Global map of solar power production efficiency, considering micro climate factors

Science.gov (United States)

Hassanpour Adeh, E.; Higgins, C. W.

2017-12-01

Natural resources degradation and greenhouse gas emissions are creating a global crisis. Renewable energy is the most reliable option to mitigate this environmental dilemma. Abundancy of solar energy makes it highly attractive source of electricity. The existing global spatial maps of available solar energy are created with various models which consider the irradiation, latitude, cloud cover, elevation, shading and aerosols, and neglect the influence of local meteorological conditions. In this research, the influences of microclimatological variables on solar energy productivity were investigated with an in-field study at the Rabbit Hills solar arrays near Oregon State University. The local studies were extended to a global level, where global maps of solar power were produced, taking the micro climate variables into account. These variables included: temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, solar radiation. The energy balance approach was used to synthesize the data and compute the efficiencies. The results confirmed that the solar power efficiency can be directly affected by the air temperature and wind speed.

The Role of Cultural Power and Its Influence on Global Developments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gholamreza Mortazavi

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The study of the culture power in international politics is very complicated and difficult matter because it has been less explicitly used in the analyses and theorizing of cultural elements, hence the role of culture like political, security and economic factors, is not apparent in the theory of international relations. Many researchers have found that it is not possible to achieve the depth of the relations between nations only by relying on the pure political and economic factors. They prescribe to focus on cultural issues and special attention to the field of culture in order to achieve a realistic cognition of international relations. What doubles the importance of the issue, is the design of some new theories and new intellectual schools, and its effect on global politics. Including, the theory of the clash of civilizations, the dialogue of civilizations, cultural fluidity and postmodernist attitude towards the category of identity and culture, that each of them in some way recommends a particular action framework, according to its noetic framework. Hence, the fundamental question is that: What is the role of culture (soft power in foreign policy and what impact does it have on global changes and developments trend? In response to this, the hypothesis is raised in such a way (trying to produce, procure and persuade values, attitudes, and trends and common attitudes lead to achieve cultural power and, as a result, facilitate the achievement of the national goals and interests of the countries, and promote the foreign policy of the countries and, on the other hand, the use of cultural power, creates a culture of resistance in the field of global politics.

Global wind power development: Economics and policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Timilsina, Govinda R.; Cornelis van Kooten, G.; Narbel, Patrick A.

2013-01-01

Existing literature indicates that theoretically, the earth's wind energy supply potential significantly exceeds global energy demand. Yet, only 2–3% of global electricity demand is currently derived from wind power despite 27% annual growth in wind generating capacity over the last 17 years. More than 95% of total current wind power capacity is installed in the developed countries plus China and India. Our analysis shows that the economic competitiveness of wind power varies at wider range across countries or locations. A climate change damage cost of US$20/tCO 2 imposed to fossil fuels would make onshore wind competitive to all fossil fuels for power generation; however, the same would not happen to offshore wind, with few exceptions, even if the damage cost is increased to US$100/tCO 2 . To overcome a large number of technical, financial, institutional, market and other barriers to wind power, many countries have employed various policy instruments, including capital subsidies, tax incentives, tradable energy certificates, feed-in tariffs, grid access guarantees and mandatory standards. Besides, climate change mitigation policies, such as the Clean Development Mechanism, have played a pivotal role in promoting wind power. Despite these policies, intermittency, the main technical constraint, could remain as the major challenge to the future growth of wind power. - Highlights: • Global wind energy potential is enormous, yet the wind energy contribution is very small. • Existing policies are boosting development of wind power. • Costs of wind energy are higher than cost of fossil-based energies. • Reasonable premiums for climate change mitigation substantially promote wind power. • Intermittency is the key challenge to future development of wind power

GLOBALIZATION AND THE DECLINE OF THE UNITED STATES ECONOMIC INSTRUMENT OF POWER

Science.gov (United States)

2017-06-01

of global trade relations. Whereas forty years ago, 90 percent of international trade consisted of mercantilist goods; today , 90 percent of... GLOBALIZATION AND THE DECLINE OF THE UNITED STATES ECONOMIC INSTRUMENT OF POWER BY MAJOR JOSH WATKINS A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE...bachelor of business administration degree from Old Dominion University in 2001. He was commissioned through Officer Training School in 2002 and his

The challenge of market power under globalization

OpenAIRE

David Arie Mayer-Foulkes

2014-01-01

The legacy of Adam Smith leads to a false confidence on the optimality of laissez faire policies for the global market economy. Instead, the polarized character of current globalization deeply affects both developed and underdeveloped economies. Current globalization is characterized by factor exchange between economies of persistently unequal development. This implies the existence of persistent extraordinary market power in transnational corporations, reflected in their disproportionate par...

Why do they think nuclear power is origin of global warming effect?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukae, Chiyokazu

2005-01-01

A questionnaire on nuclear power was conducted on 1500 adults in Kansai area, Japan, from October 9 to November 9, 2003. The recovery ratio was 71.0%. The results showed that 34% of them thought the nuclear power was protection of the global warming effect and 35% it was origin of the effect. It was analyzed by the logistic regression analysis method on whether the nuclear power was protection of global warming effect or not. About 43% of them recognized the nuclear power contributed to control carbon dioxide emission, and the mechanism of global warming effect. However, 35% of them did not recognize the mechanism and thought radioactive materials emission gave bad effects on the global environment. To make recognize the nuclear power is a good power source for protection of the global warming effect, the amount of reduction of carbon dioxide emission by nuclear power had to be shown. It is the shortest way for solution of the global warming problem to prove worthy of nuclear power's trust by safety and stable operation. (S.Y.)

The status and prospects of the debate upon the global warming and nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yim, C. Y.

2001-01-01

Possible climate change caused by global warming becomes one of the most serious challenges that mankind shall tackle in 21 st century. Nuclear power, which doesn't emit any greenhouse gas during the generation of electricity, is a promising solution to mitigate the global warming. However, there are still debates about the role of nuclear power related to the subjects such as safety, radioactive waste management and nuclear proliferation risk in the international climate change talks. This paper introduces on-going negotiation focused on the nuclear power and then, gives some prospects on the future negotiations. Finally the brief analysis of their impacts on domestic nuclear industry is carried out

Knowledge and networks – key sources of power in global health

Science.gov (United States)

Hanefeld, Johanna; Walt, Gill

2015-01-01

Shiffman rightly raises questions about who exercises power in global health, suggesting power is a complex concept, and the way it is exercised is often opaque. Power that is not based on financial strength but on knowledge or experience, is difficult to estimate, and yet it may provide the legitimacy to make moral claims on what is, or ought to be, on global health agendas. Twenty years ago power was exercised in a much less complex health environment. The World Health Organization (WHO) was able to exert its authority as world health leader. The landscape today is very different. Financial resources for global health are being competed for by diverse organisations, and power is diffused and somewhat hidden in such a climate, where each organization has to establish and make its own moral claims loudly and publicly. We observe two ways which allow actors to capture moral authority in global health. One, through power based on scientific knowledge and two, through procedures in the policy process, most commonly associated with the notion of broad consultation and participation. We discuss these drawing on one particular framework provided by Bourdieu, who analyses the source of actor power by focusing on different sorts of capital. Different approaches or theories to understanding power will go some way to answering the challenge Shiffman throws to health policy analysts. We need to explore much more fully where power lies in global health, and how it is exercised in order to understand underlying health agendas and claims to legitimacy made by global health actors today. PMID:25674577

Canada's global health role: supporting equity and global citizenship as a middle power.

Science.gov (United States)

Nixon, Stephanie A; Lee, Kelley; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A; Blanchard, James; Haddad, Slim; Hoffman, Steven J; Tugwell, Peter

2018-02-22

Canada's history of nation building, combined with its status as a so-called middle power in international affairs, has been translated into an approach to global health that is focused on equity and global citizenship. Canada has often aspired to be a socially progressive force abroad, using alliance building and collective action to exert influence beyond that expected from a country with moderate financial and military resources. Conversely, when Canada has primarily used economic self-interest to define its global role, the country's perceived leadership in global health has diminished. Current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal federal government has signalled a return to progressive values, driven by appreciation for diversity, equality, and Canada's responsibility to be a good global citizen. However, poor coordination of efforts, limited funding, and the unaddressed legacy of Canada's colonisation of Indigenous peoples weaken the potential for Canadians to make meaningful contributions to improvement of global health equity. Amid increased nationalism and uncertainty towards multilateral commitments by some major powers in the world, the Canadian federal government has a clear opportunity to convert its commitments to equity and global citizenship into stronger leadership on the global stage. Such leadership will require the translation of aspirational messages about health equity and inclusion into concrete action at home and internationally. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Global Status of Nuclear Power: Prospects and Challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tayobeka, B. M.

2010-01-01

Global energy requirements and the share of electricity in total energy consumption are increasing rapidly, and the contribution of nuclear power is projected to increase significantly. Out of the 29 countries currently using nuclear power for electricity generation, 22 intend to allow new plants to be built, and, of those, the majority are actively supporting the increased use of nuclear power, some by providing incentives. Most of these countries are expected to build reactors with a generating capacity of over 1000 MW(e). Only three countries continue to have a policy to phase out the use of nuclear energy in the future by not replacing existing operating nuclear power plants and with no consideration of the option of new nuclear plants.In addition, a growing number of countries are expressing interest in introducing nuclear power. Of the more than 60 countries that have expressed such an interest in recent years, over 20 are actively considering nuclear power programmes to meet their energy needs and the others have expressed interest in understanding the issues associated with the introduction of nuclear power.The drivers for rising expectations for nuclear power include: growing energy demand, concern over national energy supply security, the increasingly volatile price of fossil fuels and global environmental concerns. The drivers appear to be the same for countries expanding existing nuclear programmes and those seeking to introduce programmes. The projections made by different international organizations indicate a significant growth in the use of nuclear power. The IAEA projections indicate a world total for nuclear electrical generating capacity of between 445 and 543 GW(e) by 2020 and between 511 and 807 GW(e) by 2030. This paper takes a detailed look into the global status of nuclear power, highlighting challenges and prospects of the technology going into the next century.(author).

Nuclear power in the context of global warming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bodansky, D.

1989-01-01

The paper examines the extent to which nuclear power could help ameliorate the greenhouse problem. Topics discussed include: (1) How serious is the environmental threat posed by the greenhouse effect? (2) How large a part do fossil fuels play in producing greenhouse gases? (3) Is it possible to prevent or abate the anticipated global warming? (4) Can nuclear power play a significant role? (5) What overall approached might best reduce greenhouse emissions? Global cooperativeness in addressing the problem will be essential. 14 refs., 5 tabs

The European Union’s normative power in global politics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Manners, Ian

2012-01-01

comparison. Both political and scholarly assessments argue that ‘we are one of the most important, if not the most important, normative powers in the world’ (Barroso in Peterson, 2008: 69) and that ‘Europe has tremendous normative power’ (Moravcsik, 2010: 18). The normative power approach set out here makes...... it possible to explain, understand, and judge the EU in global politics by rethinking the nature of power and actorness in a globalising, multilateralising and multipolarising era. The EU uses normative power in global politics but the question is whether it is more prone than other actors to do so? In areas...... which are core to the ‘European project’, it seems clear that the EU is more disposed to use normative power....

Private Institutions and Business Power in Global Governance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ougaard, Morten

2008-01-01

Review essay. This article reviews the books "Transnational Private Governance and its Limits" edited by Jean-Christophe Graz and Andreas Nölke, "Business Power in Global Governance" by Doris Fuchs, and Private Institutions and Global Governance. The New Politics of Environmental Sustainability...

A Typology of Power in Global Value Chains

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dallas, Mark; Ponte, Stefano; Sturgeon, Timothy

‘Power’ has been a foundational concept in examining global value chains and production networks for understanding patterns and dynamics in the global political economy. Yet, in most GVC scholarship, power is not explicitly defined and is applied as a unitary concept, rather than as having multiple...

Global Health Warning: Definitions Wield Power Comment on "Navigating Between Stealth Advocacy and Unconscious Dogmatism: The Challenge of Researching the Norms, Politics and Power of Global Health".

Science.gov (United States)

Marten, Robert

2015-12-25

Gorik Ooms recently made a strong case for considering the centrality of normative premises to analyzing and understanding the underappreciated importance of the nexus of politics, power and process in global health. This critical commentary raises serious questions for the practice and study of global health and global health governance. First and foremost, this commentary underlines the importance of the question of what is global health, and why as well as how does this definition matter? This refocuses discussion on the importance of definitions and how they wield power. It also re-affirms the necessity of a deeper analysis and understanding of power and how it affects and shapes the practice of global health. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

Japan and the changing global balance of power: The view from the summit

OpenAIRE

Dobson, H.

2010-01-01

This article explores Japan's relative decline and its responses to the changing global balance of power through a case study of one symptom of this shift: the rise of the G20 as the 'premier forum for international economic co-operation' at the expense of the G8. The G8 has traditionally held a significant position in Japan's international relations that appears to be undermined by the rise of the G20. Japan's responses to these developments reveal it to be a status quo power that is still c...

On global environment problems in electric power business

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugi, Masashi

1992-01-01

The former environmental problems were atmospheric pollution, water quality contamination, noise and vibration nuisance, waste disposal and so on mainly at interior or district level, but now, the influence that the problems such as the global warming due to carbon dioxide emission, the ozone layer breaking due to freon gas, acid rain going over boundaries and so on exert to environment spreads to wide areas, therefore, various research and investigation have been carried out as the environmental problems on global scale at national and international levels. It has become an important subject to make the preservation of global environment and durable economical development compatible by effectively utilizing limited resources and energy. The electric power companies have advanced positively the prevention of pollution and the preservation of environment, and attained the environment preservation of top level in the world. The consciousness of people on environmental problems has heightened, therefore the construction and operation of power plants harmonized to districts are important. The countermeasures to environmental problems taken by electric power companies are reported. (K.I.)

Global Health Warning: Definitions Wield Power; Comment on “Navigating Between Stealth Advocacy and Unconscious Dogmatism: The Challenge of Researching the Norms, Politics and Power of Global Health”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Marten

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Gorik Ooms recently made a strong case for considering the centrality of normative premises to analyzing and understanding the underappreciated importance of the nexus of politics, power and process in global health. This critical commentary raises serious questions for the practice and study of global health and global health governance. First and foremost, this commentary underlines the importance of the question of what is global health, and why as well as how does this definition matter? This refocuses discussion on the importance of definitions and how they wield power. It also re-affirms the necessity of a deeper analysis and understanding of power and how it affects and shapes the practice of global health.

Power Watch - A global, open database of power plants that supports research on climate, water and air pollution impact of the global power sector.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedrich, J.; Kressig, A.; Van Groenou, S.; McCormick, C.

2017-12-01

Challenge The lack of transparent, accessible, and centralized power sector data inhibits the ability to research the impact of the global power sector. information gaps for citizens, analysts, and decision makers worldwide create barriers to sustainable development efforts. The need for transparent, accessible, and centralized information is especially important to enhance the commitments outlined in the recently adopted Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals. Offer Power Watch will address this challenge by creating a comprehensive, open-source platform on the world's power systems. The platform hosts data on 85% of global installed electrical capacity and for each power plant will include data points on installed capacity, fuel type, annual generation, commissioning year, with more characteristics like emissions, particulate matter, annual water demand and more added over time. Most of the data is reported from national level sources, but annual generation and other operational characteristiscs are estimated via Machine Learning modeling and remotely sensed data when not officially reported. In addition, Power Watch plans to provide a suite of tools that address specific decision maker needs, such as water risk assessments and air pollution modeling. Impact Through open data, the platform and its tools will allow reserachers to do more analysis of power sector impacts and perform energy modeling. It will help catalyze accountability for policy makers, businesses, and investors and will inform and drive the transition to a clean energy future while reaching development targets.

A Global Civilian Power? The Future Role of the European Union in International Politics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bedrudin Brljavac

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Questions about the future of the European Union as an international actor continue to puzzle students of international relations and particularly students of EU foreign policy. What kind of predictions can we make about the future role of the EU in international politics? While the question is often framed in terms of military versus normative and/or global civilian power Europe, there are indications that ambitions in both directions may very well coincide. However, despite the EU’s development towards deepened defense integration since the 1990s, such developments are by far outweighed by developments pointing in the direction of the EU consolidating its role as a global civilian power. In this article, we analyze the union’s civilian policies and contrast the findings of our analysis with developments in the field of Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP. Based on our analysis of EU enlargement policy, external aid, global environmental policy and the union’s commitment to multilateralism, our conclusion is that the EU’s international role in the next decades will continue to be best described in terms of a global civilian power.

Global Public Goods and The Role of Emerging Power: Considering the Concept of Impure Public Goods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liu Rieshøj Yi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The existing analysis of global public goods over-emphasizes the significance of public. Great power as a main provider has played an active role in these strategic initiatives, which may be ignored. In fact, main power has thought about the possible free-riders when providing public goods and making its foreign strategic plan. China’s announcement to “welcome the neighbouring countries to be a free-rider and benefit from China’s rise” is a good example. It is necessary to think about the theory of public goods and take another look at the free-riding phenomenon. The concept of impure public goods may be useful and effective when we understand the reason why global public goods are being provided and are relatively efficient. As an emerging power, China should have a clear strategy on global public goods with a possible “marketing” viewpoint, including more initiatives and specific measures, so that the global public goods provision may be more diverse and well-planned.

Global warming and nuclear power

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wood, L., LLNL

1998-07-10

Nuclear fission power reactors represent a potential solution to many aspects of global change possibly induced by inputting of either particulate or carbon or sulfur oxides into the Earth`s atmosphere. Of proven technological feasibility, they presently produce high-grade heat for large-scale electricity generation, space heating and industrial process-energizing around the world, without emitting greenhouse gases or atmospheric particulates; importantly, electricity production costs from the best nuclear plants presently are closely comparable with those of the best fossil-fired plants. However, a substantial number of issues currently stand between nuclear power and widespread substitution for large stationary fossil fuel-fired systems. These include perceptual ones regarding both long-term and acute operational safety, plant decommissioning, fuel reprocessing, radwaste disposal, fissile materials diversion to military purposes and - perhaps most seriously- readily quantifiable concerns regarding long-term fuel supply and total unit electrical energy cost. We sketch a road-map for proceeding from the present situation toward a nuclear power-intensive world, addressing along the way each of the concerns which presently impede widespread nuclear substitution for fossil fuels, particularly for coal in the most populous and rapidly developing portions of the world, e.g., China and India. This `design to societal specifications` approach to large-scale nuclear fission power systems may lead to energy sources meeting essentially all stationary demands for high-temperature heat. Such advanced options offer a human population of ten billion the electricity supply levels currently enjoyed by Americans for 10,000 years. Nuclear power systems tailored to local needs-and-interests and having a common advanced technology base could reduce present-day world-wide C0{sub 2} emissions by two-fold, if universally employed. By application to small mobile demands, a second two

Global developments of controls of powered roof supports

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Das, S.K. [Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad (India). Centre of Longwall Mine Mechanisation

1996-04-01

The efficiency of hydraulic powered roof support systems mainly depends upon the efficient control and operation of hydraulic valves and their associated accessories. From 1961 to 1994 tremendous efforts had been made for the development of higher and higher efficient, reliable but simpler control systems starting from the manual hydraulic to electro-hydraulic and finally computer based electronic control system. A global survey of development of various types and design of control systems of powered roof supports has been made and many of them are highlighted in the paper for making this work a small emblem regarding the efforts of development of the controls of powered roof support systems by the global engineers of the 20th century. Many of the control systems are no longer in use and have totally vanished from this earth and many more control systems including their literatures may vanish from this world in the coming decades. This work may give a guideline regarding the selection of right type of control systems for the powered supports in future. 14 refs., 6 figs.

Wind power: breakthrough to global dimensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horrighs, W.

1996-01-01

The beginning of the 1980s saw the start of wind-turbine manufacture. Soon it had become a booming industrial sector, thanks mainly to the spirit of some young entrepreneurs and political support in many countries. But the wind-power market has assumed global dimensions and major structural changes have to be faced. (author)

The recent activities of nuclear power globalization. Our provision against global warming by global deployment of our own technologies as integrated nuclear power plant supply company'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamauchi, Kiyoshi; Suzuki, Shigemitsu

2008-01-01

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) is striving to expand and spread nuclear power plants as an 'Integrated Nuclear Power Plant Supply Company' based on its engineering, manufacturing, and technological support capabilities. The company also has ample experience in the export of major components. MHI is accelerating its global deployment through the market introduction of large-sized strategic reactor US-APWR, the joint development of a mid-sized strategic reactor ATMEA1 with AREVA, and a small strategic reactor PBMR. The company also plans to internationally deploy technologies for the nuclear fuel cycle. We present here the leading-edge trends in the global deployment of these nuclear businesses, all of which help to solve the energy and environmental issues in the world. (author)

Nuclear Power Learning and Deployment Rates; Disruption and Global Benefits Forgone

OpenAIRE

Peter A. Lang

2017-01-01

This paper presents evidence of the disruption of a transition from fossil fuels to nuclear power, and finds the benefits forgone as a consequence are substantial. Learning rates are presented for nuclear power in seven countries, comprising 58% of all power reactors ever built globally. Learning rates and deployment rates changed in the late-1960s and 1970s from rapidly falling costs and accelerating deployment to rapidly rising costs and stalled deployment. Historical nuclear global capacit...

The necessity of nuclear power: a global human and environmental imperative

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ritch, J.

2008-01-01

Humankind cannot conceivably achieve a global clean-energy revolution without a huge expansion of nuclear power to generate electricity; to produce battery power and possibly hydrogen for tomorrow's vehicles; to desalinate seawater in response to the worlds rapidly emerging fresh-water crisis. Factors for accelerating the nuclear renaissance are: comprehensive post-Kyoto agreement all major nations, with appropriate obligations, strong political and economic incentives and goal to achieve 60% cut in global emissions by 2050; harness UN system to one clean-energy vision nuclear power at centre of global strategy; national incentive policies not for subsidy but for acceleration; education policies public's better understanding of nuclear energy new generation of nuclear professionals

Investigation of China’s national public relations strategy under globalization : the hotspots around the national media

OpenAIRE

雷, 紫雯

2014-01-01

This study investigates on China’s national public relations strategy under the globalization by analyzing the national media. In recent years, in order to improve the global public opinion environment, and to improve its national public relations capabilities that match its economic power status, China has actively strengthened its national public relations strategies, including making the national “media go out”, and building world-class media. By researching on the localization of Chinese ...

Electric power globalization and reforming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soares Neto, Jose Lino

1999-01-01

The central issue of debate was the need to align the energy sector's options and organization with changing global patterns of economic and social development, characterized by the increasing role played by the private sector, greater integration in the world economy, and new economic and social priorities such as efficiency, decentralization, deregulation, and a closer attention to environmental issues. The aim of the work was to define the economic and political forces of the electric power sector regulation restructuring

Promotion of public awareness relating nuclear power in young generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kobayashi, Yoko

2011-01-01

Although nuclear power presents problems of waste, safety and non-proliferation, many people understand that it is an essential energy for addressing the global climate and reducing CO2. However, a vague negative-image to the radiation and nuclear power is deep-rooted among the public. Young generation is not an exception. It is very important to transfer many information from the experienced generation in the industry to young generations. In this paper, the research that applied the information intelligence to nuclear power, which involves of the nuclear fuel cycle, and the communication related activities for the social acceptance and improvement. (author)

Global Thermal Power Plants Database: Unit-Based CO2, SO2, NOX and PM2.5 Emissions in 2010

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, D.; Qiang, Z.; Davis, S. J.

2016-12-01

There are more than 30,000 thermal power plants now operating worldwide, reflecting a tremendously diverse infrastructure that includes units burning oil, natural gas, coal and biomass and ranging in capacity from 1GW. Although the electricity generated by this infrastructure is vital to economic activities across the world, it also produces more CO2 and air pollution emissions than any other industry sector. Here we present a new database of global thermal power-generating units and their emissions as of 2010, GPED (Global Power Emissions Database), including the detailed unit information of installed capacity, operation year, geographic location, fuel type and control measures for more than 70000 units. In this study, we have compiled, combined, and harmonized the available underlying data related to thermal power-generating units (e.g. eGRID of USA, CPED of China and published Indian power plants database), and then analyzed the generating capacity, capacity factor, fuel type, age, location, and installed pollution-control technology in order to determine those units with disproportionately high levels of emissions. In total, this work is of great importance for improving spatial distribution of global thermal power plants emissions and exploring their environmental impacts at global scale.

Global analysis of a renewable micro hydro power generation plant

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, Md. Shad; Nabil, Imtiaz Muhammed; Alam, M. Mahbubul

2017-12-01

Hydroelectric power or Hydropower means the power generated by the help of flowing water with force. It is one the best source of renewable energy in the world. Water evaporates from the earth's surface, forms clouds, precipitates back to earth, and flows toward the ocean. Hydropower is considered a renewable energy resource because it uses the earth's water cycle to generate electricity. As far as Global is concerned, only a small fraction of electricity is generated by hydro-power. The aim of our analysis is to demonstrate and observe the hydropower of the Globe in micro-scale by our experimental setup which is completely new in concept. This paper consists of all the Global and National Scenario of Hydropower. And how we can more emphasize the generation of Hydroelectric power worldwide.

Power in global health agenda-setting: the role of private funding Comment on "Knowledge, moral claims and the exercise of power in global health".

Science.gov (United States)

Levine, Ruth E

2015-03-04

The editorial by Jeremy Shiffman, "Knowledge, moral claims and the exercise of power in global health", highlights the influence on global health priority-setting of individuals and organizations that do not have a formal political mandate. This sheds light on the way key functions in global health depend on private funding, particularly from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2015 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

Green power and performance in global environmental governance

OpenAIRE

Never, Babette

2013-01-01

From 10 to 11 June 2013, the Global Green Growth Summit will take place in Seoul. Policymakers, international organizations and experts from various fi elds will once again discuss how the transformation toward a green economy and more sustainable development paths can be managed. Global environmental governance is characterized by a high number of international activities, but actual environmental outcomes vary. The ability to develop green political and economic power that leads to bett er ...

