Towards Sustainable Carbon Markets: Requirements for Ecologically Effective, Economically Efficient, and Socially Just Emissions Trading Schemes

Domestic climate policy emissions trading schemes appear to be spreading all over the word. However, carbon markets in existence often suffer from dilution in terms of ecological effectiveness, economic efficiency, and social justice. Thus, in order to firmly base carbon markets on the main pillars of Sustainable Development, this paper defines the criteria of ecological effectiveness, economic efficiency and social justice and operationalizes them for giving design recommendations for sustainable carbon markets. Methodologically, the paper uses welfare and institutional economics, jurisprudential reasoning, and modern climate justice thinking in order to discuss the three criteria. In addition, design and implication analysis is applied in order to develop design recommendations for sustainable carbon markets. By doing so, the paper provides evaluation criteria for emissions trading schemes in existence and in planning, but also allows for improvements in order to make emissions trading a valuable instrument of a sustainable global climate policy.sustainability, emissions trading, climate policy, justice, efficiency, effectiveness

Mobilität in Deutschland (MiD 2002) - Auswertung der Daten für Berlin

Die Daten der MiD wurden repräsentativ für ganz Deutschland erhoben. Um Untersuchungen spezifisch für Berlin durchführen zu können bzw. die MiD-Daten mit anderen Berlin-Datensätzen (DLR e-commerce, "Mobilität Berlin") verknüpfen zu können, wurden die Berliner Daten aus den Gesamtdaten extrahiert

Links between production systems and transport : the example of German and French industries

Changes in transportation are closely linked to the economic and logistical characteristics of the production system. The aim of this paper is, on the basis of data on the economic context and surveys conducted in France (the 1988 Shipper survey and the 2004 ECHO survey) and in Germany (the 2005 DLR survey), to show the major changes that have occurred in the two countries at both micro- and macro-economic levels and how these have affected transport demand. The first level of analysis relates to changes in the economic fabric. In particular, we have demonstrated the growing proportion of small and medium-sized firms at a time when large production units, which are those that are best able to concentrate their freight and use modes other than the road, are becoming fewer and fewer. At the same time, economic links are becoming more complex and, in the case of France, we have shown the increasing role played by wholesale traders in the distribution of goods. The constant reduction in transport costs and the opening up of markets is another structural factor whose impacts in both France and Germany we have also analysed. In addition to these economic changes, the internal modes of production of firms have also changed. Production is becoming more diversified and Just-in-time practices are spreading. The fragmentation of freight flows is thus occurring both in space and in time, which also has a major effect on the characteristics of the flows generated by firms and changes in transport. In the case of all these changes we have attempted to show the differences and similarities between the ways transport has changed in the two countries.TRANSPORT DE MARCHANDISES ; ALLEMAGNE ; FRANCE

Mobilität

Räumliche Mobilität bezeichnet sowohl Wanderungsmobilität als auch alltägliche regelmäßige oder gelegentliche Ortsveränderungen, ausgelöst durch den Wunsch oder die Notwendigkeit, am Zielort eine Aktivität durchzuführen. Damit erschließen sich Menschen im Raum gegebene Handlungsmöglichkeiten

Book review

"Book ‘Pletros krypčiu vertinimo ir valdymo informaciniai modeliai: monografija’ review." Ukio Technologinis ir Ekonominis Vystymas, 14(3), pp. 444-447 First published online: 21 Oct 201

Children's motility in an informal settlement in Cairo and parental influence: ‎implications for de-motorization

This paper investigates actual and potential mobility of children as enabled by themselves and their parents in a case study of one informal settlement in Cairo called Ezbet El-Haggana. Results aim to contribute to the discussion about possibilities for such settlements to avoid the typical trajectory of increased car-dependence observed in other parts of Cairo as with global trends. It is  based on five Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with children and four FGDs with mothers, together with field observations. A philosophical approach based onVincent Kaufmann’s notion of motility (potentiality of mobility) was employed to elucidate subjective factors influencing mobility. Based on results, the study argues that an informal settlement can contain not only physical prerequisites, but also behavioral and socio-cultural prerequisites that may facilitate a direct transition (leapfrogging) to a future of sustainable mobility and associated behavior and norms. An observed ingenuity, behavioral adaptation, and various means of compensation for resource scarcity enable both parents and children to exhibit travel behavior that is coincidentally sustainable and resilient, thereby positioning the inhabitants to better adapt to introduced sustainable transport interventions. Findings led to a conceptualization of a framework for analysis based on motility, which is expanded to account for the dynamics of  motility enhancement found in the case study, where aspects of one’s skills, access,  and appropriation are altered to mutually compensate for each other to maintain motility, or otherwise exhibit deficiencies that can be identified and  addressed

The content literacy continuum: A school reform framework for improving adolescent literacy for all student

