The a-MEU Model: A Comment

In [7] Ghirardato, Macheroni and Marinacci (GMM) propose a method for distinguishing between perceived ambiguity and the decision-maker's reaction to it. They study a general class of preferences which they refer to as invariant biseparable. This class includes CEU and MEU. They axiomatize a subclass of a-MEU preferences. If attention is restricted to finite state spaces, we show that any a-MEU preference relation, satisfies GMM's axioms if and only if a = 0 or 1, that is, the preferences must be either maxmin or maxmax. We show by example that these axioms may be satisfied when the state space is [0,1].Ambiguity, multiple priors, invariant biseparable, Clarke derivative, ambiguity-preference.

A 'symbiosis effect' perspective to understand reverse logistics and household recycling waste systems

Paper presented at 19th ISL, 2014, Ho Chi Minh The essence of the problem with waste is that it is by definition something that is not wanted. We argue here that achieving a sustainable solution requires consideration of both regulatory responsibilities and social norms (Deutz and Frostick, 2009). Landfill costs levy a high financial impact on municipalities due to the environmental directives that compel them to collect and recycle household waste. More efficient and effective systems are therefore crucial for municipalities from both a financial and environmental perspective. Thus, householders and municipalities “symbiotically” working together in a natural system could enhance sustainable living (Fennell and Weaver, 2005; Ehrenreich, 2002). This paper reports on the first two stages of a PhD research study project conducted within the two municipalities in the North of England. This research investigates the relationship between the sustainability and effectiveness of household recycling systems and household recycling behavior, reveals how factors associated with household recycling systems affect household recycling behaviour, and how household recycling behaviour affect the provision of household recycling systems by the local authorities. The main objective is to reveal and explain the interaction and symbiosis. In fact, this study has found that a ‘symbiosis effect’ perspective appears to be a robust framework to bring together effective household waste recycling systems and sustainable development considerations to enhance both sustainability and the economy. Further, the study provides empirical evidence examining both situational and personal factors of households and their interactions, which were previously not well-understood. This study has incorporated behavioural aspects in the reverse logistics process that should help improve the municipalities’ planning processes. Also, municipalities may be more adaptive to the changing behaviour of their constituents and more willing to change their waste and recycling strategies to more sustainable methods. The paper is structured as follows. The literature reviews from multiple lenses of multiple disciplines and research design that accessible for interdisciplinary study and the current findings with discussion as well as conclusion that explain and encapsulate symbiosis effect perspective in understanding reverse logistics and household waste recycling system (HRWS)

Grid-connected renewables, storage and the UK electricity market

This article is a critical counterpoint to an article by published by Swift-Hook in the journal of Renewable Energy entitled "Grid-connected intermittent renewables are the last to be stored". In contrast to Swift-Hook we found evidence that "grid-connected intermittent renewables" have been, and will continue to be stored when it suits the "UK market" to do so.  This article is important to policy makers as energy storage (through EV battery demand side management for example) may well have an important role to play in facilitating the integration of high wind penetrations

Neurosteroid Influences on Sensitivity to Ethanol

This review will highlight a variety of mechanisms by which neurosteroids affect sensitivity to ethanol, including physiological states associated with activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) and hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axes, and the effects of chronic exposure to ethanol, in addition to behavioral implications. To date, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABAA) receptor mechanisms are a major focus of the modulation of ethanol effects by neuroactive steroids. While NMDA receptor mechanisms are gaining prominence in the literature, these complex data would be best discussed separately. Accordingly, GABAA receptor mechanisms are emphasized in this review with brief mention of some NMDA receptor mechanisms to point out contrasting neuroactive steroid pharmacology. Overall, the data suggest that neurosteroids are virtually ubiquitous modulators of inhibitory neurotransmission. Neurosteroids appear to affect sensitivity to ethanol in specific brain regions and, consequently, specific behavioral tests, possibly related to the efficacy and potency of ethanol to potentiate the release of GABA and increase neurosteroid concentrations. Although direct interaction of ethanol and neuroactive steroids at common receptor binding sites has been suggested in some studies, this proposition is still controversial. It is currently difficult to assign a specific mechanism by which neuroactive steroids could modulate the effects of ethanol in particular behavioral tasks