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Knivsta municipality is planning a new climate-friendly and environmentally sustainable district called Nydal. The vision is to create a residential area that is minimally dependent on outside sources of electricity. The aim of this research is to evaluate the efficiency and electricity demand of a residential house in Knivsta. A model for the power demand of an apartment house has been constructed, using data for the electricity consumption of one household from Kiruna during a week in April. Data from the Swedish Energy Agency has been used to identify the distribution of electricity for the different loads. This study has focused on the electricity consumption of a family that consist of two adults and one child and their use of home appliances. A comparison between standard appliances and energy efficiency appliances has been made to find out how much the power and their load peaks can be reduced. The total amount of electricity consumption for the residential building’s households is about 93 MWh during a year. By selecting energy efficient appliances in the apartments the total household electricity consumption of the residential building can be reduced by about 55 MWh, which is almost a 60 % reduction per year. The residential buildings load peaks can be reduced. This can be achieved by installing energy efficient products by using Top Ten’s list over the most energy saving household appliances available on the market. Installing LED lamps and HWC driven products also reduces the power demand significantly. By installing HWC driven products in the common washhouse, the residential electricity can be reduced by 29 %. A more environment-friendly lifestyle affects the electric load. The power demand can decrease if buying less power demanding products, but also by using the power demanding products in a more energy efficient way. Knivsta municipality is able to help the tenants in Nydal to increase their knowledge. By increasing the individuals’ knowledge about power demand and energy saving, it is possible to influence individuals’ behavior and with that reduce the electric load.

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Millennial length temperature and precipitation reconstructions from tree rings are developed for the northern Arizona region and applied to questions regarding the nature of the cultural-environmental interface in the northern Southwest, the role of explosive volcanism as a forcing mechanism in temperature variability, and the state of late 20th century climate compared to the range of natural variability of the past. A 2660-year long bristlecone pine tree-ring chronology from high elevation in the San Francisco Peaks of northern Arizona is calibrated with instrumental annual mean-maximum temperature data to reconstruct temperature. Three 1400-year long lower elevation tree-ring chronologies, developed from both living trees and wood from archaeological sites on the Colorado Plateau, are calibrated with instrumental precipitation data (October-July) to reconstruct precipitation. The juxtaposition of these two reconstructions yields paleoclimatic insights unobtainable from either record alone. Results include the identification of wet, dry, cool, and warm intervals and the identification of periods of high and low variance in temperature and precipitation. Population movement into the Flagstaff area in the second half of the 11th century is attributed to relatively warm wet conditions. The role of temperature decline in the 13th century merits additional consideration in the prehistoric regional abandonment of the Four Corners area. Many of the reconstructed cold periods are linked to explosive volcanism. The second half of the 20th century is the warmest in the period of record, and extremely warm/wet conditions have persisted since 1976.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / This study is a quantitative analysis of the effect of fire and wind-throw on a spruce-fir-northern hardwoods forest on Peaks Island, Casco Bay, Maine. Six years after the burn, data for the effect of fire on approximately 170 acres of this forest type, were collected and categorized. The qualitative characteristics of the herb and shrub layers were noted and the soil analyzed. A random sample of the tree density was obtained by using 10 x 10 meter quadrats. In this sampling three size classes were recognized, seedling, sapling, and 1.0-4.0 inch d.b.h. For each size class the following distributions were determined: percentage frequency, percentage density, percentage basal area, density per acre, basal area per acre; and cumulative figures for the relative density, relative basal area, and relative frequency of each species over 1 inch d.b.h. A similar study was carried out on 8.8 acres of a wind-throw area, and on 144 acres of spruce-fir-northern hardwoods forest. In the latter, additional size classes up to 24.0 inches d.b.h. were added. Determining frequencies in randomly distributed quadrats resolved in a positive direction the question of whether fire and wind-throw significantly affect the plant successional trend. Since the tree species in each of the three areas were found to be nearly identical, the Chi-square criterion was employed to decide whether the density distribution was independent of the area. Two significant factors resulted: (1) Of the twenty-one species in the spruce-fir-northern hardwoods forest, thirteen were represented among the eighteen species of the wind-throw area. The distribution of these thirteen species differed significantly in the two areas. (2) Thirteen of the species of the spruce- fir- northern hardwoods forest, were represented in the burn which contained altogether fifteen species. Again, the density distribution differed significantly for the two areas. The hypothesis that the frequency distribution was independent of the area was rejected in both tests since the value of the Chi-square calculated, for the densities in each size class, was significantly different from what could be expected by chance. This substantiated the conclusion that the three unique ecological environments accounted for the quantitative distribution of their species. [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-01

