Component obsolescence in the "high-tech" electronics industry has become a problem that cannot be ignored. Although recent attention has been given to component obsolescence, in general this issue is still dealt with reactively. This often results in sustainment of a long-life system such as ships, airplanes, power plant, and space based programs to be extremely costly. In addition, delayed schedules, extended downtimes, and technology lags are common occurrences in approaches that deal with obsolescence as it occurs. In wake of the rapid pace of technology innovation, turbulent markets and growing globalization, developing proactive approaches for dealing with obsolescence is a necessity for companies to remain competitive in the marketplace. Thus this dissertation focuses on three fundamental objectives that highlight the importance, provide new insight, and offer solutions to the problem of component obsolescence. The first objective concentrates on the importance of prediction models in determining the life cycle of a component. Obsolescence prediction is key in identifying the items most vulnerable and allows the company to effectively hedge against future uncertainty long before the problem arises. The second objective concentrates on proactive management approaches. This is accomplished through a case study with an industry partner. The purpose of an obsolescence management strategy is to ensure that, issues of obsolescence are anticipated, identified, analyzed, mitigated, reported, and dealt with in a cost effective and timely manner. In addition, it provides life cycle "support and guidance" to the management team. Dealing intelligently with flexibility and uncertainty is characteristic of the Real Options Pricing approach. Thus, the third objective concentrates on options pricing as a decision making tool for mitigating the effects of obsolescence. Making strategic decisions about when to invest, what technology to invest in, waiting until a future point in time when a new technology may be available, are all complex questions to answer. Real options pricing offers a novel approach to addressing issues of obsolescence in sustainment based technologies. Thus this dissertation demonstrates that obsolescence prediction, proactive management and mitigation and the use of real options is key in determining optimal decisions and staying competitive in the "high-tech" electronics industry.

Alberta is the third largest economy in Canada and is expected to grow significantly in the coming decade. The energy sector plays a major role in Albertas economy. The objective of this research is to develop various greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigations scenarios in the energy demand and supply sectors for the Province of Alberta. This is done through an energy-environment planning and forecasting tool called Long Range Energy Alternative Planning system model (LEAP). By using LEAP, a sankey diagram for energy and emission flows for the Province of Alberta has been developed. A reference case also called as business-as-usual scenario was developed for a study period of 25 years (2005-2030). The GHG mitigation scenarios encompassed various demand and supply side scenarios. In the energy conversion sector, mitigation scenarios for renewable power generation and inclusion of supercritical, ultra-supercritical and integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plants were investigated. In the oil and gas sector, GHG mitigation scenarios with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) option were considered. In Albertas residential and commercial sector 4-6 MT of CO2 equivalents per year of GHG mitigation could be achieved with efficiency improvement. In the industrial sector up to 40 MT of CO2 equivalents per year of GHG reduction could be achieved with efficiency improvement. In the energy conversion sector large GHG mitigation potential lies in the oil and gas sector and also in power plants with carbon capture and storage (CCS) option. The total GHG mitigation possible in the supply side option is between 20 70 MT CO2 equivalents per year. / Engineering Management

Development actions such as urban, residential, commercial, industrial and mining contribute significantly to the loss of biodiversity worldwide. As development and subsequent loss and degradation of habitats continue, terrestrial biodiversity offsets, or mitigation schemes are conservation instruments that increasingly are being developed, implemented, and used throughout Australia and abroad. However, the failure of offset policies and practices to incorporate sound ecological principles into their design and implementation has led to ineffective conservation and management of biodiversity through offsetting. The aim of this research was to develop a ‘recommended best practice’ offset framework for environments experiencing development pressure, and to inform planners and decision makers on a sound ecological approach to improve biodiversity outcomes for terrestrial ecosystems through the use of offsetting/mitigation schemes. A content analysis technique was applied to evaluate 26 local, provincial, and national biodiversity offset policies, guidance/discussion papers, and planning documents from five countries. Five ecological and planning criteria were applied to evaluate the offset policies. The results from the policy evaluation found that most offset policies contained vague, ambiguous statements and difficult to apply concepts and these results were consistent with a plethora of existing literature, which had identified that the planning of offsets lacked effective consideration and implementation of landscape-ecological principles, and that the protection of biodiversity through offsetting was not occurring. It is therefore important that national, state, and regional policies provide sufficient detail, with definitive performance criteria, indicators and targets, rather than vague principles which are open to ambiguous interpretation and inconsistency in implementation. The results from this research suggested that offset policies failed to protect biodiversity in that the majority of policies evaluated did not effectively incorporate ecological principles that would result in no-net-loss of biodiversity outcomes. This included a failure to recognise and consider the impact of offsets at a landscape-ecosystem scale in relation to ecosystem functionality and the viability of biotic populations. This research also indicated that a variety of tools (e.g., remote sensing, field surveys, and expert opinion) can be used to ensure effective consideration of landscape, ecological, and planning aspects of offsetting. The results of a case study in the Coomera-Pimpama region of Gold Coast City, Australia found that Gold Coast City Council explicitly considered only two of the five recommended off-setting criteria outlined in this research and as a result the conservation of biodiversity and in particular the habitat of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) in this area remained threatened. Key strategies were identified to help improve biodiversity outcomes from offsetting and these included: requirements to assess both impacted and offset sites, minimisation of threats to offset sites, and collaboration with professionals in other agencies, ensure that statements are accompanied by definitions, policies provide sufficient detail with definitive performance criteria, indicators and targets, active engagement with agencies dealing with offsetting procedures, professionals, or researchers, effective commitments to facilitative integration, structural integration and collaboration, and strategic integration.

