1,354,938 research outputs found
A Reinforcement Learning Approach for User Preference-aware Energy Sharing Systems
No full textEnergy Sharing Systems (ESS) are envisioned to be the future of power systems. In these systems, consumers equipped with renewable energy generation capabilities are able to participate in an energy market to sell their energy. This paper proposes an ESS that, differently from previous works, takes into account the consumers’ preference, engagement, and bounded rationality. The problem of maximizing the energy exchange while considering such user modeling is formulated and shown to be NP-Hard. To learn the user behavior, two heuristics are proposed: a Reinforcement Learning-based algorithm, which provides a bounded regret, and a more computationally efficient heuristic, named BPT-K, with guaranteed termination and correctness. A comprehensive experimental analysis is conducted against state-of-the-art solutions using realistic datasets. Results show that including user modeling and learning provides significant performance improvements compared to state-of-the-art approaches. Specifically, the proposed algorithms result in 25% higher efficiency and 27% more transferred energy. Furthermore, the learning algorithms converge to a value less than 5% of the optimal solution in less than 3 months of learning
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe 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 general equilibrium analysis of demand side management programs under the clean development mechanism of the kyoto protocol
No full textThis paper analyzes the economic and environmental consequences of a potential demand side management program in Thailand using a general equilibrium model. The program considers replacement of less efficient electrical appliances in the household sector with more efficient counterparts. The study further examines changes in the economic and environmental effects of the program if it is implemented under the clean development mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol, which provides carbon subsidies to the program. The study finds that the demand side management program would increase economic welfare if the ratio of unit costof electricity savings to price of electricity is 0.4 or lower even in the absence of the clean development mechanism. If the program's ratio of unit cost of electricity savings to price of electricity is greater than 0.4, registration of the program under the clean development mechanism would be needed to achieve positive welfare impacts. The level of welfare impacts would, however, depend on the price of carbon credits the program generates. For a given level of welfare impacts, the registration of the demand side management program under the clean development mechanism would increase the volume of emission reductions.Energy Production and Transportation,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Environment and Energy Efficiency,Energy and Environment
World oil price and biofuels : a general equilibrium analysis
No full textThe price of oil could play a significant role in influencing the expansion of biofuels. However, this issue has not been fully investigated yet in the literature. Using a global computable general equilibrium model, this study analyzes the impact of oil price on biofuel expansion, and subsequently, on food supply. The study shows that a 65 percent increase in oil price in 2020 from the 2009 level would increase the global biofuel penetration to 5.4 percent in 2020 from 2.4 percent in 2009. A doubling of oil price in 2020 from its baseline level, or a 230 percent increase from the 2009 level, would increase the global biofuel penetration in 2020 to 12.6 percent. The penetration of biofuels is highly sensitive to the substitution possibility between biofuels and their fossil fuel counterparts. The study also shows that aggregate agricultural output drops due to an oil price increase, but the drop is small in major biofuel producing countries as the expansion of biofuels would partially offset the negative impacts of the oil price increase on agricultural outputs. An increase in oil price would reduce global food supply through direct impacts as well as through diversion of food commodities and cropland toward the production of biofuels.Energy Production and Transportation,Climate Change Economics,Markets and Market Access,Renewable Energy,Food&Beverage Industry
Invisible in life and death: Visibilising the deaths of female Nepali migrant domestic workers and the struggles of their families
No full textName of Contributors: Sulochana Khanal, Pooja Bishwakarma, Sangita Nepali, Dil Kumari Budha Magar, Rusha Bhandari, Kalpana Chaudhary, Kamala Khadka Budha Magar, Srijana Timilsina, Chandika Mohara, Anupma Pokharel, and Sunita MainaliCollaborating Institutions: Brunel University of London, WOREC, and Sunita FoundationExecutive Summary In this report, we offer an urgent examination of the deaths of female Nepali migrant domestic workers abroad and the consequences for their families. Drawing on 17 cases across multiple districts in Nepal, we foreground the voices of bereaved family members and argue that Nepal’s migration industry systemically fails its most vulnerable citizens – women from Dalit, janajati, and low-income backgrounds. At the heart of this pilot feminist research is an important question: What happens when the state that benefits from migrant women’s labour disowns them in death?Brunel University of London via Brunel Research Initiative and Enterprise Fund (BRIEF Award) – 2024-25
Biofuels and climate change mitigation : a CGE analysis incorporating land-use change
No full textThe question of whether biofuels help mitigate climate change has attracted much debate in the literature. Using a global computable general equilibrium model that explicitly represents land-use change impacts due to the expansion of biofuels, this study attempts to shed some light on this question. The study shows that if biofuel mandates and targets currently announced by more than 40 countries around the world are implemented by 2020 using crop feedstocks, and if both forests and pasture lands are used to meet the new land demands for biofuel expansion, this would cause a net increase of greenhouse gas emissions released to the atmosphere until 2043, since the cumulative greenhouse gas emissions released through land-use change would exceed the reduction of emissions due to replacement of gasoline and diesel until then. However, if the use of forest lands is avoided by channeling only pasture lands to meet the demand for new lands, a net increase of cumulative greenhouse gas emissions would occur but would cease by 2021, only a year after the assumed full implementation of the mandates and targets. The study also shows, contrary to common perceptions, that the rate of deforestation does not increase with the rate of biofuel expansion; instead, the marginal rate of deforestation and corresponding land-use emissions decrease even if the production of biofuels increases.Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Climate Change Economics,Energy and Environment,Environment and Energy Efficiency,Climate Change and Environment
Variations on the Author
No full text“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
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
No full textWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Biology and Management of Horseweed (Conyza canadensis) in Citrus Groves
No full textHorseweed has gained importance in recent years due to reports of the development of herbicide resistance to several modes of action, including glyphosate and paraquat. This new 5-page publication of the UF/IFAS Horticultural Sciences Department presents information about the lifecycle, identification, and management of horseweed in citrus groves. This publication is mainly intended for Florida citrus growers but will also be helpful for Extension agents, crop consultants, and others interested in citrus production. Written by Nirmal Timilsina, Sharpton Toussaint, Camille McAvoy and Ramdas Kanissery.
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs145
Stewardship Ecosystem Services Study: Carbon Stores on Florida Forest Stewardship Program Lands
No full textNonindustrial private forestlands in Florida provide many environmental benefits, or ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are benefits from nature that are directly enjoyed, consumed, or used by humans, such as water quality improvement or protection, recreation, biodiversity, and even timber. Another benefit from forests that is gaining interest is their ability to store carbon through the photosynthetic capture of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, in tree, plant, and soil biomass. The carbon dioxide that is stored over the life of a forest, called carbon stocks, is not only important for mitigating greenhouse gas contributions to climate change, but it can also be valued in several markets and incorporated into environmental policy instruments. This 5-page fact sheet was written by Nilesh Timilsina, Francisco J. Escobedo, Alison E. Adams, and Sonia Delphin, and published by the UF Department of School of Forest Resources and Conservation, October 2013.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr38
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