Revamping the Right to Be Informed: Protecting Consumers Under New Jersey\u27s Truth-In-Consumer Contract, Warranty, and Notice Act*

Prior to the 1960s, “courts were notorious for their insensitivity to consumer interests, while legislatures did little in the way of offering the consumer comprehensive protection against business fraud.”1 However, the tide of legislation began to turn in the 1960s as a movement for greater consumer protections finally reached the ears of an individual with a powerful voice: President John F. Kennedy

Reasons for Innovation: Legitimizing Resource Mobilization for Innovation in the Case of Okochi Memorial Prize Winners

This paper addresses reasons for innovation. Innovation requires resources to transform new ideas into products/services to be sold in the market and diffused in society. Yet in the earlier stage of innovation process uncertainty always prevails both technologically and economically. There is no objective consensus that the new idea will succeed in the end. It is thus necessary for those people who want to realize the innovation to show others both inside and outside the firm legitimate reasons for mobilizing their precious resources, including people, materials, facilities, and money, throughout the process toward commercialization. How do firms legitimize the resource mobilization for innovation? Drawing on 18 case studies on Okochi Memorial Prize winners, which our joint research project has carried out over last five years, and building upon the existing literature on internal corporate venturing, new ventures, and other related issues, this paper examines the innovation process of established Japanese firms from idea generation to commercialization with a primary focus on the process by which resource mobilization was legitimized.

A model proposal for the electric energy valorization in a pv power plant equipped with CAES system

In this article, an analytical method is evaluated and implemented; to assess the possible electricity sales strate-gies produced by a 3 MW photovoltaic power plant, connected to a 250 kW CAES (Compressed Air Energy Storage) system, with a storage capacity of 750 kWh. The presented model combines a different numbers of parameters and variables, relevant for the system optimization. Several simulations of various system configu-rations have been carried out, to explore and evaluate the economic and technical feasibility of the plant, spe-cifically it has been valued tow case of study: CASE 1 the system is not incentive; CASE 2 the system is incen-tive. In the end of paper it has been rated the Leveled Cost of Energy (LCOE) and specified how the investment could become affordable in the foreseeable future

Upgrading biogas with novel composite carbon molecular sieve (CCMS) membranes: Experimental and techno-economic assessment

The use of biogas as feedstock for hydrogen production was widely proposed in the literature in the last years as a strategy to reduce anthropogenic carbon emissions. However, its lower heating value compared to natural gas hampers the revamping of existing reforming plants. The use of composite carbon molecular sieve membranes for biogas upgrading (CO2 removal from biogas) was investigated experimentally in this work. In particular, ideal perm-selectivities and permeabilities above the Robeson plot for CO2/CH4 mixtures have been obtained. These membranes show better performances compared to polymeric membranes, which are nowadays commercialized for CO2 separation in natural gas streams. Compared to polymeric membranes, carbon membranes do not show deactivation by plasticization when exposed to CO2, and thus can find industrial application. This work was extended with a techno-economic analysis where carbon membranes are installed in a steam methane reforming plant. Results have been first validated with data from literature and show that the use of biogas increases the costs of hydrogen production to a value of 0.25 €/Nm3 compared to the benchmark technology (0.21 €/Nm3). On the other hand, the use of biogas leads to a decrease in carbon emissions up to 95%, thus the use of biogas for hydrogen production is foreseen as a very interesting alternative to conventional technologies in view of the reduction in the carbon footprint in the novel technologies that are to be installed in the near future

