Search results for " Economics"
showing 10 items of 8862 documents
Economical evaluation of ecological benefits of the demand side management
2014
Environmental pollution and over-exploitation of non-renewable sources to find energy are current topics for the modern world that is now at having to deal with several issues such as the greenhouse effect, acid rain and climate change. In this study, the economical estimate of the savings in carbon dioxide obtained with a careful management of electrical loads is presented. Four particular scenarios are designed as case studies: Italy, France, United Kingdom and Germany. A comparison is presented with a similar study, made in 2007, when green energies were not yet very developed.
Limits to CO2-Neutrality of Burning Wood. (Review)
2016
Abstract Consumption of wood as a source of energy is discussed with respect to efficiency and restraints to ensure sustainability of the environment on the grounds of a simple analytical model describing dynamics of biomass accumulation in forest stands – a particular case of the well-known empirical Richards’ equation. Amounts of wood harvested under conditions of maximum productivity of forest land are presented in units normalised with respect to the maximum of the mean annual increment and used to determine the limits of CO2-neutrality. The ecological “footprint” defined by the area of growing stands necessary to absorb the excess amount of CO2 annually released from burning biomass is…
MUV: A Game to Encourage Sustainable Mobility Habits
2019
This working paper investigates the question of changing people mobility towards more sustainable habits involving them in an engaging gameplay. The work is performed within MUV H2020 research and innovation action. The game design, definition and features have been co-created through the involvement of different citizens and stakeholders in six European neighbourhoods. The paper discusses the game design as resulting from co-creation and co-design experiences with each neighbourhood communities involved in initial phases. The paper argues that the local co-design activities have influenced the game definition, together with the community engagement approach. The MUV gameplay approach resul…
Dog-Owner Relationship, Owner Interpretations and Dog Personality Are Connected with the Emotional Reactivity of Dogs
2022
Simple Summary The relationship between owner and the dog affects the dog's attachment behaviors and stress coping. In turn, the quality of the relationship may affect owner's interpretations about their dog's behavior. Here, we assessed dogs' emotional responses from heart rate variability and behavioral changes during five different situations. Dog owners evaluated the emotion (valence and arousal) of their dog after each situation. We found that both negative and positive incidents provoked signs of emotional arousal in dogs. Owners detected the dog's arousal especially during fear- and stress-evoking situations. The dog-owner relationship did not affect owners' interpretation of dogs' e…
Special Functions for the Study of Economic Dynamics: The Case of the Lucas-Uzawa Model
2004
The special functions are intensively used in mathematical physics to solve differential systems. We argue that they should be most useful in economic dynamics, notably in the assessment of the transition dynamics of endogenous growth models. We illustrate our argument on the Lucas-Uzawa model, which we solve by the means of Gaussian hypergeometric functions. We show how the use of Gaussian hypergeometric functions allows for an explicit representation of the equilibrium dynamics of the variables in level. In contrast to the preexisting approaches, our method is global and does not rely on dimension reduction.
Noether’s International School in Modern Algebra
2020
Pavel Alexandrov and Heinz Hopf met for the first time in Gottingen in the spring of 1926, soon after Alexandrov departed from Blaricum. Hopf had recently taken his doctorate in Berlin under Ludwig Bieberbach and Erhard Schmidt, and his research interests differed sharply from Alexandrov’s work in general topology.
Computing Difficulties for Deriving Poverty Indices from Some Functional Forms of Lorenz Curves
2014
We examine three families of classical one-parameter functional forms for estimating a Lorenz curve: the power form (Pareto, elementary form), the exponential form (Gupta, elementary form) and fractional form (Rohde). For the first time, we systematically study these functions not for their ability to be estimated but on the point of view of the possibility of deriving poverty indices, which implies first determining the headcount ratio (i.e., the percentage of poor). We show that computing difficulties have been largely underestimated. Two forms, the most simple ones, pose no problem: the elementary power and exponential forms. However, the Pareto functional form poses problem with a restr…
Simultaneous optimization of harvest schedule and measurement strategy
2013
In many recent studies, the value of forest inventory information in the harvest scheduling has been examined. Usually only the profitability of measuring simultaneously all the stands in the area is examined. Yet, it may be more profitable to concentrate the measurement efforts to some subset of them. In this paper, the authors demonstrate that stochastic optimization can be used for defining the optimal measurement strategy simultaneously with the harvest decisions. The results show that without end-inventory constraints, it was most profitable to measure the stands that were just below the medium age. Measuring the oldest stands was not profitable at all. It turned out to be profitable t…
T9+HUD: Physical Keypad and HUD can Improve Driving Performance while Typing and Driving
2016
We introduce T9+HUD, a text entry method designed to decrease visual distraction while driving and typing. T9+HUD combines a physical 3x4 keypad on the steering wheel with a head-up-display (HUD) for projecting output on the windshield. Previous work suggests this may be a visually less demanding way to type while driving than the popular case which requires shifts of visual attention away from the road. We present a prototype design and report first results from a controlled evaluation in a driving simulator. While driving, the T9+HUD text entry rate was equal compared to a dashboard-mounted touchscreen device, but it reduced lane deviations by 70%. Furthermore, there was no significant di…
Why Do Users Switch Mobile Applications? : Trialing Behavior as a Predecessor of Switching Behavior
2018
Mobile application providers face high user losses because users can easily and often switch to an alternative application. Researchers have recently started to study information technology (IT) switching. However, no studies have concentrated on the unique context of mobile applications. Mobile application switching differs from the switching behavior related to many other IT products and services because of the highlighted role of alternatives, beta versions, updates, reviews, and users’ spontaneous behavior. To address this gap, we develop a mobile-specific model by using a qualitative research approach. As a theoretical contribution, we introduce trialing behavior as a predecessor of sw…