Tendo em vista o crescente investimento em atividades economicamente importantes nas zonas costeiras, tal como a produção petrolífera brasileira e o crescimento na atividade portuária e esforço de pesca, a compreensão adequada dos fenômenos oceanográficos e meteorológicos sobre tais zonas é de grande valia para as operações desses setores. Os ventos representam um importante parâmetro para análise nesse sentido, sendo a principal fonte de energia para a geração de ondas de gravidade nos oceanos, e determinantes na caracterização de condições severas tempo. Uma série de estudos foram desenvolvidos nos últimos anos envolvendo a análise do comportamento dos extremos de ondas sobre a região do Oceano Atlântico Sul, de acordo com o crescimento da demanda por tais informações pelo setor industrial. No entanto, há poucos registros de estudos que caracterizem os extremos de intensidade de vento sobre essa região. E, em nenhum desses trabalhos, a separação direcional do vento extremo e seus fenômenos causadores foram levados em consideração. Dessa forma, o presente trabalho visa atender diretamente a necessidade por trabalhos nesse sentido para a região do Oceano Atlântico Sul, buscando oferecer uma análise dos campos de ventos extremos direcionalmente segregados, através de dados do projeto de reanálise \\textit{NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis I} e de resultados de uma simulação numérica com o modelo BRAMS. A tais conjuntos de dados foi aplicada a metodologia de análise de extremos \\textit{Peaks Over Threshold} (POT), que trata do ajuste dos excessos acima de um limiar estabelecido a uma distribuição conhecida, a Distribuição Generalizada de Pareto (Generalized Pareto Distribution - GPD). E, a partir disso, construir mapas com os valores extremos de retorno para longos períodos. Tais parâmetros são muito importantes na predição de eventos extremos e no refinamento de simulações de longo período. Os extremos relacionados aos fenômenos em larga escala, dados pelos campos do NCEP, em conjunto com o maior detalhamento em mesoescala, dado pelo BRAMS, refletiram diretamente no comportamento dos valores extremos de retorno. Para todas as direções do vento analisadas, observaram-se feições mais refinadas dos extremos de retorno para os resultados com a simulação do BRAMS, principalmente nas zonas costeiras. Essas feições, principalmente àquelas ao sul e sudeste do Oceano Atlântico Sul, tiveram seus valores potencializados em zonas já conhecidas na bibliografia pela grande incidência de eventos altamente energéticos. / Given the growing investment in important economic activities in coastal areas, such as oil and gas exploitation, harbor activities and increasing fishing effort, the proper understanding of oceanographic and meteorological phenomena over such areas has great value to the operations of such sectors. The winds are an important parameter for analysis in this context, being the main source of energy for gravity waves generation in the ocean, and determining the characterization of severe weather conditions. A number of studies have been developed in recent years involving the behavior of extreme waves over the South Atlantic Ocean region, given the rowing demand for such information by industrial sectors. However, there are few records of studies that characterize the extremes of wind speed fields over this region. And, in none of these works, the direction of the extreme wind and meteorological phenomenon associated were considered. Thus, this paper aims to address directly the need for work in this context for the South Atlantic Ocean region, seeking to offer an analysis of extreme wind fields directionally separated, through data from the NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis 1 and results from a numerical simulation with BRAMS. The Peaks Over Threshold (POT), which deals with the adjustment of the excesses above a threshold to the Generalized Pareto Distribution (GPD), was applied to both datasets. And from that, maps with the extreme return values have been developed for long return periods. These parameters are very important in predicting extreme events and refinement of long-period simulations. Extreme winds related to the large scale phenomena, represented by NCEP fields, in conjunction with the greater mesoscale detail, given by the BRAMS simulation, directly reflected in the behavior of extreme return values. For all wind directions analyzed, there were more refined features of the extremes return levels given by the BRAMS simulation, especially in coastal areas. These features, notably those in the south and southeast of the South Atlantic Ocean, values were strengthened in areas already known in the literature for the high incidence of energetic events.