On nuclear power, population and sustainable global civilization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishiguro, Yuji

2007-01-01

Humanity is facing a multitude of difficult problems that threaten not only human development but the very continuity of civilization. The fundamental cause is the size of the human population but at present the subject is not discussed in international fora. It is not clear if it is wishfully avoided or if it is not recognized as the fundamental problem. Without limiting fertility and population globally, there will be no future for civilization as we know it and there will be no need for nuclear power as a source of energy. Instead, nuclear power will be the principal agent of the end. The nuclear community is in a position to point out the problem and propose a solution. Principles of sustainability and a path to a sustainable global civilization are shown. (author)

The European Union in International Politics: Acting as a Global Civilian Power (GCP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bedrudin Brljavac

2011-01-01

Full Text Available During the Cold War the European Community lacking common military instruments was perceived as the example of a civilian power. However, in the early 1990s, under the framework of CFSP, the first concrete defence initiatives have been launched. By the end of the 1990s and after the agreement on the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP the first Rapid Reaction Forces were on the European military agenda. Such defence and military capabilities challenged the idea of the EU as a civil or civilian power. Thus, a main concern in the paper has been to assess the character and identity of the EU`s activities in the context of international relations. For this purpose, this study has explored the EU policy instruments such as the enlargement policy, external aid, environmental policy at the global level, multilateralism, and the EU armed forces. The study concludes that the enlargement policy accounts for an important EU strategy to shape the international environment through civilian means. Furthermore, the international aid policy of the EU states has primarily been based on the sense of duty to other countries as constructivists point out. The EU has also been vocal and has used environmental foreign policy as an instrument to demonstrate its global leadership role which is a clear indication of its commitment to global welfare. Thanks to its presence in the major multilateral interventions of the last decade, the EU has qualified itself as great supporter of multilateralism. Lastly, the EU military capabilities are not achieved by creating permanent European armed forces but are still based on the voluntary contributions of its member states. Therefore, the EU still can be portrayed as a global civilian power (GCP or civilian power Europe (CPE.

The Global Politics of Gay Rights: The Straining Relations between the West and Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hakeem Onapajo

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This article analyses the contemporary global politics of gay rights as it relates to the straining relations between the Western powers and many African states that oppose sexual minorities’ rights. While the West (with emphasis on the United States, EU, and Britain advocates for the protection of gay rights in the world, Africa provides the largest concentration of states opposed to them. Therefore, there has been rising tension between both regions. This became more apparent after Nigeria and Uganda, respectively, signed their anti-gay bills into law in January and February 2014. In response to this, the Western powers decided to take some punitive measures, especially imposition of sanctions, against the countries to pressurise them to repeal their laws. In an unusual manner, the African states are radically determined to go ahead with their anti-gay laws in open defiance to the demands of the Western powers. This development, which is informed by a number of factors, shows a rather new pattern of behaviour by African states in global politics.

SDSS IV MaNGA: Dependence of Global and Spatially Resolved SFR–M ∗ Relations on Galaxy Properties

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Hsi-An; Lin, Lihwai; Hsieh, Bau-Ching; Sánchez, Sebastián F.; Ibarra-Medel, Héctor; Boquien, Médéric; Lacerna, Ivan; Argudo-Fernández, Maria; Bizyaev, Dmitry; Cano-Díaz, Mariana; Drory, Niv; Gao, Yang; Masters, Karen; Pan, Kaike; Tabor, Martha; Tissera, Patricia; Xiao, Ting

2018-02-01

The galaxy integrated Hα star formation rate–stellar mass relation, or SFR(global)–M *(global) relation, is crucial for understanding star formation history and evolution of galaxies. However, many studies have dealt with SFR using unresolved measurements, which makes it difficult to separate out the contamination from other ionizing sources, such as active galactic nuclei and evolved stars. Using the integral field spectroscopic observations from SDSS-IV MaNGA, we spatially disentangle the contribution from different Hα powering sources for ∼1000 galaxies. We find that, when including regions dominated by all ionizing sources in galaxies, the spatially resolved relation between Hα surface density (ΣHα (all)) and stellar mass surface density (Σ*(all)) progressively turns over at the high Σ*(all) end for increasing M *(global) and/or bulge dominance (bulge-to-total light ratio, B/T). This in turn leads to the flattening of the integrated Hα(global)–M *(global) relation in the literature. By contrast, there is no noticeable flattening in both integrated Hα(H II)–M *(H II) and spatially resolved ΣHα (H II)–Σ*(H II) relations when only regions where star formation dominates the ionization are considered. In other words, the flattening can be attributed to the increasing regions powered by non-star-formation sources, which generally have lower ionizing ability than star formation. An analysis of the fractional contribution of non-star-formation sources to total Hα luminosity of a galaxy suggests a decreasing role of star formation as an ionizing source toward high-mass, high-B/T galaxies and bulge regions. This result indicates that the appearance of the galaxy integrated SFR–M * relation critically depends on their global properties (M *(global) and B/T) and relative abundances of various ionizing sources within the galaxies.

Global warming---The role for nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, J.E. Jr.; Fulkerson, W.

1989-01-01

Nuclear power is currently making an important contribution to our energy requirements. It provides 17% of the world's electricity today --- almost 20% in the US. Reducing the emissions of carbon dioxide over the next 30 to 50 years sufficiently to address the issue of global warming can only be accomplished by a combination of much improved energy efficiency, substantial growth in use of nuclear power, and substantial growth in use of renewable energy. This paper discusses new initiatives in the major nuclear technologies (LWR, HTGR, LMR) which are emerging from a fundamental reexamination of nuclear power in response to the challenges and opportunities in the 21st century. To fulfill its role, nuclear power must gain worldwide acceptance as a viable energy option. The use of modern technology and ''passive'' safety features in next-generation nuclear power plants offers the potential to simplify their design and operation, enhance their safety, and reduce the cost of electricity. With such improvements, we believe nuclear power can regain public confidence and make a significant contribution to our energy future. 24 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab

Introduction of nuclear power plant for mitigating the impact of global warming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ida Nuryatin Finahari

2008-01-01

Energy utilization for power plants in Indonesia is still highly depending on the burning of fossil fuel like coal, oil, and gas. From the combustion of fossil fuel, greenhouse gases such as CO 2 and N 2 O are produced. An increase of CO 2 gas emission to the atmosphere can block the heat loss from the earth surface and will increase the greenhouse effect that results in the temperature increase of the earth surface (global warming). Global warming can cause a very extreme climate change on earth. One of the solutions to reduce CO 2 gas emission produced by fossil fuel power plants is to utilize the plants with flue gas treatment facility. At such facility, CO 2 gas is reacted with certain mineral based substances thus can be used as base material in food-, pharmaceutical-, construction-, and cosmetic industry. Another alternative to reduce CO 2 gas emission is by replacing fossil fuel power plants with nuclear power plants. Considering the environmental and economic aspects, the nuclear power plant does not emit CO 2 gas, so that the use of nuclear power plant can mitigate the impact of global warming. Based on the operational experience of nuclear power plants in advanced countries, the cost of generating electricity from nuclear power plants is more competitive than that of fossil fuel power plant. (author)

Politics, Power, Poverty and Global Health: Systems and Frames

Science.gov (United States)

Benatar, Solomon

2016-01-01

Striking disparities in access to healthcare and in health outcomes are major characteristics of health across the globe. This inequitable state of global health and how it could be improved has become a highly popularized field of academic study. In a series of articles in this journal the roles of power and politics in global health have been addressed in considerable detail. Three points are added here to this debate. The first is consideration of how the use of definitions and common terms, for example ‘poverty eradication,’ can mask full exposure of the extent of rectification required, with consequent failure to understand what poverty eradication should mean, how this could be achieved and that a new definition is called for. Secondly, a criticism is offered of how the term ‘global health’ is used in a restricted manner to describe activities that focus on an anthropocentric and biomedical conception of health across the world. It is proposed that the discourse on ‘global health’ should be extended beyond conventional boundaries towards an ecocentric conception of global/planetary health in an increasingly interdependent planet characterised by a multitude of interlinked crises. Finally, it is noted that the paucity of workable strategies towards achieving greater equity in sustainable global health is not so much due to lack of understanding of, or insight into, the invisible dimensions of power, but is rather the outcome of seeking solutions from within belief systems and cognitive biases that cannot offer solutions. Hence the need for a new framing perspective for global health that could reshape our thinking and actions. PMID:27694651

Politics, Power, Poverty and Global Health: Systems and Frames.

Science.gov (United States)

Benatar, Solomon

2016-08-06

Striking disparities in access to healthcare and in health outcomes are major characteristics of health across the globe. This inequitable state of global health and how it could be improved has become a highly popularized field of academic study. In a series of articles in this journal the roles of power and politics in global health have been addressed in considerable detail. Three points are added here to this debate. The first is consideration of how the use of definitions and common terms, for example 'poverty eradication,' can mask full exposure of the extent of rectification required, with consequent failure to understand what poverty eradication should mean, how this could be achieved and that a new definition is called for. Secondly, a criticism is offered of how the term 'global health' is used in a restricted manner to describe activities that focus on an anthropocentric and biomedical conception of health across the world. It is proposed that the discourse on 'global health' should be extended beyond conventional boundaries towards an ecocentric conception of global/planetary health in an increasingly interdependent planet characterised by a multitude of interlinked crises. Finally, it is noted that the paucity of workable strategies towards achieving greater equity in sustainable global health is not so much due to lack of understanding of, or insight into, the invisible dimensions of power, but is rather the outcome of seeking solutions from within belief systems and cognitive biases that cannot offer solutions. Hence the need for a new framing perspective for global health that could reshape our thinking and actions. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

The transformation of the global oil industry and its impact on international relations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Appleyard, J.

1994-01-01

The transformations of ownership and control in the global oil industry since the first oil shock of 1974 are discussed and the impact of that change on several interconnected issues is explored. It is argued that structural changes in the industry affect interstate relations in ways that are of central concern to the discipline of international relations. Any likely future oil industry scenario will have considerable political and economic repercussions for both producer and consumer states, with a concommitant impact on the relations between those states more generally. There is a danger that interstate conflicts among oil producers will increase with perodic changes in the global supply and demand conditions for oil. Ways are suggested for international relations studies to take into account the change in the global oil industry and its impact on the distribution of power and on international order and justice. It is contended that a growing number of states must be considered as behaving much like firms in a competitive market, and the new international oil order both constrains and provides opportunities for those firm-like states. 20 refs

Classification of delocalization power of global unitary operations in terms of LOCC one-piece relocalization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akihito Soeda

2010-06-01

Full Text Available We study how two pieces of localized quantum information can be delocalized across a composite Hilbert space when a global unitary operation is applied. We classify the delocalization power of global unitary operations on quantum information by investigating the possibility of relocalizing one piece of the quantum information without using any global quantum resource. We show that one-piece relocalization is possible if and only if the global unitary operation is local unitary equivalent of a controlled-unitary operation. The delocalization power turns out to reveal different aspect of the non-local properties of global unitary operations characterized by their entangling power.

Global Sustainable Development: The Role of Nuclear Power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hatcher, Stanley R.

1990-01-01

The inevitable growth in the world's population and the need for a reasonable standard of living for all nations will drive the demand for energy to much higher levels than the world has yet experienced. A radical improvement in energy efficiency and conservation could limit the global annual demand to 100 GJ per person. consumption of North America. With the developing nations achieving a standard of living commensurate with this level, the global energy demand would increase by a factor of 2.5 to 1000 EJ per year. Concern over the impact of CO 2 emissions on global warming will likely lead to an international consensus on some reduction in the use of fossil fuels. To maintain environmental sustainability, all nations of the world would need to limit their fossil fuel consumption, particularly those in North America and Europe. Other energy sources will play an important role in all regions. However, the main burden is likely to fall upon nuclear energy as an essential element of the total energy supply. The danger eliminated while sustaining global development if the governments of the world commit to the use of nuclear power on a global scale. The industrial intrastucture can be put in place for such a major international program. A more difficult question is the availability of the necessary financing. On a global scale the financial requirement is within the range of current military expenditures. However, it is clear that not all the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America will be able to finance their own needs. A new international cooperative program will be necessary. The needed change in energy patterns is dramatic and will take time to implement. The change should be underway by the beginning of the next century. Otherwise the world faces the prospect of environmental disaster and social disruption as the nations struggle to improve their living standards through the increased use of fossil fuels. The role of nuclear power in providing the energy for

Nuclear power and the logic of globalization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weizsaecker, C.C. von

2000-01-01

The article discusses effects and results of globalization for nuclear power and other options of electricity generation. According to the present state of knowledge, it will not be possible to meet the growing worldwide energy requirement with fossil and renewable energy sources only - also because of the CO 2 problem. Consequently, nuclear power will remain an important alternative. On an international scale, this applies in particular to large countries, such as China and India, as large national economies particularly benefit from the economies of scale offered by nuclear power. This could well make Chinese nuclear technology a product for the world market. Thinking along these lines has not really gained ground in Germany, as nuclear power, being a technology requiring considerably capital outlay, is considered unsuitable for southern countries. It is an illusion to believe that Germany's opting out of the use of nuclear power could be a model to others. Instead, we are faced by the ethical question of how we can help to minimize the accident risks of nuclear facilities worldwide. We can do so only by maintaining the use of nuclear power and exporting our level of safety, for the risks will not become any smaller merely as a result of our opting out. (orig.) [de

Reduced order models inertial manifold and global bifurcations: searching instability boundaries in nuclear power systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suarez Antola, R.

2009-01-01

In the framework of an analytic or numerical model of a BWR power plant, this could imply first to find an suitable approximation to the solution manifold of the differential equations describing the stability behaviour of this nonlinear system, and then a classification of the different solution types concerning their relation with the operational safety of the power plant, by distributing the different solution types in relation with the exclusion region of the power-flow map. Then the goal is to obtain the best attainable qualitative and quantitative global picture of plant dynamics. To do this, the construction and the analysis of the so called reduced order models (Rom) seems a necessary step. A reduced order model results after the full system of coupled nonlinear partial differential equations of the plant is reduced to a system of coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations

Power Watch: Increasing Transparency and Accessibility of Data in the Global Power Sector to Accelerate the Transition to a Lower Carbon Economy

Science.gov (United States)

Hennig, R. J.; Friedrich, J.; Malaguzzi Valeri, L.; McCormick, C.; Lebling, K.; Kressig, A.

2016-12-01

The Power Watch project will offer open data on the global electricity sector starting with power plants and their impacts on climate and water systems; it will also offer visualizations and decision making tools. Power Watch will create the first comprehensive, open database of power plants globally by compiling data from national governments, public and private utilities, transmission grid operators, and other data providers to create a core dataset that has information on over 80% of global installed capacity for electrical generation. Power plant data will at a minimum include latitude and longitude, capacity, fuel type, emissions, water usage, ownership, and annual generation. By providing data that is both comprehensive, as well as making it publically available, this project will support decision making and analysis by actors across the economy and in the research community. The Power Watch research effort focuses on creating a global standard for power plant information, gathering and standardizing data from multiple sources, matching information from multiple sources on a plant level, testing cross-validation approaches (regional statistics, crowdsourcing, satellite data, and others) and developing estimation methodologies for generation, emissions, and water usage. When not available from official reports, emissions, annual generation, and water usage will be estimated. Water use estimates of power plants will be based on capacity, fuel type and satellite imagery to identify cooling types. This analysis is being piloted in several states in India and will then be scaled up to a global level. Other planned applications of of the Power Watch data include improving understanding of energy access, air pollution, emissions estimation, stranded asset analysis, life cycle analysis, tracking of proposed plants and curtailment analysis.

Power, Discourse, and Learning Global Citizenship: A Case Study of International NGOs and a Grassroots Movement in the Narmada Valley, India

Science.gov (United States)

Shukla, Natasha

2009-01-01

The field of transnational contestation conceptualized as global civil society (GCS) is gaining academic interest as a political "counter-force" against the exigencies of globalization. However, social actors within GCS occupy unequal positions of power in relation to each other. This article examines how the discourses of transnational action…

A GLOBAL ASSESSMENT OF SOLAR ENERGY RESOURCES: NASA's Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) Project

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, T.; Stackhouse, P. W., Jr.; Chandler, W.; Hoell, J. M.; Westberg, D.; Whitlock, C. H.

2010-12-01

NASA's POWER project, or the Prediction of the Worldwide Energy Resources project, synthesizes and analyzes data on a global scale. The products of the project find valuable applications in the solar and wind energy sectors of the renewable energy industries. The primary source data for the POWER project are NASA's World Climate Research Project (WCRP)/Global Energy and Water cycle Experiment (GEWEX) Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) project (Release 3.0) and the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) assimilation model (V 4.0.3). Users of the POWER products access the data through NASA's Surface meteorology and Solar Energy (SSE, Version 6.0) website (http://power.larc.nasa.gov). Over 200 parameters are available to the users. The spatial resolution is 1 degree by 1 degree now and will be finer later. The data covers from July 1983 to December 2007, a time-span of 24.5 years, and are provided as 3-hourly, daily and monthly means. As of now, there have been over 18 million web hits and over 4 million data file downloads. The POWER products have been systematically validated against ground-based measurements, and in particular, data from the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) archive, and also against the National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB). Parameters such as minimum, maximum, daily mean temperature and dew points, relative humidity and surface pressure are validated against the National Climate Data Center (NCDC) data. SSE feeds data directly into Decision Support Systems including RETScreen International clean energy project analysis software that is written in 36 languages and has greater than 260,000 users worldwide.

China’s impact on the global wind power industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lema, Rasmus; Berger, Axel; Schmitz, Hubert

China’s economic rise has transformed the global economy in a number of manufacturing industries. This paper investigates whether China’s transformative influence extends to the new green economy. Drawing on the debate about how China is driving major economic changes in the world – the ‘Asian...... firms. While the combined impact of Chinese market and production power is already visible, other influences are beginning to be felt – arising from China’s coordination, innovation and financing power....

China’s Impact on the Global Wind Power Industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lema, Rasmus; Berger, Axel; Schmitz, Hubert

2013-01-01

China’s economic rise has transformed the global economy in a number of manufacturing industries. This paper investigates whether China’s transformative influence extends to the new green economy. Drawing on the debate about how China is driving major economic changes in the world – the “Asian....... While the combined impact of Chinese market and production power is already visible, other influences are beginning to be felt – arising from China’s coordination, innovation and financing power....

Fission nuclear power prospects and its role in meeting global energy needs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golan, S.

1992-01-01

Nuclear power currently makes an important contribution to world's energy requirements providing 17% of its electricity. But as global warming becomes of greater concern, many ask whether nuclear power can and should contribute more. The author, who is involved in the nuclear power enterprise for 35 years, tries to answer this question affirmative. He holds the view that: a) nuclear fission power is essential to meeting world's energy needs without unduly impairing the global environment; b) by possessing the required attributes discussed in this paper, nuclear fission power can be made societally acceptable; c) the industrialized world should accelerate LMFR deployment while fostering more convenient energy alternatives for the developing world; and d) the HTGR is unique in its ability to augment non-electricity energy needs and could become the technology choice of developing countries for nuclear electricity production. (author). 5 refs., 5 figs., 4 tabs

International Baccalaureate as a Litmus Test Revealing Conflicting Values and Power Relations in the Israeli Education System

Science.gov (United States)

Yemini, Miri; Dvir, Yuval

2016-01-01

This study comprises a comprehensive attempt to reveal the power relations and conflicting interests within the local-global nexus of the Israeli public education system. The perceptions of different stakeholders were explored, in regard to the implementation of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program as an example of a globally oriented…

Power Quality Issues on Wind Power Installations in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Poul Ejnar; Cutululis, Nicolaos Antonio; Lund, Torsten

2007-01-01

offshore wind farms connected at transmission level. In this perspective, the power quality issues are divided into local issues particularly related to the voltage quality in the distribution systems and global issues related to the power system control and stability. Power quality characteristics of wind...

The global climate change and its effect on power generation in Bangladesh

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, Iftekhar; Alam, Firoz; Alam, Quamrul

2013-01-01

Frequent and intense natural calamities, sea level rises and salinity have been causing adverse impacts on economic, environmental and social aspects of hundreds of millions people across the world. Although a series of studies was undertaken on social and environment impacts, very little information is available on power generation affected by climate change. The power generation in developing countries, especially Bangladesh, whose existence is severely threatened by the rise of sea levels, salinity, the ambient temperature, drought and flood, is not well studied and reported. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to identify the risks imposed by global climate change on existing and projected power generation in Bangladesh. The climate effect parameters and their impacts on power generation capacity are studied and analysed. The findings indicate that all existing and future power plants and their generation across the country will be affected by global climate change. - Highlights: • Analysed the future climate change impact on power generation in Bangladesh. • Projected future power generation in Bangladesh up to 2100. • Power plant in coastal areas will experience threat of inundation and salinity. • Northwest region power generation in Bangladesh will face more drought threat. • Power generation in middle region of Bangladesh will be in high risk of flood

The EU as a global ecological power: The logics of market integration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laurent, Eloi; Le Cacheux, Jacques

2010-05-01

In this paper, we try to show how the EU became a global ecological power, i.e. a power that influences environmental policies throughout the world. While the existing literature stresses the significance of normative power, regulatory politics and multi-level governance in this process, we highlight the importance of what we call the logics of market integration. By that we mean the decisive role of Single market integration in fostering convergence of environmental policies at the European level as well as in extending European influence at the global level. We illustrate our approach with the case of climate policy, detailing the EU's influence on economic instruments developed worldwide to mitigate climate change. (authors)

Accounts from the field: a public relations perspective on global AIDS/HIV.

Science.gov (United States)

Bardhan, Nilanjana R

2002-01-01

This study is a theoretical as well as empirical exploration of the power and cultural differentials that mark and construct various intersecting discourses, specifically media discourse, on global AIDS/HIV. It applies the language and concepts of public relations to understand how the press coverage of the pandemic is associated with the variables that impact the newsmaking process as well as the public and policy implications of macro news frames generated over time. Theoretical work in the areas of agenda setting and news framing also instruct the conceptual framework of this analysis. Narrative analysis is used as a methodology to qualitatively analyze three pools of accounts-from people either living with AIDS/HIV, involved in AIDS/HIV work, or discursively engaged in the media construction of the pandemic; from transnational wire service journalists who cover the issue at global and regional levels; and policy shapers and communicators who are active at the global level. These three communities of respondents represent important stakeholders in the AIDS/HIV issue. The findings are analyzed from a public relations standpoint. Perhaps the most important finding of this study is that the public relations approaches used to address AIDS/HIV related issues need to be grounded in context-specific research and communicative practices that bring out the lived realities of AIDS/HIV at grassroots levels. The findings also posit that those situated at critical junctions between various stakeholders need to cultivate a finely balanced understanding of the etic and emic intersections and subjectivities of global/local AIDS/HIV.

Globfit: Consistently fitting primitives by discovering global relations

KAUST Repository

Li, Yangyan; Wu, Xiaokun; Chrysathou, Yiorgos; Sharf, Andrei Sharf; Cohen-Or, Daniel; Mitra, Niloy J.

2011-01-01

Given a noisy and incomplete point set, we introduce a method that simultaneously recovers a set of locally fitted primitives along with their global mutual relations. We operate under the assumption that the data corresponds to a man-made engineering object consisting of basic primitives, possibly repeated and globally aligned under common relations. We introduce an algorithm to directly couple the local and global aspects of the problem. The local fit of the model is determined by how well the inferred model agrees to the observed data, while the global relations are iteratively learned and enforced through a constrained optimization. Starting with a set of initial RANSAC based locally fitted primitives, relations across the primitives such as orientation, placement, and equality are progressively learned and conformed to. In each stage, a set of feasible relations are extracted among the candidate relations, and then aligned to, while best fitting to the input data. The global coupling corrects the primitives obtained in the local RANSAC stage, and brings them to precise global alignment. We test the robustness of our algorithm on a range of synthesized and scanned data, with varying amounts of noise, outliers, and non-uniform sampling, and validate the results against ground truth, where available. © 2011 ACM.

Globfit: Consistently fitting primitives by discovering global relations

KAUST Repository

Li, Yangyan

2011-07-01

Given a noisy and incomplete point set, we introduce a method that simultaneously recovers a set of locally fitted primitives along with their global mutual relations. We operate under the assumption that the data corresponds to a man-made engineering object consisting of basic primitives, possibly repeated and globally aligned under common relations. We introduce an algorithm to directly couple the local and global aspects of the problem. The local fit of the model is determined by how well the inferred model agrees to the observed data, while the global relations are iteratively learned and enforced through a constrained optimization. Starting with a set of initial RANSAC based locally fitted primitives, relations across the primitives such as orientation, placement, and equality are progressively learned and conformed to. In each stage, a set of feasible relations are extracted among the candidate relations, and then aligned to, while best fitting to the input data. The global coupling corrects the primitives obtained in the local RANSAC stage, and brings them to precise global alignment. We test the robustness of our algorithm on a range of synthesized and scanned data, with varying amounts of noise, outliers, and non-uniform sampling, and validate the results against ground truth, where available. © 2011 ACM.

