title: The influence of reef topography on storm-driven sand flux

authors: Bosserelle, Cyprien

abstract: Natural formations of rock and coral can support geologically controlled beaches, where the beach dynamics are significantly influenced by these structures. However, little is known about how alongshore variations in geological controls influence beach morphodynamics. Therefore, in this study we focus on the storm response of a beach (Yanchep in south Western Australia) that has strong alongshore variation in the level of geological control because of the heterogeneous calcarenite limestone reef. We used a modified version of XBeach to simulate the beach morphodynamics during a significant winter storm event. We find that the longshore variation in topography of the reef resulted in: (1) strong spatial difference in current distribution, including areas with strong currents jets; and (2) significant alongshore differences in sand flux, with larger fluxes in areas strongly geologically controlled by reefs. In particular, this resulted in enhanced beach erosion at the boundary of the reef where strong currents jet-exited the nearshore.

text: The influence of reef topography on storm-driven sand flux Natural formations of rock and coral can support geologically controlled beaches, where the beach dynamics are significantly influenced by these structures. However, little is known about how alongshore variations in geological controls influence beach morphodynamics. Therefore, in this study we focus on the storm response of a beach (Yanchep in south Western Australia) that has strong alongshore variation in the level of geological control because of the heterogeneous calcarenite limestone reef. We used a modified version of XBeach to simulate the beach morphodynamics during a significant winter storm event. We find that the longshore variation in topography of the reef resulted in: (1) strong spatial difference in current distribution, including areas with strong currents jets; and (2) significant alongshore differences in sand flux, with larger fluxes in areas strongly geologically controlled by reefs. In particular, this resulted in enhanced beach erosion at the boundary of the reef where strong currents jet-exited the nearshore.

year: 2021

title: Prospects of climate resilient infrastructure in the low-income informal settlements of Dhaka - A community approach

authors: Rahman, Sowmen

abstract: This thesis focuses on the prospects of climate resilient infrastructure in the low-income settlements of Dhaka city. Numerous research findings show that low-income communities of Dhaka are living in the hazard prone areas with poor housing, sanitation and drainage facilities. These communities are at high risk of predicted climate change impacts and may be unable to avoid the direct and indirect impacts of climatic disasters. Most of the houses are below the ground level of Dhaka city and remain inundated after heavy rainfall or flood. In this context, this research undertook a community approach to explore the required measures for building climate resilience in the infrastructures of low-income settlements. Special attention was given on the impacts of heavy rainfall and storms and how they affect the infrastructure system.

This study selected Beguntila slum and New Purba Kurmitola Camp as a sample after carefully evaluating the selection criteria for this research.  To derive information from the field, this study applied qualitative data collection techniques. Reconnaissance surveys were conducted on both slums to get a primary idea about the vulnerabilities of these slums. In this study, separate male and female focus group discussions were conducted in both slums. Ten key community experts were also selected for the key informant interviews. Drawing on qualitative data collected through focus group discussions and key informant interviews, this study examines the infrastructural vulnerabilities of these slums due to climate change impacts. It then identifies the root causes for these vulnerabilities. Finally, it outlines the required measures for establishing climate resilient infrastructure in these settlements. 

The findings demonstrate that the key reason for these vulnerabilities on infrastructure due to heavy rainfall is inefficiency of current drainage system in the slum areas. This situation becomes even worse in absence of a functioning sewerage system. The tin-shed houses were found to be very weak and unable to withstand strong winds during storms. It was also found that electric poles could collapse on tin-shed houses and roads causing injuries to slum dwellers. The analysis finds that poverty is the most impeding factor for the advancement of the slum infrastructure. To conclude, the study urges the need for collective effort by government and NGOs to address the issues and take a range of structural and non-structural measures to build climate resilience in the low-income settlements of Dhaka city.

text: Prospects of climate resilient infrastructure in the low-income informal settlements of Dhaka - A community approach This thesis focuses on the prospects of climate resilient infrastructure in the low-income settlements of Dhaka city. Numerous research findings show that low-income communities of Dhaka are living in the hazard prone areas with poor housing, sanitation and drainage facilities. These communities are at high risk of predicted climate change impacts and may be unable to avoid the direct and indirect impacts of climatic disasters. Most of the houses are below the ground level of Dhaka city and remain inundated after heavy rainfall or flood. In this context, this research undertook a community approach to explore the required measures for building climate resilience in the infrastructures of low-income settlements. Special attention was given on the impacts of heavy rainfall and storms and how they affect the infrastructure system.

This study selected Beguntila slum and New Purba Kurmitola Camp as a sample after carefully evaluating the selection criteria for this research.  To derive information from the field, this study applied qualitative data collection techniques. Reconnaissance surveys were conducted on both slums to get a primary idea about the vulnerabilities of these slums. In this study, separate male and female focus group discussions were conducted in both slums. Ten key community experts were also selected for the key informant interviews. Drawing on qualitative data collected through focus group discussions and key informant interviews, this study examines the infrastructural vulnerabilities of these slums due to climate change impacts. It then identifies the root causes for these vulnerabilities. Finally, it outlines the required measures for establishing climate resilient infrastructure in these settlements. 

