The accessibility of administrative processes: Assessing the impacts on students in higher education

Administrative processes that need to be completed to maintain a basic standard of living, to study, or to attain employment, are perceived to create burdens for disabled people. The navigation of information, forms, communications, and assessments to achieve a particular goal raises diverse accessibility issues. In this paper we explore the different types of impacts these processes have on disabled university students. We begin by surveying literature that highlights the systemic characteristics of administrative burdens and barriers for disabled people. We then describe how a participatory research exercise with students led to the development of a survey on these issues. This was completed by 104 respondents with a diverse range of declared disabilities. This provides evidence for a range of impacts, and understanding of the perceived level of challenge of commonly experienced processes. The most common negative impact reported was on stress levels. Other commonly reported impacts include exacerbation of existing conditions, time lost from study, and instances where support was not available in a timely fashion. Processes to apply for disability-related support were more commonly challenging than other types of processes. We use this research to suggest directions for improving accessibility and empowerment in this space

The State Response to Climate Change: 50 State Survey

This survey accompanies Global Climate Change and U.S. Law, Second Edition (Michael B. Gerrard and Jody Freeman, eds, 2014). It compiles state legislation, rules and executive orders that specifically address climate change as of the end of April 2014. It also includes a wide variety of state activities that may have an impact on greenhouse gases including legislation related to energy efficiency and renewable energy. The focus of this material is to provide readers with an understanding of the range of state activity that may contribute to greenhouse gas reduction and climate change. Some types of energy efficiency, alternative fuels and renewable energy legislation (such as tax credits for hybrid vehicles) are very similar from state to state; some laws have a short duration and therefore may not be codified (such as temporary tax credits); energy legislation is being enacted at an increasing pace. As a result, not all energy efficiency, alternative fuels and renewable energy legislation and other activity in every state are included in this compilation

HEALTH LEGACY FOUNDATIONS AND THE PURSUIT OF CHARITABLE HEALTHCARE

Endowed with proceeds from transactions involving nonprofit healthcare assets, health legacy foundations (HLFs) embody tremendous potential to improve health and healthcare in communities across the nation. This dissertation represents the culmination of a systematic search for HLFs, provides community-level analyses of needs where HLFs are established, and describes how HLFs articulate their intent to pursue a charitable health purpose. The first phase of this research entailed the development of a new, comprehensive database of HLFs, which includes 306 foundations in forty-three states; aggregate HLF assets in 2010 totaled more than $26 billion. The next phase of this study examined health determinants in communities where HLFs have been formed from the sale of local nonprofit hospitals. Compared to non-HLF counties, HLF counties had significantly higher proportions of racial minorities and multiple socioeconomic indicators that render them more vulnerable to health disparities and poor health. The final phase of this research explored the charitable health intent of HLFs formed from hospitals as revealed through their self-defined missions. Although the majority of HLFs adopted an explicit health-related purpose, most depicted health in vague terms. Broadly construed mission statements allow grantmakers the freedom to choose the combination of services and beneficiaries that maximizes utility for their communities. While this flexibility is important for HLFs to address broad health determinants and respond to changing community needs, careful public oversight is critical to ensure that nonprofit healthcare proceeds are strategically redeployed

Kresge Foundation 2010-2011 Annual Report

Contains an introduction to Kresge's strategy; board chair's letter; president's letter; foundation timeline; program information; grant summary, including geographic distribution; grants lists; financial summary; and lists of board members and staff

Collective Intelligence and the Mapping of Accessible Ways in the City: a Systematic Literature Review

This paper has the objective of assessing how ICTs are being used to provide accessibility in urban mobility, with special interest to collective intelligence approaches. A systematic literature review (SLR) was performed, using several different criteria to filter down the 500+ academic papers that were originally obtained from a search for “accessible maps” to the 43 papers that finally remained in the corpus of the SLR. Among the findings, it was noticed that (i) few studies explored the motivations of users that actively contribute, providing information to feed maps, and they restricted themselves to exploring three techniques: gaming, monetary reward and ranking; (ii) social networks are rarely used as a source of data for building and updating maps; and (iii) the literature does not discuss any initiative that aims to support the needs of physically and visually impaired citizens at the same time

Industrial Use of Distributed Generation in Real-Time Energy and Ancillary Service Markets

Industrial consumers of energy now have the opportunity to participate directly in electricity generation. This report seeks to give the reader (1) insights into the various types of generation services that distributed generation (DG) units could provide, (2) a mechanism to evaluate the economics of using DG, (3) an overview of the status of DG deployment in selected states, and (4) a summary of the communication technologies involved with DG and what testing activities are needed to encourage industrial application of DG. Section 1 provides details on electricity markets and the types of services that can be offered. Subsequent sections in the report address the technical requirements for participating in such markets, the economic decision process that an industrial energy user should go through in evaluating distributed generation, the status of current deployment efforts, and the requirements for test-bed or field demonstration projects

U.S. state clean energy policy and impacts on innovative technology adoption and employment: Analyzing impacts of energy-based economic development

Nations, states, cities, and towns are increasingly concerned about resilient and sustainable development against climate change. Energy-based economic development (EBED) has become a growing field of practice and research in the United States as well as across the world. EBED, a term recently coined by Carley et al. (2011; 2014), reflects the emerging convergence of two disciplines: energy planning and economic development. EBED captures the integration of policy-driven transformations of energy systems for low-emission and efficient energy generation and regional concerns for economic competitiveness and resilience. Meanwhile, Hurricanes Sandy and Maria, and other catastrophic blackouts have strengthened the demand to secure energy systems during weather-related or human-induced disruptions. Distributed generation (DG) systems have received renewed interests because of the growing demand for resilient power supplies, low- or zero-carbon energy generation, economic and regulatory environment changes, and advances in DG technology efficiency with declining life-cycle costs (U.S. Department of Energy, 2017). From amidst various technology options for DG, this research focuses on a combined heat and power (CHP) system that is a mature and innovative DG technology promising efficient production of energy on site. However, the CHP deployment is challenged by financial, regulatory, and workforce barriers. To fill the gap between private and public interests, federal, state, and local policymakers have implemented incentive-based and/or regulatory policies, which aim to promote EBED. This research began from recognizing the lack of theoretical approaches and empirical analyses in current EBED strategies and thus raised the question: How do clean energy policies affect clean energy use and related job creation? I assume that consumers are more likely to adopt CHP technologies when the state government provides a number of clean energy policy instruments. To test this hypothesis, this research examines two relationships—1) state governments’ activities on clean energy policy entrepreneurship and firms’ adoption of CHP technology, and 2) state governments’ activities on clean energy policy entrepreneurship and the growth of relevant employment opportunities. I developed an empirical method to address the influence of state clean energy policies on technology adoption. I first identified types of state policy instruments, and then scored states by the intensity of policy implementations. Using a framework of types of environmental policy instruments defined by Goulder and Parry (2008), I characterized the intensity of state clean energy policies by selective criteria, including the first year of policy enactment and the range of eligible CHP technologies. Second, I investigated regional differentiations of CHP generation by state and by year. The data of new CHP installations were collected in two forms: number of new CHP units and new installed capacity per GDP (kilowatt/million dollars). Third, I found correlationships in two relationships; the first group examined the aggregated impacts of state clean energy policy on CHP technology adoption, while the second group examined the policy impacts on CHP technology adoption by nine different types of policy tools. Random-effects (RE) regression models were employed to analyze panel data by controlling for all time-invariant differences, such as geographic location, political system, etc. To control for non-policy conditions, time-varying variables were added to the models to explain energy market conditions (electricity generation by fuel and fuel prices) and economic characteristics (personal income per capita and CO2 emission per capita). A panel data set for the 50 states and Washington, D.C. within a time period from 1980 to 2014 was created for the RE regression analyses. Last, to strengthen the findings from the RE models, I employed multiple-case studies by selecting four sample states—California as a state having high intensity of clean energy policy entrepreneurship and a high number of new CHP projects, Texas as a state having low policy entrepreneurship but a high number of new CHP projects, Ohio as a state having high policy entrepreneurship but a low number of new CHP projects, and Wyoming as a state having low policy entrepreneurship and a low number of CHP projects. The multiple-case study is conducted by four areas—(1) economic base study by using socio-economic archival and statistical data, (2) industry cluster analysis by using location quotient (LQ) and employment data, (3) energy market analysis by using EIA’s state profiles and energy estimates, and (4) CHP supportive policies and legislations by exploring media, formal policy reports, state governments’ documentations, and other website resources created by interest groups and associated stakeholders. The multi-case study of four selected states confirms distinct approaches to CHP policy development and implementation, resulting in different degrees of CHP technology adoption. I extend the existing literature by developing a theoretical framework to converge two fields—economic development planning and energy planning. Within this framework, I demonstrate how EBED is embedded in reality, how firms act along with clean energy policies, and how energy efficiency and clean energy could be a source of economic development.Ph.D

Ready to Roll! Southeastern Pennsylvania's Regional Electric Vehicle Action Plan. Volume II: Technology Overview, Detailed Analysis, and Appendices

Ready to Roll! Southeastern Pennsylvania's Regional Electric Vehicle Action Plan is a comprehensive, regionally coordinated approach to introducing electric vehicles (EVs) and electric vehicle supply equipment (charging facilities) into the five counties of southeastern Pennsylvania. This plan is the product of a partnership between DVRPC, the City of Philadelphia, PECO Energy Company (the region's electricity provider), and Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities. ICF International provided assistance to DVRPC with the preparation of this plan. The plan incorporates feedback from key regional stakeholders, national best practices, and research to assess the southeastern Pennsylvania EV market, identify current market barriers, and develop strategies to facilitate vehicle and infrastructure deployment. Ready to Roll! is presented in two volumes, and is accompanied by an online information clearinghouse, containing links to additional resources. The first volume (publication number 12055A) includes the regional readiness plan. The second volume (this document) provides an in-depth analysis of a variety of EV and EVSE issues

The California energy crisis and cogeneration investment opportunities for office landlords

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2001.Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-89).For the past eight months, California has been beset by an energy crisis. An inadequate supply of electricity has not been able to keep up with the growing demand. Vital transmission lines are operating at or near capacity. The installation of cogeneration systems into office buildings can play an important role in the overall solution. Cogeneration is a form of on-site generation that can provide electricity to office landlords and tenants that is less costly and more reliable than that provided by the utilities. There are several ways that office cogeneration systems can ease the pressure on California's electric generation and transmission infrastructure. First, office buildings consume 26% of all electricity nationwide. They place an equally great demand on California's generating capacity. With widespread application, the siting of cogeneration systems in office buildings can reduce the demand placed on California's centralized power plants (CPPs). Reducing the demand for electricity that is centrally generated and delivered via transmission lines reduces the risk of blackouts and the cost of wholesale and retail electricity. Second, because transmission lines are already operating at or near their capacity, it will be problematic to deliver the new centralized generation capacity that is coming on-line. It will be many years and billions of dollars before the transmission lines are fully upgraded. On-site cogeneration reduces the electrical congestion on these power lines, enabling more of the new centralized generation to get delivered. Third, office cogeneration systems can be deployed in one-fifth of the time it takes to place a large CPP into operation. The quicker more generation can be added, the sooner a healthy supply/demand balance can be struck. Because of their small-scale and relatively simple component parts, office cogeneration systems can be completely permitted, installed and in-operation within 90 to 180 days. By contrast, it takes up to two and one-half years to permit, construct and place a large CPP into operation. When fuel such as natural gas is combusted at a CPP, only 33% of the energy that is released via the combustion process actually reaches the remotely located end-users (e.g., homes and businesses) in the form of electricity. The conversion efficiency of an office cogeneration system is 75%, twice that of the CPP. Consequently, a cogeneration system can produce the electricity needed by a given office building while using only half the amount of fuel that a CPP would require. As these office cogeneration systems are located on-site, not only is the cost of transmitting electricity over long distances eliminated, so are the expenses associated with the maintenance and repair of the power grid. The fuel and transmission cost savings are what primarily enable office cogeneration systems to deliver electricity to office landlords and tenants at a fraction of the cost of power provided by the CPPs. The resultant price differential is what creates the investment opportunity for office landlords.by Gregory L. Hammond.S.M

Blueprint Buffalo Action Plan: Regional Strategies for Reclaiming Vacant Properties in the City and Suburbs of Buffalo

Over a period of about nine months, the NVPC team conducted interviews and gathered insights that have resulted in this report. During the study period, Buffalo–Niagara emerged as a region broadly challenged by decades of disinvestment and population loss, but also as a close network of communities singularly blessed with a wealth of historic, transit-friendly, and affordable neighborhoods and commercial areas. Building on the City of Buffalo’s “asset management” strategy first proposed in 2004 by the Cornell Cooperative Extension Association—and now formally adopted by the Buffalo Common Council as part of its comprehensive 20-year plan for the city—the NVPC team sought to reexamine how the revitalization of Buffalo’s vacant properties could actually serve as a catalyst to address the region’s other most pressing problems: population loss, a weak real estate market in the inner city, signs of incipient economic instability in older suburbs, quality-of-life issues, school quality, and suburban sprawl