Dynamics of global supply chain and electric power networks: Models, pricing analysis, and computations

Science.gov (United States)

Matsypura, Dmytro

In this dissertation, I develop a new theoretical framework for the modeling, pricing analysis, and computation of solutions to electric power supply chains with power generators, suppliers, transmission service providers, and the inclusion of consumer demands. In particular, I advocate the application of finite-dimensional variational inequality theory, projected dynamical systems theory, game theory, network theory, and other tools that have been recently proposed for the modeling and analysis of supply chain networks (cf. Nagurney (2006)) to electric power markets. This dissertation contributes to the extant literature on the modeling, analysis, and solution of supply chain networks, including global supply chains, in general, and electric power supply chains, in particular, in the following ways. It develops a theoretical framework for modeling, pricing analysis, and computation of electric power flows/transactions in electric power systems using the rationale for supply chain analysis. The models developed include both static and dynamic ones. The dissertation also adds a new dimension to the methodology of the theory of projected dynamical systems by proving that, irrespective of the speeds of adjustment, the equilibrium of the system remains the same. Finally, I include alternative fuel suppliers, along with their behavior into the supply chain modeling and analysis framework. This dissertation has strong practical implications. In an era in which technology and globalization, coupled with increasing risk and uncertainty, complicate electricity demand and supply within and between nations, the successful management of electric power systems and pricing become increasingly pressing topics with relevance not only for economic prosperity but also national security. This dissertation addresses such related topics by providing models, pricing tools, and algorithms for decentralized electric power supply chains. This dissertation is based heavily on the following

Age-related decline in global form suppression

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wiegand, Iris Michaela; Finke, Kathrin; Töllner, Thomas

2015-01-01

. Selective attention, i.e., the ability to focus on relevant and ignore irrelevant information, declines with increasing age; however, how this deficit affects selection of global vs. local configurations remains unknown. On this background, the present study examined for age-related differences in a global...... differences in the subsequent (250–500 ms) posterior contralateral negativity (PCN) indicated that attentional resources were allocated faster to Kanisza, as compared to non-Kanisza, targets in both age groups, while the allocation of spatial attention seemed to be generally delayed in older relative...... to younger age. Our results suggest that the enhanced global-local asymmetry in the older age group originated from less effective suppression of global distracter forms on early processing stages – indicative of older observers having difficulties with disengaging from a global default selection mode...

Developmental changes of BOLD signal correlations with global human EEG power and synchronization during working memory.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lars Michels

Full Text Available In humans, theta band (5-7 Hz power typically increases when performing cognitively demanding working memory (WM tasks, and simultaneous EEG-fMRI recordings have revealed an inverse relationship between theta power and the BOLD (blood oxygen level dependent signal in the default mode network during WM. However, synchronization also plays a fundamental role in cognitive processing, and the level of theta and higher frequency band synchronization is modulated during WM. Yet, little is known about the link between BOLD, EEG power, and EEG synchronization during WM, and how these measures develop with human brain maturation or relate to behavioral changes. We examined EEG-BOLD signal correlations from 18 young adults and 15 school-aged children for age-dependent effects during a load-modulated Sternberg WM task. Frontal load (in-dependent EEG theta power was significantly enhanced in children compared to adults, while adults showed stronger fMRI load effects. Children demonstrated a stronger negative correlation between global theta power and the BOLD signal in the default mode network relative to adults. Therefore, we conclude that theta power mediates the suppression of a task-irrelevant network. We further conclude that children suppress this network even more than adults, probably from an increased level of task-preparedness to compensate for not fully mature cognitive functions, reflected in lower response accuracy and increased reaction time. In contrast to power, correlations between instantaneous theta global field synchronization and the BOLD signal were exclusively positive in both age groups but only significant in adults in the frontal-parietal and posterior cingulate cortices. Furthermore, theta synchronization was weaker in children and was--in contrast to EEG power--positively correlated with response accuracy in both age groups. In summary we conclude that theta EEG-BOLD signal correlations differ between spectral power and

Power and Networks in Worldwide Knowledge Coordination: The Case of Global Science

Science.gov (United States)

King, Roger

2011-01-01

The article considers the global governance of knowledge systems, exploring concepts of power, networks, standards (defined as normative practices), and structuration. The focus is on science as a form of predominantly private global governance, particularly the self-regulatory and collaborative processes stretching across time and space. These…

Historical construction costs of global nuclear power reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lovering, Jessica R.; Yip, Arthur; Nordhaus, Ted

2016-01-01

The existing literature on the construction costs of nuclear power reactors has focused almost exclusively on trends in construction costs in only two countries, the United States and France, and during two decades, the 1970s and 1980s. These analyses, Koomey and Hultman (2007); Grubler (2010), and Escobar-Rangel and Lévêque (2015), study only 26% of reactors built globally between 1960 and 2010, providing an incomplete picture of the economic evolution of nuclear power construction. This study curates historical reactor-specific overnight construction cost (OCC) data that broaden the scope of study substantially, covering the full cost history for 349 reactors in the US, France, Canada, West Germany, Japan, India, and South Korea, encompassing 58% of all reactors built globally. We find that trends in costs have varied significantly in magnitude and in structure by era, country, and experience. In contrast to the rapid cost escalation that characterized nuclear construction in the United States, we find evidence of much milder cost escalation in many countries, including absolute cost declines in some countries and specific eras. Our new findings suggest that there is no inherent cost escalation trend associated with nuclear technology. - Highlights: •Comprehensive analysis of nuclear power construction cost experience. •Coverage for early and recent reactors in seven countries. •International comparisons and re-evaluation of learning. •Cost trends vary by country and era; some experience cost stability or decline.

The Ghost Is the Machine: How Can We Visibilize the Unseen Norms and Power of Global Health? Comment on "Navigating Between Stealth Advocacy and Unconscious Dogmatism: The Challenge of Researching the Norms, Politics and Power of Global Health".

Science.gov (United States)

Forman, Lisa

2015-12-03

In his recent commentary, Gorik Ooms argues that "denying that researchers, like all humans, have personal opinions ... drives researchers' personal opinion underground, turning global health science into unconscious dogmatism or stealth advocacy, avoiding the crucial debate about the politics and underlying normative premises of global health." These 'unconscious' dimensions of global health are as Ooms and others suggest, rooted in its unacknowledged normative, political and power aspects. But why would these aspects be either unconscious or unacknowledged? In this commentary, I argue that the 'unconscious' and 'unacknowledged' nature of the norms, politics and power that drive global health is a direct byproduct of the processes through which power operates, and a primary mechanism by which power sustains and reinforces itself. To identify what is unconscious and unacknowledged requires more than broadening the disciplinary base of global health research to those social sciences with deep traditions of thought in the domains of power, politics and norms, albeit that doing so is a fundamental first step. I argue that it also requires individual and institutional commitments to adopt reflexive, humble and above all else, equitable practices within global health research. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

Tracking the global maximum power point of PV arrays under partial shading conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Fennich, Meryem

This thesis presents the theoretical and simulation studies of the global maximum power point tracking (MPPT) for photovoltaic systems under partial shading. The main goal is to track the maximum power point of the photovoltaic module so that the maximum possible power can be extracted from the photovoltaic panels. When several panels are connected in series with some of them shaded partially either due to clouds or shadows from neighboring buildings, several local maxima appear in the power vs. voltage curve. A power increment based MPPT algorithm is effective in identifying the global maximum from the several local maxima. Several existing MPPT algorithms are explored and the state-of-the-art power increment method is simulated and tested for various partial shading conditions. The current-voltage and power-voltage characteristics of the PV model are studied under different partial shading conditions, along with five different cases demonstrating how the MPPT algorithm performs when shading switches from one state to another. Each case is supplemented with simulation results. The method of tracking the Global MPP is based on controlling the DC-DC converter connected to the output of the PV array. A complete system simulation including the PV array, the direct current to direct current (DC-DC) converter and the MPPT is presented and tested using MATLAB software. The simulation results show that the MPPT algorithm works very well with the buck converter, while the boost converter needs further changes and implementation.

Global implications of standby power use

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lebot, Benoit; Meier, Alan; Anglade, Alain

2000-05-01

Separate studies indicate that standby power is responsible for 20-60 W per home in developed countries. Standby power is responsible for about 2% of OECD countries total electricity consumption and the related power generation generates almost 1% of their carbon emissions. Replacement of existing appliances with those appliances having the lowest standby would reduce total standby power consumption by over 70%. The resulting reductions in carbon emissions would meet over 3% of OECD's total Kyoto commitments. Other strategies may cut more carbon emissions, but standby power is unique in that the reductions are best accomplished through international collaboration and whose costs and large benefits would be spread over all countries.

Power and Relation in the World Polity: The INGO Network Country Score, 1978-1998

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Melanie M.; Peterson, Lindsey; Harrison, Jill Ann; Paxton, Pamela

2009-01-01

World polity theory is explicitly relational, implying a global network structure that exists outside of the nation-state. And world polity theory increasingly acknowledges power--that some states and regions are dominant in the international field. But current world polity measures of international non-governmental organizations do not…

Outlook for Global Nuclear Power: Energy, Electricity and Nuclear Power Estimates for the Period up to 2050

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gritsevskyi, A.

2016-01-01

Nuclear power's global expansion is projected to continue in the coming decades - albeit at a slowing pace - amid challenges including low fossil fuel prices, a sluggish world economy and the legacy of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi accident. Each year, the IAEA publishes projections of the world's nuclear power generating capacity in Energy, Electricity and Nuclear Power Estimates for the Period up to 2050, now in its 35th edition.The latest projections point to slower growth in nuclear power, in keeping with the trend since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident. The world's nuclear power generating capacity is projected to expand by 2.4 percent by 2030, according to the low projections, compared with 7.7 percent estimated in 2014. In the high case, generating capacity is estimated to grow by 68 percent by 2030, versus 88 percent forecast last year. Uncertainty related to energy policy, license renewals, shutdowns and future constructions accounts for the wide range.The estimates also factor in the likely future retirement of many of the world's 438 nuclear reactors currently in operation, more than half of which are over 30 years old. Despite the need to replace scores of retiring reactors, nuclear power is still set to maintain - and possibly increase - its role in the world's low-carbon energy mix. It's important to understand that these projections, while carefully derived, are not predictions.The estimates should be viewed as very general growth trends, whose validity must be constantly subjected to critical review.(author).

Hydroelectric power and global environmental problems: benefits and environmental impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chabot, B.

1992-01-01

The risk of global warming is one of the most serious global environmental problems. It is due to the increase of greenhouse gases emissions, mainly because of the use of fossil fuels in the energy sector, particularly for electricity generation. At an international level, experts now agree that measures are to be taken to reduce this risk. In the energy sector, an improvement of energy efficiency and an increase of nuclear electricity generation are often presented as the best available solutions. Renewable energy sources are often presented as a solution with a negligible potential impact, and sometimes, hydro power is even forgotten, or its coasts and its potential impacts on local environment are presented as an obstacle to its positive contribution to the reduction of global warming risk. Without denying the positive impacts of other solutions, this paper explains the possibilities and the benefits of an increased use of hydroelectric power, when implemented with a minimum impact on local environment and with a synergistic effect with the rational use of generated energy, in order to have access to a sustainable development. 19 refs., 6 figs

Global general relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Penrose, R.

1979-01-01

Much theoretical work in General Relativity has been concerned with finding explicit solutions of Einstein field equations. Exact solutions must involve simplifying procedures which in the case of strong gravitational fields may not be valid. Computers can help but complementary to these are the global qualitative mathematics that have been introduced into relativity over the past years. These have shown that Einstein's equations together with suitable inequalities on the energy-momentum tensor can lead inevitably to space-time singularities arising, provided that some qualitative geometric criterion is satisfied. It seems that in suitable situations of gravitational collapse this criterion will be satisfied. Similarly in a cosmological setting the criterion can be applied in the reverse direction in time. There is, however, the unsolved problem in general relativity of cosmic censorship and this is discussed as a consequence of Einstein's equations. (UK)

Legal Pluralism, Private Power, and the Impact of the Financial Crisis on the Global Political Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edward S. Cohen

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Private corporate actors have played a central role in the construction of the legal rules of globalized capitalism over the past four decades. In no sector has this been more true than in global finance, where private agents have reshaped the norms and practices of credit creation and allocation. The global financial crisis, however, has led many states to challenge aspects of this power and raised broader questions about the legitimacy and future of private power in the global legal order(s. In this paper, I argue that –while state actors have clawed back significant power in global finance– the specific powers of credit creation and allocation combined with the structural pull of transnational legal pluralism will enable major private financial institutions to retain substantial power in the face of these challenges and questions. In the process, I present some broad suggestion about how we can think about private power in the making of global commercial law. Durante las últimas cuatro décadas, actores corporativos privados han desempeñado un papel decisivo en la construcción de las normas legales del capitalismo globalizado. En ningún sector ha sido esto más cierto que en las finanzas globales, donde los agentes privados han reformado las normas y prácticas de la creación de crédito y asignación. La crisis financiera global, sin embargo, ha llevado a muchos estados a cuestionar aspectos de este poder y planteado cuestiones más amplias acerca de la legitimidad y el futuro del poder privado en el/los ordenamiento/s jurídico/s global/es. En este trabajo se sostiene que –mientras que los actores estatales han recuperado un poder significativo en las finanzas globales– los poderes específicos de la creación de crédito y asignación combinados con la fuerza estructural del pluralismo jurídico transnacional permitirán a las principales instituciones financieras privadas retener poder sustancial ante estos retos y preguntas

Bahrain and the global balance of power after the Arab spring

OpenAIRE

Andersen, Lars Erslev

2012-01-01

The global balance of power is changing, and the role of the US as the only superpower is being challenged by emerging new powers and a still more powerful China. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Persian Gulf. Two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and continually rising debt have meant that the position of the US has declined. At the same time, Asian states are increasing their economic expansion in the Persian Gulf. Increasing political influence, including a bigger role in hard security...

Current Trends in the Nuclear Power Global Market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariya Mikhailovna Osetskaya

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The review of the nuclear energy technologies market, namely the main processes of the initial and final stages of the nuclear fuel cycle (NTC was shown. The authors reveal key players in the markets of natural uranium mining, conversion, enrichment, fabrication of nuclear fuel, direct disposal, and reprocessing as well as determine their market shares. The article shows the fundamental factors influencing the development trends of the global nuclear power market such as: units’ commissioning in China, India, the Republic of Korea and other countries, the restart of the Japanese nuclear power plants, growth of uranium supplies long-term contracting planned for the period up to 2025, volatility of world prices of the NFC initial and final stages, political, economic and environmental reasons for the nuclear power generation choice. The article presents the results of analyses of Russian and world prices on the NFC initial and final stages main processes’ allowing to draw a conclusion about the current competitiveness of Russian nuclear energy technologies

Global Health Governance and Global Power: A Critical Commentary on the Lancet-University of Oslo Commission Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, Stephen; Benatar, Solomon

2016-01-01

The Lancet-University of Oslo Commission Report on Global Governance for Health provides an insightful analysis of the global health inequalities that result from transnational activities consequent on what the authors call contemporary "global social norms." Our critique is that the analysis and suggested reforms to prevailing institutions and practices are confined within the perspective of the dominant-although unsustainable and inequitable-market-oriented, neoliberal development model of global capitalism. Consequently, the report both elides critical discussion of many key forms of material and political power under conditions of neoliberal development and governance that shape the nature and priorities of the global governance for health, and fails to point to the extent of changes required to sustainably improve global health. We propose that an alternative concept of progress-one grounded in history, political economy, and ecologically responsible health ethics-is sorely needed to better address challenges of global health governance in the new millennium. This might be premised on global solidarity and the "development of sustainability." We argue that the prevailing market civilization model that lies at the heart of global capitalism is being, and will further need to be, contested to avoid contradictions and dislocations associated with the commodification and privatization of health. © The Author(s) 2016.

Global income related health inequalities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jalil Safaei

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Income related health inequalities have been estimated for various groups of individuals at local, state, or national levels. Almost all of theses estimates are based on individual data from sample surveys. Lack of consistent individual data worldwide has prevented estimates of international income related health inequalities. This paper uses the (population weighted aggregate data available from many countries around the world to estimate worldwide income related health inequalities. Since the intra-country inequalities are subdued by the aggregate nature of the data, the estimates would be those of the inter-country or international health inequalities. As well, the study estimates the contribution of major socioeconomic variables to the overall health inequalities. The findings of the study strongly support the existence of worldwide income related health inequalities that favor the higher income countries. Decompositions of health inequalities identify inequalities in both the level and distribution of income as the main source of health inequality along with inequalities in education and degree of urbanization as other contributing determinants. Since income related health inequalities are preventable, policies to reduce the income gaps between the poor and rich nations could greatly improve the health of hundreds of millions of people and promote global justice. Keywords: global, income, health inequality, socioeconomic determinants of health

Awareness structure of the people with opinion that nuclear power is effective for preventing global warming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukae, Chiyokazu

2006-01-01

Most of people think that nuclear power generation is not effective for preventing global warming. In this research, the reason why people think so was investigated with using questionnaire survey. As a result, the misunderstanding, the thermal effluent and radioactive substance etc. produced from a nuclear plant promotes global warming, has influenced on this issue. People have negative image against nuclear power in the background of this idea. This negative image is a factor to decrease the evaluation that nuclear power is useful for preventing global warming regardless of the presence of the misunderstanding. By the fear that the accident of the nuclear plant brings the environmental destruction, people evaluate that nuclear power doesn't have the capabilities for environmental preservation. Especially young people have such awareness. It is necessary to learn energy and environmental issues including the merits and demerits of nuclear power objectively in the academic training. (author)

Power and Politics in the Global Health Landscape: Beliefs, Competition and Negotiation Among Global Advocacy Coalitions in the Policy-Making Process

Science.gov (United States)

McDougall, Lori

2016-01-01

Background: Advocacy coalitions play an increasingly prominent role within the global health landscape, linking actors and institutions to attract political attention and resources. This paper examines how coalitions negotiate among themselves and exercise hidden forms of power to produce policy on the basis of their beliefs and strategic interests. Methods: This paper examines the beliefs and behaviours of health advocacy coalitions using Sabatier’s Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) as an informal theoretical lens. Coalitions are further explored in relation to the concept of transnational advocacy networks (Keck and Sikkink) and of productive power (Shiffman). The ACF focuses on explaining how policy change takes place when there is conflict concerning goals and technical approaches among different actors. This study uses participant observation methods, self-reported survey results and semi-structured qualitative interviews to trace how a major policy project of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) era, the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, was constructed through negotiations among maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) advocacy coalitions. Results: The Global Strategy represented a new opportunity for high-level political attention. Despite differing policy beliefs, MNCH and SRHR actors collaborated to produce this strategy because of anticipated gains in political attention. While core beliefs did not shift fundamentally and collaboration was primarily a short-term tactical response to a time-bound opportunity, MNCH actors began to focus more on human rights perspectives and SRHR actors adopted greater use of quantifiable indicators and economic argumentation. This shift emphasises the inherent importance of SRHR to maternal and child health survival. Conclusion: As opportunities arise, coalitions respond based on principles and policy beliefs, as well as to perceptions of

Power and Politics in the Global Health Landscape: Beliefs, Competition and Negotiation Among Global Advocacy Coalitions in the Policy-Making Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lori McDougall

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background Advocacy coalitions play an increasingly prominent role within the global health landscape, linking actors and institutions to attract political attention and resources. This paper examines how coalitions negotiate among themselves and exercise hidden forms of power to produce policy on the basis of their beliefs and strategic interests. Methods This paper examines the beliefs and behaviours of health advocacy coalitions using Sabatier’s Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF as an informal theoretical lens. Coalitions are further explored in relation to the concept of transnational advocacy networks (Keck and Sikkink and of productive power (Shiffman. The ACF focuses on explaining how policy change takes place when there is conflict concerning goals and technical approaches among different actors. This study uses participant observation methods, self-reported survey results and semistructured qualitative interviews to trace how a major policy project of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG era, the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, was constructed through negotiations among maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR advocacy coalitions. Results The Global Strategy represented a new opportunity for high-level political attention. Despite differing policy beliefs, MNCH and SRHR actors collaborated to produce this strategy because of anticipated gains in political attention. While core beliefs did not shift fundamentally and collaboration was primarily a short-term tactical response to a time-bound opportunity, MNCH actors began to focus more on human rights perspectives and SRHR actors adopted greater use of quantifiable indicators and economic argumentation. This shift emphasises the inherent importance of SRHR to maternal and child health survival. Conclusion As opportunities arise, coalitions respond based on principles and policy beliefs, as well as to perceptions

Power and Politics in the Global Health Landscape: Beliefs, Competition and Negotiation Among Global Advocacy Coalitions in the Policy-Making Process.

Science.gov (United States)

McDougall, Lori

2016-01-30

Advocacy coalitions play an increasingly prominent role within the global health landscape, linking actors and institutions to attract political attention and resources. This paper examines how coalitions negotiate among themselves and exercise hidden forms of power to produce policy on the basis of their beliefs and strategic interests. This paper examines the beliefs and behaviours of health advocacy coalitions using Sabatier's Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) as an informal theoretical lens. Coalitions are further explored in relation to the concept of transnational advocacy networks (Keck and Sikkink) and of productive power (Shiffman). The ACF focuses on explaining how policy change takes place when there is conflict concerning goals and technical approaches among different actors. This study uses participant observation methods, self-reported survey results and semi-structured qualitative interviews to trace how a major policy project of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) era, the Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health, was constructed through negotiations among maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) advocacy coalitions. The Global Strategy represented a new opportunity for high-level political attention. Despite differing policy beliefs, MNCH and SRHR actors collaborated to produce this strategy because of anticipated gains in political attention. While core beliefs did not shift fundamentally and collaboration was primarily a short-term tactical response to a time-bound opportunity, MNCH actors began to focus more on human rights perspectives and SRHR actors adopted greater use of quantifiable indicators and economic argumentation. This shift emphasises the inherent importance of SRHR to maternal and child health survival. As opportunities arise, coalitions respond based on principles and policy beliefs, as well as to perceptions of advantage. Global health policy-making is an arena of

Globalization and State–Society Relations in Africa

African Journals Online (AJOL)

sulaiman.adebowale

2008-10-20

Oct 20, 2008 ... Department of African and African American Studies, Pennsylvania State .... higher taxes and state provision of greater public services (Findlay and Wellisz ... the impacts of new globalization on state–society relations in Africa is placed ... In any case, the experience of Africa's incorporation into the global.

Rents, Power and Governance in Global Value Chains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dennis Davis

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses the  generation  of  rents  and  the  distribution  of  gains  in  the  global  operations  of  governed Global  Value  Chains  (GVCs  and  seeks  to  provide  an  architecture  for  analyzing  the  governance  of  GVCs.  It distinguishes between four sets of rent—gifts of nature; innovation rents; exogenously defined rents; and market power—and three spheres of governance—setting the rules -“legislative governance”; implementing the rules -“executive governance”; and monitoring rules and sanctioning malfeasance -“judicial governance.” The exercise of governance power in GVCs over the generation, protection and appropriation of rents is considered though the lens of four sets of key GVC stakeholders—the corporate sector, civil society organizations, the nation state and supranational institutions. This general analysis is given flesh through three case studies: food-safety standards in GVCs; taxation  policies  and  competition  policies.  In these  sectors,  the  corporate  sector  is  generally  much  more effective in governing rent generation and appropriation in the global operations of GVCs than are the three sets of  non-corporate  stakeholders.  From this  observation  we  offer  a  hypothesis  that  the  capacity  of  non-corporate stakeholders, including national states, to govern GVCs is contingent upon the extent to which this coincides with the interest of the corporate sector. However, as noted, this balance of power between private and non-corporate actors is a contested terrain and dynamic in nature.

Global status of nuclear power and the needed human resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernido, Corazon C.

2009-01-01

According to projections of the OECD/IEA, the world energy demand will expand by 45% from now until 2030, with coal accounting for more than a third of the overall rise. To reduce greenhouse gases and mitigate climate change, many countries are resorting to renewables and nuclear power. Some statistics about nuclear energy in the global energy mix and about nuclear power plants worldwide, as well as the energy situation in the country are presented. According to sources from the Department of Energy on the Philippine Energy Plan, nuclear power is a long-term energy option and will likely enter the energy mix by 2025. Preparation of the infrastructure for nuclear power has to start ten to fifteen years before the first plant comes online. The needed human resources, the education and training required are present. (Author)

Global warming and nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hodgson, P.E.

1999-01-01

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is steadily increasing and it is widely believed that this will lead to global warming that will have serious consequences for life on earth. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has estimated that the temperature of the earth will increase by between 1 and 3.5 degrees in the next century. This will melt some of the Antarctic ice cap, raise the sea level and flood many low-lying countries, and also produce unpredictable changes in the earth's climate. The possible ways of reducing carbon dioxide emission are discussed. It is essential to reduce the burning of fossil fuels, but then how are we to obtain the energy we need? We can try to reduce energy use, but we will still need to generate large amounts energy. Some possible ways of doing this are by using wind and solar generators, by hydroelectric and tidal plants, and also by nuclear power. These possibilities will be critically examined. (author)

Global warming and nuclear power

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hodgson, P.E. [Nuclear and Particle Physics Laboratory, Department of Physics, Oxford Univ., Oxford (United Kingdom)

1999-09-01

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is steadily increasing and it is widely believed that this will lead to global warming that will have serious consequences for life on earth. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has estimated that the temperature of the earth will increase by between 1 and 3.5 degrees in the next century. This will melt some of the Antarctic ice cap, raise the sea level and flood many low-lying countries, and also produce unpredictable changes in the earth's climate. The possible ways of reducing carbon dioxide emission are discussed. It is essential to reduce the burning of fossil fuels, but then how are we to obtain the energy we need? We can try to reduce energy use, but we will still need to generate large amounts energy. Some possible ways of doing this are by using wind and solar generators, by hydroelectric and tidal plants, and also by nuclear power. These possibilities will be critically examined. (author)

Global radioxenon emission inventory based on nuclear power reactor reports.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalinowski, Martin B; Tuma, Matthias P

2009-01-01

Atmospheric radioactivity is monitored for the verification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, with xenon isotopes 131mXe, 133Xe, 133mXe and 135Xe serving as important indicators of nuclear explosions. The treaty-relevant interpretation of atmospheric concentrations of radioxenon is enhanced by quantifying radioxenon emissions released from civilian facilities. This paper presents the first global radioxenon emission inventory for nuclear power plants, based on North American and European emission reports for the years 1995-2005. Estimations were made for all power plant sites for which emission data were unavailable. According to this inventory, a total of 1.3PBq of radioxenon isotopes are released by nuclear power plants as continuous or pulsed emissions in a generic year.

