Exploring the challenges in developing a multi-criteria assessment for smart local energy systems

Several countries worldwide, including the United Kingdom, are investing in and introducing policies to foster the development and deployment of Smart Local Energy Systems. Smart Local Energy Systems are complex and socio-technical, with a wide range of stakeholders and multiple social, technical, environmental and economic aims. It is, therefore, essential to develop a standardised assessment tool to monitor the implementation of these systems and their social, technological, environmental and economic benefits and impacts. This paper presents work related to developing such a multi-criteria assessment tool, focusing on exploring and identifying the challenges of applying multi-criteria assessment to the development and deployment of Smart Local Energy Systems. The research involved semi-structured interviews with relevant expert stakeholders concerning six core assessment themes, corresponding sub-themes, and associated criteria/metrics. The results provide insights into the challenges of applying multi-criteria assessment to Smart Local Energy Systems and highlight the complex nature of these systems. Furthermore, stakeholder burnout (due to too many stakeholder engagement activities), data collection issues, and the broad definition and/or limited scope of assessment criteria were identified as the principal challenges faced in developing such an assessment tool, potentially affecting the reliability of its outputs

Distribution between risk groups determined by severity of caries among 6, 12 and 15 year old Icelandic children participating in a national oral health survey 2005

Efst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinnInngangur: Landsrannsókn á tannheilsu 6, 12 og 15 ára barna (MUNNÍS) var framkvæmd árið 2005. Það sama ár gaf Embætti landlæknis(EL) út Klínískar leiðbeiningar um varnir gegn tannátu á Íslandi. Nýlega gerði Tannlæknafélag Íslands tillögu að áhættuflokkun og forgangsröðun íslenskra barna að tannlæknaþjónustu byggða á Klínískum leiðbeiningum Embættis landlæknis. Rannsakað var hvernig þátttakendur MUNNÍS rannsóknar dreifðust milli áhættuhópa Tannlæknafélags Íslands eftir alvarleika tannskemmda. Efniviður og aðferðir: Tannáta 6, 12 og 15 ára barna var greind eftir ICDAS greiningu á tannflöt (ds/DS1-6, ds/DS3-6). Skilgreind voru áhættuviðmið fyrir þrjá áhættuflokka TFÍ, sem taka mið af aldri einstaklinga, fjölda skemmdra tannflata og alvarleika tannskemmda (ds1-6/DS1-6). Mikil áhætta fyrir 6 ára ds(3-6 )4, DS(3-6)2, fyrir 12 ára DS(3-6)4 í sex ára jöxlum, DS (3-6)1 í framtönnum og fyrir 15 ára DS(3-6)8 í forjöxlum/jöxlum, DS(3-6)2 í framtönnum. Miðlungs áhætta fyrir 6 ára ds(1-6)4, DS(1-6)2, fyrir 12 ára DS(1-6)4 í sex ára jöxlum, DS(1-2)1 í framtönnum og fyrir 15ára DS(1-6)8 í forjöxlum/jöxlum, DS(1-6)2 í framtönnum. Aðrir voru flokkaðir í litla áhættu. Niðurstöður: Samkvæmt áhættuflokkun TFÍ eru 6,7% sex ára , 8,7% tólf ára og 9,8% fimmtán ára barna í mikilli áhættu. 24,9% sex ára, 36,3% tólf ára og 42,3% fimmtán ára barna í miðlungs áhættu og 68,4% sex ára barna, 55,0% tólf ára og 47,9% fimmtán ára barna í lítilli áhættu. Börn án tannátu í barna- og fullorðinstönnum [d(3-6) mf+D(3-6)MF=0/d(1-6)mf+D(1-6)MF=0] eru 56% /36% 6 ára barna, 28% /12% 12 ára barna og 19% /6% 15 ára barna. Ef börn í mikilli og miðlungs áhættu eru talin saman tilheyra um 32% sex ára, 45% tólf ára og 52% fimmtán ára áhættuhópi. Um helmingur íslenskra barna tilheyra áhættuhópi vegna tannátu samkvæmt áhættuflokkun TFÍ. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------The Icelandic Oral Health Survey of children, 6, 12 and 15 years old was undertaken in 2005 (MUNNÍS) the same year that the Directorate of Health issued evidence-based guidelines for preventive strategies against caries. The Icelandic Dental Association has proposed a risk assessment and priority schedule regarding dental treatment for children, based on guidelines from the Directorate of Health. The project examined how the participants of the 2005 survey were distributed between risk groups identified by the Icelandic Dental Association based on severity of caries