This thesis investigates the impact of physical planning policy on combined transport and dwelling-related energy use by households. Separate analyses and reviews are conducted into dwelling-related and transport-related energy use by households, before a model is developed to investigate the city-wide implications of different land-use scenarios in Sydney, Australia. The analysis of household energy use in Chapter 3 suggests that medium density housing (i.e. lose-rise apartments, townhouses, and terraces) is likely to result in the lowest per-capita energy use, while also allowing for sufficient densities to make frequent public transport service viable. The analysis of transport energy in Chapter 4 confirms that increasing urban density is associated with decreased car ownership and use, independent of other factors. However, land use changes alone are likely to result in modest changes to travel behaviour. The results of the scenario modelling in Chapters 7-9 support the view that changes to land use alone can reduce household energy consumption, but the changes, even over a long time period (25 years) are small (~0-10%) for all but the most extreme land-use policies. Instead, a coordinated (land-use/transport and other policy levers) approach is much more effective. The results confirm that it is transport energy that is most sensitive to planning policy, but that a combined consideration of dwelling-related and transport-related energy use is still useful. The micro-simulation model developed to assess the impact of different land-use planning scenarios allows the establishment of a lower-bound estimate of the effect that housing policy has on household energy use, assuming ‘business as usual’ transport policy, household behaviour, and technology.

This thesis investigates the impact of physical planning policy on combined transport and dwelling-related energy use by households. Separate analyses and reviews are conducted into dwelling-related and transport-related energy use by households, before a model is developed to investigate the city-wide implications of different land-use scenarios in Sydney, Australia. The analysis of household energy use in Chapter 3 suggests that medium density housing (i.e. lose-rise apartments, townhouses, and terraces) is likely to result in the lowest per-capita energy use, while also allowing for sufficient densities to make frequent public transport service viable. The analysis of transport energy in Chapter 4 confirms that increasing urban density is associated with decreased car ownership and use, independent of other factors. However, land use changes alone are likely to result in modest changes to travel behaviour. The results of the scenario modelling in Chapters 7-9 support the view that changes to land use alone can reduce household energy consumption, but the changes, even over a long time period (25 years) are small (~0-10%) for all but the most extreme land-use policies. Instead, a coordinated (land-use/transport and other policy levers) approach is much more effective. The results confirm that it is transport energy that is most sensitive to planning policy, but that a combined consideration of dwelling-related and transport-related energy use is still useful. The micro-simulation model developed to assess the impact of different land-use planning scenarios allows the establishment of a lower-bound estimate of the effect that housing policy has on household energy use, assuming ‘business as usual’ transport policy, household behaviour, and technology.

The small land area of the islands of the Maldives, combined with high population density, makes the communities of these islands vulnerable to natural disaster events such as flooding and tsunami. The Indian Ocean Tsunami on 26 December 2004 impacted 69 islands of the Maldives, killing 82 people, leaving 26 people missing and 15, 000 people internally displaced, making it the worst disaster in recorded history. Following the event, the Government of the Maldives announced a Safer Island Development Programme which seeks to provide the infrastructure necessary to adapt to natural disasters. The key focus of disaster management is to reduce the vulnerability of the communities exposed to hazards and risks, and to help them to enhance their resilience. Efforts have been made to develop safer and sustainable communities in all corners of the developed and developing worlds. New Zealand Government announced its effort to build safe and secure communities in 2007 while at a local level the Christchurch City Council published the Safer Christchurch Strategy in 2005. Overseas, the Community Strategy 2000, outlines the vision of "A safe and strong Island" at Isle of Wight United Kingdom. The islands of the Maldives have natural characteristics which make them vulnerable to disasters such as tsunami. This research has been able to identify the relationship between these characteristics and the natural vulnerability of the islands using the data that was collected following the Indian Ocean Tsunami. Out of 11 island, that have been identified for the Safer Islands Development Programme, one island is found to have very high natural vulnerability and 5 islands a high natural vulnerability, from the island vulnerability index model developed through this study. The Island Vulnerability Index model could be used to enhance the present Safer Island Development Programme island selection criteria, to reduce the possibility of 'building risk' into the infrastructure development on the islands. The index could also be used in the Environmental Impact Assessment studies to address the issue of disasters, effective resources allocation in the Public Sector Infrastructure Programme for 'building back better', and resource identification in land use planning.