Roles of nuclear power system in the presence of uncertainties from global warming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiriyama, Eriko; Iwata, Shuichi

2005-01-01

Environmental 'bads' like carbon dioxide are not simply incorporated in the market system. The costs involved, however, do not really reflect the inherent value of the environment, or what it is worth to them. This study focuses on the uncertainty of CO 2 emission credits. Assigning economic values to environmental goods and services is complex, but it is an area that is receiving considerable attention from environmental economists. The purpose of this study is to analyze the value of an investment in power generation assets that do not emit CO 2 . To deal with the CO 2 emission credit, we built new models based on the real option model by Pindyck (2000). In the modern, market-based financial systems that dominate the global economy, the value of a resource is represented by the price that an individual or a group is willing to pay for it. Managing CO 2 emission limitations will be a critical aspect of power generation systems. And it will be increasingly so as the emphasis on global environmental issues continues to rise. In order to secure the effectiveness of measures against global warming, we should reconsider the role of nuclear power systems. (author)

The World Bank, Support for Universities, and Asymmetrical Power Relations in International Development

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Christopher S.; Rhoads, Robert A.

2010-01-01

This article examines the role of the World Bank in advancing higher education sectors in the developing world, considering in particular the increasing power and strength of a global knowledge-based economy. Given the powerful role that intergovernmental organizations such as the World Bank play in shaping global economic policies, the authors…

Social power and approach-related neural activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Boksem, Maarten A S; Smolders, Ruud; De Cremer, David

2012-06-01

It has been argued that power activates a general tendency to approach whereas powerlessness activates a tendency to inhibit. The assumption is that elevated power involves reward-rich environments, freedom and, as a consequence, triggers an approach-related motivational orientation and attention to rewards. In contrast, reduced power is associated with increased threat, punishment and social constraint and thereby activates inhibition-related motivation. Moreover, approach motivation has been found to be associated with increased relative left-sided frontal brain activity, while withdrawal motivation has been associated with increased right sided activations. We measured EEG activity while subjects engaged in a task priming either high or low social power. Results show that high social power is indeed associated with greater left-frontal brain activity compared to low social power, providing the first neural evidence for the theory that high power is associated with approach-related motivation. We propose a framework accounting for differences in both approach motivation and goal-directed behaviour associated with different levels of power.

Global health-related publications in otolaryngology are increasing.

Science.gov (United States)

Chambers, Kyle J; Creighton, Francis; Abdul-Aziz, Dunia; Cheney, Mack; Randolph, Gregory W

2015-04-01

Determine trends in global health-related publication in otolaryngology. A review of research databases. A search of publications available on PubMed and nine additional databases was undertaken reviewing two time periods 10 years apart for the timeframes 1998 to 2002 (early time period) and 2008 to 2012 (recent time period) using specific search terms to identify global health-related publications in otolaryngology. Publications were examined for region of origin, subspecialty, type of publication, and evidence of international collaboration. χ and t test analyses were used to identify trends. In the 1998 to 2002 time period, a total of 26 publications met inclusion criteria for the study, with a mean of 5.2 ± 2.8 publications per year. In the 2008 to 2012 time period, a total of 61 publications met inclusion criteria, with a mean of 12.3 ± 5.6 publications per year. The 235% increase in global health-related publications identified between the two study periods was statistically significant (P = .02). The absolute number of publications in which collaboration occurred between countries increased from three in the early time period to nine the recent time period. There has been a significant increase in the volume of global health-related publications in English language otolaryngology journals over the past decade, providing strong evidence of the increasing trend of global health as an academic pursuit within the field of otolaryngology. © 2014 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

The future of nuclear power worldwide and the role of the global nuclear energy partnership

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spurgeon, D.R.

2008-01-01

This presentation is entitled, 'The Future of Nuclear Power Worldwide and the Role of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership', and the core message in one sentence is: When we look at the challenges of meeting our growing energy demands, providing for energy security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we must conclude that nuclear power has to play a significant and growing role in meeting these challenges. Similarly, the mission of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership is to foster the safe and secure worldwide expansion of nuclear energy. GNEP comes at a crucial time in the burgeoning expansion of nuclear power. It is the only comprehensive proposal to close the nuclear fuel cycle in the United States, and engage the international community to minimize proliferation risks as well as provide and benefit from cooperation in policy formation, technical support, and technology and infrastructure development. Nuclear power's poised renaissance is encouraging, but it will require public support, expanded R and D activities and facilities, and increases in human capital needed for wide-scale construction and operation of new nuclear plants. Despite recent political currents, Germany can, too, become a part of this renaissance and become a full partner in the global partnership that shares a common vision for nuclear power's expansion. (orig.)

The Global Society and Its Impact on Public Relations Theorizing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Valentini, Chiara; Kruckeberg, Dean; Starck, Kenneth

2016-01-01

This article contributes to the discussion on societal changes and their impact on communication disciplines by focusing on public relations and its role in contemporary global society. The thesis is that public relations profession has been affected by contemporary societal changes that challenge...... the existing body of knowledge and its underpinning theories. To understand the role of public relations in the 21st Century global societies and pursue future public relations theorizing, the authors argue it is paramount to comprehend which factors at macro, meso, and micro levels lie beneath the substantial...... changes in today’s global society. The article presents and reflects on four major macro trends of contemporary global society and concludes with suggestions for future directions for public relations scholarship and practice that are rooted in the concept of community and the idea of being part...

Gender and globalization. A century in retrospect.

Science.gov (United States)

Chinkin, C

2000-01-01

In the past, power structures of the nation-State have been organized around patriarchal assumptions, granting men monopoly over power, authority, and wealth. A number of structures have been erected to achieve this imbalance, which have disguised its inequity by making it appear as natural and universal. However, with globalization, this centralization of power within the Sovereign State has been fragmented. Although globalization opens up new spaces by weakening the nation-State, subsequently making possible the undermining of traditional gender hierarchies and devising new bases for gender relations, the reality that the State is no longer the sole institution that can define identity and belonging within it has denied women the space to assert their own claims to gendered self-determination. In this regard, globalization has impacted upon gender relations in complex and contradictory ways. This paper discusses such impacts of globalization on gender relations. Overall, it has become apparent that forms of inequality still exist regardless of a State's prevailing political ideology. Their manifestations may differ, but the reality of women's subordination remains constant.

Global power production scenarios to 2100 and the dual role of forests: accelerated climate damage or regulating and provisioning ecosystem services?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Callesen, Ingeborg

The worlds' electrical power production is depending on the current energy infrastructure, and future investments in new power supply facilities using renewable and non-renewable energy sources. Continued growth in power production in the 21st century will cause global environmental change (GEC......). GEC with climate change as an important driver will affect the environment and the economy in multiple ways that can be summarized as losses of biodiversity and changing ecosystem services (ES), but with very diverse temporal and spatial impacts. In a simple global growth model for power production......, including non-renewable and renewable energy sources, the potential role of forest biomass is investigated. The demands for forest ecosystem services imposed by the global power production are assessed in the present study. Three global power supply scenarios to 2050 with different emphasis...

Researcher/Researched: Relations of Vulnerability/Relations of Power

Science.gov (United States)

Huckaby, M. Francyne

2011-01-01

Turning to reflexive journals and fieldnotes, the author reconsiders Foucault's "relations of power" through her experiences with five research participants, who are professors of education. The paper explores: (1) the translation of Foucault for an analysis of power; (2) the dynamics of researching up and analyzing from below; and (3) the…

Problem free nuclear power and global change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teller, E.; Wood, L.; Nuckolls, J.; Ishikawa, M.; Hyde, R.

1997-01-01

Nuclear fission power reactors represent a solution-in-principle to all aspects of global change possibly induced by inputting of either particulate or carbon or sulfur oxides into the Earth's atmosphere. Of proven technological feasibility, they presently produce high- grade heat for electricity generation, space heating and industrial process-driving around the world, without emitting greenhouse gases or atmospheric particulates. However, a substantial number of major issues currently stand between nuclear power implemented with light- water reactors and widespread substitution for large stationary fossil fuel-fired systems, including long-term fuel supply, adverse public perceptions regarding both long-term and acute operational safety, plant decommissioning, fuel reprocessing, radwaste disposal, fissile materials diversion to military purposes and - perhaps more seriously - cost. We describe a GW-scale, high-temperature nuclear reactor heat source that can operate with no human intervention for a few decades and that may be widely acceptable, since its safety features are simple, inexpensive and easily understood. We provide first-level details of a reactor system designed to satisfy these requirements. Such a back-solving approach to realizing large-scale nuclear fission power systems potentially leads to an energy source capable of meeting all large-scale stationary demands for high- temperature heat. If widely employed to support such demands, it could, for example, directly reduce present-day world-wide CO 2 emissions by two-fold; by using it to produce non-carbonaceous fuels for small mobile demands, a second two-fold reduction could be attained. Even the first such reduction would permit continued slow power-demand growth in the First World and rapid development of the Third World, both without any governmental suppression of fossil fuel usage

Relative Power in Sibling Relationships Across Adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindell, Anna K; Campione-Barr, Nicole

2017-06-01

During childhood, older siblings typically hold a more powerful position in their relationship with their younger siblings, but these relationships are thought to become more egalitarian during adolescence as siblings begin to prepare for their relationships as adults and as younger siblings become more socially and cognitively competent. Little is known about relationship factors that may explain this shift in power dynamics, however. The present study therefore examined longitudinal changes in adolescents' and their siblings' perceptions of sibling relative power from age 12 to 18 (n = 145 dyads), and examined whether different levels of sibling relationship positivity and negativity, as well as sibling structural variables, indicated different over-time changes in relative power. Multilevel models indicated that adolescents reported significant declines in their siblings' relative power across adolescence, with older siblings relinquishing the most power over time. However, only siblings with less positively involved relationships reported declines in relative power, suggesting that siblings who maintain highly involved relationships may not become more egalitarian during adolescence. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Security as a Power Element within Contemporary International Relations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabor Gabriel

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Today, more than ever, in a globalized and constantly changing world, Europe has to face new stakes and challenges. The globalization, climate change, power supply and the new threats to security are challenges that Europe of the XXIst century has to cope with. The early XXIst century coincides with a new era in the international politics, the future evolution of the worls and the new international order, with the economy and security being the central spots.

Power Relations: Their Embodiment in Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Florczak, Kristine L

2016-07-01

The purpose of this column is to consider the notion of power in research. To that end, the idea of power is considered from the perspective of philosophy and then linked to a nursing concept analysis that compares the differences between power over and power to. Then, the nature of power relations is compared and contrasted between quantitative and qualitative methodologies. © The Author(s) 2016.

How Global is Global Civil Society?

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Neera Chandhoke

2015-08-01

Full Text Available In recent times the concept of global civil society has made its appearance on national and international intellectual, as well as political agendas, in a major way. It is of some interest that two other concepts, both of which call for transcendence of national boundaries in precisely the same way as global civil society does, have also made their appearance on the scene of intellectual debates at roughly the same time: the concept of cosmopolitanism and that of transnational justice. All three concepts have dramatically expanded the notion of commitment to one’s fellow beings beyond the nation state. And all three concepts have extended critiques of policies that violate the dignity of human beings from national governments to the practices of inter-national institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Forum. In sum the inter-related concepts of global civil society, cosmopolitanism, and transnational justice have greatly enlarged the traditional domain of political theory. And yet for any political theorist who is acutely conscious of the phenomenon of power, these concepts are not unproblematic. For the practices of global civil society may just reinforce the intellectual and the moral power of the West over the postcolonial world. This is particularly true of say global human rights organizations. This paper will attempt to raise some questions of the concept and the practices of global civil society from the perspective of the countries of the South.

State strategies of governance in biomedical innovation: aligning conceptual approaches for understanding 'Rising Powers' in the global context

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Faulkner Alex

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background 'Innovation' has become a policy focus in its own right in many states as they compete to position themselves in the emerging knowledge economies. Innovation in biomedicine is a global enterprise in which 'Rising Power' states figure prominently, and which undoubtedly will re-shape health systems and health economies globally. Scientific and technological innovation processes and policies raise difficult issues in the domains of science/technology, civil society, and the economic and healthcare marketplace. The production of knowledge in these fields is complex, uncertain, inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional, and subject to a continuing political struggle for advantage. As part of this struggle, a wide variety of issues - regulation, intellectual property, ethics, scientific boundaries, healthcare market formation - are raised and policy agendas negotiated. Methods A range of social science disciplines and approaches have conceptualised such innovation processes. Against a background of concepts such as the competition state and the developmental state, and national innovation systems, we give an overview of a range of approaches that have potential for advancing understanding of governance of global life science and biomedical innovation, with special reference to the 'Rising Powers', in order to examine convergences and divergences between them. Conceptual approaches that we focus on include those drawn from political science/political economy, sociology of technology; Innovation Studies and Science & Technology Studies. The paper is part of a project supported by the UK ESRC's Rising Powers programme. Results We show convergences and complementarities between the approaches discussed, and argue that the role of the national state itself has become relatively neglected in much of the relevant theorising. Conclusions We conclude that an approach is required that enables innovation and governance to be seen as 'co

State strategies of governance in biomedical innovation: aligning conceptual approaches for understanding 'Rising Powers' in the global context

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background 'Innovation' has become a policy focus in its own right in many states as they compete to position themselves in the emerging knowledge economies. Innovation in biomedicine is a global enterprise in which 'Rising Power' states figure prominently, and which undoubtedly will re-shape health systems and health economies globally. Scientific and technological innovation processes and policies raise difficult issues in the domains of science/technology, civil society, and the economic and healthcare marketplace. The production of knowledge in these fields is complex, uncertain, inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional, and subject to a continuing political struggle for advantage. As part of this struggle, a wide variety of issues - regulation, intellectual property, ethics, scientific boundaries, healthcare market formation - are raised and policy agendas negotiated. Methods A range of social science disciplines and approaches have conceptualised such innovation processes. Against a background of concepts such as the competition state and the developmental state, and national innovation systems, we give an overview of a range of approaches that have potential for advancing understanding of governance of global life science and biomedical innovation, with special reference to the 'Rising Powers', in order to examine convergences and divergences between them. Conceptual approaches that we focus on include those drawn from political science/political economy, sociology of technology; Innovation Studies and Science & Technology Studies. The paper is part of a project supported by the UK ESRC's Rising Powers programme. Results We show convergences and complementarities between the approaches discussed, and argue that the role of the national state itself has become relatively neglected in much of the relevant theorising. Conclusions We conclude that an approach is required that enables innovation and governance to be seen as 'co-producing' each other in a multi

Inter-firm relations in global manufacturing: disintegrated production and its globalization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Herrigel, G.; Zeitlin, J.; Morgan, G.; Campbell, J.; Crouch, C.; Pedersen, O.K.; Whitley, R.

2010-01-01

This chapter surveys the state of international scholarly debate on inter-firm relations in global manufacturing. It focuses on the evolving strategies of customers and suppliers within the value chains of core manufacturing industries, such as motor vehicles and complex mechanical engineering

China's power policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mayer, M.

2006-01-01

Whether the People's Republic of China may develop to an economical super-government in future depends on the amount of power and resources of this land. The security of power supply is in an extremely prominent position in the Agenda of the Chinese government. Under this aspect the author of the contribution under consideration reports on the power policy of China. The main aspects of this contribution are: (a) Trends of power consumption, productions and imports of power; (b) Power political targets, measures and instruments of China; (c) Characteristics, national and international impacts of the power policy of China. Due to the economical activities of the chinese oil industry worldwide as well as due to the increasing dependence from imports of petroleum and natural oil, China becomes a global player. Thus, one may expect an intensification of Beijing's economical activities with an increased military component. Nevertheless, the power policy of China is an important factor in the global competition according to fossil resources. In order to understand the future behaviour of China's power policy, one may have to take notice of the strategies relating the power policy and relating to foreign affairs. Furthermore, trends and problematic areas concerning the securitization of the power supply in the national area have to be observed

Social power and approach-related neural activity

OpenAIRE

Boksem, Maarten; Smolders, Ruud; Cremer, David

2009-01-01

textabstractIt has been argued that power activates a general tendency to approach whereas powerlessness activates a tendency to inhibit. The assumption is that elevated power involves reward-rich environments, freedom and, as a consequence, triggers an approach-related motivational orientation and attention to rewards. In contrast, reduced power is associated with increased threat, punishment and social constraint and thereby activates inhibition-related motivation. Moreover, approach motiva...

Solidarity and Recognition: Geographies of Counter-globalism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James Goodman

2006-02-01

Full Text Available Globalism is a contested concept, but perhaps best understood as a spatial strategy, which disempowers those unable to transcend the fixity of place and social context. Under globalism fluidity becomes a key source of power, enabling the powerful to liquefy assets, to disembed, and thereby displace, political, social or ecological impacts. The infrastructures of globalism enable the disembodied extension of power across territory, to the extent that one model, universally applicable for all societies, is positioned as supreme. The only possible challenge to globalism perhaps, is through a similarly disembedded counter-movement, that mirrors the global reach and power of mainstream globalism. The praxis of counter-globalist movements suggests a different tendency, one that centres on the assertion of particularity against universality. Expressed in the legitimacy of ‘many worlds’ against ‘one world’ globalism, such resistance centres on exposing the material effects and foregrounding concrete and material experiences of globalism. Movements mobilise against the disembodied logic of globalism on the basis of co-presence and inter-subjectivity, and are embedded in relational concepts of selfhood. They are often intensely embodied and are radically emplaced through militant localism and trans-local dialogue. Counter-globalism thus does not seek to defeat geography; rather it embraces it, as the starting-point of mobilisation. The starting point of this article is thus to analyse globalism as a spatial strategy, a strategy of displacement grounded in material power. Globalism thus signifies the capacity to exploit and dominate at distance, from the sanctity of corporate boardrooms, military briefings and media cutting rooms. The claim is to universal market, military and normative power, but the impact is of extended and deepened division. Centres of power appear more as islands, or enclaves, defined against the backwash effects of counter-globalism

Hydroclimatic risks and uncertainty in the global power sector

Science.gov (United States)

Gidden, Matthew; Byers, Edward; Greve, Peter; Kahil, Taher; Parkinson, Simon; Raptis, Catherine; Rogelj, Joeri; Satoh, Yusuke; van Vliet, Michelle; Wada, Yoshide; Krey, Volker; Langan, Simon; Riahi, Keywan

2017-04-01

Approximately 80% of the world's electricity supply depends on reliable water resources. Thermoelectric and hydropower plants have been impacted by low flows and floods in recent years, notably in the US, Brazil, France, and China, amongst other countries. The dependence on reliable flows imputes a large vulnerability to the electricity supply system due to hydrological variability and the impacts of climate change. Using an updated dataset of global electricity capacity with global climate and hydrological data from the ISI-MIP project, we present an overview analysis of power sector vulnerability to hydroclimatic risks, including low river flows and peak flows. We show how electricity generation in individual countries and transboundary river basins can be impacted, helping decision-makers identify key at-risk geographical regions. Furthermore, our use of a multi-model ensemble of climate and hydrological models allows us to quantify the uncertainty of projected impacts, such that basin-level risks and uncertainty can be compared.

IAEA’s Perspectives on Global Nuclear Power – Opportunities and Challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, J.K.

2014-01-01

Status of global nuclear power: 437 reactors in operation (374.5 GWe); 2 reactors in long-term shutdown; 149 reactors in permanent shutdown; 70 reactors under construction. [As of Sep. 2014] Latest connections to the grid: - Ningde-2, 1000 MW(e), PWR, China; - Atucha-2, 692 MW(e), PHWR, Argentina; - Fuqing-1, 1000 MW(e), PWR, China). [Website: http://www.iaea.org/pris/]. IAEA projections of nuclear power: • Sep. 2014: 374.5 GWe; • 2030 - low 400.6 GWe: 7.0% increase; - high 699.2 GWe: 86.7% increase; • 2050 - low 412.9 GWe: 10.3% increase; - high 1091.7 GWe: 191.5% increase

Global warming and oil: Can nuclear power make a difference?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bodansky, D.

1991-01-01

A responsible energy policy, for the United States and the world, must address two needs: to restrain the rate of fossil fuel consumption, and to reduce the consumption of oil. Unless the first is accomplished, the world may experience major climate changes, some perhaps disastrous, from the buildup of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Unless the second is met, we face recurring threats of economic disruption and war, due to the dangerous concentration of the world's oil resources in the Persian Gulf region. Nuclear power has long been cited as a possible answer to these needs. Mr. Bodansky takes a fresh look at the contribution nuclear power could make, in the light of our increased awareness of global warming dangers and the renewed reminders of the instabilities of oil markets. He notes, however, that the basic objections to nuclear power remain. They are well-known, stemming from concerns about reactor safety, waste disposal, nuclear proliferation, and cost. These are old but continuing controversies, involving a tangle of technical, political, social, and economic issues. If nuclear power is to be revived, these concerns clearly must be addressed. 1 fig., 7 tabs

Steady-state global optimization of metabolic non-linear dynamic models through recasting into power-law canonical models.

Science.gov (United States)

Pozo, Carlos; Marín-Sanguino, Alberto; Alves, Rui; Guillén-Gosálbez, Gonzalo; Jiménez, Laureano; Sorribas, Albert

2011-08-25

Design of newly engineered microbial strains for biotechnological purposes would greatly benefit from the development of realistic mathematical models for the processes to be optimized. Such models can then be analyzed and, with the development and application of appropriate optimization techniques, one could identify the modifications that need to be made to the organism in order to achieve the desired biotechnological goal. As appropriate models to perform such an analysis are necessarily non-linear and typically non-convex, finding their global optimum is a challenging task. Canonical modeling techniques, such as Generalized Mass Action (GMA) models based on the power-law formalism, offer a possible solution to this problem because they have a mathematical structure that enables the development of specific algorithms for global optimization. Based on the GMA canonical representation, we have developed in previous works a highly efficient optimization algorithm and a set of related strategies for understanding the evolution of adaptive responses in cellular metabolism. Here, we explore the possibility of recasting kinetic non-linear models into an equivalent GMA model, so that global optimization on the recast GMA model can be performed. With this technique, optimization is greatly facilitated and the results are transposable to the original non-linear problem. This procedure is straightforward for a particular class of non-linear models known as Saturable and Cooperative (SC) models that extend the power-law formalism to deal with saturation and cooperativity. Our results show that recasting non-linear kinetic models into GMA models is indeed an appropriate strategy that helps overcoming some of the numerical difficulties that arise during the global optimization task.

Steady-state global optimization of metabolic non-linear dynamic models through recasting into power-law canonical models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sorribas Albert

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Design of newly engineered microbial strains for biotechnological purposes would greatly benefit from the development of realistic mathematical models for the processes to be optimized. Such models can then be analyzed and, with the development and application of appropriate optimization techniques, one could identify the modifications that need to be made to the organism in order to achieve the desired biotechnological goal. As appropriate models to perform such an analysis are necessarily non-linear and typically non-convex, finding their global optimum is a challenging task. Canonical modeling techniques, such as Generalized Mass Action (GMA models based on the power-law formalism, offer a possible solution to this problem because they have a mathematical structure that enables the development of specific algorithms for global optimization. Results Based on the GMA canonical representation, we have developed in previous works a highly efficient optimization algorithm and a set of related strategies for understanding the evolution of adaptive responses in cellular metabolism. Here, we explore the possibility of recasting kinetic non-linear models into an equivalent GMA model, so that global optimization on the recast GMA model can be performed. With this technique, optimization is greatly facilitated and the results are transposable to the original non-linear problem. This procedure is straightforward for a particular class of non-linear models known as Saturable and Cooperative (SC models that extend the power-law formalism to deal with saturation and cooperativity. Conclusions Our results show that recasting non-linear kinetic models into GMA models is indeed an appropriate strategy that helps overcoming some of the numerical difficulties that arise during the global optimization task.

Emerging middle powers and global security challenges: the case of Brazil and Turkey - implications for Portugal

OpenAIRE

Balla, Evanthia

2012-01-01

Today's global order fundamentally differs from the one of classic multipolarity, Cold War bipolarity or post Cold War unipolarity. There are many emerging powers and many no nation-states entities with powers. Yet, the world seems to slowly adjusting to these new realities.

Relations entre tectonique globale et déformations intraplaques Relations Between Global Tectonics and Intraplate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Poulet M.

2006-11-01

Full Text Available C'est dans le domaine continental intraplaque que les applications de la tectonique globale intéressent le plus les géologues pétroliers mais c'est aussi dans ce domaine que sa réalité est la plus difficile à percevoir. Après un bref rappel des concepts de base de la tectonique globale et de la structure de la lithosphère, on fait le point des connaissances acquises à ce jour sur les principaux paramètres intervenant lors des déformations intraplaques - les déplacements absolus des plaques qui conditionnent les relations entre phénomènes profonds et déformations de surface ; - les hétérogénéités de la croûte terrestre qui introduisent des déséquilibres mécaniques - dissymétrie de structure des marges stables, - variations d'épaisseur et de composition chimique de la croûte continentale, - modifications des charges lithostatiques par sédimentation ou érosion. - les phénomènes thermiques qui n'apparaissent pas, sauf pour les marges stables, directement en relation avec la tectonique globale mais avec la géométrie de la lithosphère continentale mal connue à ce jour; - les forces motrices ou résistantes responsables du mouvement des plaques c'est en réalité l'étude des déformations actuelles qui doit permettre de tester la validité des mécanismes proposés par la tectonique globale. Ces mécanismes, une fois établis, permettront une meilleure compréhension des déformations passées affectant le sédimentaire dans la mesure où l'on tient compte des hétérogénéités anciennes du substratum. Après cet examen critique, on présente en conclusion un exemple concret, l'évolution structurale des grabens rhénans, évolution qui résulte de l'influence conjuguée des trois facteurs précédemment examinés : phénomènes thermiques, hétérogénéité de la croûte, mouvement des plaques. The intraplate continental realm is where the applications of global tectonics are of mostinterestta petroleum

Energy-Water-Land Nexus: The relative contributions of climate and human systems on global water scarcity

Science.gov (United States)

Hejazi, M. I.; Chen, M.; Turner, S. W. D.; Graham, N. T.; Vernon, C. R.; Li, X.; Kim, S. H.; Link, R. P.

