scholarly journals Water security in the Canadian Prairies: science and management challenges

2013 ◽  
Vol 371 (2002) ◽  
pp. 20120409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard Wheater ◽  
Patricia Gober
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Deep Uncertainty ◽  
Canadian Prairies ◽  
Multiple Dimensions ◽  
Security Challenges ◽  
Water Problems

In this paper, we discuss the multiple dimensions of water security and define a set of thematic challenges for science, policy and governance, based around cross-scale dynamics, complexity and uncertainty. A case study of the Saskatchewan River basin (SRB) in western Canada is presented, which encompasses many of the water-security challenges faced worldwide. A science agenda is defined based on the development of the SRB as a large-scale observatory to develop the underpinning science and social science needed to improve our understanding of water futures under societal and environmental change. We argue that non-stationarity poses profound challenges for existing science and that new integration of the natural sciences, engineering and social sciences is needed to address decision making under deep uncertainty. We suggest that vulnerability analysis can be combined with scenario-based modelling to address issues of water security and that knowledge translation should be coupled with place-based modelling, adaptive governance and social learning to address the complexity uncertainty and scale dynamics of contemporary water problems.

The periurban water security problem: a case study of Hyderabad in Southern India

Water Policy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 454-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjal Prakash
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Water History ◽  
Absolute Increase ◽  
Security Problem ◽  
Basic Infrastructure

The 2011 Census of India produced some interesting facts about the process of urbanisation in India. For the first time since Independence, the absolute increase in population is more in urban than in rural areas. The increase in urban areas has put pressure on the basic infrastructure, including access to water for both urban and periurban locations. Most Indian cities have formal water supply for only a few hours a day and only in limited areas. The question is – where are the remaining water requirements coming from? For much of India's ‘water history’, the focus has been on large-scale surface-water projects to provide access, focusing more on irrigation and neglecting sources within the city and the periurban areas. Over time an enormous informal groundwater market has arisen in several cities to bridge the demand–supply gap. This water demand is met through supplies of water through informal water markets. Water is sourced from the periurban regions, which are usually richer in surface water and groundwater. This paper focuses on the change process as witnessed by periurban areas with a case study of Hyderabad. This paper presents an overview of a trend that is leading to immense water insecurities due to a combination of issues.

scholarly journals River stresses in anthropogenic times: Large-scale global patterns and extended environmental timelines

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark G Macklin ◽  
John Lewin
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Water Security ◽  
River System ◽  
First Century ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
Global Perspectives ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Security Challenges

Global perspectives on the complexities of environmental change impacts associated with past and present human activity are needed for the food and water security challenges of the twenty-first century. This is especially true for rivers, for which the onset and persistence of a range in human activities, altering their function and form, have been temporally and spatially variable. Ancient civilisations, states and empires extended geographically to cover sub-continental areas where their river modifying activities became linked to regional Earth system stresses arising from climate and land use change. We present a new interpretative framework for characterising and classifying human impact on river systems, emphasising that this has taken place over decadal to millennial time periods on a sub-continental scale. This 16-element classification and documentation of different human transformations, including land management, urbanisation, industry and engineering activities, is used to explore anthropogenic channel and floodplain disruptions that have followed each other in different sequences in different places. It is significant that these inadvertent and deliberate human interventions have also taken place in parallel with contrasting climatic fluctuations that have been sub-continental in scale and varied in time. We assess the influence of the dominant modes of regional climate variability (monsoons, El Niño Southern Oscillation, Indian Ocean Dipole, North Atlantic Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation and Siberian High) on the speed and pattern of river system adjustment to anthropogenic perturbations. Some river civilisations have proved resilient to change given their adaptive management, while others have been overwhelmed by climate-related changes in river morphodynamics. We conclude that integrated socioeconomic, climatic and hydromorphological histories provide usefully instructive antecedents for sensibly managing, as they evolve, the even more serious coupled environmental stresses likely in the future.

