436 research outputs found
Examining the equity issues around ownership and government support of electric vehicles
No full textA shift to electric vehicles (EV) is seen as one of the main methods to decarbonise the transportation sector. However, issues have also been raised regarding charging infrastructure, EV reliability and range, as well as the battery environmental and social credentials. Notwithstanding governments, intergovernmental organisations, and research entities have ploughed ahead to promote this transition, but the challenge is the uptake and public acceptance. Grants and financial subsidies have been developed to facilitate this shift. Our study investigates the characteristics of the private EV household charger population using a regression model and spatial analysis to determine the influences of income, car ownership and economic status on EV take up rates. Data on the installation of EV household chargers are used in this paper as a proxy for EV ownership, due to data limitations. The results indicate that 1) urban areas are more likely to see higher concentrations of EV ownership, 2) an income and equity gap exists between those that have adapted electric mobility. This finding is very important because it suggests that lower income categories may have a financial barrier to shifting to EVs
Too hot to ignore:fixing the infrastructure gap in data centre cooling
No full textPolicy@Manchester’s publication on Cities and Environment provides evidence-led insights on the growing environmental impact of data centre cooling. Data centres are among the most energy- and water-intensive parts of the digital economy, yet their cooling systems remain largely absent from national infrastructure and climate policy.In this article, Dlzar Al Kez and Aoife Foley outline how advanced cooling technologies such as direct-to-chip and immersion systems can reduce electricity and water demand, while also highlighting critical gaps in regulation and disclosure. They recommend treating cooling as core infrastructure, embedding cooling in planning policy, and introducing national reporting frameworks for energy and water use.Their research-led recommendations provide policymakers with practical solutions to ensure data centre cooling supports the UK’s net zero strategy and strengthens digital resilience
Too hot to ignore:fixing the infrastructure gap in data centre cooling
No full textPolicy@Manchester’s publication on Cities and Environment provides evidence-led insights on the growing environmental impact of data centre cooling. Data centres are among the most energy- and water-intensive parts of the digital economy, yet their cooling systems remain largely absent from national infrastructure and climate policy.In this article, Dlzar Al Kez and Aoife Foley outline how advanced cooling technologies such as direct-to-chip and immersion systems can reduce electricity and water demand, while also highlighting critical gaps in regulation and disclosure. They recommend treating cooling as core infrastructure, embedding cooling in planning policy, and introducing national reporting frameworks for energy and water use.Their research-led recommendations provide policymakers with practical solutions to ensure data centre cooling supports the UK’s net zero strategy and strengthens digital resilience
Techniques and technologies to board on the feasible renewable and sustainable energy systems
No full textThis paper is the editorial for the virtual special issue (VSI) of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (RSER) dedicated to the 16th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES 2021) held from October 10 to 15, 2021 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The VSI collected both high quality review papers and original research articles presented at the SDEWES Conference in 2021 belonging to the aims and scope of RSER. After a scrutinizing peer review process, 28 articles were accepted and published. These articles deal with techniques and technologies to board on the feasible Renewable and Sustainable Energy Systems. Many of them are multidisciplinary articles addressing almost all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and providing feasible solutions to the strongly needed decarbonization pathways
A comparative analysis of bank lending to small enterprises in Ireland and Germany
Get PDFThe issue of whether the Irish banking system compares favourably or more adversely with other banking systems in the provision of finance to small businesses and in particular enterprises with a riskier profile such as those with higher volumes of current or intellectual assets to fixed assets has been addressed by several authors to date. Foley and Griffith, 1993. Kinsella ,1992 (Culliton Report). Deloitte and Touche, 1994. Bannock and Albach, 1991 (Germany). Burns and Clements, 1992 (UK).
Bank specific studies such as the above are complemented by studies which examine the performance of entrepreneurs and where the issue of banking comprises an ancillary issue rather than main focal point. Carpenter, 1993. Kinsella, Clarke, Storey, Mulveanny and Coyne, 1994. Cosh and Hughes, 1994 (UK). SBRC, 1992 (UK). Hogan, 1995. Kenny, 1994. Aston Business School, 1991. (UK)
This survey seeks to contribute to the literature by focusing on the banking aspects of small business financing in an international context, building on the bank specific studies as its central thrust while incorporating some findings of firm specific studies where relevant.
Some practices of German banks were applied as a yardstick against which to assess the performance of Irish banks vis a vis lending to small businesses. This study endeavours to assess the validity of beliefs th a t German banks exercise influence on firms through relationship banking, proxy voting rights and membership on supervisory boards which supposedly permit the conferral of advantageous lending terms to business. Attempts will be made to establish if these widely held views about the superiority of the German banking system are valid in a small business context.
