyse the importance of LPG as an alternative fuel for the vehicular transport in the Czech Republic and to simplify the decision of potential applicants about the conversion of a car engine to run on LPG. At first this text briefly describes the main kinds of alternative fuels. Then the text focuses on LPG itself that is defined and described including its application in the past and at present. The next section of this paper is concentrated on the individual decision about the conversion of his car engine to run on LPG and the main attention will be focused on the environmental, economic, technical and institutional aspects of this conversion. Then the text compares LPG and CNG because CNG could be considered to be the main competitor of LPG in the field of alternative fuels. At the conclusion the paper summarizes the discovered facts and tries to predict future use of LPG as an alternative fuel in the Czech Republic.

Despite the huge national energy resources, many Nigerians do not have access to high quality, modern energy services. For those with access, energy supply lacks reliability, especially in the case of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Hence this research considers the possibility of enhancing the household use of LPG. It analyzes the factors affecting the current demand and supply. Salient features of the LPG supply and distribution system were also discussed. On the basis of the existing situation, barriers of increasing LPG use, in particular, the problems regarding affordability, priCing, government poliCies, safety, transportation and distribution were analyzed and identified statistically using the chi-square statistical method as a tool. Finally, on the basis of the challenges identified, suggestions and recommendations were made regarding the policies through which the problems could be overcome. Furthermore, a model was developed and tested for an effective marketing strategy of LPG in Warri Nigeria. ii / Thesis (M.Ing. (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Despite the huge national energy resources, many Nigerians do not have access to high quality, modern energy services. For those with access, energy supply lacks reliability, especially in the case of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Hence this research considers the possibility of enhancing the household use of LPG. It analyzes the factors affecting the current demand and supply. Salient features of the LPG supply and distribution system were also discussed. On the basis of the existing situation, barriers of increasing LPG use, in particular, the problems regarding affordability, priCing, government poliCies, safety, transportation and distribution were analyzed and identified statistically using the chi-square statistical method as a tool. Finally, on the basis of the challenges identified, suggestions and recommendations were made regarding the policies through which the problems could be overcome. Furthermore, a model was developed and tested for an effective marketing strategy of LPG in Warri Nigeria. ii / Thesis (M.Ing. (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

我國家庭熱能的主要來源，除電力以外，最主要的兩項來源為天然氣(Natural Gas，簡稱NG)及液化石油氣(Liquid Petroleum Gas，簡稱LPG)。 該兩項能源產品，雖同屬我國家庭熱能主要來源，惟因該二產品所產生之熱值、輸送、交易方式等之不同，在管理法規上之產業分類及競爭法上之市場區隔，均將該二產品視為不同市場。 由於天然氣自生產或進口及至輸送至家戶端之相關管理規定，已甚完備，再加上天然氣事業層級及營運型態較為單純，管理方便，衍生之問題亦相對較少。而液化石油氣須經加壓分裝為桶裝瓦斯，始能供民眾使用，該產品在運送、分裝及使用上，給予外界較不安全之觀感，故被歸類為危險物品，且因該市場結構甚為複雜，廠商家數多，欲對於該產業架構完整之管理法規當甚為困難，故目前對於該市場之相關管理規範係散見於不同法規中。 故本論文將先由我國液化石油氣市場開放經過、市場界定、產銷結構與競爭情形著手，接著說明我國對於該市場開放以來之相關監督管理措施及競爭法制規範，並透過重大違法個案之介紹，瞭解競爭法主管機關之介入情形；之後藉由日本法制沿革及實務作法之研究，俾洞悉我國液化石油氣市場因結構性或制度面所引發之問題，提出監督管理機關是否應整合為單一專責機關，以及究應由監督管理機關加強管理或提供更適切之配套措施，抑或由競爭法主管機關施以更嚴峻之處罰，始能妥適規整該市場交易秩序之解決方法或執法建議。 / The major household heating resources in Taiwan, in addition to electricity, include natural gas (NG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Traditionally, the two energy products are deemed different products in law regulations and market segment as their heating values, ways of transportations, and transaction patterns are different. As the natural gas is included in the public undertakings, the management of business operation and security affairs has been unified. On the contrary, the liquefied petroleum gas is considered as high-pressure and flammable, it is categorized as a dangerous item. The responsibility of regulation system involves many authorities concerned. Therefore, it derives many problems of regulations in Taiwan. In order to resolve the problems in the liquefied petroleum gas market, we analyze and compare the regulation systems, and norms, market structure materials in Taiwan and Japan. Based on the conclusions of this article, there is a room to rethink which mechanism is more adequate for regulating the liquefied petroleum gas industry from the viewpoint of public policy and competition policy. This article suggests the liquefied petroleum gas industry should be supervised by a single administrative agency, and the agency should try an adequate and different approach to the problems in Taiwan. In the conclusion, this article also suggests that the competition authority should gain trust from stakeholders, the general public and other agencies, and to improve its independence and expertise to enhance antitrust enforcement ability.