Rejuvenating Rural Credit Delivery System in Maharashtra of India

An investigation into rural credit delivery system in Maharashtra shows slower growth in institutional finances through commercial banks, credit cooperatives, RRBs and LDBs, particularly during the decade of 1991- 2000, which is mainly due to adverse environment created by the financial sector reforms. Due to unfavourable policy framework, the entire rural credit delivery system encompassing rural branches of commercial banks, cooperative credit institutions and RRBs is reduced to a moribund state. High transaction costs and poor repayment performance are the twin root causes of the moribund state of rural credit delivery system. With a view to revive the agricultural credit delivery system, there is need to adopt innovative approaches like linking of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) with mainstream financial institutions. Such linkages are reported to have not only reduced transaction costs but also ensured better repayment performance. One of the recent studies conducted in Maharashtra has shown cent per cent recovery of loans through SHGs despite having excessively high rates of interest (24-36 per cent per annum) on their loan advances. One of the further disquieting features of RFIs in Maharashtra has been the high proportion of NPAs to total assets, particularly of RRBs and SCARDBs, which are estimated to hover around 36-48 per cent during the mid-to late nineties. One of the reasons for such high incidence of NPAs of RFIs has been the familiar practice of debt forgiveness, which eroded repayment and allowed defaulters to scot free with no deterrent reprimand. Political interference in issues of prudent fiscal management has got a lot to do with this unfortunate scenario. In order to rejuvenate rural credit delivery system, the twin problems facing the system, viz., high transaction costs and poor repayment performance, need to be tackled with more fiscal jurisprudence reserving exemplary punishment for willful defaults, especially by large farmers. In fact, insofar as the rural credit delivery system is concerned, the focus should be on strategies that are required for tackling issues such as sustainability and viability, operational efficiency, recovery performance, small farmer coverage and balanced sectoral development.Rejuvenation Rural Credit Delivery in India

Turning ideas into money. Which ideas and whom money?

Romania plays no part in the world technological race. In the last three decades, we have lost the technological leadership role in the oil industry, simply because the communist regime was reluctant to encourage the growth of information technology in general, and personal computers in particular. Sadly, we failed to close the technological gap in the post-communist era. Only one in five Romanian companies currently introduces a new product, service, technology, etc., or brings about innovative business practices. This rate represents half of the European average. We are lagging one decade behind the Czech Republic and Estonia, and two decades behind the rest of the European Union.We did find, however, a number of successful initiatives, rewarded at international innovation and trade shows. Unfortunately, the overall picture is rather bleak; this paper suggests a series of possible solutions aimed at improving it.technological change, R&D, business innovation, fiscal incentives

Analysis of the existing barriers for the market development of power to hydrogen (P2H) in Italy

New technological solutions are required to control the impact of the increasing presence of renewable energy sources connected to the electric grid that are characterized by unpredictable production (i.e., wind and solar energy). Energy storage is becoming essential to stabilize the grid when a mismatch between production and demand occurs. Among the available solutions, Power to Hydrogen (P2H) is one of the most attractive options. However, despite the potential, many barriers currently hinder P2H market development. The literature reports general barriers and strategies to overcome them, but a specific analysis is fundamental to identifying how these barriers concretely arise in national and regional frameworks, since tailored solutions are needed to foster the development of P2H local market. The paper aims to identify and to analyze the existing barriers for P2H market uptake in Italy. The paper shows how several technical, regulatory and economic issues are still unsolved, resulting in a source of uncertainty for P2H investment. The paper also suggests possible approaches and solutions to address the Italian barriers and to support politics and decision-makers in the definition and implementation of the national hydrogen strategy

The economic and environmental performance of distribution networks: A case study from the petrochemical industry

Designing a company's distribution network is a challenging task that requires the consideration of different aspects. In this respect, especially trade-offs between, for example, operational costs and customer service are the focus of the companies' attention. However, growing concerns of governments and customers about environmental protection have raised awareness towards the environmental impact of operations. Activities associated with the distribution of products, i.e. transportation and warehousing, are not yet subject to strict environmental regulations, but this situation is expected to change soon. Companies must, therefore, start to concentrate not only on economic but also on environmental aspects in the design of their supply chain. Based on a case study from the petrochemical industry, this paper presents a way to combine both, economic as well as environmental criteria, when evaluating (strategic) distribution network design decisions. The results show a trade-off between total (distribution) costs and transport carbon emissions. (author's abstract