Energy security issues in contemporary Europe

Throughout the history of mankind, energy security has been always seen as a means of protection from disruptions of essential energy systems. The idea of protection from disorders emerged from the process of securing political and military control over energy resources to set up policies and measures on managing risks that affect all elements of energy systems. The various systems placed in a place to achieve energy security are the driving force towards the energy innovations or emerging trends in the energy sector. Our paper discusses energy security status and innovations in the energy sector in European Union (EU). We analyze the recent up-to-date developments of the energy policy and exploitation of energy sources, as well as scrutinize the channels of energy streaming to the EU countries and the risks associated with this energy import. Moreover, we argue that the shift to the low-carbon production of energy and the massive deployment of renewable energy sources (RES) might become the key issue in ensuring the energy security and independency of the EU from its external energy supplies. Both RES, distributed energy resources (DER) and “green energy” that will be based on the energy efficiency and the shift to the alternative energy supply might change the energy security status quo for the EU

Piloting the Research Instrument to Identify the Conditions that Promote Coaching in Organisations

Purpose of the article: This paper aims to present both the procedure and the results of the piloting the questionnaire to identify the conditions under which coaching is likely to be promoted in the organisations. Methodology/methods: To achieve the aim of the study, the extensive literature search was undertaken based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement and the conditions were identified from the selected articles. These conditions constituted the basis for the questionnaire for coaches and coaching clients. Piloting the questionnaire was conducted with a limited sample in order to check content validity. Scientific aim: The aim of the research is to identify the conditions that facilitate the promotion of coaching in the organisations of Latvia and Lithuania. Findings: As a result of piloting the questionnaire the clarity of layout and instructions were checked, irrelevant questions were identified and uncertainty and poor wording were eliminated. The experts could evaluate all conditions. The highest score got the conditions that were connected with the willingness to learn and develop Conclusions Limitation: The construct validity and the criterion validity of the questionnaire were not checked since it was not the aim of the piloting. Implications: The designed and piloted questionnaire will be used for the survey of coaches and coaching clients. Sampling list of coaches is prepared preliminarily; it is comprised of coaches from Latvia and Lithuania who are the members of associations of coaches. Sampling list of coaching clients will be created simultaneously. However, it would be done all possible to select a sample large enough for statistical analysis

Robust Multi-Objective Sustainable Reverse Supply Chain Planning: An Application in the Steel Industry

In the design of the supply chain, the use of the returned products and their recycling in the production and consumption network is called reverse logistics. The proposed model aims to optimize the flow of materials in the supply chain network (SCN), and determine the amount and location of facilities and the planning of transportation in conditions of demand uncertainty. Thus, maximizing the total profit of operation, minimizing adverse environmental effects, and maximizing customer and supplier service levels have been considered as the main objectives. Accordingly, finding symmetry (balance) among the profit of operation, the environmental effects and customer and supplier service levels is considered in this research. To deal with the uncertainty of the model, scenario-based robust planning is employed alongside a meta-heuristic algorithm (NSGA-II) to solve the model with actual data from a case study of the steel industry in Iran. The results obtained from the model, solving and validating, compared with actual data indicated that the model could optimize the objectives seamlessly and determine the amount and location of the necessary facilities for the steel industry more appropriately.This article belongs to the Special Issue Uncertain Multi-Criteria Optimization Problem

Selection of indicators of information society development

This paper examines problem of the evaluation of the information society development. The information society is a complex phenomenon and the evaluation of its development is highly complicated. Some indicators are quite similar, others are unrelated, and therefore it is very difficult to interpret the information reflected by the indicators. This article presents the results of a research aimed at identifying the main indicators of the information society development

Results of international standardised beekeeper surveys of colony losses for winter 2012-2013 : analysis of winter loss rates and mixed effects modelling of risk factors for winter loss.

This article presents results of an analysis of winter losses of honey bee colonies from 19 mainly European countries, most of which implemented the standardised 2013 COLOSS questionnaire. Generalised linear mixed effects models (GLMMs) were used to investigate the effects of several factors on the risk of colony loss, including different treatments for Varroa destructor, allowing for random effects of beekeeper and region. Both winter and summer treatments were considered, and the most common combinations of treatment and timing were used to define treatment factor levels. Overall and within country colony loss rates are presented. Significant factors in the model were found to be: percentage of young queens in the colonies before winter, extent of queen problems in summer, treatment of the varroa mite, and access by foraging honey bees to oilseed rape and maize. Spatial variation at the beekeeper level is shown across geographical regions using random effects from the fitted models, both before and after allowing for the effect of the significant terms in the model. This spatial variation is considerable

Close-range photogrammetry enables documentation of environment-induced deformation of architectural heritage