This is the publisher's version, also found here: http://www.sped.org!n this column. Bridging Research and Practice, three of the federally funded special education research institutes report to you, the practitioner, on their progress in areas that will be particularly helpful to you in working with your students. The U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has funded these three research institutes to study specific curricular and instructional interventions that will accelerate the learning of students with disabilities in curricular Center on Accelerating Student Learning (CASL) focuses on accelerating reading, math, and writing development in Grades K-3. The Directors of CASL are Lynn and Doug Fuchs of Vanderbilt University. Principal Investigators include Joanna Williams at Columbia University and Steve Graham and Karen Harris at Vanderbilt University. Research Institute to Accelerate Content Learning Through High Support for Students With Disabilities in Grades 4-8 (REACH) is examining interventions that reflect high expectations, content, and support for students. The Director of REACH is Catherine Cobb Morocco at Education Development Center in Newton, MA. Research partners include the University of Michigan (Annemarie Palincsar and Shirley Magnusson), the University of Delaware (Ralph Ferretti, Charles MacArthur, and Cynthia Okolo), and the University of Puget Sound [John Woodward). The Institute for Academic Access (IAA) is conducting research to develop instructional methods and materials to provide students with authentic access to the high school general curriculum. The Institute Directors are Don Deshler and Jean Schumaker of the University of Kansas, Lawrence. Research partners include the University of Oregon and school districts in Kansas. California, Washington, and Oregon. This issue features the CASL

Geometry of martensite needles in shape memory alloys

We study the geometry of needle-shaped domains in shape-memory alloys. Needle-shaped domains are ubiquitously found in martensites around macroscopic interfaces between regions which are laminated in different directions, or close to macroscopic austenite/twinned-martensite interfaces. Their geometry results from the interplay of the local nonconvexity of the effective energy density with long-range (linear) interactions mediated by the elastic strain field, and is up to now poorly understood. We present a two-dimensional shape optimization model based on finite elasticity and discuss its numerical solution. Our results indicate that the tapering profile of the needles can be understood within finite elasticity, but not with linearized elasticity. The resulting tapering and bending reproduce the main features of experimental observations on NiAl.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Sample-Efficient Hyperparameter Optimization of an Aim Point Controller for Solar Power Tower Plants by Bayesian Optimization

In this work, sample-efficient algorithms for a controller hyperparameter optimization of an arbitrary aim point controller for solar power tower plants are introduced. The objective is to find controller parameters, which optimize the performance of the aim point controller, and thus increase the efficiency of the plant. This should be accomplished within a minimum number of optimization steps, which implies the need of a sample-efficient optimization strategy. The algorithms, proposed in this work, are based on the Bayesian Optimization (BO) approach and enhance the algorithm's sample efficiency by leveraging simulation data as prior information. It is assumed that the utilized simulation data is possibly corrupted by mismatches to the system's real behavior and thus does not contain information about the optimal controller parameter configurations. Therefore, it is not possible to choose them directly from the simulation data, however it can still contain helpful information to accelerate the optimization. The controller parameters, selected by an optimization algorithm, have to be evaluated on the plant, after every optimization iteration. Testing the controller parameters on the real system is a time-consuming procedure, which explains the need to reduce the optimization iterations to a minimum. The algorithms, proposed for this purpose, are mostly based on the methods for leveraging prior information in BO of Antonova and Rai et al. , and extended to the use of multiple sets of simulation data, which was not sufficiently covered in literature so far. Moreover, a novel approach for utilizing simulation data in BO is introduced in this work, named Prior-Guided Expected Improvement. The algorithms were tested on a six-dimensional test function, which imitates the performance of an aim point controller, dependent on six controller hyperparameters. Several sets of simulation data were deployed, that partly resemble the function and do not contain the function's global optimum. As a reference, the standard BO algorithm was used. Two of the proposed approaches outperformed the reference by reaching close to optimal controller hyperparameters within 33 % less optimization steps, than the standard BO. In addition, the prior-informed algorithms seemed to be less prone to get stuck in local optima, than the standard BO. Moreover, in case of high simulation to reality mismatches or unsuitable simulation data, the prior-informed algorithms still yielded results similar to the reference. In a second test case, the proposed approaches were used to optimize a simulated Vant-Hull aim point controller with two hyperparameters, where they needed 23 % less optimization iterations than the standard BO. However, to test the prior-informed aim point controller optimization on a real solar power tower plant, further development has to be done to guarantee save controller behavior during the hyperparameter optimization. Thereby, damages to the receiver, caused by overheating, can be prevented

Unterwegs in physischen und virtuellen Welten : beeinflussen Smartphone und Tablet das Mobilitätsverhalten?

Können wir uns Wege sparen, weil wir immer mehr Aktivitäten in virtuelle Welten verlagern? Die Forschung konnte das bisher nicht bestätigen. Neue Kommunikationstechnologien führen aber zu einer stärkeren Durchdringung der physischen und der realen Welt. Das führt dazu, dass wir unsere Zeit noch effizienter nutzen können – im Zug arbeiten, im Wartezimmer einkaufen oder während eines Vortrags unsere Mails checken