Challenges and opportunities of low or zero carbon building: prospects of business models

Papers from the Designated Session TG66 - Energy and the Built EnvironmentCIB Publication 382: Selected papers presented at the CIB World Building Congres Construction and Society, Brisbane 5-9 May 2013There is an emerging consensus amongst governments, business sectors and civil societies regarding the urgent need to address the multiple challenges of climate change, environmental pollution, resource depletion and economic instability. The building and construction sector has been identified with the most opportunities for cost-effectively reducing carbon emissions. However, although business opportunities have been identified for low or zero carbon building (L/ZCB), L/ZCBs are generally perceived as more expensive and challenging than conventional buildings. Also, L/ZCBs are often addressed solely from their technological and environmental perspectives, while important economic and sociocultural aspects have been overlooked or examined implicitly. This paper aims to contribute to the knowledge of the challenges and opportunities of L/ZCB in a systems manner, and to explore how business models can help construction organisations address the former and maximise the latter. The research was carried out through the combination of a comprehensive literature review and case study with a large construction organisation which played a significant role in the UK and internationally. The examination of the challenges and opportunities employed the PESTEL analysis framework (Political, Economic, Sociocultural, Technological, Environmental and Legal). The case study included a desk study, observations, meetings and personal interviews with senior business and sustainability managers of the company. The results suggest the imperative role of business models for L/ZCB developments. Establishing and innovating business models were considered to present an opportunity for the company to sharpen their competitive edge in the market. A wide take-up of business models of L/ZCBs among construction firms was perceived to fit well the building industry's socio-technical system in addressing the multiple challenges.published_or_final_versio

Oral Health and Primary Care: Exploring Integration Models and Their Implications for Dental Hygiene Practice

Background: Historically, the oral health care system has been separated both administratively and clinically from the larger health care delivery system. Despite this historical separation, providing oral health care services lies within the scope of all health care professionals' practices. Current efforts to shift the compartmentalized American health care system to a total patient care model provide an opportunity to integrate oral health care with primary care in order to improve the population's oral health. This article seeks to acquaint dental hygienists, the oral health care professionals focused on disease prevention, with new and emerging models of oral health care delivery and interprofessional collaborative practice in the hope that they soon will participate in and expand the implementation of these practice models. Methods: This study focused on five health centers, all of which have been identified as organizational leaders in the development and implementation of models designed to support the integration of oral health care with primary care. Quantitative information on each health center was derived from annual reports submitted to the Uniform Data System (UDS) and information on the integration models was obtained through structured key informant interviews. Results: Each organization has incorporated oral health risk assessment, clinical assessments, education, preventive interventions, and dental care coordination into primary care services. One organization provides oral health care as part of its outreach services and programs. The health care team members involved in integration vary. Some of the health centers primarily call on doctors to implement integration of oral health care while others employ dental hygienists, nurses, medical assistants, and outreach team members. Interprofessional collaboration was observed in each organization but took on different forms. Conclusions: Although their methods of integrating oral health care with primary care differed, the five health centers described in this study successfully used integration to improve the delivery of oral health care services to their patients. All of these organizations placed a high value on interprofessional collaboration regardless of the particular collaborative model employed and identified a champion tasked with overseeing the improvement of oral health care delivery.The development of this article was supported by the National Association of Community Health Centers through funding provided by the DentaQuest Foundation

Policy Report: 2014 Indiana Dentist Workforce

Information on the oral health workforce is critical to understanding oral health system capacity and informing policy. Unfortunately, the response rate to the emailed version of the survey was extremely low (13.4%) as compared to previous years. It is unclear whether these respondents are representative of Indiana’s dentist workforce; however, these data, representing the most current information available on a sample of this workforce, are presented in this report

Reconciling scientific reality with realpolitik: moving beyond carbon pricing to TEQs – an integrated, economy-wide emissions cap

