Techno-Economical and Ecological Potential of Electric Scooters: A Life Cycle Analysis

In Germany, mobility is currently in a state of flux. Since June 2019, electric kick scooters (e-scooters) have been permitted on the roads, and this market is booming. This study employs a user survey to generate new data, supplemented by expert interviews to determine whether such e-scooters are a climate-friendly means of transport. The environmental impacts are quantified using a life cycle assessment. This results in a very accurate picture of e-scooters in Germany. The global warming potential of an e-scooter calculated in this study is 165 g CO2-eq./km, mostly due to material and production (that together account for 73% of the impact). By switching to e-scooters where the battery is swapped, the global warming potential can be reduced by 12%. The lowest value of 46 g CO2-eq./km is reached if all possibilities are exploited and the life span of e-scooters is increased to 15 months. Comparing these emissions with those of the replaced modal split, e-scooters are at best 8% above the modal split value of 39 g CO2-eq./km

A Discourse on Bahá’í Theology: A Treatise by Dr. ‘Alí-Murád Dávúdí on God and Revelation

This treatise explores key themes in Bahá’í theology such as the absolute transcendence of God, the Essence of God, the names and attributes of God, the apophatic theology of the Bahá’í Faith, God’s unknowability, the revelation of God, emanation and manifestation, and the Manifestation of God. The original-language treatise translated and annotated here was first published as “Mabáníy-i-‘Aqá’id-i- Ulúhíyyat va Tawḥíd: part 1,” in Muṭáli‘iy-i-Ma‘árif-i-Bahá’í 1 (1973–74). It was later republished as part of a collection of Dávúdí’s essays on the Essence of God and His Manifestation, titled Ulúhíyyat va Maẓharíyyat (60–133). The translation of Dávúdí’s treatise is in the body of the text; the translator’s annotation appears in the in-text citation and footnotes

A Discourse on Bahá’í Theology: A Treatise by Dr. ‘Alí-Murád Dávúdí on God and Revelation

This treatise explores key themes in Bahá’í theology such as the absolute transcendence of God, the Essence of God, the names and attributes of God, the apophatic theology of the Bahá’í Faith, God’s unknowability, the revelation of God, emanation and manifestation, and the Manifestation of God. The original-language treatise translated and annotated here was first published as “Mabáníy-i-‘Aqá’id-i- Ulúhíyyat va Tawḥíd: part 1,” in Muṭáli‘iy-i-Ma‘árif-i-Bahá’í 1 (1973–74). It was later republished as part of a collection of Dávúdí’s essays on the Essence of God and His Manifestation, titled Ulúhíyyat va Maẓharíyyat (60–133). The translation of Dávúdí’s treatise is in the body of the text; the translator’s annotation appears in the in-text citation and footnotes

Beyond Welfare: A Preliminary Bahá’í Normative Framework for Economic Rights and Responsibilities

Invoking a broad catalog of applicable Bahá’í principles, this paper presents the conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of a Bahá’í approach to economic growth and disparity and then maps these concepts onto an applied framework of economic rights and responsibilities. The framework that emerges thus both conceptualizes the underlying virtues that govern economic prosperity in a Bahá’í model and shows how these principles might lead to normative prescriptions for economic rights and responsibilities. The paper concludes that the Bahá’í principles dealing with economic prosperity expand the theory and practice of economic justice and give rise to individual and institutional rights and responsibilities that go beyond the imperatives of conventional models of welfare

Comparative Analysis of European Examples of Freight Electric Vehicles Schemes—A Systematic Case Study Approach with Examples from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK.

E-Mobility is a hot topic, in the public policy area as well as in business and scientific communities. Literature on electric freight transport is still relatively scarce. Urban freight transport is considered as one of the most promising fields of application of vehicle electrification, and there are on-going demonstration projects. This paper will discuss case study examples of electric freight vehicle initiatives in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK and identify enablers and barriers for common trends

The Bristol-Bath Urban freight Consolidation Centre from the perspective of its users

© 2017 World Conference on Transport Research Society Urban freight consolidation centres are part of the city logistics measures that aim to reduce the negative impacts related to urban freight transport activities, whilst at the same time providing a more seamless, higher-value logistics experience for their users. By collecting the goods destined to the target area and consolidating deliveries into one large delivery made by high-load vehicles, urban consolidation centres can relieve congestion and improve air quality. Significant benefits also accrue to the participating retailers, e.g. improved staff productivity and safety, the provision of pre-retailing services and recycling of packaging. The paper draws on the experiences of the Bristol-Bath freight consolidation centre (BBFCC), established in 2002 to serve Bristol city centre and uniquely extended in 2011 to cover Bath, each served by electric lorries; it appraises the benefits of shared ‘last mile’ freight services focusing in particular on the perspective of its users: the participating retailers

Factor analysis of self-treatment in diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Self-treatment is a treatment of oneself without professional help, which may cause health-related consequences. This investigation examined the self-treatment behaviors in patients with diabetes mellitus in Iran/kashan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The patients who referred to the clinic of diabetes and those who were admitted to the General hospital in the city of Kashan due to diabetes mellitus were asked to participate in this cross-sectional study. For data collection, The 25 item questionnaire of Likert scale type with four scales was used. Factor analysis was performed to define the patterns of self-treatment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>398 patients participated in the study. The mean age of the study population was 54.9 ± 12.9 years. The majority (97%) had type 2 diabetes. 50% of patients reported self- treatment. The self-treatment score was 45.8 ± 8.8 (25-100). Female gender, lower education and co-morbid illnesses of hypertension, hyperlipidemia and cardiac disease had significant relationship with self-treatment. The factor analysis procedure revealed seven factors that explained the 43% of variation in the self-treatment. These seven factors were categorized as knowledge, deficiencies of formal treatments, available self-treatment methods, physician related factors, the tendency to use herbal remedies, underlying factors such as gender and factors related to diabetes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>There is a medium tendency for self-treatment in diabetic patients. The assessment of self-treatment practices must be an essential part of patients' management in diabetes care.</p

