1,336 research outputs found
Value dynamics in the public sector: a historical comparative analysis of changes in selection criteria for civil servants
Using regression analysis to predict the future energy consumption of a supermarket in the UK
The change in climate has led to an interest in how this will affect the energy consumption in buildings. Most of the work in the literature relates to offices and homes. However, this paper investigates a supermarket in northern England by means of a multiple regression analysis based on gas and electricity data for 2012.The equations obtained in this analysis use the humidity ratio derived from the dry-bulb temperature and the relative humidity in conjunction with the actual dry-bulb temperature. These equations are used to estimate the consumption for the base year period (1961-1990) and for the predicted climate period 2030-2059.The findings indicate that electricity use will increase by 2.1% whereas gas consumption will drop by about 13% for the central future estimate. The research further suggests that the year 2012 is comparable in temperature to the future climate, but the relative humidity is lower. Further research should include adaptation/mitigation measures and an evaluation of their usefulness. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd
Illustrating the relationship between the coefficient of performance and the coefficient of system performance by means of an R404 supermarket refrigeration system
Because the coefficient of performance (COP) is primarily concerned with the core refrigeration system, using it for optimisation purposes may lead to higher than necessary energy consumption. This hypothesis was studied with a simple equation relating this coefficient to the coefficient of system performance (COSP), and with a software model based on an R404A refrigeration system installed in a supermarket in north east England. In both approaches the condenser fan power usage was excluded from the COP but included in the COSP. The results showed that, especially for part load conditions, optimising the core refrigeration system for minimum power consumption led to an appreciably higher overall energy consumption with the implication that the condenser fan and compressor controls should be developed together. When using this holistic approach it was found that energy savings of 4.5% could have been achieved based on six months' data from the installed system
Tracing public values change: a historical study of civil service job advertisements
Long term changes in public values are not easily detected. One important reason is the limited availability of reliable empirical data. Job advertisements allow us to go back in history for some decades and job ads may present us with the values that are supposed to guide civil servant behavior. This paper analyses a sample of job ads from 1966 to 2008 in Denmark and the Netherlands. The analysis reveals that Denmark and the Netherlands follow the same pattern: a) merit (expertise/ professionalism) is and continues to be the most important selection criteria, but the meaning of merit explodes in several directions; b) job ads develop into platforms for organizational branding with an emphasis on HR-related values although national logos enter the scene (the Danish royal crown, the Dutch national emblem); c) New Public Management values do not crowd out other values, rather value intensity increases.FGW – Publications without University Leiden contrac
Hydrodynamics in an external field
The methods of statistical dynamics are applied to a fluid with 5 conserved
fields (the mass, the energy, and the three components of momentum) moving in a
given external potential. When the potential is zero, we recover a previously
derived system of parabolic differential equations, called "corrections to
fluid dynamics".Comment: extends results of math-ph/0105013 in the presence of an external
field; to appear in Rep. Math. Phys. (2002
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Using regression analysis to predict the future energy consumption of a supermarket in the UK
The change in climate has led to an interest in how this will affect the energy consumption in buildings. Most of the work in the literature relates to offices and homes. However, this paper investigates a supermarket in northern England by means of a multiple regression analysis based on gas and electricity data for 2012.
The equations obtained in this analysis use the humidity ratio derived from the dry-bulb temperature and the relative humidity in conjunction with the actual dry-bulb temperature. These equations are used to estimate the consumption for the base year period (1961–1990) and for the predicted climate period 2030–2059.
