Este estudo analisa a indústria de gás natural de modo a contribuir para o melhor entendimento acerca das políticas tarifárias da atividade de transporte de gás natural conduzidas pelo governo sob a ótica de um programa de expansão da malha de gasodutos e de fortalecimento da indústria de gás natural no país. A adoção de mecanismos que possibilitem a separação e abertura das parcelas que compõem o preço de venda do gás natural visa a proporcionar uma maior modicidade tarifária, reduzindo os subsídios cruzados entre os Estados (regiões produtoras frente a distantes centros consumidores) e ampliando a eficiência econômica na utilização da malha de gasodutos do sistema de transporte. A partir do auxílio das teorias e modelos tarifários empregados nas indústrias de infraestrutura de rede, a pesquisa analisa a evolução da regulação tarifária associada à Parcela de Produto (Parcela Variável) e à Parcela de Transporte (Parcela Fixa) na formação do preço de venda do gás natural de origem nacional entre a Petrobras e as concessionárias estaduais de distribuição de gás canalizado. A análise dos resultados permite observar que a introdução de mudanças na sistemática de formação do preço de venda do gás natural provoca um retrocesso em relação à transparência na estrutura tarifária e na comercialização do gás natural. A atual política tarifária e os descontos (aproximadamente 32%) praticados pela Petrobras nos preços de venda para as distribuidoras das regiões Nordeste e Sudeste provocam alterações significativas não apenas na competitividade do gás natural frente aos demais combustíveis, mas também dentro do próprio mercado de gás natural. Os consumidores de gás natural nacional não detêm a informação acerca do quanto pagam no custo de serviço de transporte, diferente dos consumidores de gás natural de origem boliviana que se deparam com regras contratuais claras de reajustes dos componentes de cada parcela. Assim, averigua-se que essas mudanças penalizam principalmente os estados com maior produção de gás natural (Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Bahia e Sergipe), uma vez que o Fator Distância não se encontra claramente definido na nova fórmula de preços do gás nacional. Ainda, conclui-se que o marco regulatório da indústria de gás natural define de maneira clara a formação da tarifa de transporte para os novos gasodutos, enquanto a ANP ainda estuda maneiras de incluir na regulamentação a transparência tarifária na malha de gasodutos existentes. / This study analyzes the natural gas industry in order to contribute to a better understanding of the pricing policies of the activity of the natural gas transmission conducted by the government from the perspective of a program to expand the pipeline network and strengthen the natural gas industry in the country. The adoption of mechanisms that allow the separation and opening of the parcels that make up the selling price of natural gas is intended to provide greater low tariffs, reducing cross-subsidies between states (producing regions across the distant consuming centers) and increasing economic efficiency the use of the gas pipeline of the transportation system. From the aid of tariff models and theories employed in the network infrastructure industries, the research analyzes the evolution of tariff regulation associated with the portion of product (Variable Parcel) and Parcel Transportation (Fixed Parcel) in the formation of the selling price of domestic natural gas rise between Petrobras and the state distribution utilities of gas. The analysis allows us to observe that the introduction of systematic changes in the training of the sales price of natural gas causes a regression in relation to transparency in pricing structure and marketing of natural gas. The current pricing policy and (approximately 32 %) discounts offered by Petrobras in selling prices to distributors in the Northeast and Southeast regions cause significant changes not only the competitiveness of natural gas compared to other fuels , but also within the gas market itself natural. Consumers of domestic natural gas does not hold the information about how much they pay the cost of shipping service, different consumers of natural gas from Bolivian origin faced with clear rules of contractual adjustments of the components of each plot. Thus, it ascertains that these changes mainly penalize states with higher natural gas production (Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Bahia and Sergipe), since the distance factor is not clearly defined in the new pricing formula of the national gas. Still, it is concluded that the regulatory framework of the natural gas industry defines clearly the formation of the transport charge for new pipelines, while the ANP is also considering ways to include the tariff transparency in the regulatory network of existing pipelines.