The findings demonstrate that the key reason for these vulnerabilities on infrastructure due to heavy rainfall is inefficiency of current drainage system in the slum areas. This situation becomes even worse in absence of a functioning sewerage system. The tin-shed houses were found to be very weak and unable to withstand strong winds during storms. It was also found that electric poles could collapse on tin-shed houses and roads causing injuries to slum dwellers. The analysis finds that poverty is the most impeding factor for the advancement of the slum infrastructure. To conclude, the study urges the need for collective effort by government and NGOs to address the issues and take a range of structural and non-structural measures to build climate resilience in the low-income settlements of Dhaka city.

year: 2018

title: The Struggle For Success: A Socio-Cultural Perspective on the French Marist Priests and their Māori Mission 1838-1867

authors: Harman, Sandy Angela

subjects: missionaries

abstract: The nineteenth-century Roman Catholic missionary endeavour in New Zealand had its origins in a society of priests from Lyon, known as the Marists. The Marists’ mission has been deemed a failure due to its ongoing financial problems, its reputation for having abandoned Māori adherents, and its less visible impact compared to the Anglican Mission. This thesis examines the challenges facing the pioneer Marist priests in New Zealand and asks the question: was the Mission indeed a failure? The answer lies in the correspondence of the French Marists themselves, a largely untapped historical source which contains a different view of early New Zealand contact and religious history from that of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) evangelists. ‘The Struggle for Success’ consists of three parts examining the Mission before, during and after the pioneer phase. The first describes the Marists’ early influences and religious formation in France, which serve to elucidate the missionaries’ raison d’être and provide an historical context for the Mission. It is also an important attempt at a prosopography of men whose early lives were barely documented, and whose connection with contemporaneous and historical France, and the Lyon area in particular, would greatly affect the missions in Oceania. The subsequent comparative mission history in Part Two highlights the difficulties and conflicts that affected the progress of the Marist Māori Mission in New Zealand compared with other Christian missions in Oceania, notably the CMS in New Zealand and the early Marists in Wallis, Futuna, Tonga and New Caledonia. It describes the factors leading to the alleged failure of the Marist Māori Mission and demonstrates that hardships and struggle were the common lot of pioneer missionaries in Oceania. But the Marists on the Māori Mission had the added obstacles of being Frenchmen in a British colony, ascetics surrounded by and dependent on commerce, and dutiful religious under the authority of overburdened bishops. Irish immigration into New Zealand distorted the original aims of the French Marist missionaries, and Māori politico-religious initiatives to combat the devastating impacts of British colonialism essentially quashed Marist hopes that Māori would become a decidedly Catholic people. Having considered the obstacles to success, the thesis discusses in Part Three how the pioneer Marists understood success and conversion. In retrospect, it is clear that the missionaries underestimated the tenacity of early Māori catechists, but the CMS in New Zealand and Marists throughout Oceania were equally insensible in this respect. Finally the thesis offers an assessment of the mission’s overall success taking into account the revival of the Marist Māori Mission in the late 1870s and its continuation into the twentieth century. The social, cultural and political complexities of missionary endeavour demand a less rigid evaluation of missions than has been previously offered; and success and failure are problematic terms for the pioneer Marist Māori Mission because evangelisation was and is a work in progress.

text: The Struggle For Success: A Socio-Cultural Perspective on the French Marist Priests and their Māori Mission 1838-1867 The nineteenth-century Roman Catholic missionary endeavour in New Zealand had its origins in a society of priests from Lyon, known as the Marists. The Marists’ mission has been deemed a failure due to its ongoing financial problems, its reputation for having abandoned Māori adherents, and its less visible impact compared to the Anglican Mission. This thesis examines the challenges facing the pioneer Marist priests in New Zealand and asks the question: was the Mission indeed a failure? The answer lies in the correspondence of the French Marists themselves, a largely untapped historical source which contains a different view of early New Zealand contact and religious history from that of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) evangelists. ‘The Struggle for Success’ consists of three parts examining the Mission before, during and after the pioneer phase. The first describes the Marists’ early influences and religious formation in France, which serve to elucidate the missionaries’ raison d’être and provide an historical context for the Mission. It is also an important attempt at a prosopography of men whose early lives were barely documented, and whose connection with contemporaneous and historical France, and the Lyon area in particular, would greatly affect the missions in Oceania. The subsequent comparative mission history in Part Two highlights the difficulties and conflicts that affected the progress of the Marist Māori Mission in New Zealand compared with other Christian missions in Oceania, notably the CMS in New Zealand and the early Marists in Wallis, Futuna, Tonga and New Caledonia. It describes the factors leading to the alleged failure of the Marist Māori Mission and demonstrates that hardships and struggle were the common lot of pioneer missionaries in Oceania. But the Marists on the Māori Mission had the added obstacles of being Frenchmen in a British colony, ascetics surrounded by and dependent on commerce, and dutiful religious under the authority of overburdened bishops. Irish immigration into New Zealand distorted the original aims of the French Marist missionaries, and Māori politico-religious initiatives to combat the devastating impacts of British colonialism essentially quashed Marist hopes that Māori would become a decidedly Catholic people. Having considered the obstacles to success, the thesis discusses in Part Three how the pioneer Marists understood success and conversion. In retrospect, it is clear that the missionaries underestimated the tenacity of early Māori catechists, but the CMS in New Zealand and Marists throughout Oceania were equally insensible in this respect. Finally the thesis offers an assessment of the mission’s overall success taking into account the revival of the Marist Māori Mission in the late 1870s and its continuation into the twentieth century. The social, cultural and political complexities of missionary endeavour demand a less rigid evaluation of missions than has been previously offered; and success and failure are problematic terms for the pioneer Marist Māori Mission because evangelisation was and is a work in progress.

year: 2010