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The Eco Ladder for energy management: a literature review of economic driving and energy management
Full text linkNævestad T-O and Hesjevoll IS (2023) The Eco Ladder for energy management: a literature review of economic driving and energy management. Front. Future Transp. 4:1044795. doi: 10.3389/ffutr.2023.1044795Transport accounts for nearly 25% of man-made emissions of greenhouse gases, and goods transport by road accounts for 45% of the total energy consumption in transport. Measures within goods transport will therefore be a good starting point for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Existing research shows that trucking companies’ measures to facilitate an economic driving style can achieve between 5% and 10% reduction in fuel consumption. They can probably reduce their energy consumption even more, by focusing on factors additional to driving style. However, existing recipes for such measures (e.g., ISO: 50001) seem to be relatively complicated, resource-intensive, and to a small extent adapted to transport. Previous research shows low implementation of such management systems in trucking companies, because most of them are small (<5 employees), and probably have few resources when it comes to economy, time and expertise. The aim of the study, is therefore to develop a research-based model of how trucking companies can work with economic driving and energy management at the organizational level. The model is based on a systematic review of measures for economic driving and energy management in trucking companies. The model is referred to as the Eco Ladder for energy management, and describes an approach with gradual introduction of specific measures. Companies must start with the measures that are assumed to have the greatest effect, and which are easiest to implement, before moving on to the next level. Based on existing research, we discuss expected effects for economy, emissions, traffic safety and working environment.publishedVersio
Traffic safety effects of economic driving in trucking companies
No full textThe present study examines the relationship between economic driving and road safety in trucking companies that have received support to work with economic driving, and a Reference sample of drivers from assumed average companies. The study is based on survey data (N = 366), and qualitative interviews (N = 26) with managers and employees. We first test the relationship between economic driving and traffic safety at the driver level (aim 1) and find a clear relationship: drivers with high scores in the fleet management systems, which record key aspects of economic and safe driving style, have a lower accident risk than drivers with lower scores. We then test the relationship between economic driving and traffic safety at the organizational level (aim 2), using the Eco Ladder for energy management approach to describe companies with different levels of measures to facilitate economic driving. Results indicate a lower accident risk for companies at the top level in the Eco Ladder for long-distance and regional transport (but not in distribution transport). This is due to the fact that the companies at the top of the Eco ladder have the most measures to facilitate economic driving, and thus the largest proportion of drivers with high scores in the fleet management system. We find relationships between focus on economy and safety at both driver, technology and company level. We also discuss potential conflicts between economic driving and traffic safety.Traffic safety effects of economic driving in trucking companiespublishedVersio
Care organisations role as intermediaries between the authorities and the marginalised in crisis management
Full text linkPublished by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).Social service providers work to alleviate social disadvantages, which may particularly loom during crises. These organisations have a close understanding of the needs of their clients. However, this knowledge is rarely taken into account in tailoring crisis measures, which may lead to increased vulnerability and create additional suffering. In this paper, we take a novel look at the role of care organisations as intermediaries between their clients and the authorities in representing the needs and capabilities of vulnerable people and explore the factors hindering or facilitating this representation. We focused on care organisations in Europe and collected data from 32 interviews, followed by 5 workshops and an international colloquium with 6 language-based discussion groups with participants from organisations offering care services to socially marginalised individuals. The results demonstrate the role these organisations had in advocating their clients' needs to the authorities to adapt the crisis measures accordingly (“bottom-up approach”), and communicating official information about the risks and government rules to their clients (“top-down approach”). We found effective mediation to stem from long-term, trusting client relationship to be able to reflect on clients’ needs, while the lack of collaboration protocol and tradition can be seen as the main barrier to inclusive crisis management. Networking with social care services to bring their expertise into crisis management systems is essential to promote the resilience of the diverse society.Care organisations role as intermediaries between the authorities and the marginalised in crisis managementpublishedVersio
Shadow pricing of electricity generation using stochastic and deterministic materials balance models
No full textKenneth Løvold Rødseth, Shadow pricing of electricity generation using stochastic and deterministic materials balance models, Applied Energy, Volume 341, 2023, 121095, ISSN 0306-2619, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.121095.Marginal abatement cost is an essential input to optimal environmental policies. Shadow pricing has become a popular method for estimating abatement costs subject to parsimonious data requirement. This paper provides a novel contribution to the literature on shadow pricing by considering the implication of the materials balance principle for shadow prices. To that end, the paper establishes a Convex Nonparametric Least Squares estimator for the weak G-disposable production model, which for the first time enables modeling a composite error term and joint estimation of the production frontier and contextual variables within this production model framework. Applying the Directional Distance Function, environmental efficiencies and shadow prices for carbon dioxide emissions are estimated for a sample of power producers using both stochastic and deterministic frontier models. Average shadow price estimates for carbon dioxide range between 14,000 and 40,000 /ton CO2 for the conventional production model that ignores the materials balance. These findings cast doubt on previous shadow price estimates since a majority of comparable studies ignore the strict technical relationship among pollution-generating inputs and bad outputs under the materials balance condition.Shadow pricing of electricity generation using stochastic and deterministic materials balance modelspublishedVersio
Less is more? Why do we find less severe mental and material impact of COVID-19 among the most marginalised and homeless in countries with lower welfare spending?