Tendo em vista o crescente investimento em atividades economicamente importantes nas zonas costeiras, tal como a produção petrolífera brasileira e o crescimento na atividade portuária e esforço de pesca, a compreensão adequada dos fenômenos oceanográficos e meteorológicos sobre tais zonas é de grande valia para as operações desses setores. Os ventos representam um importante parâmetro para análise nesse sentido, sendo a principal fonte de energia para a geração de ondas de gravidade nos oceanos, e determinantes na caracterização de condições severas tempo. Uma série de estudos foram desenvolvidos nos últimos anos envolvendo a análise do comportamento dos extremos de ondas sobre a região do Oceano Atlântico Sul, de acordo com o crescimento da demanda por tais informações pelo setor industrial. No entanto, há poucos registros de estudos que caracterizem os extremos de intensidade de vento sobre essa região. E, em nenhum desses trabalhos, a separação direcional do vento extremo e seus fenômenos causadores foram levados em consideração. Dessa forma, o presente trabalho visa atender diretamente a necessidade por trabalhos nesse sentido para a região do Oceano Atlântico Sul, buscando oferecer uma análise dos campos de ventos extremos direcionalmente segregados, através de dados do projeto de reanálise \\textit{NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis I} e de resultados de uma simulação numérica com o modelo BRAMS. A tais conjuntos de dados foi aplicada a metodologia de análise de extremos \\textit{Peaks Over Threshold} (POT), que trata do ajuste dos excessos acima de um limiar estabelecido a uma distribuição conhecida, a Distribuição Generalizada de Pareto (Generalized Pareto Distribution - GPD). E, a partir disso, construir mapas com os valores extremos de retorno para longos períodos. Tais parâmetros são muito importantes na predição de eventos extremos e no refinamento de simulações de longo período. Os extremos relacionados aos fenômenos em larga escala, dados pelos campos do NCEP, em conjunto com o maior detalhamento em mesoescala, dado pelo BRAMS, refletiram diretamente no comportamento dos valores extremos de retorno. Para todas as direções do vento analisadas, observaram-se feições mais refinadas dos extremos de retorno para os resultados com a simulação do BRAMS, principalmente nas zonas costeiras. Essas feições, principalmente àquelas ao sul e sudeste do Oceano Atlântico Sul, tiveram seus valores potencializados em zonas já conhecidas na bibliografia pela grande incidência de eventos altamente energéticos. / Given the growing investment in important economic activities in coastal areas, such as oil and gas exploitation, harbor activities and increasing fishing effort, the proper understanding of oceanographic and meteorological phenomena over such areas has great value to the operations of such sectors. The winds are an important parameter for analysis in this context, being the main source of energy for gravity waves generation in the ocean, and determining the characterization of severe weather conditions. A number of studies have been developed in recent years involving the behavior of extreme waves over the South Atlantic Ocean region, given the rowing demand for such information by industrial sectors. However, there are few records of studies that characterize the extremes of wind speed fields over this region. And, in none of these works, the direction of the extreme wind and meteorological phenomenon associated were considered. Thus, this paper aims to address directly the need for work in this context for the South Atlantic Ocean region, seeking to offer an analysis of extreme wind fields directionally separated, through data from the NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis 1 and results from a numerical simulation with BRAMS. The Peaks Over Threshold (POT), which deals with the adjustment of the excesses above a threshold to the Generalized Pareto Distribution (GPD), was applied to both datasets. And from that, maps with the extreme return values have been developed for long return periods. These parameters are very important in predicting extreme events and refinement of long-period simulations. Extreme winds related to the large scale phenomena, represented by NCEP fields, in conjunction with the greater mesoscale detail, given by the BRAMS simulation, directly reflected in the behavior of extreme return values. For all wind directions analyzed, there were more refined features of the extremes return levels given by the BRAMS simulation, especially in coastal areas. These features, notably those in the south and southeast of the South Atlantic Ocean, values were strengthened in areas already known in the literature for the high incidence of energetic events.

The debates on whether or not to regulate micro lending have shifted to finding the appropriate regulatory models. This is because countries are in agreement that being part of the greater financial services sector, micro lending plays an important role in the economic and social development of the citizens as it enables the poor to have access to credit and better their lives. To this end, Botswana has not fallen short of this global trend. Micro lending regulation plays an important role in maintaining the financial safety and soundness of any country’s financial sector. If not properly regulated, the micro lending industry can lead to undesirable incidents like financial crisis and suicide cases as it was the case in the State of Andhra Pradesh of India where borrowers were over-indebted leading them to commit suicide. Since there is not a perfect regulatory model, countries have over the years formulated regulatory frameworks for micro lending. Some of the laws failed and created more problems than they were in fact intended to solve like the 2010 financial crisis in India. In 2008 Parliament of Botswana enacted the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority Act in order to regulate (NBFIs), including micro lenders. The primary purpose of this study is to scrutinize the mechanisms in place for the regulation and supervision of micro lenders in Botswana in light of those set internationally and subsequently deducing their effectiveness or lack thereof. The comparative analysis will focus on South Africa and India’s State of Andhra Pradesh. / LLM (Import and Export Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The debates on whether or not to regulate micro lending have shifted to finding the appropriate regulatory models. This is because countries are in agreement that being part of the greater financial services sector, micro lending plays an important role in the economic and social development of the citizens as it enables the poor to have access to credit and better their lives. To this end, Botswana has not fallen short of this global trend. Micro lending regulation plays an important role in maintaining the financial safety and soundness of any country’s financial sector. If not properly regulated, the micro lending industry can lead to undesirable incidents like financial crisis and suicide cases as it was the case in the State of Andhra Pradesh of India where borrowers were over-indebted leading them to commit suicide. Since there is not a perfect regulatory model, countries have over the years formulated regulatory frameworks for micro lending. Some of the laws failed and created more problems than they were in fact intended to solve like the 2010 financial crisis in India. In 2008 Parliament of Botswana enacted the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority Act in order to regulate (NBFIs), including micro lenders. The primary purpose of this study is to scrutinize the mechanisms in place for the regulation and supervision of micro lenders in Botswana in light of those set internationally and subsequently deducing their effectiveness or lack thereof. The comparative analysis will focus on South Africa and India’s State of Andhra Pradesh. / LLM (Import and Export Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015