<div><p>This article considers why price-based frameworks may be inherently unsuitable for delivering unprecedented global emissions reductions while retaining the necessary public and political support, and argues that it is time to instead draw on quantity-based mechanisms such as TEQs (tradable energy quotas).</p><p>TEQs is a climate policy framework combining a hard cap on emissions with the use of market mechanisms to distribute quotas beneath that cap.</p><p>The significant international research into TEQs is summarized, including a 2008 UK government feasibility study, which concluded that the scheme was “ahead of its time.” TEQs would cover all sectors within a national economy, including households, and findings suggest it could act as a catalyst for the socio-technical transitions required to maximize wellbeing under a tightening cap, while generating national common purpose toward innovative energy demand reductions.</p><p>Finally, there are reflections on the role that the carbon management community can play in further developing TEQs and reducing the rift between what climate science calls for and what politics is delivering.</p></div

Data Report: 2015 Indiana Nursing Licensure Survey

The mission of the Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy is to improve population health by contributing to informed health workforce policy through data management, community engagement, and original research. The Bowen Center has a rich history of collecting, analyzing, and disseminating health workforce data and research for the State of Indiana. These health workforce data are important to informing health workforce policy and planning efforts throughout Indiana. The nursing workforce represents the largest segment of the health workforce and works in a variety of settings to fulfill direct patient care, coordination of care, administrative and research roles.1 In fact, in 2015 Indiana had nearly 104,000 registered nurses (RNs) renew their professional license. Furthermore, as the number of medical students choosing to specialize in primary care decreases, the number of advanced practice nurses (APNs) has more than doubled over the past 20 years.2 Understanding the supply and distribution of the RN and APN workforce is critical to understand their capacity to meet healthcare needs and improve population health. The data presented in this report provides a snapshot of key demographic and practice characteristics for the RN workforce

Data Report: 2016 Indiana Physician Licensure Survey

The Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy, formerly called the Bowen Research Center, has a rich history of collecting, analyzing, and disseminating health workforce data and research for the State of Indiana. These health workforce data are important to informing health workforce policy and planning efforts through the State. Although the health workforce is comprised of a myriad of health professionals, the physician workforce may be regarded as the backbone of the healthcare system, which makes collecting and disseminating timely data on the supply and distribution of Indiana’s physician workforce critical to informing any health workforce policy or planning efforts. The 2016 Indiana Physician Licensure Survey Data Report presents key information and data collected from the physician re-licensure survey administered by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency (IPLA) during physicians’ biennial license renewal. As of 2015, 26,536 physicians were licensed to practice in the State of Indiana. Of these, 10,057 physicians reported having an Indiana practice address. The majority of Indiana physicians reported having only one practice location in the state. Consistent with national trends, Indiana’s physicians are concentrated in populous, urban areas. In addition to understanding the geographic distribution of this workforce, practice characteristics are critical to determining capacity at the community level. A total of 6,285 (62%) physicians reported working 37 hours or more per week in direct patient care. Furthermore, roughly 52% of the physician workforce reported not offering a sliding fee scale. Also, 8.5% of Indiana physicians reported not accepting Medicaid. This report details important demographic and practice characteristics for the physician workforce. The report also examines these data for the primary care physician workforce and the psychiatric workforce. The 2015 Indiana Physician Licensure Survey Data Report presents a snapshot of data on the physician workforce in order to provide stakeholders with information needed to improve the quality and accessibility of health care for Indiana residents through policy making, workforce development, and resource allocation

GSU Event Portal

The GSU Events website will solve a major problem with the current student portal - GSU student boredom. The current GSU Student portal is lacking entertainment, and the GSU Events website will fill that gap. The entertainment piece is currently not available on the GSU Student Portal, and this feature will hopefully be added to the GSU Student Portal in the near future. It will be a way for students to communicate and advertise music, theater, conferences, and entertainment in the surrounding area. It could also be used and advertised for new students to explore the area and get to know their new environment. The GSU Events website will be an excellent addition to the existing GSU Student Portal, and will be used by all GSU students. The GSU Events feature will be ready for release December 4th, 2017