Koncepcja binary approach jako instrument kształtowania zrównoważonego wzrostu

This article focuses on the binary economic approach and explains how this approach can enhance not only their capital earning capacity but also their demand for employment and the prospect for achieving environmental sustainability. The binary economic approach envisions an implementation of an ownership-broadening system of corporate finance that world require no taxes, redistribution, or government command. Corporations would be free to continue to meet their capital requirements as before, but they would have an additional, potentially more profitable, market means to do so.Niniejszy artykuł skupia się na podejściu charakterystycznym dla ekonomii binarnej i wyjaśnia, w jaki sposób koncepcja ta może przyczynić się nie tylko do zwiększenia ich zdolności zarabiania kapitału, ale również do zwiększenia popytu na zatrudnienie oraz perspektyw osiągnięcia równowagi środowiskowej. Koncepcja ekonomii binarnej (ang. binary approach) proponuje wdrożenie systemu pozwalającego na rozszerzenie systemu własności finansów korporacyjnych, który byłby wolny od podatków, redystrybucji czy ingerencji państwa. Przedsiębiorstwa miałyby prawo do pozyskiwania źródeł finansowania swoich potrzeb tak, jak to robiły dotychczas, ale dysponowałyby jeszcze dodatkowymi, potencjalnie bardziej rentownymi instrumentami rynkowymi umożliwiającymi im takie działanie

Trade-off/Positional Analysis (with a Rawlsian Approach to Equity) as an Alternative to Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) in Socio-technical Decisions

This paper introduces a hybrid trade-off/positional analysis framework as an alternative to cost-benefit analysis (CBA). As a decision-support tool, the proposed framework [1] allows decision-makers not to monetize or aggregate non-monetary factors over time; [2] invites the entrance of stakeholders into the debate since there is greater transparency as to who benefits and who is harmed by a particular policy/program/project; [3] enables analysts to undertake a comparative analysis of alternatives over time; and [4] takes into account the important role of technological change in shaping the state and performance of a system. In addition, a Rawlsian approach to incorporating equity into decision-making is advocated

The Revision of the UK Pipe Insulation Standard: - Its Likely Effect on Building Energy Efficiency and the Uptake of Highly Efficient Insulation Materials

The UK Government has set an ambitious target of a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2010 based on a 1990 baseline. Since buildings account for over 40% of current CO2 emissions, the revision of building and building services insulation standards has been a high priority. The previous UK pipe insulation standard (BS 5422 - 1990) was based on an economic thickness methodology that resulted in thickness requirements for different materials of unequal energy saving value. The 2001 revision (BS 5422 - 2001) not only addresses this imbalance by defining environmental thicknesses that deliver equivalent energy savings but also increases the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 5 million tonnes per annum. To stimulate this potential, the UK Government has introduced a tax incentive under the existing Capital Allowances scheme to promote the widespread adoption of the new standard in both new build and, more importantly, in renovation projects. Just as importantly, the new standard highlights the true cost-effectiveness of highly efficient insulation materials such as phenolic foam. Phenolic foam had already gained more than a 15% market share in the UK pipe insulation market prior to the recent changes to the standard on the basis of its excellent thermal resistance and fire properties. However, previous economic thickness models had promoted the use of less efficient materials with a poorer level of energy saving being the result. With this loophole now closed, the phenolic foam industry believes that its product will receive the acclamation that it deserves - while helping the UK Government to meet its own CO2 targets

Challenges in the delivery of e-government through kiosks

Kiosks are increasingly being heralded as a technology through which governments, government departments and local authorities or municipalities can engage with citizens. In particular, they have attractions in their potential to bridge the digital divide. There is some evidence to suggest that the citizen uptake of kiosks and indeed other channels for e-government, such as web sites, is slow, although studies on the use of kiosks for health information provision offer some interesting perspectives on user behaviour with kiosk technology. This article argues that the delivery of e-government through kiosks presents a number of strategic challenges, which will need to be negotiated over the next few years in order that kiosk applications are successful in enhancing accessibility to and engagement with e-government. The article suggests that this involves consideration of: the applications to be delivered through a kiosk; one stop shop service and knowledge architectures; mechanisms for citizen identification; and, the integration of kiosks within the total interface between public bodies and their communities. The article concludes by outlining development and research agendas in each of these areas.</p

Distribution of mRNA encoding the inwardly rectifying K+ channel, BIR1 in rat tissues

AbstractThe distribution of mRNA encoding the inwardly rectifying K+ channel, BIR1 [1] was investigated in rat tissues, and a comparison made with the expression of related genes rcKATP and GIRK1 using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). This showed BIR1 to be expressed in all areas of the brain examined, in the eye but not in any other peripheral tissue. This pattern was distinct from rcKATP and GIRK1. Additional in situ hybridisation studies of the central expression of BIR1 demonstrated high levels of BIR1 mRNA in the hippocampus dentate gyrus, taenia tecta and cerebellum and at lower levels in the cortex, habenular nucleus, olfactory bulb, primary olfactory cortex, thalamus, pontine nucleus and amygdaloid nucleus