Deformation, damage and permanent loss of heritage assets due to various physical and environmental factors has always been a major problem. As the availability of funds for conservation and restoration is limited, the digital documentation of heritage objects and monitoring of environment-induced deformations are increasingly important for cultural heritage preservation. Our study elucidates developments in the digital image capturing and processing for recording architectural heritage objects focusing on the digital camera calibration, close-range imaging, and photogrammetric modelling of complex structures using image matching techniques. A particular consideration in this paper is given to the ortho-photographic image compiling and accuracy assessment procedure. The practicality of the methodology is demonstrated by applying photogrammetric system PhotoMod for documentation of decorative elements in Uzutrakis manor, a national heritage site in Trakai, Lithuania

Distributed energy storage using residential hot water heaters

This paper proposes and analyses a new demand response technique for renewable energy regulation using smart hot water heaters that forecast water consumption at an individual dwelling level. Distributed thermal energy storage has many advantages, including high overall efficiency, use of existing infrastructure and a distributed nature. In addition, the use of a smart thermostatic controller enables the prediction of required water amounts and keeps temperatures at a level that minimises user discomfort while reacting to variations in the electricity network. Three cases are compared in this paper, normal operation, operation with demand response and operation following the proposed demand response mechanism that uses consumption forecasts. The results show that this technique can produce both up and down regulation, as well as increase water heater efficiency. When controlling water heaters without consumption forecast, the users experience discomfort in the form of hot water shortage, but after the full technique is applied, the shortage level drops to nearly the starting point. The amount of regulation power from a single dwelling is also discussed in this paper

The Usage and Perception of Pedestrian Zones in Lithuanian Cities: Multiple Criteria and Comparative Analysis

As pedestrian zones are public spaces in urban areas, they are important in terms of meeting people’s needs. However, it is worth noting that attention should be paid not only to the development of the physical infrastructure, but also to a sustainable balance between the socio-economic and environmental aspects. To guide urban planning and management initiatives towards more sustainable patterns, it is essential to re-examine the already existing characteristics of cities, establishing how they are used and perceived by inhabitants. The present research suggests environmental, economic and social criteria that determine a greater vitality of pedestrian zones in cities and better life quality for the inhabitants. A questionnaire survey was used to assess common attitudes regarding the research topic in major cities in Lithuania. The multiple criteria decision-making COPRAS (COmplex PRoportional ASsessment) method was used for the formation of a priority queue. The research results showed the attitudes of inhabitants towards pedestrian zones in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaip˙eda. The inhabitants of these three cities regarded social and environmental criteria groups as the most significant. Contrary to what was expected and anticipated, respondents do not consider economic criteria as playing a key role in the sustainable preservation and development of pedestrian zones

Forecasting hot water consumption in residential houses

An increased number of intermittent renewables poses a threat to the system balance. As a result, new tools and concepts, like advanced demand-side management and smart grid technologies, are required for the demand to meet supply. There is a need for higher consumer awareness and automatic response to a shortage or surplus of electricity. The distributed water heater can be considered as one of the most energy-intensive devices, where its energy demand is shiftable in time without influencing the comfort level. Tailored hot water usage predictions and advanced control techniques could enable these devices to supply ancillary energy balancing services. The paper analyses a set of hot water consumption data from residential dwellings. This work is an important foundation for the development of a demand-side management strategy based on hot water consumption forecasting at the level of individual residential houses. Various forecasting models, such as exponential smoothing, seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average, seasonal decomposition and a combination of them, are fitted to test different prediction techniques. These models outperform the chosen benchmark models (mean, naive and seasonal naive) and show better performance measure values. The results suggest that seasonal decomposition of the time series plays the most significant part in the accuracy of forecasting

Challenges of Regulatory Agencies Consolidation while Reducing Administrative Burdens for Business: Case of Lithuania

Purpose of the article: The purpose of this article is to summarize the approaches used and to research the challenges for regulatory agencies consolidation in order to reduce administrative burdens for business. This article analyses the activity of Lithuanian and EU regulatory agencies which are supervising business with regard to identify potential and arising challenges of optimising the performance of regulatory agencies. Methods: review of academic and legal literature, comparison, synthesis, statistical data analysis. Scientific aim: The aim of this article is to analyse the activities of regulatory agencies of Lithuania and European Commission and evaluate the actions in order to reduce administrative burdens as well as to identify the consolidation problem areas of regulatory agencies. Findings: The results of the analysis shows, that a unified list of regulatory agencies is not in use and the research and other reform action taken by supervising authorities is being done using different sets of regulatory agencies, what leads to increasing of administrative burdens and ineffective regulatory agencies consolidation. Conclusion: The results of research shows that it is necessary to compile a clear, united and unified list of regulatory agencies. Also it is important to carry on consolidation of controlling institutions and merging regulatory agencies to achieve a clear responsibility for the controlled areas and new ways to implement information technologies should be provided