2017-12-01

There is a growing consensus that energy, water, and land systems are interconnected and should be analyzed as such. New tools are required to represent the interactions between population, economic growth, energy, land, and water resources in a dynamically evolving system. Here we use the Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM) to investigate the relative contributions of climate and human systems on water scarcity regionally and globally under a wide range of scenarios. The model accounts for a variety of human activities, including changing demands for water for agriculture, power generation, industry, and public supply. We find that these activities exert a larger influence on water scarcity than climate in 93% of river basins globally. This work highlights the importance of accounting for human activities in hydrologic modeling applications and how they may change under different pathways of how land use and agricultural systems, energy systems, and economies may evolve in the future.

Student Power in a Global Perspective and Contemporary Trends in Student Organising

Science.gov (United States)

Klemencic, Manja

2014-01-01

Students, if organised into representative student governments or movements, can be a highly influential agency shaping higher education policy. This article introduces the Special Issue on student power in a global perspective, which addresses the question of how students are organised in different world regions and what role they play in higher…

The Emergence of `Power with': The Case of a Born Global Organization

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Lin; Panteli, Niki

Thanks to the advancement of Information and Communications Technologies, the past decade has seen the rise of Born Global organizations (Rennie, 1993; Oviatt and McDougall, 1994; Karra and Philips, 2004; Zahra, 2005). Broadly defined as ‘business organizations that, right from inception, seek to derive significant competitive advantages from the use of resources and the sales of outputs in multiple countries’ (Oviatt and McDougall, 1994: 49), Born Global organizations are small, young, and internationally dispersed. While sharing the characteristics of ‘smallness’ and ‘newness’ of Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), Born Global organizations also bear ‘foreignness’, similar to that of Multinational Corporations (Zahra, 2005). Born Globals therefore need to strike a balance between ‘global reach’ and ‘local touch’ as in Multinational Corporations (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1989); yet they have to do so with scare resources and organizational uncertainty similar to SMEs, and with ‘lean’ and ‘mean’ communications afforded by ICT (e.g. Sproull and Kiesler, 1986). This study is an initial attempt to untangle the combined challenges in Born Globals’ innovative way of management. Through a longitudinal case study, we aim to explore the issue of power in a Born Global’s endeavour to manage its global knowledge via technology mediation.

Managing Power Relations in Doctoral Education through Research ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Drawing mainly on the power theory of Foucault, this paper examines the power relations existing in research supervision. It explores the importance of mentoring as a key to managing such power relations. Mentoring is an empowering process of nurturing students with sufficient tools for research. The conditions for ...

Reconceptualizing the nature and health consequences of work-related insecurity for the new economy: the decline of workers' power in the flexibility regime.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Heather K

2004-01-01

This article aims to reconceptualize job insecurity in a manner relevant to shifts in the power relations of work that have accompanied globalization, in order to assess the implications for workers' health. The linkage between job insecurity and health has been well established, but little formal theorizing has analyzed the mechanisms responsible. Implicitly, however, the assumption remains that its role as a stressor is limited to the realm of job strain, whereby workers lack control over a threatened employment situation. Within this framework, job insecurity and related dimensions of power remain locked in the "box" of the standard employment relationship, precluding an analysis of work-related insecurity in the new context of globalization. In contrast, the author constructs a model of work-related insecurity that takes into account current shifts in the balance of power toward employers, which in turn has undermined the fundamental quid pro quo associated with the standard postwar model of employment. She proposes that job insecurity is no longer a mere temporary break in an otherwise predictable work-life pattern but rather a structural feature of the new labor market. Emerging contingencies associated with the New Economy, "flexibilized" employment relationships, and diminution of workers' power have constituted work-related insecurity as a chronic stressor with several implications for long-term health outcomes at the individual and societal levels.

Power Deals. Mergers and acquisitions activity within the global electricity and gas market. 2010 Annual Review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2011-02-15

The global power deal market is finally seeing an upward trend in momentum from the lows reached in 2009, with the total deal value in the non-renewable electricity and gas sectors up 19% year on year from USD 97.6bn to USD 116bn in 2010 - a year which also saw an end to the deal stalemate in the US with a renewed deal flow that looks set to continue this year. Compared to the heady mountain of power deals transacted between 2005-2008, deal values remain low but conditions are in place for a return at least to the foothills of these peaks, according to PwC's annual Power Deals review. Globalisation of the power sector is moving forward on a number of fronts with, for example, companies looking at gaining a larger presence in growth markets, acquisitions of global network asset portfolios with strong international interest in infrastructure assets and signs of greater Chinese involvement, not just from grid companies but also independent power producers.

From City-States to Global Cities: the role of Cities in Global Governance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Domingos Martins Vaz

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Global governance has altered institutional architecture and the systemic and institutional conditions under which power is exercised, as well as the characteristics of the political system, the form of government, and the system of intermediation of interests. However, although it has surpassed the State’s dimension of power, it created new interstate dimensions and new relations between powers, particularly at the level of cities. Cities have helped to solve common problems in a more efficient and effective way by facilitating the exchange of knowledge, sharing of solutions and resources, and building capacity to implement and monitor progress in order to achieve collectively agreed goals, in a bottom-up approach. Cities have the virtue of securing the most direct social and political contract between societies and the notion of authority. This study, therefore, aims to reflect on this emerging, less hierarchical and rigid governance and address complex global challenges such as climate and demographic change; increasing crime rates; disruptive technology; and pressures on resources, infrastructure and energy. As a global/local interface, cities can ensure effective solutions to current challenges and act together in areas where the global agenda has stalled.

Monitoring Disaster-Related Power Outages Using NASA Black Marble Nighttime Light Product

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Z.; Román, M. O.; Sun, Q.; Molthan, A. L.; Schultz, L. A.; Kalb, V. L.

2018-04-01

Timely and accurate monitoring of disruptions to the electricity grid, including the magnitude, spatial extent, timing, and duration of net power losses, is needed to improve situational awareness of disaster response and long-term recovery efforts. Satellite-derived Nighttime Lights (NTL) provide an indication of human activity patterns and have been successfully used to monitor disaster-related power outages. The global 500 m spatial resolution National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Black Marble NTL daily standard product suite (VNP46) is generated from Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band (DNB) onboard the NASA/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi- NPP) satellite, which began operations on 19 January 2012. With its improvements in product accuracy (including critical atmospheric and BRDF correction routines), the VIIRS daily Black Mable product enables systematic monitoring of outage conditions across all stages of the disaster management cycle.

Unified force and its relation with global warming crave for hydrogen energy and promote fuel cell technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krishnan, K.J.; Kalam, A.

2011-01-01

Global warming is presently a tremendous public interest and has become a threat to every individual. Huge quantities of CO/sub 2/ are emitted to the atmosphere by burning of fossil fuels to produce electricity in power plants and burning of gasoline in aeroplanes and vehicles. Enormous amount of greenhouse gasses are sent into the air when garbage is burnt in landfills. Cutting down of trees and other plants which collect CO/sub 2/ a greenhouse gas which is inhaled and which gives back oxygen which is exhaled makes global warming worse. 'Self-Compressive Surrounding Pressure Force' which is also known as Unified Force is also related with global warming which is proportional to increase of H/sub 2/O level in sea and causes floods, storms, droughts and severe impacts to the environment and society. In order to better understand global warming and its relation with Unified Force, this paper discusses the cause and effect system on the amount of greenhouse gases emitted to the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels and also the other green house gases like CH/sub 4/, water vapour, NOx etc. and emphasis its importance to focus on crave for Hydrogen Energy and to promote Fuel Cell technology to keep the earth green and safer from the impacts of global warming. The benefit of switching from fossil fuels to Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell technology reduces the impact of global warming, elimination of pollution caused by fossil fuels and greenhouse gases, economic dependence and distributed production. (author)

Radiation losses and global power balance of JT-60 plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishitani, T.; Itami, K.; Nagashima, K.; Tsuji, S.; Hosogane, N.; Yoshida, H.; Ando, T.; Kubo, H.; Takeuchi, H.

1990-01-01

The radiation losses and the global power balance for Ohmic and neutral beam heated plasmas have been investigated in different JT-60 configurations. Discharges with a TiC coated molybdenum wall and with a graphite wall, with limiter, outer and lower X-point configurations have been studied by bolometric measurements, thermocouples and an infrared TV camera. In neutral beam heated outer X-point discharges with a TiC coated molybdenum first wall, the radiation loss of the main plasma was very low (10% of the absorbed power). The radiation loss due to oxygen was dominant in this case. On the contrary, in discharges with TiC coated molybdenum limiters the radiation loss was very high (>60% of the absorbed power). In the discharges with a graphite wall the radiated power from the main plasma was 20-25% for both limiter and lower X-point configurations. In lower X-point discharges the main contributor to the radiation loss was oxygen, whereas in limiter discharges the loss due to carbon was equal to the loss due to oxygen. The radiation loss from the lower X-point divertor increased with increasing electron density of the main plasma. (author). 33 refs, 14 figs, 1 tab

What We Have Learned: "New Foundations for Global Governance"

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Alan S. Alexandroff; David Shorr

2010-01-01

@@ In a Conference convened at Princeton University in January 2010, international relations experts were asked to consider, among other things, great power leadership and explore what would enable these powers to solve some of the great challenges facing global governance. The Conference noted a growing disjunction between our "inherited" multilateral institutions, the evolving architecture of global governance and the daunting scope and complexity of today's global governance agenda. Two key leadership questions dominated discussions at the Conference. The first: what would be the role of the remaining superpower-the United States-in the years ahead? Could the United States accept a greater multilateral environment with possibly a diminished hegemonic role? Secondly, could China successfully achieve great power status without the rivalry competition and even conflict that normally accompanies a rising power? And, in what ways could China exercise leadership in global governance?

Global risk from the atmospheric dispersion of radionuclides by nuclear power plant accidents in the coming decades

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Christoudias, T.; Proestos, Y. [The Cyprus Institute, Nicosia (Cyprus); Lelieveld, J. [The Cyprus Institute, Nicosia (Cyprus); Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz (Germany)

2014-07-01

We estimate the global risk from the release and atmospheric dispersion of radionuclides from nuclear power plant accidents using the EMAC atmospheric chemistry-general circulation model. We included all nuclear reactors that are currently operational, under construction and planned or proposed. We implemented constant continuous emissions from each location in the model and simulated atmospheric transport and removal via dry and wet deposition processes over 20 years (2010-2030), driven by boundary conditions based on the IPCC A2 future emissions scenario. We present global overall and seasonal risk maps for potential surface layer concentrations and ground deposition of radionuclides, and estimate potential doses to humans from inhalation and ground-deposition exposures to radionuclides. We find that the risk of harmful doses due to inhalation is typically highest in the Northern Hemisphere during boreal winter, due to relatively shallow boundary layer development and limited mixing. Based on the continued operation of the current nuclear power plants, we calculate that the risk of radioactive contamination to the citizens of the USA will remain to be highest worldwide, followed by India and France. By including stations under construction and those that are planned and proposed, our results suggest that the risk will become highest in China, followed by India and the USA.

Is nuclear power part of Australia's global warming solutions?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lowe, I.

2007-01-01

Forty years ago, I was preparing for my final exams. Having studied electrical engineering and science part-time for seven years at the University of New South Wales, I did well enough to spend the following year doing honours in physics. I then went to the United Kingdom for doctoral studies at the University of York, supported by the UK Atomic Energy Authority. At the time, like most young physicists, I saw nuclear power as the clean energy source of the future. Here, I want to tell you why my professional experience has led me to reject that view. There is no serious doubt that climate change is real, it is happening now and its effects are accelerating. It is already causing serious economic impacts: reduced agricultural production, increased costs of severe events like fires and storms, and the need to consider radical, energy-intensive and costly water supply measures such as desalination plants. The alarming consequences of climate change have driven distinguished scientists like James Lovelock to conclude that the situation is desperate enough to reconsider our attitude to nuclear power. I agree with Lovelock about the urgency of the situation, but not about the response. The science is very clear. We need to reduce global greenhouse pollution by about 60%, ideally by 2050. To achieve that global target, allowing for the legitimate material expectations of poorer countries, Australia's quota will need to be at least as strong as the UK's goal of 60% by 2050 and preferably stronger. Our eventual goal will probably be to reduce our greenhouse pollution by 80-90%. How can we reach this ambitious target?

The Unequal Power Relation in the Final Interpretation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Almlund, Pernille

2013-01-01

if the interpretation also takes the unequal power relation into account. Consequently, interpreting the researched in a respectful manner is difficult. This article demonstrates the necessity of increasing awareness of the unequal power relation by posing, discussing and, to some extent answering, three methodological...... questions inspired by meta-theory that are significant for qualitative research and qualitative researchers to reflect on. This article concludes that respectful interpretation and consciously paying attention to the unequal power relation in the final interpretation require decentring the subject...

MONITORING DISASTER-RELATED POWER OUTAGES USING NASA BLACK MARBLE NIGHTTIME LIGHT PRODUCT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. Wang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Timely and accurate monitoring of disruptions to the electricity grid, including the magnitude, spatial extent, timing, and duration of net power losses, is needed to improve situational awareness of disaster response and long-term recovery efforts. Satellite-derived Nighttime Lights (NTL provide an indication of human activity patterns and have been successfully used to monitor disaster-related power outages. The global 500 m spatial resolution National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA Black Marble NTL daily standard product suite (VNP46 is generated from Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS Day/Night Band (DNB onboard the NASA/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi- NPP satellite, which began operations on 19 January 2012. With its improvements in product accuracy (including critical atmospheric and BRDF correction routines, the VIIRS daily Black Mable product enables systematic monitoring of outage conditions across all stages of the disaster management cycle.

Nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abd Khalik Wood

2005-01-01

This chapter discussed the following topics related to the nuclear power: nuclear reactions, nuclear reactors and its components - reactor fuel, fuel assembly, moderator, control system, coolants. The topics titled nuclear fuel cycle following subtopics are covered: , mining and milling, tailings, enrichment, fuel fabrication, reactor operations, radioactive waste and fuel reprocessing. Special topic on types of nuclear reactor highlighted the reactors for research, training, production, material testing and quite detail on reactors for electricity generation. Other related topics are also discussed: sustainability of nuclear power, renewable nuclear fuel, human capital, environmental friendly, emission free, impacts on global warming and air pollution, conservation and preservation, and future prospect of nuclear power

Seven Global Goals. 2013 annual report, Southwestern Power Administration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

none,

2014-09-01

For over 70 years, Southwestern has marketed and delivered reliable, renewable, and affordable hydropower, partnering with Federal power stakeholders and others in the industry to make sure the lights stay on. This kind of effective, efficient, and cost conscious operation is made possible only by hard work and dedication. Southwestern employees work individually and as a team to meet seven comprehensive agency goals that touch on all aspects of the agency’s operations. Dubbed the “Seven Global Goals” by Administrator Chris Turner, these objectives identify specific, measurable targets that support Southwestern’s mission and reinforce its responsibilities toward its customers and the Nation.

Cost analysis of small hydroelectric power plants components and preliminary estimation of global cost

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basta, C.; Olive, W.J.; Antunes, J.S.

1990-01-01

An analysis of cost for each components of Small Hydroelectric Power Plant, taking into account the real costs of these projects is shown. It also presents a global equation which allows a preliminary estimation of cost for each construction. (author)

Global health diplomacy in Iraq: international relations outcomes of multilateral tuberculosis programmes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kevany, Sebastian; Jaf, Payman; Workneh, Nibretie Gobezie; Abu Dalod, Mohammad; Tabena, Mohammed; Rashid, Sara; Al Hilfi, Thamer Kadum Yousif

2014-01-01

International development programmes, including global health interventions, have the capacity to make important implicit and explicit benefits to diplomatic and international relations outcomes. Conversely, in the absence of awareness of these implications, such programmes may generate associated threats. Due to heightened international tensions in conflict and post-conflict settings, greater attention to diplomatic outcomes may therefore be necessary. We examine related 'collateral' effects of Global Fund-supported tuberculosis programmes in Iraq. During site visits to Iraq conducted during 2012 and 2013 on behalf of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, on-site service delivery evaluations, unstructured interviews with clinical and operational staff, and programme documentary review of Global Fund-supported tuberculosis treatment and care programmes were conducted. During this process, a range of possible external or collateral international relations and diplomatic effects of global health programmes were assessed according to predetermined criteria. A range of positive diplomatic and international relations effects of Global Fund-supported programmes were observed in the Iraq setting. These included (1) geo-strategic accessibility and coverage; (2) provisions for programme sustainability and alignment; (3) contributions to nation-building and peace-keeping initiatives; (4) consistent observation of social, cultural and religious norms in intervention selection; and (5) selection of the most effective and cost-effective tuberculosis treatment and care interventions. Investments in global health programmes have valuable diplomatic, as well as health-related, outcomes, associated with their potential to prevent, mitigate or reverse international tension and hostility in conflict and post-conflict settings, provided that they adhere to appropriate criteria. The associated international presence in such regions may also contribute to peace

A Power Efficient Exaflop Computer Design for Global Cloud System Resolving Climate Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Wehner, M. F.; Oliker, L.; Shalf, J.

2008-12-01

Exascale computers would allow routine ensemble modeling of the global climate system at the cloud system resolving scale. Power and cost requirements of traditional architecture systems are likely to delay such capability for many years. We present an alternative route to the exascale using embedded processor technology to design a system optimized for ultra high resolution climate modeling. These power efficient processors, used in consumer electronic devices such as mobile phones, portable music players, cameras, etc., can be tailored to the specific needs of scientific computing. We project that a system capable of integrating a kilometer scale climate model a thousand times faster than real time could be designed and built in a five year time scale for US$75M with a power consumption of 3MW. This is cheaper, more power efficient and sooner than any other existing technology.

Simulations research of the global predictive control with self-adaptive in the gas turbine of the nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Su Jie; Xia Guoqing; Zhang Wei

2007-01-01

For further improving the dynamic control capabilities of the gas turbine of the nuclear power plant, this paper puts forward to apply the algorithm of global predictive control with self-adaptive in the rotate speed control of the gas turbine, including control structure and the design of controller in the base of expounding the math model of the gas turbine of the nuclear power plant. the simulation results show that the respond of the change of the gas turbine speed under the control algorithm of global predictive control with self-adaptive is ten second faster than that under the PID control algorithm, and the output value of the gas turbine speed under the PID control algorithm is 1%-2% higher than that under the control slgorithm of global predictive control with self-adaptive. It shows that the algorithm of global predictive control with self-adaptive can better control the output of the speed of the gas turbine of the nuclear power plant and get the better control effect. (authors)

Globalization, Inequality, Say’s Law, and Fiscal Globalism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerasimos T. Soldatos

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This is a brief note maintaining that financial globalization has been faster than the integration of the remaining sectors of the world economy, thus encouraging wealth inequality, under-production, and under-consumption in line with Say’s Law. Financial investment has become more profitable than real investment, discouraging production ventures, and weakening labor’s relative income position and purchasing power. Moreover, this article works out a model of international government indirect tax competition as a policy means against increasing inequality. The mentality under which this tax policy paradigm is put forward is that the competition of nation states in a fiscal globalism fashion crystallizes the optimal level of centralization under globalism; optimal, that is, from the viewpoint of safeguarding against the manipulation of world markets by financiers.

Global impact of carbon-14 from nuclear power reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moghissi, A.A.; Carter, M.W.

1977-01-01

Carbon-14 is produced by nuclear power reactors, predominently as a result of the interaction of a neutron and nitrogen-14 both in the fuel and in the coolant. Several other reactions also contribute to the production of carbon-14. Present operational procedures, in general, for reactors and fuel reprocessing plants result in the release of carbon-14 into the environment. Combustion of fossil fuels and certain industrial operations contribute to the supply of CO 2 in the atmosphere and this contribution is essentially free of carbon-14. Future carbon-14 burdens by assuming a thorough mixing of all CO 2 in the atmosphere is predicted. Available data on electric power generation, fossil fuel combustion and certain other information are used to calculate the projected specific activity of carbon-14 by the year 2000 and the twenty-first century. According to these calculations, the global population dose from carbon-14 can be substantial. Also, carbon-14 in the vicinity of nuclear power reactors is considered. Because of the chemistry of carbon-14, it is shown that local problems may be more significant around BWR's as compared to PWR's. Based on environmental considerations of carbon-14, its increasing production and discharge into the atmosphere, and available control technology, it is recommended that nitrogen use and its presence be minimized in pertinent reactor components and operations

The emergence of the BRICS – implications for global governance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sotiris Petropoulos

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The global financial crisis of 2008, with its detrimental effects on the global economy, was the starting point of a transformation of the global governance landscape. This fluid political and economic global environment seems to be leading to the enhancement of the position of regional powers, especially within the developing world. Hence, the importance of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and, to some extent, South Africa, within the global governance structure has increased. This rise of importance is derived from the enhancement of the economic capabilities of these powers and the fact that economic interdependence has rendered the world more sensitive to the economic policies of these nations. What is even more significant is the fact that these emerging powers have initiated a process of conducting regular meetings for the purpose of discussing and coordinating their actions related to global issues. The BRIC(S meetings seem to be acting as a power multiplier, leading to enhanced pressure on developed countries to accept some proposals from the BRIC(S countries. This development enhances the effectiveness of global governance structures while also legitimizing the notion of a new global governance structure. It is yet to be shown, however, whether the new rising powers will eventually challenge existing global governance structures or be fully integrated into them.

Nuclear power: renaissance or relapse? Global climate change and long-term Three Mile Island activists' narratives.

Science.gov (United States)

Culley, Marci R; Angelique, Holly

2010-06-01

Community narratives are increasingly important as people move towards an ecologically sustainable society. Global climate change is a multi-faceted problem with multiple stakeholders. The voices of affected communities must be heard as we make decisions of global significance. We document the narratives of long-term anti-nuclear activists near the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear power plant who speak out in the dawn of a nuclear renaissance/relapse. While nuclear power is marketed as a "green" solution to global warming, their narratives reveal three areas for consideration; (1) significant problems with nuclear technology, (2) lessons "not" learned from the TMI disaster, and (3) hopes for a sustainable future. Nuclear waste, untrustworthy officials and economic issues were among the problems cited. Deceptive shaping of public opinion, nuclear illiteracy, and an aging anti-nuclear movement were reasons cited for the lessons not learned. However, many remain optimistic and envision increased participation to create an ecologically-balanced world.

Event-related potentials reveal increased distraction by salient global objects in older adults

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wiegand, Iris; Finke, Kathrin; Töllner, Thomas

Age-related changes in visual functions influence how older individuals perceive and react upon objects in their environment. In particular, older individuals might be more distracted by highly salient, irrelevant information. Kanizsa figures induce a ‘global precedence’ effect, which reflects...... a processing advantage for salient whole-object representations relative to configurations of local elements not inducing a global form. We investigated event-related potential (ERP) correlates of age-related decline in visual abilities, and specifically, distractibility by salient global objects in visual...

Global Governance: Old and New Issues

OpenAIRE

Gary Clyde Hufbauer

2008-01-01

This paper opens with a short recollection of the Kiel Week Conference of 2002, recorded in a volume edited by Horst Siebert, titled Global Governance: An Architecture for the World Economy. Assess-ments and forecasts made at that time are scored against subsequent developments. Security relations between the great powers are asserted to define the space for global economic governance. Over the next thirty years, the security context is not likely to provide the same inspiration for global ec...

The global prospects of taxation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anđelković Mileva

2015-01-01

Full Text Available As the process of establishing international economic and financial relations between national economies is on the rise, many states encounter substantial difficulties in the process of collecting their tax claims. The most powerful countries in the world try to overcome this controversy by changing the international tax rules. The turning point was the financial-economic crisis of2008-2009, when the international community more vigorously embarked on resolving international tax issues. The OECD, the G20, the UN, the EU and a number of other powerful international organizations continued their activities on establishing a stronger framework of the international tax system. Global tax initiatives embodied in the soft law regulations have changed (to a varied extent the structure of national tax systems as well as the direction of national policies, and ultimately undermined the financial foundations of the social welfare state. The world's 'taxation landscape' is indisputably dominated by two major processes embodied in the concepts of tax harmonization and tax competition. The global crisis in financing contemporary states has weakened their resistance towards more extensive international tax cooperation. As a result, they increasingly accept global tax standards and are more vigorously involved in the international exchange of tax information for the purpose of counteracting international tax fraud. Changes in national tax systems are necessarily accompanied by changing relations between tax administrations and multinational companies as large taxpayers. The traditional public law relations are gradually changed by introducing some elements of 'negotiations and mutual agreement', which are aimed at strengthening mutual trust and avoiding unnecessary disputes and costs. Although they are currently no more than theoretical assumptions and political considerations, there are proposals for introducing global taxes and establishing the world tax

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Spacecraft Power System Design and Orbital Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Dakermanji, George; Burns, Michael; Lee, Leonine; Lyons, John; Kim, David; Spitzer, Thomas; Kercheval, Bradford

2016-01-01

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) spacecraft was jointly developed by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It is a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) spacecraft launched on February 27, 2014. The spacecraft is in a circular 400 Km altitude, 65 degrees inclination nadir pointing orbit with a three year basic mission life. The solar array consists of two sun tracking wings with cable wraps. The panels are populated with triple junction cells of nominal 29.5% efficiency. One axis is canted by 52 degrees to provide power to the spacecraft at high beta angles. The power system is a Direct Energy Transfer (DET) system designed to support 1950 Watts orbit average power. The batteries use SONY 18650HC cells and consist of three 8s x 84p batteries operated in parallel as a single battery. The paper describes the power system design details, its performance to date and the lithium ion battery model that was developed for use in the energy balance analysis and is being used to predict the on-orbit health of the battery.