The findings indicate that electricity use will increase by 2.1% whereas gas consumption will drop by about 13% for the central future estimate. The research further suggests that the year 2012 is comparable in temperature to the future climate, but the relative humidity is lower. Further research should include adaptation/mitigation measures and an evaluation of their usefulness
Estimating the impact of climate change and local operational procedures on the energy use in several supermarkets throughout Great Britain
Possible changes in gas and electricity consumption in supermarkets throughout Great Britain have been investigated for the 2030s in order to assist decision makers with choices relating to energy use. In addition to this, two operational procedures, which vary between supermarkets, were investigated to see if a link between them and differences in energy consumption could be established. To achieve these aims, seven similar supermarkets were identified and their data analysed to derive their energy signatures through simple and change point regression analysis. These models were then combined with data from climate change prediction project UKCP09 for different probabilities (10%, 50% and 90%) of temperature increase in order to calculate changes in future energy use. In addition it was investigated if a linear regression model between the selected operational procedures and electricity use could be established. The results showed that, compared with the base period 1961-1990, the mean values of the annual average temperature for these seven supermarkets was predicted to rise by 2.0 °C or 20% for the central estimate. This led to an estimate of an increase in average electricity consumption of 2% and an average drop in the gas usage of 10%. The result also showed that differences in operational practices seem to have little impact on the in-store energy use. Differences in gas use models between stores can be more credibly explained by the building volume
Lattice swelling and modulus change in a helium-implanted tungsten alloy: X-ray micro-diffraction, surface acoustic wave measurements, and multiscale modelling
Using X-ray micro-diffraction and surface acoustic wave spectroscopy, we measure lattice swelling and elastic modulus changes in a W-1% Re alloy after implantation with 3110 appm of helium. An observed lattice expansion of a fraction of a per cent gives rise to an order of magnitude larger reduction in the surface acoustic wave velocity. A multiscale model, combining elasticity and density functional theory, is applied to the interpretation of observations. The measured lattice swelling is consistent with the relaxation volume of self-interstitial and helium-filled vacancy defects that dominate the helium-implanted material microstructure. Larger scale atomistic simulations using an empirical potential confirm the findings of the elasticity and density functional theory model for swelling. The reduction of surface acoustic wave velocity predicted by density functional theory calculations agrees remarkably well with experimental observations.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (CHE-1111557
A quasi-diagonal approach to the estimation of Lyapunov spectra for spatio-temporal systems from multivariate time series
We describe methods of estimating the entire Lyapunov spectrum of a spatially
extended system from multivariate time-series observations. Provided that the
coupling in the system is short range, the Jacobian has a banded structure and
can be estimated using spatially localised reconstructions in low embedding
dimensions. This circumvents the ``curse of dimensionality'' that prevents the
accurate reconstruction of high-dimensional dynamics from observed time series.
The technique is illustrated using coupled map lattices as prototype models for
spatio-temporal chaos and is found to work even when the coupling is not
strictly local but only exponentially decaying.Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX (RevTeX), 13 Postscript figs, to be submitted to
Phys.Rev.
Risks, alternative knowledge strategies and democratic legitimacy: the conflict over co-incineration of hazardous industrial waste in Portugal.
The decision to incinerate hazardous industrial waste in cement plants (the socalled
‘co-incineration’ process) gave rise to one of the most heated environmental
conflicts ever to take place in Portugal. The bitterest period was between 1997 and
2002, after the government had made a decision. Strong protests by residents,
environmental organizations, opposition parties, and some members of the
scientific community forced the government to backtrack and to seek scientific
legitimacy for the process through scientific expertise. The experts ratified the
government’s decision, stating that the risks involved were socially acceptable.
The conflict persisted over a decade and ended up clearing the way for a more
sustainable method over which there was broad social consensus – a multifunctional
method which makes it possible to treat, recover and regenerate most
wastes. Focusing the analysis on this conflict, this paper has three aims: (1) to
discuss the implications of the fact that expertise was ‘confiscated’ after the
government had committed itself to the decision to implement co-incineration and
by way of a reaction to the atmosphere of tension and protest; (2) to analyse the
uses of the notions of ‘risk’ and ‘uncertainty’ in scientific reports from both
experts and counter-experts’ committees, and their different assumptions about
controllability and criteria for considering certain practices to be sufficiently safe
for the public; and (3) to show how the existence of different technical scientific
and political attitudes (one more closely tied to government and the corporate
interests of the cement plants, the other closer to the environmental values of reuse
and recycling and respect for the risk perception of residents who challenged
the facilities) is closely bound up with problems of democratic legitimacy. This
conflict showed how adopting more sustainable and lower-risk policies implies a
broader view of democratic legitimacy, one which involves both civic movements
and citizens themselves
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