No full textKati Orru, Tor-Olav Nævestad, Ingeliis Siimsen, Daniel Alejandro de Los Rios Pérez, Lars Even Egner, Less is more? Why do we find less severe mental and material impact of COVID-19 among the most marginalised and homeless in countries with lower welfare spending?, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, Volume 97, 2023, 104034, ISSN 2212-4209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.104034.The study examines how various policy approaches in countries may have influenced the material and mental well-being outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic among marginalised groups and people experiencing homelessness in Europe. In a structured country comparison case study approach, we combine country-based indicators, e.g., the level of infection, unemployment, and restrictions, with individual data from a cross-sectional survey with 226 participants from 6 European countries. Contrary to expectations, our results suggest that vulnerable people living in countries with low welfare expenditure report the lower negative mental and material impact of the COVID-19 pandemic than people living in countries with high welfare expenditure countries. This unexpected result could be explained by higher expectations of the level of support they should have received during extraordinary times such as the pandemic among respondents in the studied high welfare expenditure countries. Due to our cross-sectional design across only six countries, we cannot generalise the trend to Europe and only speculate on the causal mechanisms behind the observed association. We also discuss factors like care organisations' role and pre-existing welfare policies. We suggest possible additional factors that may shed light on our results, noting that these issues need to be examined further in future studies with a more extensive study sample.Less is more? Why do we find less severe mental and material impact of COVID-19 among the most marginalised and homeless in countries with lower welfare spending?publishedVersio
Sociotechnical Factors Supporting Mobile Phone Use by Bus Drivers
Full text link{Ross O. Phillips and Siri Hegna Berge}, {Sociotechnical Factors Supporting Mobile Phone Use by Bus Drivers}, {IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors}, {0}, {0}, {1-13}, {2023}, {Taylor & Francis}, {10.1080/24725838.2023.2166161}Background: Sociotechnical measures could supplement traditional risk management measures and further reduce risks of collisions involving heavy vehicles. Such measures can be identified using methods rooted in sociotechnical systems theory, which considers that people work in systems comprising multiple social and technical elements that interact to create emergent properties and conditions that influence valued system outcomes. Purpose: To investigate the potential of sociotechnical measures in helping to reduce road risks, we identified how social and technical factors combine to influence mobile phone use by bus drivers working at a company in Norway. Method: A survey of ∼600 drivers was completed, followed by focus group interviews with managers and drivers and one-on-one or group interviews with drivers. The interviews were structured using a sociotechnical analysis framework. Results: Twenty percent of drivers reported using their phone while operating a bus, even though such use was against company guidelines. Almost all drivers took their phone with them when they drove, and 40% of those who said they never used their phone while driving could still hear incoming calls and messages. Analysis from nine interviews with 26 drivers suggested that phone use by drivers operating buses is supported by interacting sociotechnical factors due to an increased societal dependence on technology, developments in bus driver culture, a need for bus drivers to resolve conflicting goals at work, and a lack of consequences for drivers using mobile phone use while driving. Conclusions: Limited consideration of the sociotechnical ecosystems surrounding bus drivers can contribute to their mobile phone use and thereby to potential problems of attention and awareness while driving. Sociotechnical approaches should be developed using participative design to reduce phone use while driving, especially to promote openness and information sharing and support bus drivers in the field as they strive to resolve conflicting goals.publishedVersio
Container shipping: A market equilibrium perspective on freight rates formation post-Covid-19
No full textJostein Tvedt, Inger Beate Hovi, Container shipping: A market equilibrium perspective on freight rates formation post-Covid-19,
Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Volume 179, 2024, 103917, ISSN 0965-8564, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2023.103917The unprecedented container shipping freight rate levels post-Covid-19 are studied in a stochastic dynamic partial equilibrium framework. The proposed container marked model is calibrated on annual aggregate data from the two recent decades. The observed freight rate levels in 2021 and 2022 match a switch of competitive equilibria from Bertrand to Cournot competition. Whereas increased costs and reduced productivity play a role in explaining freight rates, these factors alone appear not to be able to justify the high post-Covid-19 freight rate levels.Container shipping: A market equilibrium perspective on freight rates formation post-Covid-19publishedVersio
