1,721,111 research outputs found
Deliberative decarbonisation? Assessing the potential of an ethical governance framework for low-carbon energy through the case of carbon dioxide capture and storage
Full text linkIn this paper we explore the potential of a framework of ethical governance for low-carbon energy. Developing mainly in the field of information and communications technology, ethical governance is concerned with the marginalisation of ethical and moral issues during development and deployment of new technologies. Focusing on early carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) projects, we argue that a focus on technical arguments in the governance of low-carbon energy similarly risks sidelining deeper issues such as fairness, justice, and values. We believe an ethical governance approach does have potential for low-carbon energy technologies like CCS, but also that climate change mitigation technologies pose particular challenges for the implementation of ethical governance
Field applications of pure biochar in the North Sea region and across Europe
Full text linkAs demonstrated by several scientific studies there is no doubt that biochar in general is very recalcitrant compared to other organic matter additions and soil organic matter fractions and also that it is possible to sequester carbon at a climate change relevant time scale (~100 years or more) by soil application of biochar. However, the carbon stability of biochar in soil is strongly correlated with the degree of thermal alteration of the original feedstock (the lower the temperature, the larger the labile fraction) and in depth understanding of the technology used and its effect on the biochar quality is necessary in order to produce the most beneficial biochars for soil application. Beside carbon sequestration in soil biochar may improve the GHG balance by reducing N2O and CH4 soil emissions, although contrasting results are found in the literature. The mechanisms behind these reductions remain unclear and more research is required in order to investigate the various hypotheses in more detail, and to unravel the complex interaction between biochar, crop and soil, especially under field conditions. In conclusion, our current knowledge is largely based on short-term lab studies and pot experiments, which have provided detailed insight in certain processes and aspects of biochar application to soils, but suffer from large uncertainties when scaled-up to the farmers field level. In order to produce more realistic scenarios of the potential impact of biochar on C sequestration and soil GHG emissions there is a need to bring biochar research up to the field-scale, and to perform longer-term studies
Innovation for Development: A comparative analysis of improved cookstoves in Sri Lanka and Tanzania
No full textThis dissertation analyses innovation for development. Based on the case study of improved
cookstoves, it aims to understand why some innovations are more successful than others, and
what is needed for successful innovations in developing countries. To reach its objectives, it
undertakes a comparative analysis of improved cookstoves in Sri Lanka and Tanzania.
Improved cookstoves are a much-needed technology, considering that half of the world relies
on solid fuels for cooking and burning these in traditional stoves is inefficient and harmful for
people and environment. A comparative analysis of improved stoves in Sri Lanka and
Tanzania shows that a systemic approach, long-term support, coordination of stakeholders,
conditions that enable learning, inclusion of users and incremental changes of a technology,
are essential for creating sustainable markets that serve the poor. These factors ultimately
explain why Sri Lanka has a fully commercialized stove sector, while uptake in Tanzania,
especially in rural areas, is very low.
It becomes clear that innovation, although not a panacea, is important for development. In
order to benefit development, innovations need a systemic approach that takes the wider
framework and local context, learning, users and the nature of donor funding into account.
Innovation systems theory, which is part of the theoretical framework of analysis, is valuable,
however, it needs to be adjusted to the situation in developing countries. As development
programmes often suffer from several factors concerning donor funding, the nature of donor
support needs to be included. Eventually it shows that if improved cookstoves, as much as
innovations in general, are to benefit development, they need a systemic approach, meet
users’ needs and be supported until sustainable outcomes have been reached
Applying circular economy and healthy building principles to shipping container buildings
No full textThis dissertation is research for the University of Suffolk (UoS) and the proposed BoxDock building project. BoxDock is a potential development on UoS marina-front property in Ipswich, England, to create a multi-functional building, using 50+ shipping containers as the base building material.
The University of Suffolk wants to create a space that encourages innovation and gives UoS a unique selling point (USP); a USP that differentiates it from other competing universities and gives students and Ipswich an iconic waterfront property that will help stimulate campus activity in an area of the marina that currently has little to draw in students and the public.
The principles of a circular economy and a healthy building framework are applied to BoxDock to show how the University of Suffolk can best create a unique shipping container building. This paper is presented in consultation style to best give recommendations of how BoxDock can be developed with these principles and the reasons to consider the circular economy model over more traditional methods of design and building.
The construction industry and commercial buildings both contribute significantly to GHG emissions globally and in the UK, and shipping containers are symbol of the modern consumer culture and transportation industries. By transforming this symbol of consumerism and industrialisation into an exemplar of sustainable design, the University of Suffolk and Ipswich will have a structure that provides a point of interest in the marina district as well as potentially provide a catalyst for further waterfront development
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
A Single Water Policy Approach in the Face of Uncertainty and Variability
No full textThis dissertation deals with the policy issues of large-scale, urban water privatisation projects in the face of uncertainty and variability. The main objective is to evaluate whether a single policy approach, namely privatisation associated with the Melamchi Water Supply Project, is appropriate in the face of a dynamic natural and cultural heterogeneity in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. In line with this objective, the main research findings are that there are multiple policy debates, which appear to reflect competing perceptions of the legitimacy water crisis. However, the resolution of the debate over whose definition of the water problem prevails largely determines the policy outcome. With respect to this, Cultural Theory has been chosen as a heuristic device to provide some order to the different perceptions that were uncovered in the policy dispute.
The key findings show that due to a market-oriented shift in the policy arena, the Melamchi Water Supply Project along with its privatisation scheme is considered by Nepal’s officials as the only alternative to water scarcity in the Kathmandu Valley. Yet, the analysis of the urban water project deduced that this singular policy approach would be ‘locked into’ a water-based technological design model through a path-dependent process, which makes it prone to delays and failures in the face of a dynamic, heterogeneous environment. Therefore, it is recommended instead to focus on ‘clumsy’, ‘resilient’ institutions in order to respond to internal and external constraints. That is, the Melamchi project and its private water market around the existing multiplicity of water service approaches in the Valley
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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