THE USEFULNESS OF ANALYTICAL TOOLS FOR SUSTAINABLE FUTURES

The aim of this study is to assess the usefulness of analytical tools for policy evaluation. The study focuses on a multi-method integrated toolkit, the so-called SMILE toolkit. This toolkit consist of the integration of three evaluation frameworks developed within an EU-funded consortium called Development and Comparison of Sustainability (DECOIN) and further applied within the consortium Synergies in Multi-Scale Inter-Linkages of Eco-social systems (SMILE). This toolkit is developed to provide reporting features that are required for monitoring policy-making. The sustainable development perspective is rather difficult to attempt due to its dynamism and its multi-dimensionality. Therefore, in this study, we aim to assess the usefulness of the SMILE toolkit to sustainable development issues on the basis of the critical factors of sustainable development. In other words, here, we will prove the usefulness of the toolkit to help policymakers to think about and work on sustainable developments in the future.

A Review of Fault Diagnosing Methods in Power Transmission Systems

Transient stability is important in power systems. Disturbances like faults need to be segregated to restore transient stability. A comprehensive review of fault diagnosing methods in the power transmission system is presented in this paper. Typically, voltage and current samples are deployed for analysis. Three tasks/topics; fault detection, classification, and location are presented separately to convey a more logical and comprehensive understanding of the concepts. Feature extractions, transformations with dimensionality reduction methods are discussed. Fault classification and location techniques largely use artificial intelligence (AI) and signal processing methods. After the discussion of overall methods and concepts, advancements and future aspects are discussed. Generalized strengths and weaknesses of different AI and machine learning-based algorithms are assessed. A comparison of different fault detection, classification, and location methods is also presented considering features, inputs, complexity, system used and results. This paper may serve as a guideline for the researchers to understand different methods and techniques in this field

Water Supply Planning under Interdependence of Actions: Theory and Application

An ongoing water supply planning problem in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, is studied to select the best water supply combination, within a multiple-objective framework, when actions are interdependent. The interdependencies in the problem are described and shown to be essential features. The problem is formulated as a multiple-criteria integer program with interdependent actions. Because of the large number of potential actions and the nonconvexity of the decision space, it is quite difficult to find nondominated subsets of actions. Instead, a modified goal programming technique is suggested to identify promising subsets. The appropriateness of this technique is explained, and the lessons learned in applying it to the Waterloo water supply planning problem are described

Intelligent synthesis mechanism for deriving streaming priorities of multimedia content

We address the problem of integrating user preferences with network quality of service parameters for the streaming of media content, and suggest protocol stack configurations that satisfy user and technical requirements to the best available degree. Our approach is able to handle inconsistencies between user and networking considerations, formulating the problem of construction of tailor-made protocols as a prioritization problem, solvable using fuzzy programming

Analysis of the potentials of multi criteria decision analysis methods to conduct sustainability assessment

Sustainability assessments require the management of a wide variety of information types, parameters and uncertainties. Multi criteria decision analysis (MCDA) has been regarded as a suitable set of methods to perform sustainability evaluations as a result of its flexibility and the possibility of facilitating the dialogue between stakeholders, analysts and scientists. However, it has been reported that researchers do not usually properly define the reasons for choosing a certain MCDA method instead of another. Familiarity and affinity with a certain approach seem to be the drivers for the choice of a certain procedure. This review paper presents the performance of five MCDA methods (i.e. MAUT, AHP, PROMETHEE, ELECTRE and DRSA) in respect to ten crucial criteria that sustainability assessments tools should satisfy, among which are a life cycle perspective, thresholds and uncertainty management, software support and ease of use. The review shows that MAUT and AHP are fairly simple to understand and have good software support, but they are cognitively demanding for the decision makers, and can only embrace a weak sustainability perspective as trade-offs are the norm. Mixed information and uncertainty can be managed by all the methods, while robust results can only be obtained with MAUT. ELECTRE, PROMETHEE and DRSA are non-compensatory approaches which consent to use a strong sustainability concept, accept a variety of thresholds, but suffer from rank reversal. DRSA is less demanding in terms of preference elicitation, is very easy to understand and provides a straightforward set of decision rules expressed in the form of elementary “if … then …” conditions. Dedicated software is available for all the approaches with a medium to wide range of results capability representation. DRSA emerges as the easiest method, followed by AHP, PROMETHEE and MAUT, while ELECTRE is regarded as fairly difficult. Overall, the analysis has shown that most of the requirements are satisfied by the MCDA methods (although to different extents) with the exclusion of management of mixed data types and adoption of life cycle perspective which are covered by all the considered approaches