Weighting Key Performance Indicators of Smart Local Energy Systems: A Discrete Choice Experiment

The development of Smart Local Energy Systems (SLES) in the UK is part of the energy transition tackling the energy trilemma and contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Project developers and other stakeholders need to independently assess the performance of these systems: how well they meet their aims to successfully deliver multiple benefits and objectives. This article describes a step undertaken by the EnergyREV Research Consortium in developing a standardised Multi-Criteria Assessment (MCA) tool—specifically a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to determine the weighting of key performance indicators (KPIs). The MCA tool will use a technology-agnostic framework to assess SLES projects, track system performance and monitor benefit realisation. In order to understand the perceived relative importance of KPIs across different stakeholders, seven DCEs were conducted via online surveys (using 1000minds software). The main survey (with 234 responses) revealed that Environment was considered the most important criterion, with a mean weight of 21.6%. This was followed by People and Living (18.9%), Technical Performance (17.8%) and Data Management (14.7%), with Business and Economics and Governance ranked the least important (13.9% and 13.1%, respectively). These results are applied as weightings to calculate overall scores in the EnergyREV MCA-SLES tool

Body Mass Index (BMI), caries and erosion in 15 years Icelandic teenagers

Neðst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn View/OpenObjectives: The Oral Health Survey in Iceland (2005) revealed a high prevalence of erosion in permanent teeth and increasing levels of caries in 15-year olds. Data from participants on consumption of soft drinks and measurement of Body-Mass Index (BMI) enabled a study of interaction of lifestyle factors in these two dental diseases. The aim was to investigate the interaction of aetiological factors in erosion and caries so that preventive policies could be developed. Methods: Erosion was recorded (modified scale of Lussi), and caries (D3MFT) determined using The International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS). Detailed information on consumption of acidic drinks was obtained by questionnaire. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated following measurements at the clinical examination. Results: There was a linear relationship between the frequency of consumption of acidic drinks and the proportion of the sample with tooth erosion. Erosion was evident in 30%, significantly more often in boys. The average number of teeth with erosion increased steadily with increased frequency of consuming acidic drinks. There was a parallel increase in the D3MFT index and BMI whereas the number of teeth with erosion present declined with increasing BMI in boys. Conclusion: There are different associations between BMI and caries and BMI and erosion.Markmið: Upplýsingar liggja fyrir um tannheilsu og lífsstíl nemenda í 10. bekk íslenskra grunnskóla í rannsókn á munnheilsu íslendinga frá árinu 2005 (MUNNÍS). Gögn um tíðni á tannátu (caries) og glerungseyðingu (erosion), neyslu gosdrykkja ásamt mælingu á hæð og þyngd einstaklinga gáfu möguleika á að skoða tengsl þessara tveggja tannsjúkdóma við holdafar (BMI) einstaklinga og gosdrykkjaneyslu þeirra. Markmið þessarar rannsóknar var að skoða tengsl tannátu og glerungseyðingar við holdafar með forvarnir í huga. Efniviður: Nemendur voru valdir með tilviljunarkenndu klasaúrtaki (random cluster sample) sem í voru um 20% nemenda í 10. bekk, 384 piltar og 366 stúlkur, samtals 750. Glerungseyðing var greind eftir staðsetningu og alvarleika (modified scale of Lussi). Tannáta var greind eftir D3MFT með The International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS). Með spurningalista var aflað upplýsinga um neyslu á gosdrykkjum. Holdafar var mælt með skoðun á hæð og þyngd. Niðurstöður: Glerungseyðing greindist hjá 30% 15 ára unglinga, piltar voru með martækt meiri glerungseyðingu en stúlkur (38.3% pilta, 22.7 % stúlkna, p<0.001). Stúlkur og piltar voru að meðaltali með 4.24 tennur skemmdar (D3MFT). Tengsl eru á milli aukinnar neyslu gosdrykkja og meðalfjölda tanna með glerungseyðingu. Jákvæð fylgni er á milli tannátu (D3MFT) og líkamsþyngdar (BMI) en neikvæð fylgni á milli glerungseyðingar og holdafars. Ályktun: Mismunandi tengsl eru á milli holdafars og tannátu og holdafars og glerungseyðingu