Romanian Statistical Review nr. 12 / 2013 14 SOME THEORIES OF ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Abstract The paper deals with the arguments with which the neoclassical have approached the problems of sustainability, giving life to that branch of political economy that studies the problems related to the use of natural resources and environmental externalities. Environmental Economics studies, insights and additions that bind knowledge economy with the application of economic theory to environmental problems seek to provide in this paper an comprehensive framework and as exhaustive as possible of speculations around the concept of sustainability. We highlight, also, how environmental aspects are processed within a defi ned perimeter of economic instruments to defend the neoclassical orthodoxy in front of the market failure and to support the undertaking of a path of development that is sustainable

Improvements in wind speed forecasts for wind power prediction purposes using Kalman filtering

International audienceThis paper studies the application of Kalman filtering as a post-processing method in numerical predictions of wind speed. Two limited-area atmospheric models have been employed, with different options/capabilities of horizontal resolution, to provide wind speed forecasts. The application of Kalman filter to these data leads to the elimination of any possible systematic errors, even in the lower resolution cases, contributing further to the significant reduction of the required CPU time. The potential of this method in wind power applications is also exploited. In particular, in the case of wind power prediction, the results obtained showed a remarkable improvement in the model forecasting skill

Information Literacy Competencies and Copyright in Brazilian Higher Education Institutions

RESUMEN: La competencia informacional o alfabetización informacional (COINFO/ALFIN) es la evolución natural de la antigua formación de usuarios en las bibliotecas adaptada a los nuevos tiempos, donde la tecnología juega un importante papel. Por su parte, el uso ético y legal de la información es una de las competencias que conforman este tipo de formación dentro de los estándares internacionales COINFO/ALFIN. Con el objetivo de conocer la repercusión del uso ético y legal de la información dentro de estos planes formativos de las bibliotecas de educación superior en Brasil, se diseñó un breve cuestionario en línea para averiguar si poseen un plan de COINFO o de formación de usuarios, si dentro de los planes se trata el uso ético y legal de la información y los derechos de autor, en qué consiste esta información cuando se produce, y si las bibliotecas disponen de personal preparado para atender dudas sobre estas cuestiones. De los resultados se desprende que las bibliotecas de educación superior en Brasil aún tienen un largo camino por recorrer en materia de COINFO. No todas tienen planes adecuados para sus usuarios y entre los que sí tienen, cuando se habla sobre derechos de autor, el discurso se centra en los aspectos sancionadores de los mismos, sin dar cabida a la formación que permita saber a autores y usuarios qué derechos tienen, cómo usar las obras de terceros o cómo pueden compartir sus obras, entre otros.ABSTRACT: Information literacy (IL) is the natural evolution of the old “user training” in libraries, adapted to the new times where technology plays an important role. Legal and ethical use of information is one of the competencies incorporated in important international standards of IL. In order to know the impact of the ethical and legal use of information within these training plans in libraries of higher education entities in Brazil, a brief online questionnaire was designed and executed. The questionnaire aimed to research the existence of plans for IL and/or user training , the ethical and legal use of information, copyright, what kind of information they show, and the availability of staff members at libraries to address concerns on these issues. The results show that libraries of higher education entities in Brazil still have a lot of work to do in our area. Not all of them have adequate education plans for their users and those who do have them, and also include some information about copyright, the discourse focuses on disciplinary aspects, without training authors nor users about their rights, how to use the work of others, how to share their own work, amongst others

21 lat zarządzania jakością i ochrona konsumentów w Rumunii

The former socialist/communist rule kept Romania almost isolated from the Western World during about half a century (1945-1989). All about 7000 Romanian former state-owned companies (which were operational at the end of 1989) were obliged, by Law, starting the years ‘60, to organize their own so-called „CTC (Technical Quality Control) Department”, in order to only inspect the quality of their products. In 1992, two years only after the fall of Ceausescu’s dictatorship, in Romania were published both the first Romanian edition of famous ISO 9001 standard (in 1987, when ISO published its first international issue, the former Romanian regime did not allow the translating of it in Romanian!) and the first Consumer Protection Act in Romania’s history. This paper introduces - from both historical and professional insider’s perspective - the most important facts, challenges, issues and outcomes of these very important events, happened over two decades ago.Poprzednie komunistyczne/socjalistyczne zasady trzymały Rumunię w izolacji od świata zachodniego, przez ponad pół wieku (1945-1989). Około 700 rumuńskich przedsiębiorstw państwowych (które działały pod koniec 1989 roku), były zobowiązane, przez prawo, od lat 60-tych do organizacji własnych oddziałów zwanych Technicznymi Oddziałami Jakości, w celu przeprowadzania kontroli jakości swoich produktów. W roku 1992, dwa lata po upadku reżimu Ceausescu, w Rumunii opublikowana została pierwsza norma ISO 9001 (w 1987 roku, kiedy ISO opublikowała swoją pierwszą międzynarodową normę, rząd w Rumunii nie wyraził zgody na jej tłumaczenie) a także Consumer Protection Act - pierwszy w historii Rumunii. Niniejszy artykuł przedstawia - zarówno z perspektywy historycznej jak i zawodowej - najważniejsze fakty, wyzwania, problemy i rezultaty tych ważnych wydarzeń, które miały miejsce ponad dwie dekady temu

Analiza komponentów wielofunkcyjnych sektora energii odnawialnej w krajach OECD i implikacje kierownicze