WaterMet2: a tool for integrated analysis of sustainability-based performance of urban water systems

This paper presents the "WaterMet2" model for long-term assessment of urban water system (UWS) performance which will be used for strategic planning of the integrated UWS. WaterMet2 quantifies the principal water-related flows and other metabolism-based fluxes in the UWS such as materials, chemicals, energy and greenhouse gas emissions. The suggested model is demonstrated through sustainability-based assessment of an integrated real-life UWS for a daily time-step over a 30-year planning horizon. The integrated UWS modelled by WaterMet2 includes both water supply and wastewater systems. Given a rapid population growth, WaterMet2 calculates six quantitative sustainability-based indicators of the UWS. The result of the water supply reliability (94%) shows the need for appropriate intervention options over the planning horizon. Five intervention strategies are analysed in WaterMet2 and their quantified performance is compared with respect to the criteria. Multi-criteria decision analysis is then used to rank the intervention strategies based on different weights from the involved stakeholders' perspectives. The results demonstrate that the best and robust strategies are those which improve the performance of both water supply and wastewater systems

Globalization and Europeanization - A Projection on a European Model of Public Administration

The specialized studies and literature present moreover and insistently the connection between globalization and Europeanization, more precisely between globalization and a European model of integration, whose features aim to set up a global-type European society. The development of the European model of integration starts with economic elements, it reveals nowadays the Economic and Monetary Union and in perspective it will be structured within a sui generis system of transnational governance. The values of the European model of integration become fundamental values of a social process, with powerful economic and political determinations, aiming the multi-causal interference between individual, community and European construction. This process, remarked increasingly in the specialized literature, being assigned with the name of Europeanization has got original, functional features in the spectrum of significations of the globalization paradigm. As essential global-type formula, within Europeanization, we shall find models with economic, political or social finality, integrating also a model of administration among the latter ones. When we say administration, we refer to its up dated and adequate contents to the new European developments. This assertion derives from a less economic modality to conceptualize the relationship between globalization and Europeanization, presenting Europeanization more as a political adaptation to globalization and even a political expression of globalization. In this context, the development of a system for European governance on several levels (local, regional, national, intergovernmental and supranational) suggests its evolution towards globalization. In fact, the literature specific for Europeanization asserts the fact that the European model has also features with integrative nature related to the supranational and trans-governmental dimensions, as well as features with normative nature in view of harmonization, also by standards. These assertions, to which we can add also others, are leading to a new model of public administration, whose area overlaps with the space of European Union, incorporating the effects of globalization under its European expression, Europeanization. Consequently, the proposed model, emphasizing the process of European Union construction will comprise transparency, accountability and participation of the interested parties to public decision. The new public administration aims to use efficiently the resources in order to create favourable conditions for its citizens to become more competitive on the world market and to reduce the gap between the poorest and the richest inhabitants of the world. The current paper aims to conceptualize and to describe a model of public administration. The architecture of this model will be that of a complex system, with a mixed architecture, emphasizing connections with different intensities among its various levels: European, regional, national etc. The feedback mechanisms will be different and specific for each level and they will be ensured by different institutions on compatible normative grounds

Acute Stroke Multimodal Imaging: Present and Potential Applications toward Advancing Care.

In the past few decades, the field of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) has experienced significant advances in clinical practice. A core driver of this success has been the utilization of acute stroke imaging with an increasing focus on advanced methods including multimodal imaging. Such imaging techniques not only provide a richer understanding of AIS in vivo, but also, in doing so, provide better informed clinical assessments in management and treatment toward achieving best outcomes. As a result, advanced stroke imaging methods are now a mainstay of routine AIS practice that reflect best practice delivery of care. Furthermore, these imaging methods hold great potential to continue to advance the understanding of AIS and its care in the future. Copyright © 2017 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc