Develop and test fuel cell powered on-site integrated total energy system

Test results are given for a 5 kW stack and initial results for an integrated, grid connected system operating from methanol fuel. Site selection criteria are presented for future demonstration of a 50 or 100 kW OS/IES. Preliminary results are also given with approximate internal rates of return to the building owner. Progress in development and construction of a 50 kW modular methanol/steam reformer is reported

Reforming Brazil's Cadastro Unico to improve the targeting of the Bolsa Familia Program

This case study is part of six country case study reports that were commissioned in 2003 by the World Bank specifically for the purposes of a summary report on the design and implementation of household targeting systems in the following countries: Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Brazil and the United States. The report was prepared at the request of officials from the Ministry of Social Assistance. It seeks to examine Brazil's main existing beneficiary registry and selection mechanism. While targeting can effectively channel resources to the poor, implementation details matter tremendously to distributive outcomes. Several key factors affect performance, including: data collection processes; information management; household assessment mechanisms; institutional arrangements; and monitoring and oversight mechanisms. This report conducts an in-depth assessment of key design and implementation factors and their potential impact on outcomes for the household targeting system Cadastro Unico used in Brazil to target social programs to the poor and vulnerable.

Reforming tax systems - the World Bank record in the 1990s

The main constraint on world Bank operations in tax and customs administration is the Bank's inadequate institutional framework for accumulating knowledge from loan operations, concludes this review of the Bank's record on reform of tax systems in the 1990s. The Bank's theoretical basis for reforming tax and customs administration is still rudimentary. Recent theories stress the importance of institutions that harness voice and improve transparency and contestability, but there is little evidence that reform of these factors alone makes tax administration more effective. Improvements are needed in pre-project diagnosis and project design, especially for examining accountability, administration costs, managerial autonomy, performance incentives for staff, taxpayer equity and services, and environmental factors. Pre-project work could draw more systematically on lessons from previous experience. Institutional components of project design have been biased toward organization, manpower upgrading, and procedures related to information technology. Too little attention has been paid to improving accountability, administrative cost-effectiveness, and anticorruption institution-building. Projects have made inadequate use of different kinds of performance indicators, with little uniformity in those applied. Methods used to evaluate project outcomes could be better and more uniform. Suggestions for future Bank operations: 1) doing better background work and articulating a strategy and comprehensive framework for Bank involvement in reform of tax administration. 2) Possibly supporting and strengthening regional tax administration associations, which could serve as catalysts for change. 3) Strengthening partnering and supporting private sector consultant organizations, so they can manage major components of administrative reform. 4) Institutionalizing the accumulation of knowledge about tax administration (which might require changing staff recruitment, the mix of staff skills, and training plans). The authors provide recommendations for improving project diagnosis, design, performance indicators, and appraisal, as well as a short list of projects that serve as guides to good practice.Enterprise Development&Reform,Decentralization,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Financial Management,Banks&Banking Reform,National Governance,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Municipal Financial Management,Tax Policy and Administration

Automated Testing of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Units' Control System

This thesis presents a testing protocol and a testing platform for the purpose of automatically testing the control unit of a solid oxide fuel cell system. The work was commissioned by Wärtsilä - a Finnish company involved in maritime solutions and distributed power generation. The protocol was constructed to ensure all necessary things are taken into account during testing. The platform provides a set of tools for realizing the tests. The different parts of the platform were taken into use and configured to work together. Three case examples of test runs were erformed to test the functionalities of the platform.Tässä diplomityössä kehitettiin testausprotokolla ja -ohjelmistopaketti kiinteäoksidipolttokennon ohjausjärjestelmän automaattiseen testaamiseen. Työn tilasi Wärtsilä, joka toimii merenkulun ja hajautetun energiatuotannon aloilla. Protokollan tarkoitus on varmistaa, että ohjausjärjestelmää testattaessa tulevat kaikki tarpeelliset asiat tehdyiksi. Ohjelmistoalusta puolestaan tarjoaa työkalut testaamiseen. Ohjelmistoalustan eri osat otettiin käyttöön ja ne asennettiin toimimaan yhdessä toistensa kanssa. Ohjelmistoalustan toimivuus testattiin suorittamalla kolme eri testitapausta

Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing: A Whitepaper

Illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing refers to fishing activities that do not comply with regional, national, or international fisheries conservation or management measures. This whitepaper characterizes the status of Illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing, the philanthropic community's current efforts to help reduce it, and potential opportunities for the Packard Foundation to become more actively engaged. The paper was drafted between March and June 2015, following a combination of desk research and a handful of select interviews

Trade Facilitation in Developing Countries

Measures to actively facilitate trade are increasingly seen as essential to assist developing countries in expanding trade and benefiting from globalisation. Although often viewed as narrowly concerned with the ease and speed of Customs procedures, even greater trade cost reductions and trade and welfare benefits may be reaped from a broader view of trade facilitation (TF) that incorporates transportation, distribution and communication issues. A number of TF reforms are particularly beneficial: improving procedures, especially Customs clearance; introducing automation and use of information technology; reducing excessive documentation requirements; addressing lack of transparency in import and export requirements; addressing lack of modernisation of and cooperation between Customs and other government agencies. The review identifies the types of TF reforms that could address these problems and deliver a return in terms of increased revenue collection efficiency, reductions in trade costs and promotion of greater regional cooperation (at least in Customs and transport, especially as many TF measures are appropriate for inclusion in regional integration agreements).Trade Facilitation, Regional Integration

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998: Performance Management and People With Disabilities

The primer outlines the various components of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). It also suggests ways that people with disabilities can fully access WIA systems and services.The report was prepared for the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities and funded by the United States Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research