Modeling in TRNSYS of a single effect evaporation system powered by a Rankine cycle

The paper presents an analysis of a Single Effect Evaporation (SEE) system as a pre-study to the feasibility of concentrated solar power plants (CSP) powering desalination units for cogeneration of water and electricity. An algorithm to model a SEE system in steady-state operation was made and is described in this work. This algorithm was implemented in TRNSYS environment, and a simple analysis was conducted of a SEE system powered by a Rankine cycle used in CSP plants

Experimental validation of MED forward feed steady-state model

In this work the validation of a physical model to simulate the performance of an MED forward feed system is done by comparing results of the model with real data obtained. The data was obtained using the experimental MED plant at Plataforma Solar de Almeria (PSA) under steady-state operation near design conditions. The results indicate that the model can be used to make a first analysis on these type of systems.

MED parallel system powered by concentrating solar power (CSP): model and case study: Trapani, Sicily

This work presents an overlook on a new model that simulates the physical operation in steady state of a multi-effect distillation (MED) plant with parallel-feed (P) configuration. This model includes the consumption of steam with steam ejectors, and its validation was done using data from a real MED industrial plant using a thermal vapor compressor (TVC) operating in Italy, in the Sicilian city of Trapani. Results show that the MED model returns accurate predictions of the plant behavior, very useful for a first analysis on such type of investments. This MED model was also integrated into the system advisor model developed by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Simulations with this new tool were run using the location of Trapani as case study for a concentrating solar power (CSP) plant working in cogeneration with a low-temperature MED-P plant vs. other cooling options available for CSP plants (wet cooling, dry cooling, and a once through seawater cooling circuit). These results were compared with the existing TVC-MED plant, and indicate that CSP+MED has the potential to be economically attractive

Modeling multi effect distillation powered by CSP in TRNSYS

This work presents the results of using a new tool to simulate the cogeneration of water and electricity with Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) and Forward Feed Multi-Effect-Desalination (FF-MED) plants, by adding a new functionality to the System Advisor Model (SAM) developed by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The controlling strategy of the MED model is presented in detail, and a case study application is shown. This study compares the results obtained with a CSP plant operating in San Diego, CA, with four different cooling systems: an MED/Seawater Cooling Circuit (SWCC), dry cooling, wet cooling, and a SWCC standalone. The results show that the usage of an MED/SWCC system in cogeneration with a CSP plant can be feasible and has the potential to be economically interesting

Beyond Legalism in Turbulent Times: Re-grounding UK Social Work in a Richer International Human Rights Perspective

Human rights have always been intrinsically woven into social work, but in the UK, often in a way that is either vague or wholly legalistic. In this article, we make a case for embedding a broader and richer concept of human rights in UK social work practice and education. We contrast the international social work perspective on human rights with that of UK professional codes and suggest that the narrow and uninterrogated conceptualisation of human rights in the UK may be acting as a barrier to UK social workers fully understanding and engaging with broader human rights agendas of the sort found in international practice. We argue for the merits of regrounding UK social work in this broader human rights concept, in which radical and emancipatory approaches can be underpinned by a common and unifying rights-orientated perspective. We make this argument, initially, in the context of the Human Rights Act 1998 remaining in UK law, which we see as entirely necessary for the protection of human rights in social work in the country, but insufficient for a broader, richer concept. We also, however, consider a scenario in which the Act is replaced by a British Bill of Rights and argue that such a development would present a further urgent need for embedding a broader human rights concept in UK social work. We close by setting out some of what such a concept might involve

‘Neither invisible nor abnormal!’ Exploring the invisibility and pathologisation of LGBT people in the Greek National Health System

This article presents findings from a research study aiming at exploring in-depth experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals and communities in the Greek healthcare system. This was the first study of its kind in Greece. Data collected from interviews with LGBT groups and individuals, as well as doctors, suggest that homophobia and transphobia are profound factors of systematic exclusion and restriction from access to good quality healthcare. Our findings suggest that within the healthcare context, LGBT people are routinely invisibilised and/or pathologised. The authors emphasise the urgent need for challenging chronic and institutionalised invisibility experienced by LGBT people as a necessary precondition of social equality and genuine universalism within the Greek Health System

Social work for critical peace: A comparative approach to understanding social work and political conflict

This paper uses a case study approach to explore issues of social work policy and practice in three sites of political conflict in Europe: Northern Ireland; Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Cyprus. It begins with a review of the international literature on social work and political conflict and then discusses the strengths and limitations in engaging with comparative case study approaches. The authors explain how they view the writing of the paper as an intellectual encounter that helped establish the beginning stages of their comparative analysis. This starts with an analysis of the existing knowledge base about the three case studies that each share similar patterns of colonial histories, political and community conflict and the social work response. The second part of the paper extends this analysis to a critique of the impact of neo-liberal social and economic policies that often adversely impact upon the role of social workers in resolving conflict and building peace. The paper concludes with an appeal for social work to rediscover its rights-based role in working with victims and survivors of political conflict, what the authors describe as: ‘social work for critical peace’

Clientelistic networks and local corruption: Evidence from Western Crete DIMITRIOS CHRISTOPOULOS

In this article, the attitudes and interaction of local political and business elites in western Crete are examined by means of an attitudinal survey, triangulated with data from in-depth interviews, conducted between July and October 1991. The data examined indicate that the endemic prevalence of clientelistic networks creates the background for corruption, although evidence of corrupt practice is not strong. In this analysis it is presumed that the attitudes and perceptions of key actors are affected by a definition of corruption that is relevant to their particular civil society alone. Data analyzed here suggest that local élite attitudes towards corruption are not perceived to affect the standards of conduct at the local level. It can also be deduced that if corruption is linked to the problems of administrative efficiency and economic development of the region, these can be related to vertical clientelistic networks with the national centre