O Licenciamento Ambiental é instrumento que se mostra com estreita ligação com processos de avaliação de impacto ambiental, e somente deve ser concedido após a certeza da conciliação entre a atividade e a qualidade ambiental. No Estado de São Paulo é usado o Relatório Ambiental Preliminar (RAP) como forma de se analisar a viabilidade ambiental de empreendimentos. Concluiu-se que o mesmo não serve como elemento no processo de licenciamento de gasodutos, pois não exige a necessidade de estudo de alternativas locacionais, e em sendo assim, seu uso não garante que a atividade analisada demonstre viabilidade ambiental, função fundamental de qualquer Estudo de Impacto Ambiental. O estudo de viabilidade ambiental necessita instrumentos que atribuam confiabilidade ao processo decisório e a Avaliação de Risco Ambiental (ARA) é uma ferramenta importantíssima, pois complementa a avaliação sobre a viabilidade ambiental do empreendimento, e se mostra útil para o Licenciamento Ambiental de atividades. Dessa forma, o principal motivo de escolha desta ferramenta decorre do fato de seu uso servir como instrumento para tomadas de decisões mais racionais e efetivas onde exista possibilidade de danos, o que a torna de suma importância na verificação da viabilidade ambiental de um empreendimento. A ARA foi aplicada ao transporte de gás natural por gasodutos, porque este combustível tem ganhado maior espaço na matriz energética do Brasil, com crescente tendência de expansão. Concluiu-se que a ARA deve ser usada desde o início do processo de licenciamento, já para a obtenção da primeira das licenças que é a LP. Com isso, os riscos são avaliados e usados como critério fundamental para o estudo de localização do traçado do gasoduto. Dessa maneira, os riscos de fatalidades associados a acidentes com gasodutos são reduzidos, garantindo mínimos riscos à população / Environmental Licensing is a tool showing great connection with the environmental impact assessment process, and should only be granted after the conciliation between activity and environmental quality is verified. The State of Sao Paulo has implemented the Preliminary Environmental Report (PER), which is used to evaluate the environmental suitability of activities. As it does not require consideration of all location (siting) and technology alternatives, the use of PER for licensing purposes does not assure under any circumstance that the analyzed activity presents environmental suitability, which is a fundamental role of any environmental impact study. Environmental suitability evaluation needs instruments to increase reliability to decision making, and Risk Assessment (RA) is a very important tool because it complements the analysis about the activity's environmental suitability, making it essential for the Environmental Licensing process. RA was applied to the conveying of natural gas through pipes because the Brazilian natural gas network has been expanding for the last few years. It was concluded that RA should be used from the beginning of the environmental licensing process, adopting associated risks as fundamental criteria for location study of the gas pipe route, which is an essential condition to define the environmental suitability of the proposed activity. This way, fatality risks posed by the gas lines are reduced, assuring minimal risks to the population/environment

Pipeline ploughs are commonly used to bury offshore pipelines for their protection from loading by currents, damage from fishing trawler vessels and to provide thermal insulation to the line allowing the product to flow more efficiently. The rate of progress of pipeline ploughs in sand is complicated by a rate effect which causes the required tow force to increase drastically with velocity. In this research plough performance in sand is investigated by means of physical scale model tests. Scale model tests are the most practical method by which to conduct a parametric study on plough behaviour as full sized testing would be prohibitively expensive. Scale model tests also provide accurate control of sand conditions which allows investigation of the effect of soil parameters on plough behaviour. Model ploughs were manufactured at 50th, 25th and 10th scale so that scale effects could be explored. Each of the model ploughs had a detachable forecutter to allow its effect on plough performance to be observed. The forecutter was found to reduce the rate effect but increase the non-velocity dependant resistance of the plough. Ploughing tests were conducted at various relative densities in three sands of different permeability. The effects of ploughing rate on model plough behaviour under these various conditions was explored using an instrumented model plough, with particular attention paid to the resulting tow force. Results from the model ploughing tests were interpreted to determine the effect of permeability, relative density and plough depth on the tow forces generated during ploughing. The rate effect was found to increase strongly with reduction in permeability of the sand. Increasing the relative density of the sand was found to increase the rate effect but had little influence on the passive resistance of the plough. The test results were compared to an empirical model developed by Cathie and Wintgens (2001). New coefficients (Cw, Cs and Cd) have been proposed and therefore design procedures modified which may allow trenching contractors to make better predictions of plough performance in sands.

