Data Curation and the University Archives

Data curation—the active and ongoing management of data through its life cycle—is a concern for researchers. As caretakers, it would seem natural that the university archivist and the university archives have a role in the data curation process. This article addresses the authors' research project to determine the level of involvement of archives and archivists in data curation. The results are contextualized within archival theory and practice, and the authors suggest additional steps that should be taken if the profession is to have a role in data curation.Introduction -- Defining data curation -- Survey setup -- Survey results -- Discussion and implications of study -- Further considerations of curating data -- Conclusions -- Appendix I: Initial survey instrument -- Appendix II: Follow-up surveyPublisher allows immediate open acces

Counting Is Not Enough: Investing in Qualitative Case Reviews for Practice Improvement in Child Welfare

Outlines the value of quality case service reviews in child welfare systems, requirements for building and sustaining a robust process and adapting it under limited state budgets, and recommendations for jurisdictions, initiators, and national leadership

Electric utilities, fuel use, and responsiveness to fuel prices

This research tests the impact of changes in fuel price to explain fuel use by electric utilities. We employ a three-stage least squares model that explains changes in fuel use as a function of changes in three fuel prices. This model is repeated across sub-samples of data aggregated at the plant level and operating holding company level. We expect that plants and holding companies reduce fuel use when fuel prices rise. Several fuel substitution effects within and across plants and holding companies are demonstrated, as well as several frictions. At the plant level, higher prices of natural gas lead to less natural gas consumption, less coal consumption, and more fuel oil consumption. At the operating holding company level, results demonstrate the inelasticity of coal use and the increases of natural gas in response to higher coal prices. Subsamples demonstrate heterogeneity of results across different plants. Results emphasize that technological, market, and regulatory frictions may hinder the performance of energy policies

Convergence in Environmental Reporting: Assessing the Carbon Disclosure Project

Preprint; final version published as: Matisoff, D. C., Noonan, D. S., & O’Brien, J. J. (2013). Convergence in Environmental Reporting: Assessing the Carbon Disclosure Project. Business Strategy and the Environment, 22(5), 285–305. doi:10.1002/bse.1741We perform content analysis on Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) responses from 2003 to 2010, focusing on the extent to which firms account for indirect emissions and have exhibited convergence in carbon reporting. We also examine standardization in reporting and the variation of reporting behavior across industry and country. We find that the CDP has produced a mixed record of improved transparency. In some areas, such as Scope 2 emissions, the CDP has demonstrated an increase in transparency in later years. However, the transparency and quality of direct emissions and Scope 3 emissions have not improved over time. Japanese and European Union firms have increased transparency, while American firms have decreased transparency. Energy-intensive industries have either increased transparency or remained the same, while less energy-intensive industries have become less transparent. We demonstrate some evidence of a learning effect among firms after participating in the CDP survey

Master of Public Administration (MPA) Program, Capstone

44 pagesThe sun is our most impressive source of energy. More than one million times the earth’s size, every year the sun provides ten times more energy than is stored in all the world’s reserves of coal and oil. The amount and intensity of sunlight varies by location, climate conditions, as well as daily and seasonal trends. Although southern states such as Arizona, California, and New Mexico receive the most sunlight during the year, Iowa ranks among the top third in the United States in the technical potential for solar energy production. Iowa’s 16th-place ranking puts it ahead of many states to the south including Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Iowa’s rooftop solar energy potential alone could meet close to 20% of Iowa’s annual electric needs under optimal conditions. The decentralized approach to electricity generation through the creation of small-scale and distributed energy facilities has done wonders for solar proliferation in the state of Iowa as well as had a positive impact on the state’s economic development. Solar energy in Iowa now powers farms, businesses, universities, utilities, communities, and industries, as well as vehicles, and homes in the state. The purpose of this study is to analyze Iowa’s current solar energy blueprint by focusing on current practices, financial aspects, recent policy, and potential limitations. At the heart of this study is the examination of the northeast Iowa community of Decorah where renewable practices are epitomized with more than 50 solar projects found in a town of only 8,000 people. This study will correlate current policy and financial considerations to the case study of Decorah in order to help build a model for solar proliferation in the state of Iowa. It will show that although there may not be a perfect model for solar proliferation for each community in Iowa, there are many recommendations to help the process, including reauthorizing the state solar energy tax credit, cities creating community gardens, and electric utilities’ re-framing of the term “distributed generation” for becoming a comprehensible term which would boost understanding and awareness for potential ratepayers.Professor Allen Zagoren DO, MP