New technologies and new market realities determine the global energy industry to redesign their business models in all significant areas. We based our research on the components of renewable energy within the OECD countries and used thirteen indicators in order to find out both the relations and the impact of main sectorial indicators and the global indicators of the OECD countries to their economic and social development. The main goal of our research is to discover the main correlations between the renewable energies and the economic development of the OECD countries. We used databases of the OECD, Our World in Data, International Energy Agency (IEA) and International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), available for years 2017 and 2018. We apply Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and retain three principal components explaining 76.098% of the total variance. The main findings of the PCA application are; (1) factor 1 is dominated by the main renewable energy sources: traditional biofuels, hydropower, solar, wind and other renewables, as well as energy products, energy exports, energy capacity and energy generation; (2) factor 2 is dominated positively by energy imports and negatively by primary energy supply and GDP per capita; (3) factor 3 measures electricity generation. The results are addressed to the OECD member states, but also to other categories of states. Our results clearly show that if the OECD states are developing coherent renewable energy policies as part of an integrated smart energy system. The results show a direct link between investments in renewable energy and macroeconomic indicators of the considered states and main implications to the management.Nowe technologie i nowe realia rynkowe determinują globalny przemysł energetyczny do przeprojektowania modeli biznesowych we wszystkich istotnych obszarach. Nasze badania oparliśmy na składnikach energii odnawialnej w krajach OECD i wykorzystaliśmy trzynaście wskaźników, aby poznać zarówno relacje, jak i wpływ głównych wskaźników sektorowych oraz wskaźników globalnych krajów OECD na ich rozwój gospodarczy i społeczny. Głównym celem naszych badań jest odkrycie głównych korelacji między energią odnawialną a rozwojem gospodarczym krajów OECD. Korzystaliśmy z baz danych OECD, Our World in Data, Międzynarodowej Agencji Energii (IEA) i Międzynarodowej Agencji Energii Odnawialnej (IRENA), dostępnych za lata 2017 i 2018. Stosujemy analizę głównych komponentów (PCA) i zatrzymujemy trzy główne komponenty wyjaśniające 76,098% całkowitej wariancji. Główne ustalenia wniosku o PCA są następujące; (1) czynnik 1 jest zdominowany przez główne odnawialne źródła energii: tradycyjne biopaliwa, energię wodną, słoneczną, wiatrową i inne odnawialne źródła energii, a także produkty energetyczne, eksport energii, moc i wytwarzanie energii; (2) czynnik 2 jest zdominowany pozytywnie przez import energii, a negatywnie przez podaż energii pierwotnej i PKB na mieszkańca; (3) współczynnik 3 mierzy wytwarzanie energii elektrycznej. Wyniki skierowane są do krajów członkowskich OECD, ale także do innych kategorii państw. Nasze wyniki jasno pokazują, że państwa OECD opracowują spójną politykę w zakresie energii odnawialnej w ramach zintegrowanego inteligentnego systemu energetycznego. Wyniki wskazują na bezpośredni związek między inwestycjami w energię odnawialną a wskaźnikami makroekonomicznymi rozważanych krajów i głównymi implikacjami dla zarządzania

Mapa do conhecimento da ciência da informação implicações para o futuro da área

This collective paper incorporates eleven position papers on implications of the "Knowledge Map of Information Science," a Critical Delphi study conducted in 2003-2005 and published as a series of four articles (ZINS, 2007 a, b, c, d). The Delphi study captured the deliberations of 57 leading information science scholars from 16 countries to provide (1) definitions of the fundamental concepts of data, information knowledge and message, (2) alternative conceptions of the broad information science domain, (3) different classificatory mappings of the field, and (4) comprehensive mappings of information science. Overall, the Knowledge Map provides an early 21st century snapshot of the field that should help guide future research, educational programming, publishing, and other professional and scholarly thrusts. Future information science mapping research should be done periodically, including additional Delphi studies and assessments of the degree of the field's expansion and probable division into sub-fields. Alternative methodologies for mapping the expanding information science universe and its synergies with other fields of knowledge should also be explored.Esse trabalho coletivo incorpora onze posições sobre as implicações do 'Mapa do Conhecimento da Ciência da Informação', um estudo crítico Delphi conduzido de 2003 a 2005 e publicado em uma série de quatro artigos (ZINS, 2007a, b, c, d). O estudo Delphi capturou as deliberações de 57 líderes acadêmicos em Ciência da Informação de 16 países para fornecer: 1) definições de conceitos fundamentais de dados, informação, conhecimento e mensagem; 2) concepções alternativas em relação ao domínio da Ciência da Informação; 3) diferentes mapeamentos classificatórios da área; e 4) mapeamento compreensivo da Ciência da Informação. Em geral, o Mapa do Conhecimento fornece um diagnóstico atual da área, retratando as questões do Século XXI, que pode auxiliar o desenvolvimento de pesquisas futuras, programas educacionais, publicações e outras perspectivas profissionais e acadêmicas. Esse tipo de pesquisa de mapeamento sobre a Ciência da Informação deveria ser feito periodicamente, incluindo estudos Delphi e avaliações do grau de expansão da área e provável divisão em subáreas. Metodologias alternativas para mapear a expansão do universo da Ciência da Informação e suas sinergias com outras áreas do conhecimento, também, deveriam ser exploradas