title: From lines to circles: reshaping waste policy

authors: Blumhardt, Hannah

subjects: Zero waste

abstract: The impacts of waste transcend landfills and litter; emissions and pollution occur at every stage of the linear ‘take–make–waste’ economy. Zero waste and circular economy theories offer systemic perspectives and practical solutions. The New Zealand government has committed to a circular economy vision for Aotearoa. Given New Zealand’s ‘rubbish record on waste’, the social and economic transformation required will take extraordinary collaboration and a common direction of travel. This article diagnoses the extent of global waste problems, the circular pathways forward, and New Zealand’s early steps along them. With the government re-oriented to act, we urge an ambitious, joined-up approach that avoids locking in inadequate responses to existential threats.

text: From lines to circles: reshaping waste policy The impacts of waste transcend landfills and litter; emissions and pollution occur at every stage of the linear ‘take–make–waste’ economy. Zero waste and circular economy theories offer systemic perspectives and practical solutions. The New Zealand government has committed to a circular economy vision for Aotearoa. Given New Zealand’s ‘rubbish record on waste’, the social and economic transformation required will take extraordinary collaboration and a common direction of travel. This article diagnoses the extent of global waste problems, the circular pathways forward, and New Zealand’s early steps along them. With the government re-oriented to act, we urge an ambitious, joined-up approach that avoids locking in inadequate responses to existential threats.

year: 2022-05-20

title: Enhancing regulatory compliance by using artificial intelligence text mining to identify penalty clauses in legislation

authors: Goltz, Nachshon (Sean)

subjects: Regulatory compliance

abstract: As regulatory compliance (or compliance governance) becomes ever more challenging, attempts to engage IT solutions and especially artificial intelligence (AI) are on the rise. This paper suggest that regulatory compliance can be enhanced by employing an AI model trained to identify penalty clauses in the regulations. The paper provides the theoretical basis of machine learning for text classification and presents a two stage experiment of (1) training multiple models and selecting the best one; and (2) employing a sliding window detection in order to identify penalty clauses in regulation. Results benchmarked using an algorithm based penalties API suggests further development is needed.

text: Enhancing regulatory compliance by using artificial intelligence text mining to identify penalty clauses in legislation As regulatory compliance (or compliance governance) becomes ever more challenging, attempts to engage IT solutions and especially artificial intelligence (AI) are on the rise. This paper suggest that regulatory compliance can be enhanced by employing an AI model trained to identify penalty clauses in the regulations. The paper provides the theoretical basis of machine learning for text classification and presents a two stage experiment of (1) training multiple models and selecting the best one; and (2) employing a sliding window detection in order to identify penalty clauses in regulation. Results benchmarked using an algorithm based penalties API suggests further development is needed.

year: 2017

title: An ashy septingentenarian: the Kaharoa tephra turns 700 (with notes on its volcanological, archaeological, and historical importance)

authors: Lowe, David J.

abstract: Most of us are aware of the basaltic Tarawera eruption on 10th June 1886: the high toll on life (~120 people), landscape devastation, and loss of the Pink and White Terraces. But this was not the first time that Mt Tarawera produced an eruption of importance both to volcanology and human history. This edition of the GSNZ Newsletter marks the 700th anniversary of the Kaharoa eruption – its septingentenary to be precise – which occurred at Mt Tarawera in the winter of 1314 AD (± 12 years) (Hogg et al. 2003) (Fig. 1). The importance of the Kaharoa eruption is at least threefold. (1) It is the most recent rhyolite eruption in New Zealand, and the largest New Zealand eruption volumetrically of the last millennium. (2) The Kaharoa tephra is an important marker horizon in late Holocene stratigraphy and geoarchaeology (Lowe et al. 1998, 2000), and in particular helps to constrain the timing of settlement of early Polynesians in North Island (Newnham et al. 1998; Hogg et al. 2003; Lowe 2011). (3) There is a link between the soils that developed on the Kaharoa tephra, the animal ‘wasting’ disease known as ‘bush sickness’, and the birth of a government soil survey group as an independent organisation (Tonkin 2012).

text: An ashy septingentenarian: the Kaharoa tephra turns 700 (with notes on its volcanological, archaeological, and historical importance) Most of us are aware of the basaltic Tarawera eruption on 10th June 1886: the high toll on life (~120 people), landscape devastation, and loss of the Pink and White Terraces. But this was not the first time that Mt Tarawera produced an eruption of importance both to volcanology and human history. This edition of the GSNZ Newsletter marks the 700th anniversary of the Kaharoa eruption – its septingentenary to be precise – which occurred at Mt Tarawera in the winter of 1314 AD (± 12 years) (Hogg et al. 2003) (Fig. 1). The importance of the Kaharoa eruption is at least threefold. (1) It is the most recent rhyolite eruption in New Zealand, and the largest New Zealand eruption volumetrically of the last millennium. (2) The Kaharoa tephra is an important marker horizon in late Holocene stratigraphy and geoarchaeology (Lowe et al. 1998, 2000), and in particular helps to constrain the timing of settlement of early Polynesians in North Island (Newnham et al. 1998; Hogg et al. 2003; Lowe 2011). (3) There is a link between the soils that developed on the Kaharoa tephra, the animal ‘wasting’ disease known as ‘bush sickness’, and the birth of a government soil survey group as an independent organisation (Tonkin 2012).

year: 2014