scholarly journals Students on board: designing a board game for 1000+ students

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Leach ◽  
Geraldine Foley ◽  
Jose Javier Olivas Osuna ◽  
Aggie Molnar
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Board Game ◽  
Game Based Learning ◽  
Transferable Skills ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Impact

This case study considers the impact of introducing game based learning into a large-scale, undergraduate, social sciences course.  As well as outlining the aims and pedagogy behind the game, we look at the results from the evaluation process and the lessons learnt to take into the future. Overall, feedback from students and staff indicates that the game was successful in engaging students, in developing transferable skills and providing new ways of understanding. However, the impact of the game on students' learning was partly dependent on subsequent activities and how much students had previously engaged with the course materials.

A Family With Autosomal-Dominant Progressive Sensorineural Hearing Loss

1996 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Halpin ◽  
Barbara Herrmann ◽  
Margaret Whearty
Keyword(s):  
Speech Production ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Speech Language Pathology ◽  
The Family ◽  
Patient Will ◽  
Language Pathology

The family described in this article provides an unusual opportunity to relate findings from genetic, histological, electrophysiological, psychophysical, and rehabilitative investigation. Although the total number evaluated is large (49), the known, living affected population is smaller (14), and these are spread from age 20 to age 59. As a result, the findings described above are those of a large-scale case study. Clearly, more data will be available through longitudinal study of the individuals documented in the course of this investigation but, given the slow nature of the progression in this disease, such studies will be undertaken after an interval of several years. The general picture presented to the audiologist who must rehabilitate these cases is that of a progressive cochlear degeneration that affects only thresholds at first, and then rapidly diminishes speech intelligibility. The expected result is that, after normal language development, the patient may accept hearing aids well, encouraged by the support of the family. Performance and satisfaction with the hearing aids is good, until the onset of the speech intelligibility loss, at which time the patient will encounter serious difficulties and may reject hearing aids as unhelpful. As the histological and electrophysiological results indicate, however, the eighth nerve remains viable, especially in the younger affected members, and success with cochlear implantation may be expected. Audiologic counseling efforts are aided by the presence of role models and support from the other affected members of the family. Speech-language pathology services were not considered important by the members of this family since their speech production developed normally and has remained very good. Self-correction of speech was supported by hearing aids and cochlear implants (Case 5’s speech production was documented in Perkell, Lane, Svirsky, & Webster, 1992). These patients received genetic counseling and, due to the high penetrance of the disease, exhibited serious concerns regarding future generations and the hope of a cure.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner--A case study in large-scale design integration

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. McMullin ◽  
A. R. Jacobsen ◽  
D. C. Carvan ◽  
R. J. Gardner ◽  
J. A. Goegan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Design Integration ◽  
Scale Design

Disruptive innovation and operationalization in local and sustainable food systems: Examining the University of Toronto-Local Food Plus partnership

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-139
Author(s):  
Lori Stahlbrand
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Food System ◽  
Local Food ◽  
Disruptive Innovation ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
The University

This paper traces the partnership between the University of Toronto and the non-profit Local Food Plus (LFP) to bring local sustainable food to its St. George campus. At its launch, the partnership represented the largest purchase of local sustainable food at a Canadian university, as well as LFP’s first foray into supporting institutional procurement of local sustainable food. LFP was founded in 2005 with a vision to foster sustainable local food economies. To this end, LFP developed a certification system and a marketing program that matched certified farmers and processors to buyers. LFP emphasized large-scale purchases by public institutions. Using information from in-depth semi-structured key informant interviews, this paper argues that the LFP project was a disruptive innovation that posed a challenge to many dimensions of the established food system. The LFP case study reveals structural obstacles to operationalizing a local and sustainable food system. These include a lack of mid-sized infrastructure serving local farmers, the domination of a rebate system of purchasing controlled by an oligopolistic foodservice sector, and embedded government support of export agriculture. This case study is an example of praxis, as the author was the founder of LFP, as well as an academic researcher and analyst.

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