Carbon rationing action groups: an innovation history

Carbon Rationing Action Groups (CRAGs) are community-based groups who agree to reduce their carbon emissions through the creation of carbon targets. The members of each CRAG decide a carbon target per person at the beginning of the ‘carbon year’ and the price per kg of carbon. Over the year each member records his/her personal carbon emissions, using the same metrics. At the end of the year, members share their results and people who exceeded the agreed target pay a financial penalty. The penalty money is paid into a bank account and distributed to members who saved carbon as agreed by the participants. The Carbon Rationing Action Groups innovation history traces the origins of the network, through its height when about 25 groups operated across the UK in 2008, to its eventual demise in 2010

Supersymmetric Extra Dimensions: Gravitino Effects in Selectron Pair Production

We examine the phenomenological consequences of a supersymmetric bulk in the scenario of large extra dimensions. We assume supersymmetry is realized in the bulk and study the interactions of the resulting bulk gravitino Kaluza-Klein (KK) tower of states, with supersymmetry breaking on the brane inducing a light mass for the zero-mode gravitino. We derive the 4-d effective theory, including the couplings of the bulk gravitino KK states to fermions and their scalar superpartners. The virtual exchange of the gravitino KK states in selectron pair production in polarized \epem collisions is then examined. We find that the leading order operator for this exchange is dimension six, in contrast to that of bulk graviton KK exchange which induces a dimension eight operator at lowest order. The resulting kinematic distributions for selectron production are dramatically altered from those in D=4 supersymmetric scenarios, and can lead to a enormous sensitivity to the fundamental higher dimensional Planck scale, of order $20-25\times \sqrt s$.Comment: 48 pg

On the Accuracy of Regulatory Cost Estimates

This study compares ex ante estimates of the direct costs of individual regulations to ex post assessments of the same regulations. A review of more than two dozen environmental and occupational safety regulations indicates that ex ante estimates of total (direct) costs have tended to exceed actuals. The authors find this to be true of 12 of the 25 rules in their data set, while for only 6 were the ex ante estimates too low. The overestimation of total costs is often due to errors in the quantity of emission reductions achieved by the rule which, in turn, suggest that the rule's benefits may also be overestimated. The quantity errors are driven by both baseline and compliance issues. At least for EPA and OSHA rules, overestimation of per-unit abatement costs occurs about as often as underestimation. In contrast, for those rules that use economic incentives, per-unit costs are consistently overestimated. Much of the overestimation can be attributed to technical innovations unanticipated at the time the rule is issued, and to quantity errors. In addition, several methodological and procedural explanations also apply: changes in the regulation after the cost estimate is prepared, use of maximum cost estimates, and asymmetric error correction. Since a number of environmental laws encourage the development of cost estimates that reflect a maximum rather than a mean, regulatory agencies could issue a "best estimate" along with the statutorily preferred cost estimate. Likewise, they could ensure that rule changes made in the course of the regulatory development process are manifest in revised cost estimates. Indeed, discovering how and when to adjust ex ante estimates provides the strongest possible justification for more credible ex post studies�a research activity that merits greater emphasis.

(Still) Unsafe at Any Speed : Why Not Jail for Auto Executives?

Americans can be forgiven for wondering what has gone so drastically wrong with the companies that sell automobiles. In 2014, 64 million, a number equivalent to one in five of the cars on the road, was recalled. Safety defects such as the lack of torque in ignition switches installed in GM compact cars like the Cobalt put motorists in the terrifying position of coping with a stalled engine and loss of power brakes while traveling at high speeds. GM had the audacity to classify this condition was not a safety defect, but instead was merely “inconvenient” for its customers. It persisted in this position for many years until a private lawsuit forced the company to acknowledge that stalled engines also meant disabled airbags. This Article uses the ignition switch debacle to consider two crucial questions. First, is the regulatory system capable of stepping into the marketplace and stopping corporate malfeasance that creates too many incentives for executives to deny the existence of safety defects well past the time when they should be acknowledged? Concluding that the answer to this question is no, the piece then considers whether criminal prosecution of mid- and senior-level managers, including in-house counsel for the companies, is a feasible and effective alternative to traditional regulation? I argue that publicly available facts justify criminal prosecution of GM as well as individual managers for reckless homicide under state law, as well as such federal crimes as failure to disclose a safety defect and obstruction of justice

Dynamics of internal R&D stakeholders in the Fuzzy Front-End of breakthrough engineering projects

