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A global review of the trends and themes in polar tourism scholarship
No full textIn recent years, we have witnessed a proliferation in the scholarly output related to the study of polar tourism. Having made a first appearance as an area of research in its own right almost five decades ago, scholarship on polar tourism has undergone a significant transformation and is now more likely to be underpinned by empirical, multi-disciplinary, multi-authored and theoretically situated research than in the past. Updating previous reviews, this chapter systematically reviews 626 journal articles published on polar tourism (1974–2022) and identifies key research trends and themes. Following Stewart et al. (2005; 2017), a database of journal articles was updated through a keyword search of two online scholarly databases (Scopus and Google Scholar) and other regionally relevant search engines and compiled into a spreadsheet for analysis. The chapter extends the previous reviews by including articles published in languages other than English (22 languages). By doing so, this review presents, for the first time, a comprehensive overview of scholarly output on polar tourism, benefitting from the international research efforts that have been undertaken. While the chapter reports a dominance of Anglophone articles (almost 75% of all papers), there is an upswing scholarly work outside of the anglophone literature. This linguistic diversity stands us in good stead to advance our understanding of polar tourism in its many guises
Stochastic differential equations for chemical transformations in white noise probability space : Wick products and computations
No full textThis book highlights the applications of stochastic differential equations in white noise probability space to chemical reactions that occur in biology. These reactions operate in fluctuating environments and are often coupled with each other. The theory of stochastic differential equations based on white noise analysis provides a physically meaningful modelling framework. The Wick product-based calculus for stochastic variables is similar to regular calculus; therefore, there is no need for Ito calculus. Numerical examples are provided with novel ways to solve the equations. While the theory of white noise analysis is well developed by mathematicians over the past decades, applications in biophysics do not exist. This book provides a bridge between this kind of mathematics and biophysics
From the ‘Deep South' to adaptation for all Aotearoa: Reflecting on ten years of the Deep South National Science Challenge
No full textThis paper reflects back over the ten years of the Deep South National Science Challenge (DSC), with the intention to identify a series of insights that shaped its legacy, so that future similar endeavours are able to learn from the successes and deliver better investment value. At the time of its establishment, climate change adaptation was poorly understood in Aotearoa New Zealand and the DSC created a space for knowledge development in this area. The DSC had a complicated beginning, with an enforced shift in science direction from the funder. Together with an undue emphasis on an ambitious climate model, this created areas of enduring tension over the ten years. Nonetheless, its eventual agility and investment in targeted investment in knowledge brokering, Vision Mātauranga capability, and a shift towards decision-making despite climate model uncertainty, enabled the DSC to create a legacy for the climate change adaptation landscape in Aotearoa New Zealand
Water policy in New Caledonia: Participative co-building of water governance in a decolonization process
No full textIn 2018, a few months before the first referendum for full sovereignty, the government of New Caledonia launched the co-design of the country's first water policy based on a broad consultation that involved 1 out of 600 New Caledonians, the locally so-called “Shared Water Policy”.
The book both presents and assesses the original and broad participatory process used to build the new water policy. It does so by crossing different points of view (government, local managers and customary authorities). The book is also devoted to bridging the gap between customary land studies and water policy. It seeks a way to weave water representations and customary water management practices into the new policy.
This experience in a unique decolonisation complex context will inspire policy makers, academics, managers working on participatory methodologies for more inclusive water policy and governance processes, especially in countries where indigenous populations and legal pluralism orders coexist
Dirichlet mixed process integrated Bayesian estimation for individual securities
No full textBayesian nonparametric methods, particularly the Dirichlet process (DP), have gained increasing popularity in both theoretical and applied research, driven by advances in computing power. Traditional Bayesian estimation, which often relies on Gaussian priors, struggles to dynamically integrate evolving prior beliefs into the posterior distribution for decision-making in finance. This study addresses that limitation by modeling daily security price fluctuations using a Dirichlet process mixture (DPM) model. Our results demonstrate the DPM’s effectiveness in identifying the optimal number of clusters within time series data, leading to more accurate density estimation. Unlike kernel methods, the DPM continuously updates the prior density based on observed data, enabling it to better capture the dynamic nature of security prices. This adaptive feature positions the DPM as a superior estimation technique for time series data with complex, multimodal distribution
Predicting forest fire refugia using machine learning: The role of topography and microclimatic variables
No full textForest fire refugia are areas within fire-prone landscapes that remain fire-free or experience lower fire frequency and severity. These refugia are crucial for biodiversity, supporting species, maintaining mature vegetation, and aiding post-fire recovery. They enhance forest resilience by preserving genetic diversity and facilitating regeneration.Understanding how topography influences fire behaviour is key to identifying and conserving refugia, informing forest management to protect them from logging and disturbances. Machine learning models using wind patterns and altitude can effectively predict refugia in localized areas, aiding conservation efforts and promoting ecosystem resilience in fire-prone regions. Forest fire refugia can be accurately predicted using aspect, surface wind direction and speed (derived from computational fluid dynamics), topographic roughness, and temperature in machine learning algorithms (Random Forest, XGBoost; 2 ensembles models) and K-Nearest Neighbour (all run with and without ADASYN over-sampling). Six iterations were run per algorithm