Electric power globalization and reforming; Globalizacao e reforma do setor eletrico

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soares Neto, Jose Lino [PETROBRAS Distribuidora, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

1999-07-01

The central issue of debate was the need to align the energy sector's options and organization with changing global patterns of economic and social development, characterized by the increasing role played by the private sector, greater integration in the world economy, and new economic and social priorities such as efficiency, decentralization, deregulation, and a closer attention to environmental issues. The aim of the work was to define the economic and political forces of the electric power sector regulation restructuring.

Im/mobilities and dis/connectivities in medical globalisation: How global is Global Health?

Science.gov (United States)

Dilger, Hansjörg; Mattes, Dominik

2018-03-01

The interdisciplinary, politically contested field of Global Health has often been described as a consequence of, and response to, an intensification of the mobilities of, and connectivities between, people, pathogens, ideas, and infrastructure across national borders and large distances. However, such global mobilities and connectivities are not as omnidirectional and unpatterned as the rhetoric of many Global Health actors suggests. Instead, we argue that they are suffused by a plethora of institutional, national, and global political agendas, and substantially shaped by transnational and postcolonial power relations. Furthermore, the configurations that are typically subsumed under the category of Global Health represent only a minor part of the range of im/mobilities and dis/connectivities that are essential for understanding transformations of epidemiological patterns, health care infrastructures, and the responses to health-related challenges in a globalising world. In order to broaden such a limiting analytical perspective, we propose to expand the analytical focus in studying Global Health phenomena by paying close attention to the myriad ways in which particular im/mobilities and dis/connectivities constitute medicine and well-being in global and transnational settings. Pursuing a conceptual shift from studies of 'Global Health' to studying 'medical globalization' may carve out new analytical ground for such an endeavour.

Benchmarking global supply chains: the power of the ‘ethical audit’ regime

OpenAIRE

LeBaron, G.; Lister, J.

2015-01-01

This article critically investigates the growing power and effectiveness of the ‘ethical’ compliance audit regime. Over the last decade, audits have evolved from a tool for companies to track internal organisational performance into a transnational governing mechanism to measure and strengthen corporate accountability globally and shape corporate responsibility norms. Drawing on original interviews, we assess the effectiveness of supply chain benchmarks and audits in promoting environmental a...

Global constitutionalism, applied to global health governance: uncovering legitimacy deficits and suggesting remedies.

Science.gov (United States)

Ooms, Gorik; Hammonds, Rachel

2016-12-03

Global constitutionalism is a way of looking at the world, at global rules and how they are made, as if there was a global constitution, empowering global institutions to act as a global government, setting rules which bind all states and people. This essay employs global constitutionalism to examine how and why global health governance, as currently structured, has struggled to advance the right to health, a fundamental human rights obligation enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It first examines the core structure of the global health governance architecture, and its evolution since the Second World War. Second, it identifies the main constitutionalist principles that are relevant for a global constitutionalism assessment of the core structure of the global health governance architecture. Finally, it applies these constitutionalist principles to assess the core structure of the global health governance architecture. Leading global health institutions are structurally skewed to preserve high incomes countries' disproportionate influence on transnational rule-making authority, and tend to prioritise infectious disease control over the comprehensive realisation of the right to health. A Framework Convention on Global Health could create a classic division of powers in global health governance, with WHO as the law-making power in global health governance, a global fund for health as the executive power, and the International Court of Justice as the judiciary power.

Social power and approach-related neural activity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.A.S. Boksem (Maarten); R. Smolders (Ruud); D. de Cremer (David)

2009-01-01

textabstractIt has been argued that power activates a general tendency to approach whereas powerlessness activates a tendency to inhibit. The assumption is that elevated power involves reward-rich environments, freedom and, as a consequence, triggers an approach-related motivational orientation and

Some global aspects regarding nuclear spent fuel management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohai, Dumitru; Postoaca, Marius Marcel

2002-01-01

The globalization means the worldwide extension of certain aspects of social or economic processes, structural or environmental changes, or concerning working methodologies, technical activity, industrial production, etc. At present the emergence of global aspects is more frequently observed, being determined by the rapid development of computerized systems and of transfer of information, by the development of big transnational companies and due to the increasing international co-operation. Some of the manifested global aspects could be beneficial for the development of the human society, other could be not. It is necessary to perform an adequate analysis from this view point and to promote appropriate measures to enhance the positive global aspects and to mitigate the negative global aspects. These measures can have a good efficiency only if they are pursued at global level, but for this it is necessary to build an adequate international coordinating body, having the corresponding instruments for action. The global aspects identified in the field of nuclear power may be divided into two categories, namely: - related to the main features of nuclear power; - regarding the specific features of some subdivisions of the field, as for example, spent fuel management. In the paper both categories are discussed. The influence of the global aspects on the development of nuclear power and particularly on the back end activities of the fuel cycle, is also presented. At the same time, some possible actions for enhancing nuclear power development are proposed

Electric power and the global economy: Advances in database construction and sector representation

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Jeffrey C.

The electricity sector plays a crucial role in the global economy. The sector is a major consumer of fossil fuel resources, producer of greenhouse gas emissions, and an important indicator and correlate of economic development. As such, the sector is a primary target for policy-makers seeking to address these issues. The sector is also experiencing rapid technological change in generation (e.g. renewables), primary inputs (e.g. horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing), and end-use efficiency. This dissertation seeks to further our understanding of the role of the electricity sector as part of the dynamic global energy-economy, which requires significant research advances in both database construction and modeling techniques. Chapter 2 identifies useful engineering-level data and presents a novel matrix balancing method for integrating these data in global economic databases. Chapter 3 demonstrates the relationship between matrix balancing method and modeling results, and Chapter 4 presents the full construction methodology for GTAP-Power, the foremost, publicly-available global computable general equilibrium database. Chapter 5 presents an electricity-detailed computational equilibrium model that explicitly and endogenously captures capacity utilization, capacity expansion, and their interdependency - important aspects of technological substitution in the electricity sector. The individual, but interrelated, research contributions to database construction and electricity modeling in computational equilibrium are placed in the context of analyzing the US EPA Clean Power Plan (CPP) CO 2 target of 32 percent reduction of CO2 emissions in the US electricity sector from a 2005 baseline by 2030. Assuming current fuel prices, the model predicts an almost 28 percent CO2 reduction without further policy intervention. Next, a carbon tax and investment subsidies for renewable technologies to meet the CPP full targets are imposed and compared (Chapter 6). The carbon tax

Global movement in reviewing nuclear power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, Yoshiyasu

2007-01-01

The price of crude oil, natural gas and coal has increased since 2004 with the rapid increase of primary energy demand in China, India and other developing countries. Moreover due to the political uncertainty in the Middle East, and the state control of energy resources in countries like Russia, the issue of energy security has become a critical issue. Nuclear power has been reconsidered in recent years in the US and European countries, because nuclear power is one of the cheapest sources of low carbon energy and also has relatively stable costs, and is thereby useful to energy security and to prevent climate change. Electricity demand is growing very rapidly in China and additional reactors are planned to give a fivefold increase in nuclear capacity to 40,000 MWe by 2020. India has a largely indigenous nuclear power program and expects to have 20,000 MWe nuclear capacity by 2020. Russia is moving steadily forward with plans for a much expanded role of nuclear energy, and the restructuring of nuclear industries has begun to strengthen competitiveness in international nuclear markets. (author)

The determinants of intermediaries’ power over farmers’ margin-related activities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xhoxhi, Orjon; Pedersen, Søren Marcus; Lind, Kim Martin Hjorth

2014-01-01

This paper investigates the determinants of intermediaries’ power over farmers’ margin-related activities in Adana, Turkey. In doing so, a holistic model of intermediaries’ power over farmers’ margin-related activities is proposed. The objective of this model is to contribute to a better understa......This paper investigates the determinants of intermediaries’ power over farmers’ margin-related activities in Adana, Turkey. In doing so, a holistic model of intermediaries’ power over farmers’ margin-related activities is proposed. The objective of this model is to contribute to a better...

Global warming and nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hodgson, P.E.

1999-01-01

The problems of pollution, global warming and renewable energy sources are not going to go away. Governments need to act with urgency if they are to produce a long-term energy policy. This paper looks at the current energy situation, and how this would project into the future without the instigation of radical changes. It concludes that nuclear is the best option available for averting a growing energy, pollution and global warming crisis. (author)

Nuclear power and global warming: a first cost-benefit calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hope, C.

1994-01-01

This paper investigates the costs and benefits of a modest nuclear power programme in the European Union to combat the threat of global warming. The nuclear programme is found to bring a double benefit. The first and more obvious benefit is that the economic impacts of global warming are reduced. The second benefit is counter-intuitive; most people would expect it to be a cost. It comes from the stimulus to the economy from the construction of the nuclear plant, which, with the recycling of carbon tax revenues, offsets its construction and operating costs, and may even cause consumers' expenditure to rise. Calculations in this paper show that over the period to 2100 the mean net present value of the first benefit is 6 billion European Currency Units (ECU; 1 ECU is about Dollars 1), while the second benefit has a mean net present value of 159 billion ECU. However both benefits, particularly the second, are still very uncertain, to the extent that even their sign is not yet definitely established. (author)

The Future of Economic Power

OpenAIRE

Malanciuc Bogdan Simion

2014-01-01

The importance of power in the development of society is undeniable. The power relations between national economies are more and more important and should be considered in every international economics analysis. Economic power has become the bedrock of both the military and the political power. Today the balance of economic power is shifting. The emerging states (China in the first place) are now demanding a greater role in global politics, challenging the existing international order dominat...

A New Technique for Tracking the Global Maximum Power Point of PV Arrays Operating Under Partial-Shading Conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koutroulis, Eftichios; Blaabjerg, Frede

2012-01-01

The power-voltage characteristic of photovoltaic (PV) arrays operating under partial-shading conditions exhibits multiple local maximum power points (MPPs). In this paper, a new method to track the global MPP is presented, which is based on controlling a dc/dc converter connected at the PV array...

Relations of power in public schools: a case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Custódia Jorge Rocha

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, based on a few authors who see power as a substantive element – instituted power – and others who consider it as an action verb – instituting power (ROCHA, 2007 –, highlighting some types of power relevant in sociological and organizational research on schools, we present empirical data and institutional discourses, enabled by a case study of qualitative nature. Thus, we can say that relations of power in schools both allow the strengthening of hierarchical and asymmetrical relations of power that exist between institutional players and enable the creation of new “circles of power” that can be promptly activated or can be object of a modernization process held in a more or less generalized manner. This may be reinforced and introduced to players/students, our main target of study, as the most legitimate object, superseding all others but not canceling them. The key objective is to present school organization as a highly complex environment, especially when considered in the light of the multiple and cumulative relations of power that emerge and are materialized.

Fractal Markets Hypothesis and the Global Financial Crisis: Wavelet Power Evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Kristoufek, Ladislav

2013-10-01

We analyze whether the prediction of the fractal markets hypothesis about a dominance of specific investment horizons during turbulent times holds. To do so, we utilize the continuous wavelet transform analysis and obtained wavelet power spectra which give the crucial information about the variance distribution across scales and its evolution in time. We show that the most turbulent times of the Global Financial Crisis can be very well characterized by the dominance of short investment horizons which is in hand with the assertions of the fractal markets hypothesis.

Power spectral density and scaling exponent of high frequency global solar radiation sequences

Science.gov (United States)

Calif, Rudy; Schmitt, François G.; Huang, Yongxiang

2013-04-01

The part of the solar power production from photovlotaïcs systems is constantly increasing in the electric grids. Solar energy converter devices such as photovoltaic cells are very sensitive to instantaneous solar radiation fluctuations. Thus rapid variation of solar radiation due to changes in the local meteorological condition can induce large amplitude fluctuations of the produced electrical power and reduce the overall efficiency of the system. When large amount of photovoltaic electricity is send into a weak or small electricity network such as island network, the electric grid security can be in jeopardy due to these power fluctuations. The integration of this energy in the electrical network remains a major challenge, due to the high variability of solar radiation in time and space. To palliate these difficulties, it is essential to identify the characteristic of these fluctuations in order to anticipate the eventuality of power shortage or power surge. The objective of this study is to present an approach based on Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) and Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT) to highlight the scaling properties of global solar irradiance data G(t). The scale of invariance is detected on this dataset using the Empirical Mode Decomposition in association with arbitrary-order Hilbert spectral analysis, a generalization of (HHT) or Hilbert Spectral Analysis (HSA). The first step is the EMD, consists in decomposing the normalized global solar radiation data G'(t) into several Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMF) Ci(t) without giving an a priori basis. Consequently, the normalized original solar radiation sequence G'(t) can be written as a sum of Ci(t) with a residual rn. From all IMF modes, a joint PDF P(f,A) of locally and instantaneous frequency f and amplitude A, is estimated. To characterize the scaling behavior in amplitude-frequency space, an arbitrary-order Hilbert marginal spectrum is defined to: Iq(f) = 0 P (f,A)A dA (1) with q × 0 In case of scale

Assessment of global phase uncertainty in case-control studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

van Houwelingen Hans C

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In haplotype-based candidate gene studies a problem is that the genotype data are unphased, which results in haplotype ambiguity. The measure 1 quantifies haplotype predictability from genotype data. It is computed for each individual haplotype, and for a measure of global relative efficiency a minimum value is suggested. Alternatively, we developed methods directly based on the information content of haplotype frequency estimates to obtain global relative efficiency measures: and based on A- and D-optimality, respectively. All three methods are designed for single populations; they can be applied in cases only, controls only or the whole data. Therefore they are not necessarily optimal for haplotype testing in case-control studies. Results A new global relative efficiency measure was derived to maximize power of a simple test statistic that compares haplotype frequencies in cases and controls. Application to real data showed that our proposed method gave a clear and summarizing measure for the case-control study conducted. Additionally this measure might be used for selection of individuals, who have the highest potential for improving power by resolving phase ambiguity. Conclusion Instead of using relative efficiency measure for cases only, controls only or their combined data, we link uncertainty measure to case-control studies directly. Hence, our global efficiency measure might be useful to assess whether data are informative or have enough power for estimation of a specific haplotype risk.

Foreign Policy of The United States Against the Global Powers and Regional Actors: Case Study “Russian Federation” and “The Islamic Republic of Iran”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Мехди Хедайати Шахидани

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article examines US foreign policy strategy toward the global powers and regional actors in the post-bipolar period. The aim of the article is to demonstrate the theoretical and scientific significance of the concept of balance in the structure of international relations in the post-bipolar period, by defining behaviors of US against Russia and Iran. The results of the research show that US foreign policy toward Russia and Iran in the short term based on a soft balance, and in the long term - on the depletion of power.

The development of global energy supply as a succession of energy-related innovation processes. A qualitative model approach to assess the use of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herrmann, Dieter

2017-01-01

Often, the development of the world energy supply is adopted as a painful sequence of the exhaustible and polluting use of primary energy sources. Therefore the expectations in practically inexhaustible and environmentally neutral renewable energy sources are high. However, in fact, it depends on the available production, conversion, and utilization technology, which sources of energy are suitable to meet given demands and requirements. In particular, the development of the energy demand requires energy technology innovations to use new energy sources, to use known energy sources more efficient and to replace exhaustible energy sources at an early stage by others. The historical development of the global energy supply is a sequence of interrelated energy technology innovation processes. This makes it also possible, to analyse the historical development of nuclear power and to derive a model on the future role of nuclear power worldwide.

Science and technology related global problems: An international survey of science educators

Science.gov (United States)

Bybee, Rodger W.; Mau, Teri

This survey evaluated one aspect of the Science-Technology-Society theme, namely, the teaching of global problems related to science and technology. The survey was conducted during spring 1984. Two hundred sixty-two science educators representing 41 countries completed the survey. Response was 80%. Findings included a ranking of twelve global problems (the top six were: World Hunger and Food Resources, Population Growth, Air Quality and Atmosphere, Water Resources, War Technology, and Human Health and Disease). Science educators generally indicated the following: the science and technology related global problems would be worse by the year 2000; they were slightly or moderately knowledgeable about the problems; print, audio-visual media, and personal experiences were their primary sources of information; it is important to study global problems in schools; emphasis on global problems should increase with age/grade level; an integrated approach should be used to teach about global problems; courses including global problems should be required of all students; most countries are in the early stages of developing programs including global problems; there is a clear trend toward S-T-S; there is public support for including global problems; and, the most significant limitations to implementation of the S-T-S theme (in order of significance) are political, personnel, social, psychological, economic, pedagogical, and physical. Implications for research and development in science education are discussed.

Turkey's role as a regional and global player and its power capacity: Turkey's engagement with other emerging states

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aylin Gürzel

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Turkey's role as a regional power has increased since Justice and Development Party (AKP came to power. AKP leadership not only aspired to become a regional power but also a global player. Turkey has, therefore, assumed different roles: the "natural leader" of the region; a historical "big brother;" and the "protector" of the Muslim minorities. Turkey has also assumed a "mediator" and a "facilitator" role by trying to negotiate a deal with an emerging power such as Brazil in order to attempt to resolve the controversial Iranian nuclear issue. By making use of recent developments, Turkey tried to solidify its long desired role as a "rising power" by increasing its influence in its neighborhood and engaging with other emerging powers. The concept "regional power" is a context-based notion. In other words, the location and geography are contesting and disputed approaches. Notwithstanding the fact that concepts such as "region" and "power" are social constructed reality, this paper analyzes the notion of 'regional power' as a subcategory of 'power'. In this context, this paper will make use of Stefan Schim's criteria while analyzing Turkey's power capacity in the region. Schim posits that the "regional power" needs to have a "role definition," and it should possess material power (hard power. It should also have economic as well as diplomatic and organizational capacity. Its power whether it is 'soft power' (attraction of ones idea's and or the ability to set the political agenda in a way that shapes the preferences of other actors or 'hard power' (material power that can be measured-economic and military power needs to be acknowledged by other actors in the region. It should also be accepted by great powers and emerging powers that are determinant in the international system. dditionally, the regional power (and/ or global power needs to have leverage, thus its power projection needs to yield results. Kalevi Holsti's role theory will be used as

Significant change of predictions related to the future of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dumitrache, Ion

2002-01-01

During the last two decades of the 20th century, nuclear power contribution increased slowly in the world. This trend was mainly determined by the commissioning of new nuclear power plants, NPP, in the non-developed countries, except for Japan and South Korea. Almost all the forecasts offered the image of the stagnant nuclear power business. Sweden, Germany, Holland and Belgium Governments made clear the intention to stop the production of electricity based on fission. Recently, despite the negative effects on nuclear power of the terrorism events of September 11, 2001, the predictions related to the nuclear power future become much more optimistic. USA, Japan, South Korea and Canada made clear that new NPPs will offer their significant electricity contribution several decades, even after years 2020-2030. Moreover, several old NPP from USA obtained the license for an additional 20 years period of operation. The analysis indicated that most of the existing NPP in USA may increase the level of the maximum global power defined by the initial design. In the European Union the situation is much more complicated. About 35% of the electricity is based now on fission. Several countries, like Sweden and Germany, maintain the position of phasing out the NPPs, as soon as the licensed life-time is over. Finland decided to build a new power plant. France is very favorable to nuclear power, but does not need more energy. In the UK several very old NPP will be shut down, and companies like BNFL and British Energy intend to build new NPP, based on Westinghouse or AECL-Canada advanced reactors. Switzerland and Spain are favorable to the future use of nuclear power. In the eastern part of Europe, almost all the countries intend to base their electricity production on coal, fission, hydro and gas, nuclear contribution being significant. The most impressive increases of nuclear power output are related to Asia; in China, from 2.2 Gwe in 1999, to 18.7 Gwe in 2020, reference case, or 10

School-related bullying : analysis of bullying preventive programs and analysis of power from perspective of social philosophy

OpenAIRE

Aizkalna, Viktorija

2017-01-01

The present thesis is dedicated to a problem of school-related bullying. Bullying is a global problem that affect big number of students, and has serious short- and long-term consequences. Bullying can be manifested in various forms: it can be physical, emotional, and lately also cyber-bullying. Being a complex phenomenon, bullying can be difficult to identify, to intervene or prevent. It originates from power imbalance in a social group, and can target anyone who qualifies as “different” in ...

The power of general relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clifton, Timothy; Barrow, John D.

2005-01-01

We study the cosmological and weak-field properties of theories of gravity derived by extending general relativity by means of a Lagrangian proportional to R 1+δ . This scale-free extension reduces to general relativity when δ→0. In order to constrain generalizations of general relativity of this power class, we analyze the behavior of the perfect-fluid Friedmann universes and isolate the physically relevant models of zero curvature. A stable matter-dominated period of evolution requires δ>0 or δ -19 assuming that Mercury follows a timelike geodesic. The combination of these observational constraints leads to the overall bound 0≤δ -19 on theories of this type

Global ethics and principlism.

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, John-Stewart

2011-09-01

This article examines the special relation between common morality and particular moralities in the four-principles approach and its use for global ethics. It is argued that the special dialectical relation between common morality and particular moralities is the key to bridging the gap between ethical universalism and relativism. The four-principles approach is a good model for a global bioethics by virtue of its ability to mediate successfully between universal demands and cultural diversity. The principle of autonomy (i.e., the idea of individual informed consent), however, does need to be revised so as to make it compatible with alternatives such as family- or community-informed consent. The upshot is that the contribution of the four-principles approach to global ethics lies in the so-called dialectical process and its power to deal with cross-cultural issues against the background of universal demands by joining them together.

Global financial centers: shifting power balance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aalbers, M.B.

2009-01-01

London and New York are the most important global financial centers in the world. Tokyo used to be considered the third global financial center, but has lost its position in the last 20 years, partly as a result of a sustained recession and partly because both Japanese society and Japanese economy

Precipitation and total power consumption in the ionosphere: Global MHD simulation results compared with Polar and SNOE observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Palmroth

2006-05-01

Full Text Available We compare the ionospheric electron precipitation morphology and power from a global MHD simulation (GUMICS-4 with direct measurements of auroral energy flux during a pair of substorms on 28-29 March 1998. The electron precipitation power is computed directly from global images of auroral light observed by the Polar satellite ultraviolet imager (UVI. Independent of the Polar UVI measurements, the electron precipitation energy is determined from SNOE satellite observations on the thermospheric nitric oxide (NO density. We find that the GUMICS-4 simulation reproduces the spatial variation of the global aurora rather reliably in the sense that the onset of the substorm is shown in GUMICS-4 simulation as enhanced precipitation in the right location at the right time. The total integrated precipitation power in the GUMICS-4 simulation is in quantitative agreement with the observations during quiet times, i.e., before the two substorm intensifications. We find that during active times the GUMICS-4 integrated precipitation is a factor of 5 lower than the observations indicate. However, we also find factor of 2-3 differences in the precipitation power among the three different UVI processing methods tested here. The findings of this paper are used to complete an earlier objective, in which the total ionospheric power deposition in the simulation is forecasted from a mathematical expression, which is a function of solar wind density, velocity and magnetic field. We find that during this event, the correlation coefficient between the outcome of the forecasting expression and the simulation results is 0.83. During the event, the simulation result on the total ionospheric power deposition agrees with observations (correlation coefficient 0.8 and the AE index (0.85.

Global Value Chain and Manufacturing Analysis on Geothermal Power Plant Turbines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akar, Sertac [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Augustine, Chad R [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Kurup, Parthiv [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Mann, Margaret K [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2017-10-04

The global geothermal electricity market has significantly grown over the last decade and is expected to reach a total installed capacity of 18.4 GWe in 2021 (GEA, 2016). Currently, geothermal project developers customize the size of the power plant to fit the resource being developed. In particular, the turbine is designed and sized to optimize efficiency and resource utilization for electricity production; most often, other power plant components are then chosen to complement the turbine design. These custom turbine designs demand one-off manufacturing processes, which result in higher manufacturing setup costs, longer lead-times, and higher capital costs overall in comparison to larger-volume line manufacturing processes. In contrast, turbines produced in standard increments, manufactured in larger volumes, could result in lower costs per turbine. This study focuses on analysis of the global supply chain and manufacturing costs for Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) turboexpanders and steam turbines used in geothermal power plants. In this study, we developed a manufacturing cost model to identify requirements for equipment, facilities, raw materials, and labor. We analyzed three different cases 1) 1 MWe geothermal ORC turboexpander 2) 5 MWe ORC turboexpander and 3) 20 MWe geothermal steam turbine, and calculated the cost of manufacturing the major components, such as the impellers/blades, shaft/rotor, nozzles, inlet guide lanes, disks, and casings. Then we used discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis to calculate the minimum sustainable price (MSP). MSP is the minimum price that a company must sell its product for in order to pay back the capital and operating expenses during the plant lifetime (CEMAC, 2017). The results showed that MSP could highly vary between 893 dollar/kW and 30 dollar/kW based on turbine size, standardization and volume of manufacturing. The analysis also showed that the economy of scale applies both to the size of the turbine and the number

Attentional selection of relative SF mediates global versus local processing: evidence from EEG.