Uma grande variedade de modelos é utilizada para estimar a pressão de ruptura de dutos contendo defeitos de corrosão. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo estudar a precisão dos modelos mais comuns e avaliar a pressão de ruptura de dutos submetidos à corrosão. Os modelos avaliados são: ASME B31G, ASME B31G modificado, DNV RP F101 e PCORRC. O estudo é baseado em mais de 400 resultados de ensaios de ruptura em dutos corroídos, todos coletados da literatura. A base de dados contem defeitos de corrosão reais e artificiais. Uma análise estatística foi realizada para a variável erro de modelo. Uma análise de regressão não-linear foi realizada para investigar os efeitos da variável erro de modelo, das variáveis mais relevantes, como profundidade e comprimento do defeito, e tensão de ruptura do aço. Uma análise de confiabilidade foi realizada a partir das estatísticas obtidas da variável erro de modelo, sendo estimado o índice de confiabilidade e a probabilidade de falha do duto com defeitos de corrosão, através do método iterativo de primeira ordem, denominado FORM (First Order Reliability Method). Nesta análise avaliou-se a evolução da probabilidade de falha com o aumento da profundidade do defeito, bem como foram identificadas as variáveis aleatórias mais importantes na falha do duto. O estudo pode ajudar aos operadores a eleger qual modelo utilizar em análises de risco, proporcionando mais segurança às operações dutoviárias. / A variety of models exist to estimate burst pressures of pipelines containing corrosion defects. The objective of this work is to study the accuracy of some of the most popular empirical burst pressure models. The study addresses the models: ASME B31G, ASME B31G Modified, DNV RP-F101 and PCORRC. The investigation is based on over 400 burst test results, all collected from the literature, containing both real and artificial corrosion defects. A statistical analysis is performed for assessing the accuracy of semi-empirical models by using a model error variable. A non-linear regression analysis is performed to identify the influence, on model errors, of the most relevant variables, such as defect depth and length and steels rupture tension. A reliability analysis was carried out, using model error statistics developed herein, in order to evaluate reliability index and probability of failure of pipelines containing corrosion defects, through the iterative first order reliability method, or FORM - First Order Reliability Method. The evolution of failure probabilities, with increasing defect depth, was investigated. The most relevant random variables were identified. The study can help operators choose a proper empirical model to use in their risk analysis, leading to greater safety in pipeline operations.

abstract: Societies seeking sustainability are transitioning from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy sources to mitigate dangerous climate change. Energy transitions involve ethically controversial decisions that affect current and future generations’ well-being. As energy systems in the United States transition towards renewable energy, American Indian reservations with abundant energy sources are some of the most significantly impacted communities. Strikingly, energy ethicists have not yet developed a systematic approach for prescribing ethical action within the context of energy decisions. This dissertation reinvents energy ethics as a distinct sub-discipline of applied ethics, integrating virtue ethics, deontology, and consequentialism with Sioux, Navajo, and Hopi ethical perspectives. On this new account, applied energy ethics is the analysis of questions of right and wrong using a framework for prescribing action and proper policies within private and public energy decisions. To demonstrate the usefulness of applied energy ethics, this dissertation analyzes two case studies situated on American Indian reservations: the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Navajo Generating Station. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Sustainability 2019

abstract: Teacher shortage crisis were consistent across the nation. Higher education institutions, K-12 school districts, and political leaders were actively seeking solutions to ensure classrooms did not sit vacant and were not staffed by individuals who are unqualified to teach. This mixed methods action research study examined one strategy for teacher recruitment by targeting high school students who attended a Title 1 school. Due to the growing Hispanic population in Arizona, coupled with the underrepresentation of Hispanic teachers compared to the number of Hispanic students, a particular focus was devoted to targeting Hispanic high school students as they represented a potential untapped pipeline of future educators. The study was conducted to explore factors that might increase student interest in declaring education as a major upon graduating from high school and eventually pursuing teaching as a career. Three theoretical frameworks guided the study: (a) Theory of Planned Behavior, (b) Self-Efficacy, and (c) Social Cognitive Career Theory. A total of 20 participants engaged in the intervention over the course of three weeks. The intervention included engagement in curriculum exposing students to the teaching profession as well as clinical experiences. Data gathered included pre- and post- intervention survey results and semi-structured interview questions. It was anticipated the intervention would increase students’ interest in becoming a teacher. Results demonstrated a decrease in intention post-intervention. Future research should examine alternative recruitment approaches for students who do not already have an interest in pursuing the profession. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2019

This study seeks to understand how school processes affect disproportionate minority contact within the Hardin County Juvenile Justice System. A study completed by Lovell and Drummond (2016) in conjunction with the Hardin County BRIDGES Council, is used as the foundation for the current research. The original research, along with several others, examined disproportionate minority contact (DMC) after the student had been referred from their respective schools to the juvenile court system. The current study investigates 858 juvenile court records, with permission of the Hardin County Juvenile Judges, and examines school information included in the court records related to the student in correlation to race. School data was collected from the court cases to identify points of DMC that begin within the school system, which ultimately led to their referral to the juvenile court system.