to assess the impact of leaving variables out.Among these variables, aspect is the most influential across both feature importance (Random Forest) and feature gain (XGBoost), as it aligns fire refugia with the leeward slopes of prevailing fire winds. Surface wind speed and direction, and global irradiation are also key predictors, with significant drops in model accuracy when these features are excluded. Temperature and topographic roughness show context-dependent importance. Temperature was significant in XGBoost but diminished after ADASYN oversampling, while topographic roughness increased in importance when elevation was excluded. Elevation did not significantly enhance model performance, and its exclusion had minimal impact on predictive accuracy. Ensemble models consistently produced the most accurate results, although accuracy metrics across all experiments where high and averaged 0.96 (±0.2), indicating robust predictive performance. These findings highlight the importance of topographic and micro climatic variables in fire refugia prediction, with machine learning providing reliable forecasting frameworks
Transmission losses and groundwater recharge from ephemeral rivers in the Canterbury Plains (New Zealand): historical reconstruction and environmental implications
No full textStudy region
The Canterbury Plains (New Zealand), where gravel-bed rivers are a major source of groundwater recharge to underlying aquifers and some of these rivers are ephemeral. Study focus A recently developed method has been employed to estimate groundwater recharge from the Selwyn and Orari rivers using satellite images. We found that for both rivers the specific groundwater recharge is strongly correlated to the logarithm of the river discharge. These relationships were leveraged to predict the total groundwater recharge from flow data for the last 40 years. New hydrological insights for the region Our findings indicate an average annual groundwater recharge of 74 Mm3y-1 from the Selwyn River and 205 Mm3y-1 from the Orari River. Notably, there is a strong interannual variability in groundwater recharge of up to 100%, partly explained by El Niño events, but no distinct impact of longer-term climate change. Moreover, this study highlights the importance of groundwater recharge from ephemeral rivers of the Canterbury Plains for groundwater resources and groundwater-dependent ecosystems located in spring-fed streams. We show that to ensure flow in the studied spring-fed streams, the Selwyn and Orari monthly averaged recharge should be maintained above 2 and 8 m3s-1, respectively. We advocate for the broader application of our method to enhance the understanding and management of ephemeral rivers and their dependent systems in other regions
Editorial: On-farm implementation of transformative technologies and practices for sustainability transitions in agriculture
No full textRegenerating small settlements - one small pier at a time
No full textBased on a study of three small piers on Banks Peninsula, New Zealand, this research describes the processes of their community led restoration. The study is based on indepth interviews with community members in Ōtoromiro/GovernorsBay; Kaioruru/ChurchBay in Whakaraupō/Lyttelton Harbour, and Takamatua in Akaroa Harbour (n=18). These projects saw the establishment of a new model for small settlement facility restoration and have spurred multiple longer term legacies for communities. We identify three key relationships that contributed to the successful jett yrestoration, involving the biophysical marine space, community and council. There generative processes are similar to but significantly differ from pier restoration occurring in comparable international cases
Explore the perspectives of nascent entrepreneurs in New Zealand on social capital, self-efficacy, and entrepreneurial intention in the context of the post-COVID-19 pandemic : A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Commerce and Management at Lincoln University
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted global economies, with income losses among communities and across countries. Furthermore, New Zealand is grappling with economic imbalances, which have been further intensified by the pandemic. Existing literature indicates that entrepreneurship significantly contributes to the economic development of a country through the setting up of new businesses and the resulting generation of more production, services and job opportunities. Leveraging entrepreneurship as a strategic instrument could also serve as one of the viable solutions for the New Zealand economy to overcome its current challenges in the long term. Entrepreneurship has significantly developed in recent decades due to various economic, political, and socio-economic factors, and research has recommended enhancing entrepreneurial intention. In addition, the significance of social capital, together with self-efficacy, has been recognized as a pivotal factor in initiating a business, as it facilitates obtaining and deploying financial and human capital.
Overall, this study offers an understanding of the characteristics of entrepreneurial intention in New Zealand following the post-pandemic period. The effects of post-pandemic factors and cultural support on entrepreneurship have been investigated by examining the utilization and accessibility of resources, entrepreneurial intention, self-efficacy beliefs, and social capital networks.
The research findings reinforce the concept of social capital since most emerging entrepreneurs are actively engaged in diverse social networks, seeking chances to enhance their expertise and leverage resources through networking. Research revealed that the presence of bonding social capital has a substantial impact on nascent entrepreneurs' intentions. This study has presented empirical data on the interconnectedness of family, friends, mentors, business contacts, and peer support in the development of emerging entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the research findings confirmed the theory of bridging social capital, since most nascent entrepreneurs actively engage in various social networks, seeking possibilities to enhance their expertise and obtain essential resources through networking. The success of nascent entrepreneurs is greatly influenced by their self-efficacy beliefs. Those who possess greater confidence in their abilities, skills, attributes, and resilience are more capable of overcoming obstacles and capitalizing on available opportunities. Continuous learning, mentorship, and feedback are critical components in building self-esteem. The processes of digitizing entrepreneurial environments worldwide have accelerated following the COVID-19 epidemic and it has been emphasized in the research findings. Cultural and societal influences are important aspects of entrepreneurial intention. Therefore, a comparative analysis of different cultures could be highly beneficial