Science.gov (United States)

Flevaris, Anastasia V; Bentin, Shlomo; Robertson, Lynn C

2011-06-13

Previous research on functional hemispheric differences in visual processing has associated global perception with low spatial frequency (LSF) processing biases of the right hemisphere (RH) and local perception with high spatial frequency (HSF) processing biases of the left hemisphere (LH). The Double Filtering by Frequency (DFF) theory expanded this hypothesis by proposing that visual attention selects and is directed to relatively LSFs by the RH and relatively HSFs by the LH, suggesting a direct causal relationship between SF selection and global versus local perception. We tested this idea in the current experiment by comparing activity in the EEG recorded at posterior right and posterior left hemisphere sites while participants' attention was directed to global or local levels of processing after selection of relatively LSFs versus HSFs in a previous stimulus. Hemispheric asymmetry in the alpha band (8-12 Hz) during preparation for global versus local processing was modulated by the selected SF. In contrast, preparatory activity associated with selection of SF was not modulated by the previously attended level (global/local). These results support the DFF theory that top-down attentional selection of SF mediates global and local processing.

COMPETING CONCEPTIONS OF GLOBALIZATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leslie Sklair

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Globalization is a relatively new idea in the social sciences, although people who work in and write about the mass media, transnational corporations and international business have been using it for some time. The purpose of this paper is to critically review the ways in which sociologists and other social scientists use ideas of globalization and to evaluate the fruitfulness of these competing conceptions. The central feature of the idea of globalization is that many contemporary problems cannot be adequately studied at the level of nation-states, that is, in terms of each country and its inter-national relations. Instead, they need to be conceptualized in terms of global processes. Some have even gone so far as to predict that global forces, by which they usually mean transnational corporations and other global economic institutions, global culture or globalizing belief systems/ideologies of various types, or a combination of all of these, are becoming so powerful that the continuing existence of the nation-state is in serious doubt. This is not a necessary consequence of most theories of globalization. The argument of this paper is that much of the globalization literature is confused because not all those who use the term distinguish it clearly enough from internation-alization, and some writers appear to use the two terms interchangeably. I argue that a clear distinction must be drawn between the inter-national and the global. The hyphen in inter-national is to distinguish (inadequate conceptions of the global' founded on the existing even if changing system of nation-states, from (genuine conceptions of the global based on the emergence of global processes and a global system of social relations not founded on national characteristics or nation-states. This global system theory is the framework for my own research. Globalization studies can be categorized on the basis of four research clusters:1. The world-systems approach; 2. The global

Global 1989 in El Salvador

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dykmann, Klaas

1989 can be regarded as a regional moment (and not as a global moment) in Latin America and for the inter-American relations. The changes in El Salvador (moderation of guerrilla, change of UCA academics‘ position, tamed right-wing in power) were rather accelerated through the rebels’ offensive...

Cosmic microwave background constraints for global strings and global monopoles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez-Eiguren, Asier; Lizarraga, Joanes; Urrestilla, Jon; Hindmarsh, Mark

2017-01-01

We present the first cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectra from numerical simulations of the global O( N ) linear σ-model, with N =2,3, which have global strings and monopoles as topological defects. In order to compute the CMB power spectra we compute the unequal time correlators (UETCs) of the energy-momentum tensor, showing that they fall off at high wave number faster than naive estimates based on the geometry of the defects, indicating non-trivial (anti-)correlations between the defects and the surrounding Goldstone boson field. We obtain source functions for Einstein-Boltzmann solvers from the UETCs, using a recently developed method that improves the modelling at the radiation-matter transition. We show that the interpolation function that mimics the transition is similar to other defect models, but not identical, confirming the non-universality of the interpolation function. The CMB power spectra for global strings and global monopoles have the same overall shape as those obtained using the non-linear σ-model approximation, which is well captured by a large- N calculation. However, the amplitudes are larger than the large- N calculation would naively predict, and in the case of global strings much larger: a factor of 20 at the peak. Finally we compare the CMB power spectra with the latest CMB data in other to put limits on the allowed contribution to the temperature power spectrum at multipole l = 10 of 1.7% for global strings and 2.4% for global monopoles. These limits correspond to symmetry-breaking scales of 2.9× 10 15 GeV (6.3× 10 14 GeV with the expected logarithmic scaling of the effective string tension between the simulation time and decoupling) and 6.4× 10 15 GeV respectively. The bound on global strings is a significant one for the ultra-light axion scenario with axion masses m a ∼< 10 −28 eV . These upper limits indicate that gravitational waves from global topological defects will not be observable at the gravitational wave

Multi-Label Object Categorization Using Histograms of Global Relations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mustafa, Wail; Xiong, Hanchen; Kraft, Dirk

2015-01-01

In this paper, we present an object categorization system capable of assigning multiple and related categories for novel objects using multi-label learning. In this system, objects are described using global geometric relations of 3D features. We propose using the Joint SVM method for learning......). The experiments are carried out on a dataset of 100 objects belonging to 13 visual and action-related categories. The results indicate that multi-label methods are able to identify the relation between the dependent categories and hence perform categorization accordingly. It is also found that extracting...

Internalisation of external cost in the power generation sector: Analysis with Global Multi-regional MARKAL model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rafaj, Peter; Kypreos, Socrates

2007-01-01

The Global MARKAL-Model (GMM), a multi-regional 'bottom-up' partial equilibrium model of the global energy system with endogenous technological learning, is used to address impacts of internalisation of external costs from power production. This modelling approach imposes additional charges on electricity generation, which reflect the costs of environmental and health damages from local pollutants (SO 2 , NO x ) and climate change, wastes, occupational health, risk of accidents, noise and other burdens. Technologies allowing abatement of pollutants emitted from power plants are rapidly introduced into the energy system, for example, desulphurisation, NO x removal, and CO 2 scrubbers. The modelling results indicate substantial changes in the electricity production system in favour of natural gas combined cycle, nuclear power and renewables induced by internalisation of external costs and also efficiency loss due to the use of scrubbers. Structural changes and fuel switching in the electricity sector result in significant reduction of emissions of both local pollution and CO 2 over the modelled time period. Strong decarbonisation impact of internalising local externalities suggests that ancillary benefits can be expected from policies directly addressing other issues then CO 2 mitigation. Finally, the detailed analysis of the total generation cost of different technologies points out that inclusion of external cost in the price of electricity increases competitiveness of non-fossil generation sources and fossil power plants with emission control

Lived experience of economic and political trends related to globalization.

Science.gov (United States)

Cushon, Jennifer A; Muhajarine, Nazeem; Labonte, Ronald

2010-01-01

A multi-method case study examined how the economic and political processes of globalization have influenced the determinants of health among low-income children in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. This paper presents the results from the qualitative interview component of the case study. The purpose of the interviews was to uncover the lived experience of low-income families and their children in Saskatoon with regards to political and economic trends related to globalization, an important addition to the usual globalization and health research that relies primarily on cross-country regressions in which the personal impacts remain hidden. In-depth phenomenological interviews with 26 low-income parents of young children (aged zero to five) who were residents of Saskatoon. A combination of volunteer and criterion sampling was used. Interview questions were open-ended and based upon an analytical framework. Analysis proceeded through immersion in the data, a process of open coding, and finally through a process of selective coding. The larger case study and interviews indicate that globalization has largely not been benefiting low-income parents with young children. Low-income families with young children were struggling to survive, despite the tremendous economic growth occurring in Saskatchewan and Saskatoon at the time of the interviews. This often led to participants expressing a sense of helplessness, despair, isolation, and/or anger. Respondents' experiences suggest that globalization-related changes in social conditions and public policies and programs have great potential to negatively affect family health through either psychosocial effects in individuals and/or decreased levels of social cohesion in the community.

Strategies of social welfare users: a relational readi ng concerning power relations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvana Aparecida Mariano

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This article addresses the analysis of power relations within the operation of social welfare policy, based on a case study conducted in Londrina, Paraná. Our analysis adopts a relational perspective on the confi guration of power among the beneficiaries of the policy and the social workers responsible for implementing state actions to fi ght poverty. Basically what we found were areas of dissonance between conceptions and perceptions of users and social workers, so that an unreadable universe is created for users on social welfare and, thus, possible ways to consolidate the transfer of income are blocked as a right to citizenship. We focus on actions related to the transfer of income because of its relevance to the Brazilian social welfare today.

Energy choices and risk beliefs: is it just global warming and fear of a nuclear power plant accident?

Science.gov (United States)

Greenberg, Michael; Truelove, Heather Barnes

2011-05-01

A survey of 3,200 U.S. residents focused on two issues associated with the use of nuclear and coal fuels to produce electrical energy. The first was the association between risk beliefs and preferences for coal and nuclear energy. As expected, concern about nuclear power plant accidents led to decreased support for nuclear power, and those who believed that coal causes global warming preferred less coal use. Yet other risk beliefs about the coal and nuclear energy fuel cycles were stronger or equal correlates of public preferences. The second issue is the existence of what we call acknowledged risk takers, respondents who favored increased reliance on nuclear energy, although also noting that there could be a serious nuclear plant accident, and those who favored greater coal use, despite acknowledging a link to global warming. The pro-nuclear group disproportionately was affluent educated white males, and the pro-coal group was relatively poor less educated African-American and Latino females. Yet both shared four similarities: older age, trust in management, belief that the energy facilities help the local economy, and individualistic personal values. These findings show that there is no single public with regard to energy preferences and risk beliefs. Rather, there are multiple populations with different viewpoints that surely would benefit by hearing a clear and comprehensive national energy life cycle policy from the national government. © 2010 Society for Risk Analysis.

Renewables 2018 - Global status report. A comprehensive annual overview of the state of renewable energy. Advancing the global renewable energy transition - Highlights of the REN21 Renewables 2018 Global Status Report in perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sawin, Janet L.; Sverrisson, Freyr; Rutovitz, Jay; Dwyer, Scott; Teske, Sven; Murdock, Hannah E.; Adib, Rana; Guerra, Flavia; Murdock, Hannah E.; Blanning, Linh H.; Guerra, Flavia; Hamirwasia, Vibhushree; Misra, Archita; Satzinger, Katharina; Williamson, Laura E.; Lie, Mimi; Nilsson, Anna; Aberg, Emma; Weckend, Stephanie; Wuester, Henning; Ferroukhi, Rabia; Garcia, Celia; Khalid, Arslan; Renner, Michael; Taylor, Michael; Epp, Barbel; Seyboth, Kristin; Skeen, Jonathan; Kamiya, George; Munuera, Luis; Appavou, Fabiani; Brown, Adam; Kondev, Bozhil; Musolino, Evan; Brown, Adam; Mastny, Lisa; Arris, Lelani

2018-06-01

REN21's Renewables 2018 Global Status Report presents developments and trends through the end of 2017, as well as observed trends from early 2018 where available. Renewable power accounted for 70% of net additions to global power generating capacity in 2017, the largest increase in renewable power capacity in modern history, according to REN21's Renewables 2018 Global Status Report (GSR). But the heating, cooling and transport sectors - which together account for about four-fifths of global final energy demand - continue to lag far behind the power sector. The GSR, published today, is the most comprehensive annual overview of the state of renewable energy worldwide. New solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity reached record levels: Solar PV additions were up 29% relative to 2016, to 98 GW. More solar PV generating capacity was added to the electricity system than net capacity additions of coal, natural gas and nuclear power combined. Wind power also drove the uptake of renewables with 52 GW added globally. Investment in new renewable power capacity was more than twice that of net, new fossil fuel and nuclear power capacity combined, despite large, ongoing subsidies for fossil fuel generation. More than two-thirds of investments in power generation were in renewables in 2017, thanks to their increasing cost-competitiveness - and the share of renewables in the power sector is expected to only continue to rise. Investment in renewables was regionally concentrated: China, Europe and the United States accounted for nearly 75% of global investment in renewables in 2017. However, when measured per unit of gross domestic product (GDP), the Marshall Islands, Rwanda, the Solomon Islands, Guinea Bissau, and many other developing countries are investing as much as or more in renewables than developed and emerging economies. Both energy demand and energy-related CO 2 emissions rose substantially for the first time in four years. Energy-related CO 2 emissions rose by 1

Surface reflectance and conversion efficiency dependence of technologies for mitigating global warming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Edmonds, Ian [Solartran Pty Ltd., 12 Lentara St, Kenmore, Brisbane 4069 (Australia); Smith, Geoff [Physics and Advanced Materials, University of Technology, Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway, New South Wales 2007 (Australia)

2011-05-15

A means of assessing the relative impact of different renewable energy technologies on global warming has been developed. All power plants emit thermal energy to the atmosphere. Fossil fuel power plants also emit CO{sub 2} which accumulates in the atmosphere and provides an indirect increase in global warming via the greenhouse effect. A fossil fuel power plant may operate for some time before the global warming due to its CO{sub 2} emission exceeds the warming due to its direct heat emission. When a renewable energy power plant is deployed instead of a fossil fuel power plant there may be a significant time delay before the direct global warming effect is less than the combined direct and indirect global warming effect from an equivalent output coal fired plant - the ''business as usual'' case. Simple expressions are derived to calculate global temperature change as a function of ground reflectance and conversion efficiency for various types of fossil fuelled and renewable energy power plants. These expressions are used to assess the global warming mitigation potential of some proposed Australian renewable energy projects. The application of the expressions is extended to evaluate the deployment in Australia of current and new geo-engineering and carbon sequestration solutions to mitigate global warming. Principal findings are that warming mitigation depends strongly on the solar to electric conversion efficiency of renewable technologies, geo-engineering projects may offer more economic mitigation than renewable energy projects and the mitigation potential of reforestation projects depends strongly on the location of the projects. (author)

Global hydrobelts: improved reporting scale for water-related issues?

Science.gov (United States)

Meybeck, M.; Kummu, M.; Dürr, H. H.

2012-08-01

Questions related to water such as its availability, water needs or stress, or management, are mapped at various resolutions at the global scale. They are reported at many scales, mostly along political or continental boundaries. As such, they ignore the fundamental heterogeneity of the hydroclimate and the natural boundaries of the river basins. Here, we describe the continental landmasses according to eight global-scale hydrobelts strictly limited by river basins, defined at a 30' (0.5°) resolution. The belts were defined and delineated, based primarily on the annual average temperature (T) and runoff (q), to maximise interbelt differences and minimise intrabelt variability. The belts were further divided into 29 hydroregions based on continental limits. This new global puzzle defines homogeneous and near-contiguous entities with similar hydrological and thermal regimes, glacial and postglacial basin histories, endorheism distribution and sensitivity to climate variations. The Mid-Latitude, Dry and Subtropical belts have northern and southern analogues and a general symmetry can be observed for T and q between them. The Boreal and Equatorial belts are unique. The hydroregions (median size 4.7 Mkm2) contrast strongly, with the average q ranging between 6 and 1393 mm yr-1 and the average T between -9.7 and +26.3 °C. Unlike the hydroclimate, the population density between the North and South belts and between the continents varies greatly, resulting in pronounced differences between the belts with analogues in both hemispheres. The population density ranges from 0.7 to 0.8 p km-2 for the North American Boreal and some Australian hydroregions to 280 p km-2 for the Asian part of the Northern Mid-Latitude belt. The combination of population densities and hydroclimate features results in very specific expressions of water-related characteristics in each of the 29 hydroregions. Our initial tests suggest that hydrobelt and hydroregion divisions are often more

A global first integral for certain dynamical systems and related remarks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez-Gascon, F.

1977-01-01

A global first integral for certain dynamical systems and the related remarks are presented. In particular, it is shown that for these dynamical systems by introducing the (intrinsic) definition of the divergence of a vector field defined on an orientable differentiable manifold, the first integral, i.e. the (intrinsic) divergence of a vector field is now, automatically, a global first integral. (author)

A relational approach to durable poverty, inequality and power.

Science.gov (United States)

Mosse, David

2010-01-01

The article argues for what can be called a 'relational' approach to poverty: one that first views persistent poverty as the consequence of historically developed economic and political relations, and second, that emphasises poverty and inequality as an effect of social categorisation and identity, drawing in particular on the experience of adivasis ("tribals") and dalits ("untouchables") subordinated in Indian society. The approach follows Charles Tilly's Durable Inequality in combining Marxian ideas of exploitation and dispossession with Weberian notions of social closure. The article then draws on the work of Steven Lukes, Pierre Bourdieu and Arjun Appadurai to argue for the need to incorporate a multidimensional conception of power; including not only power as the direct assertion of will but also 'agenda-setting power' that sets the terms in which poverty becomes (or fails to become) politicised, and closely related to power as political representation. This sets the basis for discussion of the politics of poverty and exclusion.

Physics for future Presidents - nuclear power, terrorism, global warming; La physique expliquee a notre futur president - Nucleaire, terrorisme, rechauffement climatique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Muller, Richard A.

2011-04-26

This book explains the science behind the concerns that our nation faces in the immediate future. It outlines the tools of terrorists, the dangers of nuclear power, and the reality of global warming. As citizens who will elect future presidents of the most powerful and influential countries in the world, we need to know-truly understand if Iran's nascent nuclear capability is a genuine threat to the West, if biochemical weapons are likely to be developed by terrorists, if there are viable alternatives to fossil fuels that should be nurtured and supported by the government, if nuclear power should be encouraged, and if global warming is actually happening. This book is written in everyday, nontechnical language on the science behind the concerns that our nations faces in the immediate future. This book is translated from 'Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines', published by W. W. Norton and Company in August 2008. Contents: 1 - Terrorism: Nine-eleven, Terrorist nukes, The next terrorist attack, Biological terrorism; 2 - Energy: Key energy surprises, Solar Power, The end of oil; 3 - Nukes: Radioactivity and death, Radioactive decay, Nuclear weapons, Nuclear madness, Nuclear power, Nuclear waste, Controlled fusion; 4 - Space: Space and satellites, Gravity applications, Humans in space, Spying with invisible light; 5 - Global Warming: A brief history of climate, The greenhouse effect, A very likely cause, Evidence, Non-solutions, The fruit on the ground, New technologies

Status, Power, and Intergroup Relations: The Personal Is the Societal.

Science.gov (United States)

Fiske, Susan T; Dupree, Cydney H; Nicolas, Gandalf; Swencionis, Jillian K

2016-10-01

Hierarchies in the correlated forms of power (resources) and status (prestige) are constants that organize human societies. This article reviews relevant social psychological literature and identifies several converging results concerning power and status. Whether rank is chronically possessed or temporarily embodied, higher ranks create psychological distance from others, allow agency by the higher ranked, and exact deference from the lower ranked. Beliefs that status entails competence are essentially universal. Interpersonal interactions create warmth-competence compensatory tradeoffs. Along with societal structures (enduring inequality), these tradeoffs reinforce status-competence beliefs. Race, class, and gender further illustrate these dynamics. Although status systems are resilient, they can shift, and understanding those change processes is an important direction for future research, as global demographic changes disrupt existing hierarchies.

Cosmic microwave background constraints for global strings and global monopoles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopez-Eiguren, Asier; Lizarraga, Joanes; Urrestilla, Jon [Department of Theoretical Physics, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, 48080 Bilbao (Spain); Hindmarsh, Mark, E-mail: asier.lopez@ehu.eus, E-mail: joanes.lizarraga@ehu.eus, E-mail: m.b.hindmarsh@sussex.ac.uk, E-mail: jon.urrestilla@ehu.eus [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QH (United Kingdom)

2017-07-01

We present the first cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectra from numerical simulations of the global O( N ) linear σ-model, with N =2,3, which have global strings and monopoles as topological defects. In order to compute the CMB power spectra we compute the unequal time correlators (UETCs) of the energy-momentum tensor, showing that they fall off at high wave number faster than naive estimates based on the geometry of the defects, indicating non-trivial (anti-)correlations between the defects and the surrounding Goldstone boson field. We obtain source functions for Einstein-Boltzmann solvers from the UETCs, using a recently developed method that improves the modelling at the radiation-matter transition. We show that the interpolation function that mimics the transition is similar to other defect models, but not identical, confirming the non-universality of the interpolation function. The CMB power spectra for global strings and global monopoles have the same overall shape as those obtained using the non-linear σ-model approximation, which is well captured by a large- N calculation. However, the amplitudes are larger than the large- N calculation would naively predict, and in the case of global strings much larger: a factor of 20 at the peak. Finally we compare the CMB power spectra with the latest CMB data in other to put limits on the allowed contribution to the temperature power spectrum at multipole l = 10 of 1.7% for global strings and 2.4% for global monopoles. These limits correspond to symmetry-breaking scales of 2.9× 10{sup 15} GeV (6.3× 10{sup 14} GeV with the expected logarithmic scaling of the effective string tension between the simulation time and decoupling) and 6.4× 10{sup 15} GeV respectively. The bound on global strings is a significant one for the ultra-light axion scenario with axion masses m {sub a} ∼< 10{sup −28} eV . These upper limits indicate that gravitational waves from global topological defects will not be observable at

Simulating Global AeroMACS Airport Ground Station Antenna Power Transmission Limits to Avoid Interference With Mobile Satellite Service Feeder Uplinks

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Jeffrey D.

2013-01-01

The Aeronautical Mobile Airport Communications System (AeroMACS), which is based upon the IEEE 802.16e mobile wireless standard, is expected to be implemented in the 5091 to 5150 MHz frequency band. As this band is also occupied by Mobile Satellite Service feeder uplinks, AeroMACS must be designed to avoid interference with this incumbent service. The aspects of AeroMACS operation that present potential interference are under analysis in order to enable the definition of standards that assure that such interference will be avoided. In this study, the cumulative interference power distribution at low Earth orbit from transmitters at global airports was simulated with the Visualyse Professional software. The dependence of the interference power on antenna distribution, gain patterns, duty cycle, and antenna tilt was simulated. As a function of these parameters, the simulation results are presented in terms of the limitations on transmitter power from global airports required to maintain the cumulative interference power under the established threshold.

Enhancement of the REMix energy system model. Global renewable energy potentials, optimized power plant siting and scenario validation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stetter, Daniel

2014-04-10

As electricity generation based on volatile renewable resources is subject to fluctuations, data with high temporal and spatial resolution on their availability is indispensable for integrating large shares of renewable capacities into energy infrastructures. The scope of the present doctoral thesis is to enhance the existing energy modelling environment REMix in terms of (i.) extending the geographic coverage of the potential assessment tool REMix-EnDaT from a European to a global scale, (ii.) adding a new plant siting optimization module REMix-PlaSMo, capable of assessing siting effects of renewable power plants on the portfolio output and (iii.) adding a new alternating current power transmission model between 30 European countries and CSP electricity imports from power plants located in North Africa and the Middle East via high voltage direct current links into the module REMix-OptiMo. With respect to the global potential assessment tool, a thorough investigation is carried out creating an hourly global inventory of the theoretical potentials of the major renewable resources solar irradiance, wind speed and river discharge at a spatial resolution of 0.45°x0.45°. A detailed global land use analysis determines eligible sites for the installation of renewable power plants. Detailed power plant models for PV, CSP, wind and hydro power allow for the assessment of power output, cost per kWh and respective full load hours taking into account the theoretical potentials, technological as well as economic data. The so-obtined tool REMix-EnDaT can be used as follows: First, as an assessment tool for arbitrary geographic locations, countries or world regions, deriving either site-specific or aggregated installable capacities, cost as well as full load hour potentials. Second, as a tool providing input data such as installable capacities and hourly renewable electricity generation for further assessments using the modules REMix-PlasMo and OptiMo. The plant siting tool

Enhancement of the REMix energy system model. Global renewable energy potentials, optimized power plant siting and scenario validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stetter, Daniel

2014-01-01

As electricity generation based on volatile renewable resources is subject to fluctuations, data with high temporal and spatial resolution on their availability is indispensable for integrating large shares of renewable capacities into energy infrastructures. The scope of the present doctoral thesis is to enhance the existing energy modelling environment REMix in terms of (i.) extending the geographic coverage of the potential assessment tool REMix-EnDaT from a European to a global scale, (ii.) adding a new plant siting optimization module REMix-PlaSMo, capable of assessing siting effects of renewable power plants on the portfolio output and (iii.) adding a new alternating current power transmission model between 30 European countries and CSP electricity imports from power plants located in North Africa and the Middle East via high voltage direct current links into the module REMix-OptiMo. With respect to the global potential assessment tool, a thorough investigation is carried out creating an hourly global inventory of the theoretical potentials of the major renewable resources solar irradiance, wind speed and river discharge at a spatial resolution of 0.45°x0.45°. A detailed global land use analysis determines eligible sites for the installation of renewable power plants. Detailed power plant models for PV, CSP, wind and hydro power allow for the assessment of power output, cost per kWh and respective full load hours taking into account the theoretical potentials, technological as well as economic data. The so-obtined tool REMix-EnDaT can be used as follows: First, as an assessment tool for arbitrary geographic locations, countries or world regions, deriving either site-specific or aggregated installable capacities, cost as well as full load hour potentials. Second, as a tool providing input data such as installable capacities and hourly renewable electricity generation for further assessments using the modules REMix-PlasMo and OptiMo. The plant siting tool

A Dynamic Approach to the Analysis of Soft Power in International Relations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chi Zhang

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This article discusses soft power in international relations and the soft power of China’s foreign policy in recent years. After presenting a critique of the soft power theory developed by Joseph S. Nye, the paper provides an alternative interpretation of soft power. The author proposes a dynamic analysis of soft power in international relations, and argues that whether a power resource is soft or hard depends on the perceptions and feelings of various actors in specific situations. Due to the varying degrees of acceptance, power can be divided into hard power, soft power and bargaining power. An analysis should look at the soft or hard effectiveness of a power resource from three perspectives–horizontally, vertically and relatively. Recently, the soft power of China’s foreign policy and international behavior has mainly been manifested in multilateralism, economic diplomacy and a good-neighborly policy.

Power station design and public relations - association with the citizen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eiteneyer, H.