This thesis investigates techniques and algorithms for mitigating radio frequency interference (RFI) affecting radio astronomy observations. In the past radio astronomy has generally been performed in radio-quiet geographical locations and unused parts of the radio spectrum, including small protected frequency bands. The increasing use of the entire spectrum and global transmitters such as satellites are forcing the astronomy community to begin implementing active interference cancelling. The amount of harmful interference affecting observations will also increase as future instruments such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) are required to use larger bandwidths to reach up to 100 times the current sensitivity levels, and as spectral line observations require observing in bands licensed to other spectrum users. Particular attention is paid to interference cancellation algorithms which make use of reference beams. This has proven to be successful in removing interference from the contaminated astronomical data. Reference antenna cancellers are closely analysed, leading to filters and techniques that can offer improved RFI excision for some important applications. It is shown that pre- and post-correlation reference antenna cancellers give similar results, and an important aspect of the cancellers is the use of a second reference signal when the reference interference-to-noise ratio is low. These modified filters can theoretically offer infinite interference suppression in the voltage domain, equivalent to that of post-correlation interference cancellers, and their internal structure can offer an understanding of the residual RFI and added receiver noise components of a variety of reference antenna techniques. The effect of variable geometric delays is also considered and various filters are compared as a function of the geometric fringe rate.

Fossil fuel–intensive companies are coming under increasing pressure to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). The political environment surrounding climate change and the evolution of the carbon market are complex and in a fluid state of play. Uncertainty exists with respect to government policy, greenhouse (GH) accounting standards, interaction with stakeholders and the capacity to ‘commoditise’ carbon emissions, making it difficult for companies to determine exactly how to build their internal capacity to deal with a shifting external situation. In Australia and the United States in particular, companies are receiving mixed messages from government about the necessity of reducing GHGs and the role of emissions trading. While market-based approaches to GHG reduction are being promoted, the governments of both countries have refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and failed to establish domestic emissions trading schemes. Finally, few companies have substantial experience in managing GHGs or in market-based approaches to GHG abatement, such as emissions trading. This research aims to provide guidance for industry capacity building with respect to market-based approaches to GHG reduction, recognising that generally this would require significant organisational learning and change to corporate systems. The proposed Framework facilitates organisational learning that goes beyond the detection and correction of errors to questioning and modifying existing norms and procedures and, further, to reflecting on past experience and creating new strategies. The research included participants as integral to the study, giving their ‘emic’ (insider) viewpoints centrality while allowing ‘etic’ (outsider / researcher) interpretation. Within the organisational learning literature, the approach that best describes this research is that of Action Research and Appreciative Inquiry. The principles of environmental management, cleaner production, corporate social responsibility and sustainable development inform the research. Surveys, focus groups and a literature review are employed as the data collection methods, which are compared and contrasted. The data suggest that a ‘one size fits all’ approach to industry capacity building with respect to market-based approaches to GHG reduction is not optimal or possible. This is due to the differing strategic objectives, varying assessment of risk and disparate circumstances and starting points of the companies involved. Thus, rather than a prescriptive model, this research has identified and prioritised the key themes and issues that currently influence corporate capacity building. Precursors to action have been specified and a ‘menu’ of choices provided. Lastly, a step-by-step Framework has been proposed to build companies’ capacity to participate in GHG emissions trading. It was also observed that the majority of the key themes and issues that influence companies and the preparatory actions they need to take are the same, whether a market-based system or a command-and-control system of GHG reduction is introduced. The thesis includes some suggestions for further research in the application and evaluation of this approach with companies in the field.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Canterbury, 2007. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (p. 162-185). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.E.S.)--The Evergreen State College, 2007. / Title from title screen viewed (2/14/2008). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 34-40).