Through a series of in-depth interviews with German and Irish bankers who deal with small businesses from across the banking spectrum, additional insights emerge on how- the German bankers perceive changes in the Irish system, the securing of loans, fallout rates in riskier small business groups and the orientation of lending
Opportunities for large-scale energy storage in geological formations in mainland Portugal
Get PDFThis article presents the methodology and results of the first screening conducted in Portugal to identify geological formations suitable for large-scale storage of energy from renewable sources. The screening focused on the identification of adequate porous media rocks, salt formations and igneous host rocks that could act as reservoirs for gas (hydrogen or methane) storage, Compressed Air Energy Storage, Underground Pumped Hydro and Underground Thermal Energy Storage. Public access geological information was collected, compiled in a database and spatially referenced in a GIS environment. The GIS and database were cross-checked with criteria for selecting geological reservoirs and with existing or anticipated spatial, environmental and social constraints. In a third step the feasibility of deploying each large-scale energy storage technology in each prospective reservoir was assessed and classified according to confidence, ranging from unlikely to proven, and to proximity to areas with wind or solar energy potential, accessibility to power transmission lines and natural gas networks. The outcome is a first screening of priority sites to be studied at the local scale in future projects. Early target for detailed studies are the existing salt caverns and an abandoned salt mine in the Lusitanian Basin. Natural gas storage in salt formations is being carried in the region for decades, proving the adequacy of the salt formations and demonstrating the social acceptance. Porous media aquifers in the same Lusitanian basin may also hold an interesting potential, although there is considerable uncertainty due to the scarcity of geological data about deep aquifers. The Sines industrial cluster, in SW Portugal, is another interesting target area, due to the existence of a host rock with proven containment capacity. The technologies with the best potential for application in the Portuguese geologic context seem to be CAES and Underground Gas Storage linked to Power-to-gas projects
State Responsibility for Sexual Exploitation and Abuse As Human Rights Violations by Peacekeepers
No full textA Symbol of State Power: Use of the Red Fort in Indian Political Trials
No full textA political trial is carried out against those who threaten the very existence of the state. When faced with such a crisis of legitimacy the state takes recourse to political trials. These political trials allow the state to display its power and yet retain an aura of legality. In 1948, the Indian State was smarting under its recent dismemberment and the communal violence that accompanied the partition. The assassination of Gandhi, the ‘father of the nation’ left the state more vulnerable than ever before. At this juncture, the insecure Indian State sought to display its power through the ‘trial spectacle’ against Gandhi’s assassins, which unfolded at the Red Fort. Built in 1648, for over two centuries the Red Fort was the main palace of the Mughal dynasty. In 1858, when the British established rule in India, they underscored their accession to the throne by trying the last Mughal King in his own palace. Adopting the Fort allowed the British to stress the linkages of their rule to the Indian indigenous past and therefore generate certain legitimacy for themselves. Though the Red Fort continued to be used for administrative purposes, in 1945 in the face of the most potent armed aggression by Indians, the British took recourse to the Red Fort, once again, to conduct the trial of the rebel Indian National Army. Over the last few centuries, the Red Fort had become a symbol of the empire, control over the fort indicated control over all of India. In addition to this, the post-colonial Indian state sought to make the fort the icon of a particular brand of secular nationalism. Keeping these various symbolisms in mind, The Fort was chosen by the new Indian State to gain legitimacy for itself and create a spectacle of power in 1948
Ready solutions for today and tomorrow: renewable and sustainable energy systems
No full textThis paper is the editorial for the virtual special issue (VSI) of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (RSER) dedicated to three Sustainable Development of Energy Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) Conferences held in 2022, namely: (i) the 5th South East European Conference SEESDEWES 2022 held from May 22 to 26, 2022 in Vlore, Albania; (ii) the 3rd Latin American LASDEWES 2022 held from July 24 to 28, 2022 in Sao Paulo, Brazil and (iii) the 17th SDEWES 2022 held from November 6 to 10, 2022 in Paphos, Cyprus. The VSI collected both high quality review papers and original research articles presented at these conferences, aligning with the aims and scope of RSER. Following a rigorous peer review process, seventeen articles were accepted and published. These articles explore techniques and technologies essential for advancing feasible Renewable and Sustainable Energy Systems. Spanning multidisciplinary topics, many of them address almost all the Sustainable Development Goals, offering feasible solutions for much-needed decarbonization pathways
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