Benefits of pollution monitoring technology for greenhouse gas offset markets

Environmental economists have shown that tradable emission permit markets can reduce the costs to society of pollution reduction. However, when emissions are difficult to monitor and verify, offset credits from pollution reductions may be subject to price discounts that reduce social welfare. In this paper, we estimate the extent to which social welfare could be improved by using new technology to increase the accuracy with which pollution flows from agricultural fields can be monitored. We use a hypothetical case study of a situation in which farmers can reduce nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Midwest agricultural land parcels and sell the resulting offset permits in a greenhouse gas tradable permit market. We simulate market outcomes with and without an inexpensive technology that increases the accuracy of emission estimates, reduces the discount to which agricultural offset permits are subject, and improves the performance of tradable permit system. We find that the benefits from such technology range as high as $138 for a 100 acre field if N2O emissions are an exponential function of nitrogen application rates. However, variation in the benefits to farmers of eliminating price discounts may mean efficient technology adoption is not uniform across space.tradable permit, greenhouse gases, uncertainty, technology

Emotion without a Word: An Analysis of Bengali Emotions and Their English Translation

Using Bengali texts and their English translations done by a set of English speaking native Bengali translators and another set of native English translators, we analyze how two specific Bengali emotion words (obhiman and lajja) have mapped onto English. In translating lajja translators use only three English words while for obhiman they choose an array of words with no consistency. This indicates that no English word represents a concept that is close to obhiman’s meaning suggesting that the concept represented by a particular emotion word in one language may not be totally captured in another language. Additionally, the findings indicate emotion words represent concepts with fuzzy borders (as suggested in scripts hypothesis) instead of dots in affect grids as envisioned in evaluation-potency-activity measurements. Such concepts vary in the spectrum of events they denote and in the degree to which they overlap. Subsequently, we, drawing from skopos theory, argue that cultural contexts in translation studies need to be considered rather than looking for exact equivalence of these emotion words

GIS-based estimation of housing amenities: the case of high grounds and stagnant streams

Hedonic valuation, Stagnant streams, High elevation, Q51, Q59,

GIS-Based Estimation of Housing Amenities: The Case of High Grounds and Stagnant Streams

We use GIS and econometric methods to estimate the marginal implicit values of environmental amenities associated with residential land parcels in the mountain town of Logan, Utah. Amenities include proximity to open spaces (such as parks, golf courses and lakes), commercial zones, major roads, streams, and general visibility of surrounding topography in the valley as determined by the elevation of the land parcel. The amenity value estimates are corrected for spatial autocorrelation. We find a positive relationship between a parcel’s value and its elevation, and a negative relationship between value and adjacency to a stagnant stream. To our knowledge, this is the first hedonic study to assess the effect of stream stagnancy on land value.hedonic valuation; stagnant streams; high elevation

sj-docx-1-wox-10.1177_07308884241250349 - Supplemental material for Professional in Practice: Stigma Management Strategies of Workers With Concealed Mental Health Conditions

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-wox-10.1177_07308884241250349 for Professional in Practice: Stigma Management Strategies of Workers With Concealed Mental Health Conditions by Shibashis Mukherjee, Jane S. VanHeuvelen and Clayton D. Thomas in Work and Occupations</p

Fuel Cell: An Analysis of Technology Lifecycle

Fuel cell is one of the most promising technologies for meeting energy needs of the U.S. as well as world well into the new century. Unlike power plants that use conventional technologies, fuel cell plants that generate electricity and usable heat can be built in a wide range of sizes-from 200-kW units suitable for powering commercial buildings to 100- m W plants that can add base load capacity to utility power plants. Researchers in universities and government laboratories and commercial businesses continue to explore, develop, and improve upon the processes and technologies needed to make the fuel cell a reliable and cost-effective alternative power source. The need for renewable, environmentally friendly energy sources is becoming more important in today\u27s world. President Bush says, Fuel cells will power cars with little or no waste at all. We happen to believe that fuel cell cars are the wave of the future; that fuel cells offer incredible opportunity. Within the context of mounting pressures on existing resources and the environment, fuel cell systems can and probably will play a major role in near future. Fuel Cell technology is vying to be the next great industrial revolution: clean, decentralized energy, powered by hydrogen. Fuel cell commercialization opportunities in the U.S. market are currently focused on several sectors namely transportation, central power plants, and industrial and commercial/residential generation. These efforts are being driven by four major challenges that fuel cells are uniquely able to address: Build-up of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is leading to global warming with unpredictable but potentially catastrophic consequences. Emissions of toxic pollutants from burning fossil fuels are damaging the environment and people\u27s health World oil production will decline in the next 10-20 years and dependence on a few energy rich nations will significantly increase threatening the Energy security and price Deregulation of the electricity supply industry is changing the market. New companies are entering the market offering energy services based on distributed on-site power generation. This segment of the energy market is likely to grow rapidly and utilities will have to adapt to the opportunity and challenge. This report is going to analyze the present status of fuel cell technology development and commercialization efforts to fulfill the future energy demands. As part of our study we will look at the technology life cycle of fuel cell technology and how it\u27s going to evolve into mainstream market by identifying the present growth. We then discuss the issues involved in making this technology viable for economic and industry growth followed by the factors, which can influence the technology to get into matured stage

Vehicle Routing Optimization

Transportation costs, including all stages of manufacturing and distribution, account for 10% to 20% of the final cost of a consumer good. Obviously, methods that would reduce this cost are highly desirable for any organization. The problems faced, in planning and carrying out the transportation of goods, are very complex, and therefore lend themselves well to optimization methods. Optimization methods have been successfully applied to many of the logistics problems faced by the trucking industry, and in general shipping. This paper describes an optimization model of a classic routing problem in the trucking industry: the “Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows” (VRPTW). The basic vehicle routing problem was first described by Danzig and Ramser over 40 years ago, but implementation of decision support tools based on optimization models have only appeared in widespread use over the past 15 years. The basic objective of a vehicle routing problem is to select the best set of routes so that overall cost is minimized. Data for the model presented in this report was provided by Con-Way Transportation Services, Inc., specifically from their local city route deliveries. The total city route problem of Con-Way was modeled in two parts: Trip Optimization and Route Optimization. In the first part, the total set of shipments was partitioned into sub-sets of individual truckloads. The model took into account truck capacity, as well as total miles traveled per truckload. The objective being to minimize the number of trucks required. In the second part, the best route for each truckload was determined. Time windows for each shipment were taken into account, and the objective was to minimize total miles traveled

Future of IT in India: Strategic and Policy Issues in Software and Services Sector

This paper examines the phenomenal growth of Information Technology software and services industry in India, the challenges ahead and the policies framed. It concludes by suggesting areas of improvement. The IT software and services industry is service rather than product oriented, heavily export oriented, and is largely managed by professional and entrepreneurial managements. The industry grossed annual revenue of $8.26 billion during 2000-01. Although the industry has grown in spectacular fashion, sustaining this performance will pose number of challenges. The key challenges are, moving towards a product-oriented industry, more R&D investment and moving up the value chain. Disconnect between domestic and export markets is another major challenge. The Indian government has taken up these challenges along with the industry and formulated policies to face the challenges. In the end, the IT industry with its new business organizational form and entrepreneurship excellence is likely to thrust India into the league of developed nations