A Model for Sustaining New Technology Based on Government Incentives

The diffusion of new technology that provides environmental benefits may require government incentives for a duration of time, especially when the technology is expensive. The Center of Systems Research and Education (CASRE) model is developed that analyzes the impact of incentives in sustaining new technologies to allow their social acceptance. The CASRE model includes both demand and supply variables associated with incentive policy to sustain new technology. The key to market dissemination and sustainability is the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) levels provided by the government. The level of ITC is based on the current cost to the customer and the customer acceptance of the cost. The cost of the technology decreases over time due to the effect of learning, scale, and technological progress impacting the level the market demand and therefore the tax credit investments required to sustain the technology. A sensitivity analysis is utilized to predict the impact of cost reductions on tax incentives required. The CASRE model is applied to a case study on non-automotive Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) for the Backup Power (BuP) and Material Handling Equipment (MHE) applications. The termination of ITC in 2018 is projected to cause a sharp sales reduction of PEMFCs for BuP but minimum impact on MHE. The gradual phase-out policy of ITC seems to be provide greater probability of sustaining PEMFCs for both applications

Clinical Decision-Making: Developing a 4 C Model Using Graph Theoretic Approach

The purpose of this paper is to propose a graph-theoretic mathematical model to measure how conducive the environment of a hospital is for decision-making. We propose a 4-C model, developed from four interacting factors: confidence, complexity, capability, and customer. In this graph-theoretic model, abstract information regarding the system is represented by the directed edges of a graph (or digraph), which together depict how one factor affects another. The digraph yields a matrix model useful for computer processing. The net effect of different factors and their interdependencies on the hospital's decision-making environment is quantified and a single numerical index is generated. This paper categorizes all the major factors that influence clinical decision-making and attempts to provide a tool to study and measure their interactions with each other. Each factor and each interaction among factors are to be quantified by healthcare experts according to their best judgment of the magnitude of its effect in a local hospital environment.A hospital case study is used to demonstrate how the 4-C model works. The graph-theoretic approach allows for the inclusion of new factors and generation of alternative environments by a combination of both qualitative and quantitative modeling. The 4-C model can be used to create both a database and a simple numerical scale that help a hospital set customized guidelines, ranging from patient admittance procedures to diagnostic and treatment processes, according to its specific situation. Implementing this methodology systematically can allow a hospital to identify factors that will lead to improved decision-making as well as identifying operational factors that present roadblocks

Determinates of Employee Voluntary Turnover and Forecasting in R&D Departments: A Case Study

employee voluntary turnover factors using logistic regression and forecasts employee tenure using a decision tree for four research and development departments in a large U.S organization. Company job title, gender, ethnicity, age and years of service significantly affect employee voluntary turnover behavior determined by logistic regression. The findings assist managers and human resource departments in specific employee retention strategies to reduce R&D departments’ voluntary turnover rate. The decision tree method built a five-level depth tree model with 17 nodes. This model has the lowest AIC value and the best performance in the validation dataset. Age at hire, jobtitle, division, and race are statistically significant factors to predict employee tenure. The most important variable is age at hire located in the decision tree’s first, third, and fourth nodes. Classification rules assist managers and human resource departments in quickly predicting employee tenure and in making hiring decisions

Status and Outlook for the U.S. Non-Automotive Fuel Cell Industry: Impacts of Government Policies and Assessment of Future Opportunities

Fuel cells (FCs) are considered essential future energy technologies by developed and developing economies alike. Several countries, including the United States, Japan, Germany, and South Korea have established publicly funded R&D and market transformation programs to develop viable domestic FC industries for both automotive and non-automotive applications. Important non-automotive applications include large scale and small scale distributed combined heat and electrical power, backup and uninterruptible power, material handling and auxiliary power units. The U.S. FC industry is in the early stages of development, and is working to establish sustainable markets in all these areas. To be successful, manufacturers must reduce costs, improve performance, and overcome market barriers to new technologies. U.S. policies are assisting via research and development, tax credits and government-only and government-assisted procurements. Over the past three years, the industry has made remarkable progress, bringing both stack and system costs down by more than a factor of two while improving durability and efficiency, thanks in part to government support. Today, FCs are still not yet able to compete in these markets without continued policy support. However, continuation or enhancement of current policies, such as the investment tax credit and government procurements, together with continued progress by the industry, appears likely to establish a viable domestic industry within the next decade

Population Assessment and Threat Categorization of Endangered Medicinal Orchid Malaxis Acuminata D. Don. from North-West Himalaya