Economic, sociological, and neighbor dimensions of energy efficiency adoption behaviors: Evidence from the U.S. residential heating and air conditioning market

This study identifies factors that affect the adoption behavior for residential Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, including a spatial and temporal contagion effect, house characteristics, and other economic and contextual factors. The study draws on a dataset of house sale records in the greater Chicago area, spanning 1992–2004. First-differenced models and restricting the sample to new construction allow separate identification of adoption determinants for homeowners and for developers, respectively. We show that attributes of the building stock and demographics influence adoption decisions of both homeowners and developers. This includes a strong influence of square footage, a modest spatial clustering effect for existing homes, a consistent deterrent effect of higher property tax rates, and a positive influence of neighborhood education levels. Adoption decisions for existing homeowners appear to be driven by different factors than sellers of newly constructed homes. Adoption coincided with multi-story homes for developers, and neighbor adoption rates predicted adoption by existing homeowners but not developers. The results highlight the need for more research into the social context of energy efficiency investment

Characteristics of Voluntary Behavior in the Neighborhood Commons: The Case of Dog Parks

The neighborhood commons, and dog parks in particular, provide a good laboratory to explore the drivers of voluntarism and trust, as well as the situational and demographic correlates that promote or inhibit voluntarism. This analysis connects a central theme of Ostrom’s work on institutions for overcoming social dilemmas to the literature on voluntary actions and the health of small communities. Survey results from more than 500 users of 14 dog parks in the Atlanta area are examined to understand how variation in park and user characteristics predict variation in individual contributions to the commons, including pro-social attitudes and behavior and dispute resolution behavior. Our analysis shows how institutions foster community commons, which are correlated with both voluntarism and the voluntary enforcement of norms on users. These results from a study in the field contribute to a growing literature that explores the circumstances for successful voluntary supply and maintenance of public goods

Green Buildings: Economics and Policies

This article presents an overview of green building economics and policies through a survey of theoretical and empirical evidence concerning green building practices. We define green building policy as policies that affect the entire life of the building, from design and construction to operation and deconstruction. We examine the economics of green buildings in the United States, with particular emphasis on market failures in the building sector such as information problems and externalities. We also discuss how policy instruments are used to address these market failures. We present original data on the types and potential impacts of these policy instruments in the United States, along with a brief review of international green building programs. We conclude by describing challenges for the empirical study of green buildings and priorities for future research and policy in this area

Performance or Marketing Benefits? The Case of LEED Certification

Green building adoption is driven by both performance-based benefits and marketing based benefits. Performance based benefits are those that improve performance or lower operating costs of the building or of building users. Marketing benefits stem from the consumer response to green certification. This study illustrates the relative importance of the marketing based benefits that accrue to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) buildings due to green signaling mechanisms, specifically related to the certification itself are identified. Of course, all participants in the LEED certification scheme seek marketing benefits. But even among LEED participants, the interest in green signaling is pronounced. The green signaling mechanism that occurs at the certification thresholds shifts building patterns from just below to just above the threshold level, and motivates builders to cluster buildings just above each threshold. Results are consistent across subsamples, though nonprofit organizations appear to build greener buildings and engage in more green signaling than for-profit entities. Using nonparametric regression discontinuity, signaling across different building types is observed. Marketing benefits due to LEED certification drives organizations to build “greener” buildings by upgrading buildings at the thresholds to reach certification levels