How to resolve doxastic disagreement

How should an agent revise her epistemic state in the light of doxastic disagreement? The problems associated with answering this question arise under the assumption that an agent’s epistemic state is best represented by her degree of belief function alone. We argue that for modeling cases of doxastic disagreement an agent’s epistemic state is best represented by her confirmation commitments and the evidence available to her. Finally, we argue that given this position it is possible to provide an adequate answer to the question of how to rationally revise one’s epistemic state in the light of disagreemen

Evidence of Evidence as Higher Order Evidence

In everyday life and in science we acquire evidence of evidence and based on this new evidence we often change our epistemic states. An assumption underlying such practice is that the following EEE Slogan is correct: 'evidence of evidence is evidence' (Feldman 2007, p. 208). We suggest that evidence of evidence is best understood as higher-order evidence about the epistemic state of agents. In order to model evidence of evidence we introduce a new powerful framework for modelling epistemic states, Dyadic Bayesianism. Based on this framework, we then discuss characterizations of evidence of evidence and argue for one of them. Finally, we show that whether the EEE Slogan holds, depends on the specific kind of evidence of evidence

Towards Additional Policies to Improve the Environmental Performance of Buildings

This report supports EU policymaking on sustainable consumption and production (SCP) in the area of buildings, which were indentified as being particularly relevant for environmental improvements. While the objective of SCP policies is to address all the different types of environmental impacts in a balanced way, previous research by the JRC-IPTS (IMPRO-Buildings study) has shown that the energy consumption during the use phase of the buildings is by far the most important factor to take into account for the life cycle environmental impacts of buildings. Moreover, residential buildings are responsible for 27 % of final energy demand in the EU. The report reviews the barriers towards energy efficiency and the measures to overcome. It then compiles an overview over existing and planned EU policy instruments dealing with the environmental and energy performance of buildings, building elements and equipment. Finally, barriers, available measures and policy instruments are assessed against each other to find out what more could be done and to assess if there are additional policies to the existing ones that could lead to further improvements.JRC.J.2-Competitiveness and Sustainabilit

End-of-waste Criteria for Iron and Steel Scrap: Technical Proposals

This report is the JRC-IPTS contribution to the development of the end-of-waste criteria for iron and steel scrap in accordance with Article 6 of Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste (the Waste Framework Directive). This report includes a possible set of end-of-waste criteria and shows how the proposals were developed based on a comprehensive techno-economic analysis of iron and steel recycling and an analysis of the economic, environmental and legal impacts when iron and steel scrap cease to be wastes. The purpose of end-of-waste criteria is to avoid confusion about the waste definition and to clarify when certain waste that has undergone recovery ceases to be waste. Recycling should be supported by creating legal certainty and an equal level playing field and by removing unnecessary administrative burdens. The end-of-waste criteria should provide a high level of environmental protection and an environmental and economic benefit.JRC.DDG.J.6-Sustainable production and consumptio

Towards Additional Policies to Improve the Environmental Performance of Buildings. Part II: Quantitative Assessment

This report supports EU policymaking on sustainable consumption and production (SCP) in the area of buildings, which were indentified as being particularly relevant for environmental improvements. Various policies exist or have been proposed at EU level to improve the energy efficiency and thus the environmental performance of buildings. However, these policies address mainly new buildings and major renovations of existing buildings. Previous research has shown that ¿ on top of the policies already in place ¿ there is the potential for additional policies to lead to further reductions in the environmental impacts. Improving the energy efficiency of certain building elements such as windows and roofs independently of major renovations of whole buildings was identified as potential main target of such additional policies. This report presents the quantitative assessment of the possible environmental and socio-economic effects of such policy measures. In particular, two types of measures addressing the energy efficiency of building elements are assessed: 1) requiring high energy efficiency standards (thermal insulation levels) when individual building elements have to be renovated, and 2) accelerating the retrofitting of individual building elements according to high energy efficiency standards. The results of the modelling show that additional policies could deliver further substantial savings of energy and greenhouse gas emissions and that the socio-economic benefits would outweigh the costs.JRC.J.6-Sustainable production and consumptio