Limited access to financial services is known as a major constraint to agricultural development (FAO, 2002). Farmers need liquidity to face agricultural expenses throughout the production cycle but mainly at the beginning. Mainstream financial institutions are reluctant to serve the agricultural sector for several reasons. First, they consider the sector to be highly risky with low performance. Also, agricultural activities depend on the weather, they take place in remote rural areas, and commodities prices are volatile. All these aspects make it hard for standard banks to reach their profit goals when lending to farmers. Since microfinance was conceived, it has generated a lot of hope for alleviating poverty in low-income countries. Microfinance provides the poor with access to affordable capital by granting low-income individuals with loans they would not otherwise have access to, because of economic and geographic constraints. The goal of the dissertation is to examine the role and the importance of microfinance in the agricultural sector of developing countries. A survey took place in October 2017, in both rural and urban areas of Benin and involved 750 agricultural households. Three different agricultural zones were selected: the North-East (cotton zone); the Center (tubers and cashew nut zone) and the South (a region with special crops such as vegetables, pineapple, palm tree, exotic plants). The study focuses on agricultural loans. It includes clients of the major microfinance institution in Benin: FECECAM - Faîtière des Caisses d’Epargne et de Crédit Agricole Mutuel. This research contributes to the literature in several ways. The study allows shedding light on the effects of agricultural loans, specifically, on households’ efficiency and labor employment, which are mostly overlooked in the microfinance literature. To overcome selection bias in microcredit evaluation, the research employs a pipeline design. Control and treatment groups consist of individuals who have chosen to participate in the microfinance program. The loan treatment considered is the experience with loans which includes program entry timing, loan take-up frequency, and the average amount of loan obtained over the 2012-2017 period. The study employs a cluster analysis technique to create reliable comparable groups. Multiple variables and indicators are analyzed. A descriptive analysis of loan impact on farmers’ labor input choices shows that past loans have residual effects on both hired and family labor use. Farm loans, especially those obtained for farm machinery significantly reduce expenditure on hired labor but more family labor is employed using machine loans while other loan categories reduced the use of family labor. The evaluation of the whole-farm efficiency of borrowers in the presence of agricultural loans reveals significant technical and allocative errors leading to profit loss in all studied regions. However, experience with loans significantly increases farmers’ whole-farm efficiency, particularly in the North. Finally, the assessment of well-being indicators suggests that those farm loans have a significant positive impact on sampled recipients’ net farm income, food security and food quality statuses. Agricultural loans also have a positive impact on women’s empowerment. The monitoring and implementation mechanism of FECECAM played a crucial role in the success of its loan programs.

Nationwide concerns include disproportionate discipline referrals and suspensions of certain student groups and the associated negative student outcomes. The state's department of education cited a school district for suspending Black students with disabilities (SWD) at more than 3 times the rate of all other student groups; yet, the complex nature of the disciplinary disproportionality in this district was unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate how student-related characteristics including race/ethnicity, gender, age, grade level, disability status, and school location, may predict number of discipline referrals, types of discipline referrals, and types of suspensions issued to students. Guided by the theory of behaviorism, this nonexperimental, ex post facto study examined archival discipline data for the 5523 students who received at least 1 office referral during the 2015-2016 school year. Chi-square analyses showed SWD had higher numbers of referrals, received referrals for subjective offenses, and were more likely to receive out-of-school suspension than no suspension or in-school suspension compared to nondisabled students. Regression analyses indicated students who were Black, male, identified as SWD, or in secondary school were at significantly greater risk of office referral and exclusionary discipline than other student groups. By understanding the patterns of discipline outcomes associated with student-related characteristics, school administrators within the local district are now able to select and implement evidence-based practices that may reduce exclusionary discipline, allowing all students to participate equally in school. Over time, these practices may lead to positive student outcomes including higher school engagement and increased graduation rates.

Exclusionary discipline in school contributes to gender and racial disproportionality in the juvenile justice system and marginalizes African American girls. Using the social justice and rational choice theories as the foundation, the purpose of this case study was to explore the relationship between the criminalization of behavior in schools, racial bias, and gender stereotypes contribute to the overrepresentation of the school to prison pipeline in Virginia. The central research question focused on the relationship between the criminalization of behavior in schools, racial bias, and gender stereotypes on the overrepresentation of African American girls in the school to prison pipeline. Employing a qualitative case study design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 8 African American women (ages 20-30) and surveys from 12 educators. Other data included school discipline and juvenile justice reports from the Virginia Department of Education and Office of Juvenile Justice. The interview data were coded and analyzed using matrix and thematic analysis. Three findings emerged from the thematic analysis from document data. First, participants perceive diversionary programs, community partnership and restorative justice programs create safe and positive learning environments. Second, there are opportunities for policymakers to use their influence to promote social equity. Finally, zero tolerance policies are ineffective. The positive social change implications from this study include recommendations to policymakers to implement restorative justice programs to ensure that all students learn in a positive environment. These actions will benefit all students in public schools and decrease racial disparities in schools and the juvenile justice system.