Using the Triangle of Human Ecology for understanding self-rated depression: A quantitative study based on the HUNT 3 cohort
Full text linkNielsen AF, Jørgensen SH, Jones AP. Using the Triangle of Human Ecology for understanding self-rated depression: A quantitative study based on the HUNT 3 cohort. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. 2023;0(0). doi:10.1177/14034948221122638Aims: To test the Triangle of Human Ecology by examining associations between unipolar depression and different measures of human biological factors, health behaviour, and the physical environment. Methods: Data originate from the third wave of the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (2006-2008). The survey was based on a random sample of 50,000 Norwegians (response rate: 54%). Logistic regression was performed, using unipolar depression, measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score, as outcome variable and 38 explanatory variables. Results: Biological factors including older age and male gender were associated with higher odds of depression, as were behavioural factors including drinking behaviour and having a neurotic personality. Reduced odds were associated with units of alcohol consumed, extrovert personality and physical activity. Social networks were an environmental factor with reduced odds at both personal and neighbourhood levels, as was warmer outdoor temperatures. Conclusions: Using the Triangle of Human Ecology provides a holistic insight into how behaviour, biology and the environment influence mental health.Using the Triangle of Human Ecology for understanding self-rated depression: A quantitative study based on the HUNT 3 cohortacceptedVersio
Prospective Life Cycle Assessment of Lithium-Sulfur Batteries for Stationary Energy Storage
Full text linkSanna Wickerts, Rickard Arvidsson, Anders Nordelöf, Magdalena Svanström, and Patrik Johansson, Prospective Life Cycle Assessment of Lithium-Sulfur Batteries for Stationary Energy Storage, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 2023 11 (26), 9553-9563, DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c00141The lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery represents a promising next-generation battery technology because it can reach high energy densities without containing any rare metals besides lithium. These aspects could give Li-S batteries a vantage point from an environmental and resource perspective as compared to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Whereas LIBs are currently produced at a large scale, Li-S batteries are not. Therefore, prospective life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to assess the environmental and resource scarcity impacts of Li-S batteries produced at a large scale for both a cradle-to-gate and a cradle-to-grave scope. Six scenarios were constructed to account for potential developments, with the overall aim of identifying parameters that reduce (future) environmental and resource impacts. The specific energy density and the type of electrolyte salt are the two most important parameters for reducing cradle-to-gate impacts, whereas for the cradle-to-grave scope, the electricity source, the cycle life, and, again, the specific energy density, are the most important. Additionally, we find that hydrometallurgical recycling of Li-S batteries could be beneficial for lowering mineral resource impacts but not necessarily for lowering other environmental impacts.We would like to thank the Swedish Energy Agency (grant number 50099-1) and the Vinnova competence center Batteries Sweden (BASE) for financially supporting this study.publishedVersio
Prospects for nature-based tourism: identifying trends with commercial potential
Full text linkHaukeland, J. V., Fredman, P., Tyrväinen, L., Siegrist, D., & Lindberg, K. (2023). Prospects for nature-based tourism: identifying trends with commercial potential. Journal of Ecotourism, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/14724049.2023.2178444Nature-based activities have become business constituents of increasing importance in the tourism industry. In this paper, trends in nature-based tourism with the largest commercial potentials are identified by means of surveys with 60 experts in five different countries/regions with a renowned nature-based tourism sector, collected in three rounds based on Delphi methodology. Results show that the trend categories with the highest impact on commercial opportunities within the next 10 years are related to health, sustainability, soft adventure, digitalization, and professionalization. The ability to recognize and deal with such prospects is a key element of an economically successful, but also environmental and socially sustainable nature-based tourism industry. Thus, the identified developments are of crucial importance to business managers, policymakers, managers of nature areas, and planning authorities.Prospects for nature-based tourism: identifying trends with commercial potentialpublishedVersio