Passive and active mechanics of Banksia seed pods

Biological materials consist of only a few basic building blocks, namely sugars, proteins and a few minerals which are assembled into structurally complex materials to ensure (multi)functionality for the particular organism. Prominent examples are bone or nacre, composites of mineral and protein possessing high stiffness and strength. Apart from mineralized materials, protein- and sugar-based materials such as spider dragline silk or plant fibres achieve similarly high values. On the other end of the scale are soft materials with 3 to 4 magnitude lower stiffness and strength values (eg. parenchymatic tissue or artery). Common concept for all biological materials is that a wide range of material properties is achieved by structuring rather than changing their chemical components and frequently materials combine high strength and toughness when needed. A comprehensive understanding of the structure function relationships of biological materials requires measurements of mechanical properties at a range of different length scales, often in combination with other techniques (eg. X-rays, microscopy, spectroscopy). This approach will be illustrated on the example of plants and especially dead but multifunctional tissues such as the seed pods of Banksia attenuata, a native Australian species. The seed storing pods can remain on the plant for up to 15 years without metabolism before they open upon elevated temperatures (eg. caused by bush fires). During the storage period the seed pod material must passively resist weathering, microbial degradation and attacks by bird beaks. Interestingly, the seed pods do not open at uniform temperatures. Instead, opening temperatures change gradually along a climatic South-North gradient increasing towards North. We were able to identify the “temperature sensor” of the seed pods: the inner curvature of the layered follicles gradually increases providing Northern seed pods with a higher flexural rigidity. Opening is activated by a temperature-dependent decrease of the elastic modulus of the inner resistance layer, allowing pre-stresses to be released. However, the initial opening is not sufficient to release the seeds, further opening is fueled by moisture changes which lead to directional swelling and at the same time to changing mechanical properties in different layers of the seed pod. The findings on Banksia seed pods provide inspiration for self-sensing, moving and actuating materials and systems. We expect a comparably easy transfer into technical application because metabolism and biological signaling is not required for functionality. Since the material consists only of a few basic building blocks, namely cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, tannins and waxes, recycling and sustainable material use seem to be much easier compared to multi-component composites

End-of-waste criteria for waste paper: Technical proposals

This report presents proposals of end-of-waste (EoW) criteria for waste paper, defining the technical requirements that waste paper has to fulfil in order to cease to be waste in the EU. The report includes the background data and assessments used to support the proposals, including a comprehensive techno-economic analysis of waste paper recycling, and analyses of the potential economic, environmental and legal impacts when waste paper ceases to be waste. This report is a contribution to the implementation of the concept of End-of-waste in EU legislation, a mechanism introduced through Article 6 of the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC). The Directive introduces the possibility that certain waste streams having undergone a recovery operation and fulfilling certain criteria – so-called End-of-waste criteria – can cease to be waste. The criteria have to ensure that the waste streams fulfil a number of conditions, including the existence of a commonly used specific applications, existence of a market or a demand, fulfilment of technical requirements for the specific applications, meeting existing legislation and standards applicable to the products the waste streams substitute; and the absence of any overall adverse environmental or human health impacts.JRC.DDG.J.6-Sustainable production and consumptio

End-of-waste Criteria for Copper and Copper Alloy Scrap: Technical Proposals

This report is the JRC-IPTS contribution to the development of the end-of-waste criteria for copper and copper alloy scrap in accordance with Article 6 of Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste (the Waste Framework Directive). This report includes a possible set of end-of-waste criteria and shows how the proposals were developed based on a comprehensive techno-economic analysis of copper and copper alloy recycling and an analysis of the economic, environmental and legal impacts when copper scrap cease to be wastes. The purpose of end-of-waste criteria is to avoid confusion about the waste definition and to clarify when certain waste that has undergone recovery ceases to be waste. Recycling should be supported by creating legal certainty and an equal level playing field and by removing unnecessary administrative burdens. The end-of-waste criteria should provide a high level of environmental protection and an environmental and economic benefit.JRC.DDG.J.6-Sustainable production and consumptio

Micromechanical properties of common yew ( Taxus baccata ) and Norway spruce ( Picea abies ) transition wood fibers subjected to longitudinal tension

The longitudinal modulus of elasticity of common yew is astonishingly low in light of its high raw density. At least this was found for specimens examined at the solid wood level and at the tissue level. However, to reveal if this low axial stiffness is also present at the cellular level, tensile tests were performed on individual yew fibers and on spruce fibers for reference. The results revealed a low stiffness and a high strain to fracture for yew when compared with spruce. This compliant behavior was ascribed to a relatively high microfibril angle of yew measured by X-ray scattering. It can be concluded that the high compliance of yew observed at higher hierarchical levels is obviously controlled by a structural feature present at the cell wall level. In future studies, the biomechanical function of this compliant behavior for the living yew tree would be of particular interes