The Isaac Newton Telescope Monitoring Survey of Local Group Dwarf Galaxies. VI. The Star Formation History and Dust Production in Andromeda IX

We present a photometric study of the resolved stellar populations in Andromeda IX (And IX), the closest satellite to M31, a metal-poor and low-mass dwarf spheroidal galaxy. We estimate a distance modulus of $24.56^{+0.05}_{-0.15}$ mag based on the tip of the red giant branch. By probing the variability of asymptotic giant branch stars, we study the star formation history of And IX. We identified 50 long-period variables (LPVs) in And IX using the Isaac Newton Telescope in two filters, the Sloan $i'$ and Harris $V$. In this study, we selected LPVs within two half-light radii with amplitudes in the range of 0.2–2.20 mag. It is found that the peak of star formation reaches ${\sim}8.2 {\pm} 3.1 {\times} 10{^-4}M_{\odot} yr^{-1}$ at ≈6 Gyr ago. Our findings suggest an outside-in galaxy formation scenario for And IX with a quenching occurring $3.65^{+1.52}_{-0.13}$ Gyr ago with a star formation rate (SFR) in the order of $2.0 {\times} 10^{-4}M_{\odot} yr^{-1}$ at redshift <0.5. We calculate the total stellar mass by integrating the SFR within two half-light radii ${\sim}3.0 {\times} 10^{5}M_{\odot}$. By employing spectral energy distribution fitting for the observed LPVs in And IX, we evaluate a mass-loss rate in the range of $10^{-7} ≤ M ≤ 10^{-5} M_{\odot} yr^{-1}$. Finally, we show that the total mass deposition to the interstellar medium (ISM) is ${\sim}2.4 {\times} 10^{-4} M_{\odot} yr^{-1}$ from the C- and O-rich types of dust-enshrouded LPVs. The ratio of the total mass returned to the ISM by LPVs to the total stellar mass is ${\sim}8.0 {\times} 10^{-10} yr^{-1}$, and so at this rate it would take ∼1 Gyr to reproduce this galaxy

Mladostniki kot prestopniki in kot ciljne skupine preventivnih ukrepov

Purpose: The article aims at examining the prevalence of deviance and delinquency in a sample of students, at explaining property and violent offending via risk factors and examining students’ experiences with and views on preventive approaches. Design/Methods/Approach: Data stem from a school survey conducted among 2186 13–17 year old male and female students, who attended school in an urban or a rural northwest area of Germany. The instrument was developed on the basis of the new ISRD-3 questionnaire and included newly developed questions on students’ experiences with and views on preventive actors and approaches. Descriptive as well as multivariate methods are applied. Findings: Deviance and delinquency were found to be widespread, but mostly of low severity. Different predictors for violent and property offending can be found. Groups of students with differential involvement in delinquency show clearly differentiated profiles with regard to risk factors. Evaluations of preventive actors and approaches are very similar across groups of students with differential delinquent involvement. Research Limitations / Implications: Special schools have been excluded from the sample. Generally, school surveys may fail at including high risk individuals, such as students who skip school. Practical Implications: Findings hint at the importance of including peers and family in preventive approaches. Originality/Value: Extension of a self-report study among youngsters as targets of prevention with questions on their experiences and evaluations of preventive approaches may give implications on differential receptiveness of young people for preventive approaches.Namen prispevka: Namen prispevka je proučiti razširjenost deviantnosti in prestopništva v izbranem vzorcu dijakov, pojasniti kršitve na področju premoženjske kriminalitete in nasilništva v luči dejavnikov tveganja in proučiti izkušnje dijakov s preventivnimi pristopi ter njihova mnenja o slednjih. Metode: Podatki izvirajo iz ankete, opravljene v šolah in izvedene na vzorcu 2.186 dijakov obeh spolov, starih med 13–17 let, ki so obiskovali šolo v mestnem in podeželskem okolju severozahodne Nemčije. Instrument temelji na novem vprašalniku ISRD-3 in vključuje nova vprašanja o izkušnjah in pogledih dijakov na dejavnike preprečevanja in zadevne pristope. Uporabljene so opisne in multivariatne metode. Ugotovitve: Ugotovitve kažejo, da sta deviantnost in prestopništvo zelo razširjena, vendar večinoma v blagih oblikah. Napovedi glede nasilništva in premoženjske kriminalitete je mogoče utemeljiti na različnih dejavnikih. Skupine dijakov so v prestopništvo vpletene prek različnih oblik in kažejo na različne profile glede na dejavnike tveganja. Ne glede na vrsto in težo prestopkov so si vrednotenja dejavnikov preprečevanja in z njo povezanih pristopov v vseh omenjenih skupinah zelo podobna. Omejitve/uporabnost raziskave Šole s posebnim programom so bile iz vzorca izključene. Ankete prav tako ne vključujejo posameznikov z visokim tveganjem, npr. dijakov, ki izostajajo od pouka. Praktična uporabnost: Ugotovitve kažejo na pomembnost vključitve vrstnikov in družine v preventivne pristope. Izvirnost/pomembnost prispevka: Obseg študije, v kateri mladi kot ciljne skupine prevencije prek samonaznanitvenih vprašalnikov odgovarjajo na vprašanja o svojih izkušnjah in oceni preventivnih pristopov, lahko opozori na nekatere vidike vzrokov za razlike glede dovzetnosti mladih za preventivne pristope