Nitrate contamination in groundwater of Kabul Province,Afghanistan:Reasons behind and conceptual management framework discourse

Groundwater contamination has been on the rise in Afghanistan.It has become a major concern among the policy makers.This paper aims to propose practical options for the management of nitrate contamination in one of Afghanistan’s groundwater polluted provinces,Kabul.The management framework utilized Mann-Kendall and Sen Slope tests to detect nitrate trend and geostatistical analysis option in Arc GIS 10.5 to assess the nitrate change.To explore the impact of various management options,a number of legislative documents were reviewed.The results indicate a decline in the nitrate storage of Kabul aquifers from 108 mg/L in 2005 to 0.044 mg/L in 2010.Considering the whole period of the study,the results show that the nitrate volumes remain lower than the nitrate concentration range proposed by World Health Organization(50 mg/L).Groundwater dynamics in Kabul aquifers were influenced by nitrate derived from precipitation and nitrate input from root zones in agricultural areas.Finally,different management options for groundwater pollution from nitrate and corresponding authorities,incorporated urban,rural and agriculture,were proposed.It is expected that this study will help policy makers to better manage the nitrate storage of Kabul aquifers by implementing the proposed management options.

Application of Binomial Option Pricing Model to the Appraisal of Knowledge Management Investment

This paper views knowledge management （KM） investment from the angle of real options, and demonstrates the utility of the real options approach to KM investment analysis. First, KM project has characteristics of uncertainty, irreversibility and choice of timing, which suggests that we can appraise KM investment by real options theory. Second, the paper analyses corresponding states of real options in KM and finance options. Then, this paper sheds light on the way to the application of binomial pricing method to KM investment model, which includes modeling and conducting KM options. Finally, different results are shown of using DCF method and binomial model of option evaluation via a case.

Rainwater harvesting to alleviate water scarcity in dry conditions:A case study in Faria Catchment,Palestine

In arid and semi-arid regions, the availability of adequate water of appropriate quality has become a limiting factor for development. This paper aims to evaluate the potential for rainwater harvesting in the arid to semi-arid Faria Catchment, in the West Bank, Palestine. Under current conditions, the supply-demand gap is increasing due to the increasing water demands of a growing population with hydrologically limited and uncertain supplies. By 2015, the gap is estimated to reach 4.5 x 106 m3. This study used the process-oriented and physically-based TRAIN-ZIN model to evaluate two different rainwater harvesting techniques during two rainfall events. The analysis shows that there is a theoretical potential for harvesting an additional 4 x 106 m3 of surface water over the entire catchment. Thus, it is essential to manage the potential available surface water supplies in the catchment to save water for dry periods when the supply-demand gap is comparatively high. Then a valuable contribution to bridging the supply-demand gap can be made.

The application of option pricing theory to the evaluation of mining investment

A rational evaluation on an investment project forms the basis of a right investment decision making. The discounted cash flow (DCF for short) method is usually used as a traditional evaluation method for a project investment. However, as the mining investment is influenced by many uncertainties, DCF method cannot take into account these uncertainties and often underestimates the value of an investment project. Based on the option pricing theory of the modern financial assets, the characteristics of a real project investment are discussed, and the management option of mine managers and its pricing method are described.

Systems research helping to meet the needs and managing the trade-offs of a changing world

Facing the challenges of an increasing world population, a changing climate and ever depleting resources, agricultural intensification （Keating et al. 2010） is one of the few options for meeting the demand of food security. It is necessary to apply a dynamic and systematic approach to effectively man- age the complex agri-eco production and green processing systems. Indeed, farming systems approach for appropriate technology development and simulation modeling is a result of adopting the system thinking by the agricultural research community （Norman et al. 1995）.