International audienceIn competitive industries, intensive innovation is a recognized necessity (Wheelwright and Clark, 1992; Le Masson et al., 2010). One success factor of breakthrough R&D projects lies in the knowledge articulation between innovation definition phases, composed of fuzzy front-end (FFE) and innovative new product development (NPD) stages (Koen et al, 2002; Cooper et al, 2001), and industrial development processes. Then, central issue for innovation projectsmanagers becomes internal R&D stakeholders’ management (Elias et al., 2002) and sustainable learning dynamics across the two parts of the organization (O’Connor, 2008). Our paper fits into this research gap for local breakthrough R&D in the dominant design. We discuss the role of technical expertise level of NDP stakeholders involved in early stages of innovative projects. The research mobilized two longitudinal studies (Yin, 1989) carried out with a global car manufacturer through collaborative management research (Radaelli et al., 2012) since 2005, one focusing on the FFE management, while the other was devoted to learning dynamics of engineering development departments. A cartography of the internal network of breakthrough R&D (Mitchell et al, 1997) underlined a stable organizational network across projects. Nevertheless, a quantitative analysis of accounting data on 8 projects highlights important dynamics of involvement or dis-engagement within the network. The analysis showed that the accounting reporting at the portfolio level used to hide to top-managers the heterogeneity and depth of resources dynamics at the project level. The impacts of local breakthrough R&D on the engineering development organization was similar to waves: some stakeholders, who played roles of experts, spokespersons or innovation design strategists, were able to involve quickly the individuals to maintain the project progress, sometime generating an over-commitment on innovation projects. At the opposite, a lack of trust of the design partners generated withdrawal of resources that needed a strong stakeholder management to be prevented

Valorificarea capitalului intelectual - criteriu pentru performanta manageriala in societatea bazata pe cunoastere

If we can see the knowledge society as an essential part of the “external environment” of the firm management, that brings with it some specific opportunities and threats, we have to consider the intellectual capital – that integrates the two basic resources: knowledge and human – a key ingredient for the “internal environment” of the firm management, which determines some strengths and/or weaknesses that lead to the success or the failure of the managerial effort of the firm operating under the circumstances given by the emergency of three processes with global spread: the economic globalization, the managerial revolution and the knowledge-based society. Having as starting point the premise that Peter Drucker emphasized years ago: the managerial revolution represents the third essential change into the dynamics of knowledge, when knowledge is applied to knowledge itself, we have to accept the priority of the human factor – which generates, uses and valorizes knowledge in a never ending process of interaction with the environment. By continuing with this logic, we can not ignore that, even if there is no unanimously recognized approach about the meaning of the intellectual capital, it appears recently a quasi-unanimous recognized opinion regarding the first place that the intellectual capital has to take as source for the competitive advantage of the firm and strategic resource for its management. More than that, in a time when knowledge becomes the strategic resource for any of the human activities, firms shift through a new managerial paradigm that characterize “the civilized business” and promote management intellectualization. By this way, the valorization of the intellectual capital of the firm could become vital criteria for the managerial performance in the knowledge – based society.intellectual capital; managerial performance; knowledge-based society

Propuesta metodológica para la aplicación del benchmarking internacional en la evaluación de la calidad de la educación superior virtual

L'objectiu d'aquest treball consisteix a proporcionar una metodologia de benchmarking que permeti a les universitats que ofereixin educació virtual comparar-se amb les millors universitats en l’àmbit internacional a fi de millorar la qualitat de la seva educació virtual. Per tal de comprovar la idoneïtat de la metodologia proposada, aquesta s'aplica a la Universitat Virtual de Polònia (PUW). Com a universitat sòcia (líder) es tria la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). El benchmarking que s’ha fet ha permès obtenir uns resultats sòlids per a l'elaboració i posterior implantació d'un complet pla d'acció de millora que permetrà millorar a curt i mitjà termini la qualitat de l'educació virtual de la Universitat Virtual de Polònia. Per això, es conclou que la metodologia de benchmarking proposada és adequada per a avaluar i millorar la qualitat de l'educació superior virtual.This research focuses on providing a benchmarking methodology that allows any university offering virtual education (e-learning or b-learning) to compare itself to the best international universities in order to improve the quality of the virtual education offered. In order to verify the adequacy of the proposed methodology, it has been applied to the Polish Virtual University (PUW). On the other hand, the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) was chosen as the leading partner university. The benchmarking performed has allowed the author to obtain solid results in order to draw up and implement a complete action plan for improvement, which will make it possible to increase, in the short and medium terms, the quality of the virtual education offered by PUW. It is therefore concluded that the proposed benchmarking methodology is adequate in order to assess and improve the quality of virtual higher education.El objetivo de este trabajo consiste en proporcionar una metodología de benchmarking que permita a las universidades que ofrezcan educación virtual compararse con las mejores universidades a nivel internacional al objeto de mejorar la calidad de su educación virtual. Para comprobar la idoneidad de la metodología propuesta, esta se aplica a la Universidad Virtual de Polonia (PUW). Como universidad socia (líder) se elige la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). El benchmarking realizado ha permitido obtener unos resultados sólidos para la elaboración y posterior implantación de un completo plan de acción de mejora que permitirá mejorar a corto y medio plazo la calidad de la educación virtual de la Universidad Virtual de Polonia. Por ello, se concluye que la metodología de benchmarking propuesta es adecuada para evaluar y mejorar la calidad de la educación superior virtual