Studies on population assessment and threat categorization in selected populations of Malaxis acuminate D. Don., a rare, terrestrial, endangered medicinal orchid of Himalayan region and an important "Astverga" plant were undertaken. Status was determined on site-to-site basis as well as for entire Kumaun region. Based on species occurrence in selected areas, the species were identified as critically endangered to endangered in different sites studied. The results also revealed that natural distribution of the species was narrowing down due to habitat destruction and over exploitation. Immediate remedial measures are needed for the conservation of natural sites to ensure sustainable mode of utilization

Sustainable Nanotechnology: Through Green Methods and Life-Cycle Thinking

Citing the myriad applications of nanotechnology, this paper emphasizes the need to conduct “life cycle” based assessments as early in the new product development process as possible, for a better understanding of the potential environmental and human health consequences of nanomaterials over the entire life cycle of a nano-enabled product. The importance of this reasoning is further reinforced through an illustrative case study on automotive exterior body panels, which shows that the perceived environmental benefits of nano-based products in the Use stage may not adequately represent the complete picture, without examining the impacts in the other life cycle stages, particularly Materials Processing and Manufacturing. Nanomanufacturing methods often have associated environmental and human health impacts, which must be kept in perspective when evaluating nanoproducts for their “greenness.” Incorporating life-cycle thinking for making informed decisions at the product design stage, combining life cycle and risk analysis, using sustainable manufacturing practices, and employing green chemistry alternatives are seen as possible solutions

Status and Outlook for the U.S. Non-Automotive Fuel Cell Industry: Impacts of Government Policies and Assessment of Future Opportunities

Fuel cells (FCs) are considered essential future energy technologies by developed and developing economies alike. Several countries, including the United States, Japan, Germany, and South Korea have established publicly funded R&D and market transformation programs to develop viable domestic FC industries for both automotive and non-automotive applications. Important non-automotive applications include large scale and small scale distributed combined heat and electrical power, backup and uninterruptible power, material handling and auxiliary power units. The U.S. FC industry is in the early stages of development, and is working to establish sustainable markets in all these areas. To be successful, manufacturers must reduce costs, improve performance, and overcome market barriers to new technologies. U.S. policies are assisting via research and development, tax credits and government-only and government-assisted procurements. Over the past three years, the industry has made remarkable progress, bringing both stack and system costs down by more than a factor of two while improving durability and efficiency, thanks in part to government support. Today, FCs are still not yet able to compete in these markets without continued policy support. However, continuation or enhancement of current policies, such as the investment tax credit and government procurements, together with continued progress by the industry, appears likely to establish a viable domestic industry within the next decade

Improving the Hospital Discharge Process Using Lean Approach

Medical services are one of the most important daily practices, so most people demand impeccable service. One of the most important things for hospitals is to provide their patients excellent care, but also to make the patients feel important and unique. For this reason, the discharge process is an important part of the hospital stay because it is the last opportunity to give a good impression. In order to achieve a more efficient discharge process, we have utilized Lean Healthcare at the Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center (FSRMC). Lean Health Care’s importance has emerged and becomes more evident, because in addition to it, resulting in a more efficient process, it emphasizes the importance of customer satisfaction with due consideration towards the staff and not placing difficult, unattainable goals on the hospital staff. This methodology helps hospitals because it reduces the time it takes to complete everyday tasks, while simultaneously eliminating some of the wastes, keeping in mind the quality of care the patients receive and the service the hospital provides. The purpose of Lean Healthcare is to try to reduce the mistakes and improve the process

Sustainable Nanotechnology: Through Green Methods and Life-Cycle Thinking

Citing the myriad applications of nanotechnology, this paper emphasizes the need to conduct “life cycle” based assessments as early in the new product development process as possible, for a better understanding of the potential environmental and human health consequences of nanomaterials over the entire life cycle of a nano-enabled product. The importance of this reasoning is further reinforced through an illustrative case study on automotive exterior body panels, which shows that the perceived environmental benefits of nano-based products in the Use stage may not adequately represent the complete picture, without examining the impacts in the other life cycle stages, particularly Materials Processing and Manufacturing. Nanomanufacturing methods often have associated environmental and human health impacts, which must be kept in perspective when evaluating nanoproducts for their “greenness.” Incorporating life-cycle thinking for making informed decisions at the product design stage, combining life cycle and risk analysis, using sustainable manufacturing practices, and employing green chemistry alternatives are seen as possible solutions.nanotechnology; life-cycle assessment; nanomanufacturing; nanomaterials; risk assessment; sustainability; energy intensity; green chemistry; DfE; human health impacts