1977-01-01

The series of questions concerning public relations, connected with the realization of power plant construction projects will be discussed before the background of the public requirement of electricity supply corporations. It will be explained that public relation cannot be seen as an instrument, having the purpose to inform about 'good or bad' of power plant designs and construction intentions. PR is more a constitutive element of economy policy. Transparent, clear information of the citizen about power plant projects, and power plant related procedures should be their targets. This signifies a distance from just technical presentation. PR must develop in the direction to active corporational strategy, taking psychological- and social psychological influences into consideration. Statements will be made in regard to the dialogue between power plant advocates and power plant opponents. The special responsibility of the public electricity supply corporations for an always sufficient, safe and economical supply to the consumer, will be pointed out. Better information of the public in this regard is a necessary requirement. (orig.) [de

Globalization, Transnational Crime and State Power: The Need for a New Criminology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viano Emilio C.

2010-03-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on globalization as it relates to transnational crime. It attempts to show how the very patterns and dynamics that make globalization possible and effective as a positive force in the world also give rise to “collateral” negative, that is criminal, consequences and facilitate the spawning and rapid growth of transnational crimes. Moreover, there are also crimes committed opposing globalization. And globalization also makes it easier to fight crime since it facilitates cooperation and coordination of anti-crime efforts. Thus it has a complex relationship with crime: positive, negative and preventative. The paper also addresses how criminologists should review and revise their research and intervention models to take into account how globalization has changed the way we can and should approach crime. It addresses the lack of criminological interest in the “crimes” of globalization. It challenges the essentialist assumption of mainstream criminology that the legal definitions of crime are sacrosanct and frozen. We need a broader conceptualization of crime which goes beyond the prescriptions of criminal law and draws on different intellectual traditions (crimes of globalization, structural violence and the critique of neo-liberalism which emphasize the contingent influence of social harm in people's life choices. New and bold ways of thinking and modeling are needed. Examples are provided.

Insights for the third Global Environment Outlook from related global scenario anlayses. Working paper for GEO-3

OpenAIRE

Bakkes JA; Goldewijk CGM; Meijer JR; Rothman DS; Vries HJM de; Woerden JW van; United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); MNV

2001-01-01

This report relates to the ongoing development of scenarios for the third Global Environment Outlook (GEO-3) of UNEP. It illustrates the scale and type of environmental impacts that GEO-3 needs to consider. It does so by quantifying impacts using existing, recent studies whose scenarios come closest to the current tentative global storylines for GEO-3. With a view to GEO-3;s envisaged role as input for the Rio+10 Earth Summit in 2002, this report suggests a focus for the GEO-3 scenario analys...

The international implications of the Chinese model of development in the Global South: Asian Consensus as a network power

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Vadell

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes People's Republic of China (PRC economic and political ascendance in the 21st century focusing on the evolution of the sui generis economic development model and its significances of the evolution of relationship between China and the developing countries in the peripheral "Global South." The objective of this article is to analyze the relationship between China and the Global South (Africa and South America in the 21st century, characterized as a new Center-periphery global network power based on trade and investment that we call as "Asian Consensus."

Global Value Chain and Manufacturing Analysis on Geothermal Power Plant Turbines: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akar, Sertac [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Augustine, Chad R [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Kurup, Parthiv [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Mann, Margaret K [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2017-11-03

The global geothermal electricity market has significantly grown over the last decade and is expected to reach a total installed capacity of 18.4 GWe in 2021 (GEA, 2016). Currently, geothermal project developers customize the size of the power plant to fit the resource being developed. In particular, the turbine is designed and sized to optimize efficiency and resource utilization for electricity production; most often, other power plant components are then chosen to complement the turbine design. These custom turbine designs demand one-off manufacturing processes, which result in higher manufacturing setup costs, longer lead-times, and higher capital costs overall in comparison to larger-volume line manufacturing processes. In contrast, turbines produced in standard increments, manufactured in larger volumes, could result in lower costs per turbine. This study focuses on analysis of the global supply chain and manufacturing costs for Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) turboexpanders and steam turbines used in geothermal power plants. In this study, we developed a manufacturing cost model to identify requirements for equipment, facilities, raw materials, and labor. We analyzed three different cases 1) 1 MWe geothermal ORC turboexpander 2) 5 MWe ORC turboexpander and 3) 20 MWe geothermal steam turbine, and calculated the cost of manufacturing the major components, such as the impellers/blades, shaft/rotor, nozzles, inlet guide lanes, disks, and casings. Then we used discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis to calculate the minimum sustainable price (MSP). MSP is the minimum price that a company must sell its product for in order to pay back the capital and operating expenses during the plant lifetime (CEMAC, 2017). The results showed that MSP could highly vary between 893 dollar/kW and 30 dollar/kW based on turbine size, standardization and volume of manufacturing. The analysis also showed that the economy of scale applies both to the size of the turbine and the number

Metaphors of Primary School Students Relating to the Concept of Global Warming

Science.gov (United States)

Dogru, Mustafa; Sarac, Esra

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to reveal the metaphors of primary school students (n = 362) relating to the concept of global warming. Data collected by completing the expression of "global warming is like..., because..." of the students were analysed by use of qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques. According to findings of…

Nuclear power a viable alternative in global warming context

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cretu, Ileana; Balan, Iosif Bogdan; Ionila, Maria; Petra, Nicoleta Mihaela

2008-01-01

Energy sources available in the world include: coal, oil, gas, biomass, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, solar, refuse-based, and hydrogen. In addition, fusion had been originally proposed as the long-term source. Every form of energy generation has both advantages and disadvantages. Burning fuel for energy requirements represent about 88% from the total emission of NO x and CO 2 , and about 90% from SO 2 respectively, and about 72% from suspension powder evacuated into the atmosphere. Global warming represents a real threat and is the most visible sign of the climatic changes which take place all over the world. To reduce the emission of greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF 6 ), the 'Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations framework convention on climate change' has been adopted in 1997. According to this protocol European countries must reduce their overall emissions of greenhouse gases by at least 5% below 1990 levels in the commitment period 2008 -- 2012. In this context, because the natural resources for power generation based on the fossil fuels are decreasing and their prices are rising, nuclear power has become a real alternative for classical energy sources. It is indicated by: - Fuel is inexpensive because uranium represents a very small part of nuclear power cost and uranium sediment is found on a large scale all over the world; - No greenhouse emission or acid rain effects occur during a normal operation. Nuclear power is also named 'clean energy'; - Wastes are more compact than those of any source of energy and are stored in underground and secured deposits; - Nuclear energy has a number of advantages which warrant its use as one of the many methods of fulfilling the energy-demand of the world. Even with conservation efforts, energy demand increased and will continue to increase. Using each and every one of these forms of energy

A visão brasileira da futura ordem global Brazil's vision of the future global order

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Flemes

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Este artigo visa desdobrar a concepção brasileira da futura ordem global localizada entre os polos extremos de um concerto de grandes potências e de uma ordem mundial multirregional. O autor demonstra como os formuladores de política externa brasileira contribuem para um tipo de ordem global que oferece espaço de manobra para a potência emergente. As opções de política externa do Brasil são limitadas, diante do superior poder material (hard power das grandes potências estabelecidas. A estratégia de soft balancing do Brasil envolve estratégias institucionais, como a formação de coalizões diplomáticas limitadas ou alianças para restringir o poder das grandes potências estabelecidas. O Brasil tem estado entre os mais poderosos condutores de mudança incremental na diplomacia mundial e é beneficiado em grande parte pelas conectadas mudanças de poder global. Em uma ordem global moldada por grandes potências por meio de arranjos e instituições internacionais, esses jogadores que efetivamente operam em ambos como inovadores, construtores de coalizões e porta-vozes, ao mesmo tempo em que preservam grande parcela de soberania e autonomia, têm o potencial de influenciar substancialmente os resultados da futura política global.This article aims to unfold the Brazilian conception of the future global order located between the extreme poles of a concert of great powers and a multiregional world order. The author demonstrates how Brazilian foreign policy makers contribute to the kind of global order, which offers most room to manoeuvre to the rising power. The foreign policy options of Brazil are limited in view of the superior hard power of the established great powers. Brazil's soft balancing strategy involves institutional strategies such as the formation of limited diplomatic coalitions or ententes to constrain the power of the established great powers. Brazil has been amongst the most powerful drivers of incremental change in

Parametrized overview of CO_2 power cycles for different operation conditions and configurations – An absolute and relative performance analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cardemil, José M.; Silva, Alexandre K. da

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Thermodynamic modeling of CO_2-based power cycles. • A multi-parameter analysis for different cycle configurations. • Performance comparison between CO_2 and four other fluids. • Detailed discussion considering optimized operational parameters (i.e., pressure, HX size). • Overview of the technical applicability of the CO_2. - Abstract: This thermodynamically based study focuses on the thermal performance of power cycles using CO_2 as the working fluid. The work considers numerous aspects that can influence the cycle's performance, such as the type of cycle (i.e., Rankine or Brayton), its configuration (i.e., with and without a recuperator), and different operational conditions (i.e., heat source temperature and the upper and lower operating pressures of the CO_2). To account for all possible scenarios, a thermodynamic routine was especially implemented and linked to a library that contained all the thermodynamics properties of CO_2. The results are mostly presented in terms of the absolute and relative 1st and 2nd Law efficiencies of CO_2 as well as the cycle's scale, here represented by the global conductance (UA) of the heat exchangers used within the cycle. For the relative performance assessment, four other working fluids, commonly used in energy conversion cycles, were considered (i.e., ethane, toluene, D4 siloxane and water). As expected, the absolute performance results indicate a strong dependence of the cycle's efficiencies on the operational conditions. As for the relative performance, the results suggest that while the CO_2's 1st Law efficiency might be lower than other fluids, its exergetic efficiency can be significantly higher. Furthermore, the calculations also indicate that the CO_2's needed global conductance is potentially lower than competing fluids (e.g., toluene) for certain operational conditions, which suggests that CO_2-based power plants can be more compact, since they might require smaller heat exchangers to produce

Commanding Heights? The Strength of Fragility of Business Power in Global Politics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fuchs, D.A.

2004-01-01

International relations urgently needs theoretical development that takes into the account the power of non-state actors, in particular business. The present paper aims to prepare the ground for such theoretical development by analysing the political power of business along three dimensions: its

Corrosion-related failures in power plant condensers. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beavers, J.A.; Agrawal, A.K.; Berry, W.E.

1980-08-01

A survey of the literature has been conducted for the Electric Power Research Institute on corrosion failures in surface condensers. The survey was directed toward condenser failures in pressurized water reactor (PWR) power plants but includes pertinent literature related to fossil and to other nuclear power plants. It includes literature on reported service failures and on experimental studies that impact on these failures

Flexible mechanisms in the corporate greenhouse: implementation of the Kyoto Protocol and the globalization of the electric power industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schreuder, Y.; Sherry, C. [University of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States). Center for Energy and Environmental Policy

2001-07-01

The contradictions and unresolved tensions between economic globalization and climate change negotiations have added urgency to the climate change debate. The paper argues that the declining role of the nation state in the global economy and the increasing reach of transnational corporations throughout the world present a serious challenge to the environmental integrity and success of international environmental treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol. In particular efficacy and equity of the flexible mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol are questioned as illustrated by the patterns of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of the US electric power industry in the developing world. US FDI in the electric power sectors of developing countries supports continued carbon-intensive development patterns which will make the long-term goals of the Kyoto Protocol more difficult to achieve. Consequently, FDI raises questions about justifiability of giving credit to Annex I countries through CDM projects undertaken by transnational electric power corporations. 13 refs.

Health promotion in globalization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Álvaro Franco-Giraldo

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Objective: to unravel some theoretical and factual elements required to implement more effective health promotion strategies and practices in the field of health services whilst following the great challenges that globalization has imposed on the health systems, which are inevitably expressed in the local context (glocalization. Methodology: a narrative review taking into account the concepts of globalization and health promotion in relation to health determinants. The authors approach some courses of action and strategies for health promotion based on the social principles and universal values that guide health promotion, health service reorientation and primary healthcare, empowerment, social participation, and inter-sectoral and social mobilization. Discussion: the discussion focuses on the redirection of health promotion services in relation to the wave of health reforms that has spread throughout the world under the neoliberal rule. The author also discusses health promotion, its ineffectiveness, and the quest for renewal. Likewise, the author sets priorities for health promotion in relation to social determinants. Conclusion: the current global order, in terms of international relations, is not consistent with the ethical principles of health promotion. In this paper, the author advocates for the implementation of actions to change the social and physical life conditions of people based on changes in the use of power in society and the appropriate practice of politics in the context of globalization in order to achieve the effectiveness of the actions of health promotion.

External effects related to biogas and wind power

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ibsen, Liselotte Schleisner; Nielsen, Per Sieverts

1998-01-01

Energy produced by wind power and biogas is today more expensive than energy produced by fossil fuels. However, by including external costs related to the technologies, the renewable technologies are expected to result in social benefits compared to the conventional power technologies. The paper...... will focus on estimates of externalities related to wind and biogas energy supplies using the ExternE methodology developed in a major study launched by the European Comission. External costs are the costs imporsed on society that are not included in the market price (e.g. effects of air pollution on health...

Global assessment of onshore wind power resources considering the distance to urban areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva Herran, Diego; Dai, Hancheng; Fujimori, Shinichiro; Masui, Toshihiko

2016-01-01

This study assessed global onshore wind power resources considering the distance to urban areas in terms of transmission losses and costs, and visibility (landscape impact) restrictions. Including this factor decreased the economic potential considerably depending on the level of supply cost considered (at least 37% and 16% for an economic potential below 10 and 14 US cents/kWh, respectively). Its importance compared to other factors was secondary below 15 US cents/kWh. At higher costs it was secondary only to land use, and was more important than economic and technical factors. The impact of this factor was mixed across all regions of the world, given the heterogeneity of wind resources in remote and proximal areas. Regions where available resources decreased the most included the European Union, Japan, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The supply cost chosen to evaluate the economic potential and uncertainties influencing the estimation of distance to the closest urban area are critical for the assessment. Neglecting the restrictions associated with integration into energy systems and social acceptability resulted in an overestimation of global onshore wind resources. These outcomes are fundamental for global climate policies because they help to clarify the limits of wind energy resource availability. - Highlights: • Global onshore wind resources were assessed including the distance to urban areas. • We evaluate the impact of transmission losses and cost, and visibility restrictions. • The distance to urban areas' impact was considerable, depending on the supply cost. • This factor's importance was secondary to economic, land use, and technical factors. • Neglecting this factor resulted in an overestimation of global wind resources.

Proceedings of the American Power Conference. Volume 60-2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McBride, A.E.

1998-01-01

The American Power Conference, 60th annual meeting, 1998, addressed reliability and economy as related to technology for competition and globalization. The topics of the papers included needs and advances in power engineering education, global climate change, distributed generation, the critical role of the nations largest coal, nuclear and hydropower stations, advances in generation technology, financing electric power projects, successful deregulation, year 2000 outlook for equipment conflict with information and control, system planning, asset management, relay and communication, particulate and SO x control, environmental protection compliance strategies, fuel cells, gas turbines, renewable energy, steam turbines, and cost reduction strategies

Interpersonal Dominance in Relational Conflict: A View from Dyadic Power Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stacy L. Young

2008-06-01

Full Text Available This investigation uses dyadic power theory (Dunbar, 2004; Dunbar & Burgoon, 2005a; Rollins & Bahr, 1976 to offer competing hypotheses examining the relationship between power and dominance in close relationships. Forty-seven couples engaged in a conversation while being videotaped; the tapes were coded by third-party observers for dominance. Participants rated themselves to be the most dominant when they were equal to their partners in power, followed by those who perceived they were more powerful relative to their partners. Men and women had different perceptions of power and dominance in their relationships. Men’s perceptions of power were not related to their behavioral dominance whereas when women saw themselves as more powerful, they viewed their partners as more dominant.

Some thoughts on power: International context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josifidis Kosta

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This is a polemical essay that enters into broad dialogue with the contemporary literature concerning the dynamic of power. It refers to the appropriate material and results from the research of different theories. It proposes the constitutive position of the power in the international situation. In contrast to some current theories, we emphasize the importance of the politicoeconomical approach, denoting that only the methodology based on the logics of political economy can explain the dynamics of power in the international context. The main thread of this essay is that the international constellation is not a neutral environment, but a framework that is deeply determined by the power-relations. The central idea is that these relations should be explicated by the complex relationships between freedom and order. We analyze the interaction between the politics and economy as the constitutive feature of the structure of international context. This essay is divided into three sections. First, we are treating the meaning of order in an international context, in respect to the political-economic aspects of late capitalism. The notion of this order has a great importance in the economic reflections. The dynamic of the interconnectedness of global capitalism is examined considering the systematic aspects of power. After that we are analyzing different, and selected, aspects of the international sphere including: the spatiality of the world order, that is, the spatial aspects of the international dynamics in the context of globalization, the convergence or divergence between the capitalist and territorial logic, the “legaleconomic nexus” in international “chain”, the processes of the modification of the forms of competition within recent globalization, and the political-economic conflicts in relation to the regime of economic measurement. Starting with these considerations we explain the current debates on “demondialization”, or the

The Challenge of Globalization: Preparing Teachers for a Global Age

Science.gov (United States)

Merryfield, Merry M.

2008-01-01

Globalization changes everything. When young people affect and are affected by issues, changes, and events across the world, they need to be given the tools to participate in global discourse and decision making. With their incredible consumer power, today's preK-12 students are already influencing global economic, technological, and environmental…

Advancing Global Health - The Need for (Better) Social Science Comment on "Navigating Between Stealth Advocacy and Unconscious Dogmatism: The Challenge of Researching the Norms, Politics and Power of Global Health".

Science.gov (United States)

Hanefeld, Johanna

2016-02-06

In his perspective "Navigating between stealth advocacy and unconscious dogmatism: the challenge of researching the norms, politics and power of global health," Ooms argues that actions taken in the field of global health are dependent not only on available resources, but on the normative premise that guides how these resources are spent. This comment sets out how the application of a predominately biomedical positivist research tradition in global health, has potentially limited understanding of the value judgements underlying decisions in the field. To redress this critical social science, including health policy analysis has much to offer, to the field of global health including on questions of governance. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

Perspectives at the East European engineering companies in the field of power industry in the power-plant construction globalization conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ganchev, R.

2001-01-01

A large group of companies, institutes, boiler and power engineering work ect. from East European countries, currently in process of reorganization or already transformed into new-established private companies and corporations possess significant intellectual property in the field of thermal power technologies and equipment and broad experience in the design and the erection of thermal power plants. In many cases this know-how is not only competitive to that of the large companies of the West and of the Far East, but frequently it also proves to have a number of advantages. However, in the years of transition in these countries and simultaneous globalization, the owners of this potentials meet with difficulties and restrictions to realize it fully. Large investment projects - for new or replacement capacities or comprehensive rehabilitation or refurbishment of TPPs - are accessible only for the financially powerful EPC-contractors and key equipment suppliers, for which large bank credits are accessible. The near future perspective, for the scientists and experts that have accumulated this capital, is in the opportunity to employ the extensive experience and know-how of this firms in the forthcoming large-scale rehabilitation projects in these countries, and primarily, in the solution of specific problems, that have not been solved so far, provided that the projects are awarded not on the basis of the financial power of the contractors but on the basis of the efficiency of the proposed original solutions

Going global

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meade, W.; Poirier, J.L.

1992-01-01

This article discusses the global market for independent power projects and the increased competition and strategic alliances that are occurring to take advantage of the increasing demand. The topics of the article include the amount of involvement of US companies in the global market, the forces driving the market toward independent power, markets in the United Kingdom, North America, Turkey, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Federal Republic of Germany, India, the former Eastern European countries, Asia and the Pacific nations, and niche markets

An International Relations perspective on the global politics of carbon dioxide capture and storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

De Coninck, H. [Energy research Centre of the Netherlands ECN, Unit Policy Studies, Radarweg 60, 1043 NT Amsterdam (Netherlands); Baeckstrand, K. [Department of Political Science, Lund University, P.O. Box 52, 221 00 Lund (Sweden)

2011-05-15

With the publication of the IPCC Special Report on Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS), CCS has emerged as a focal issue in international climate diplomacy and energy collaboration. This paper has two goals. The first goal is to map CCS activities in and among various types of intergovernmental organisations; the second goal is to apply International Relations (IR) theories to explain the growing diversity, overlap and fragmentation of international organisations dealing with CCS. Which international organisations embrace CCS, and which refrain from discussing it at all? What role do these institutions play in bringing CCS forward? Why is international collaboration on CCS so fragmented and weak? We utilise realism, liberal institutionalism and constructivism to provide three different interpretations of the complex global landscape of CCS governance in the context of the similarly complicated architecture of global climate policy. A realist account of CCS's fragmented international politics is power driven. International fossil fuel and energy organisations, dominated by major emitter states, take an active role in CCS. An interest-based approach, such as liberal institutionalism, claims that CCS is part of a 'regime complex' rather than an integrated, hierarchical, comprehensive and international regime. Such a regime complex is exemplified by the plethora of international organisations with a role in CCS. Finally, constructivism moves beyond material and interest-based interpretations of the evolution of the institutionally fragmented architecture of global CCS governance. The 2005 IPCC Special Report on CCS demonstrates the pivotal role that ideas, norms and scientific knowledge have played in transforming the preferences of the international climate-change policy community.

Power Elites and Club-Model Governance in Global Finance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tsingou, Eleni

2014-01-01

Contribution to the Forum: Unpacking the Deep Structures of Global Governance: How Transnational Professionals Can Make Global Governance Intelligible.......Contribution to the Forum: Unpacking the Deep Structures of Global Governance: How Transnational Professionals Can Make Global Governance Intelligible....

The Shifting Global Power Balance Equations and the Emerging Real ‘New World Order’

OpenAIRE

Ovie-D’Leone, Alex Igho

2010-01-01

Expansion in globalization arising from increased interconnectivity and interdependence across the worldis causing a shift both in the focus of what now could determine the principal international powervariables and the criteria for power balancing calculus. One direct challenge to the status quo is theemergence on one hand of new state actors which are becoming more assertive, as well as some other newkey non-state actors now matching states seemingly one-on-one on the world stage in many sp...

A Performance Improvement of Power Supply Module for Safety-related Controller

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jong-Kyun; Yun, Dong-Hwa; Hwang, Sung-Jae; Lee, Myeong-Kyun; Yoo, Kwan-Woo

2015-01-01

In this paper, in relation to voltage shortage state when power supply module is a slave mode, the performance improvement by modifying a PFC(Power Factor Correction) circuit is presented. With the modification of the PFC circuit, the performance improvement in respect of the voltage shortage state when the power supply module is a slave mode is checked. As a result, POSAFE-Q PLC can ensure the stability with the redundant power supply module. The purpose of this paper is to improve the redundant performance of power supply module(NSPS-2Q). It is one of components in POSAFE-Q which is a PLC(Programmable Logic Controller) that has been developed for the evaluation of safety-related. Power supply module provides a stable power in order that POSAFE-Q can be operated normally. It is possible to be mounted two power supply modules in POSAFE-Q for a redundant(Master/Slave) function. So that even if a problem occurs in one power supply module, another power supply module will provide a power to POSAFE-Q stably

A Performance Improvement of Power Supply Module for Safety-related Controller

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Jong-Kyun; Yun, Dong-Hwa; Hwang, Sung-Jae; Lee, Myeong-Kyun; Yoo, Kwan-Woo [PONUTech Co., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

In this paper, in relation to voltage shortage state when power supply module is a slave mode, the performance improvement by modifying a PFC(Power Factor Correction) circuit is presented. With the modification of the PFC circuit, the performance improvement in respect of the voltage shortage state when the power supply module is a slave mode is checked. As a result, POSAFE-Q PLC can ensure the stability with the redundant power supply module. The purpose of this paper is to improve the redundant performance of power supply module(NSPS-2Q). It is one of components in POSAFE-Q which is a PLC(Programmable Logic Controller) that has been developed for the evaluation of safety-related. Power supply module provides a stable power in order that POSAFE-Q can be operated normally. It is possible to be mounted two power supply modules in POSAFE-Q for a redundant(Master/Slave) function. So that even if a problem occurs in one power supply module, another power supply module will provide a power to POSAFE-Q stably.

Constitutional “World Views”, Global Governance and International Relations Theory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Larik, J.E.

2014-01-01

This paper addresses the constitutional entrenchment of foreign policy preferences, or “world views”, from the vantage point of International Relations theory. Empirically, norms that sketch out certain visions of global governance have become a popular feature of constitutional design. The paper

Relations between high and low power groups: the importance of legitimacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Hornsey, Matthew J; Spears, Russell; Cremers, Iris; Hogg, Michael A

2003-02-01

Using a social identity perspective, two experiments examined the effects of power and the legitimacy of power differentials on intergroup bias. In Experiment 1, 125 math-science students were led to believe that they had high or low representation in a university decision-making body relative to social-science students and that this power position was either legitimate or illegitimate. Power did not have an independent effect on bias; rather, members of both high and low power groups showed more bias when the power hierarchy was illegitimate than when it was legitimate. This effect was replicated in Experiment 2 (N = 105). In addition, Experiment 2 showed that groups located within an unfair power hierarchy expected the superordinate power body to be more discriminatory than did those who had legitimately high or low power. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for group relations. Copyright 2003 Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Political Participation and Power Relations in Egypt

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shehata, Mostafa

2017-01-01

The political use of media in Egypt post-2011 revolution brought about drastic transformations in political activism and power structures. In the context of communication power theory, this article investigates the effects of newspapers and social network sites on political participation...... and political power relations. The research employed a mixed methodology, comprised of a survey of 527 Egyptian youth and semi-structured interviews of 12 political activists and journalists. The results showed a significant relationship between reading newspapers and youth’s political participation......, but not between using social network sites and political participation. In addition, newspapers and social network sites were platforms for a series of conflicts and coalitions that emerged between pro- and anti-revolution actors. Despite the importance of social network sites as key tools for informing...

Public opinion on age-related degradation in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuda, Toshihiro

2005-01-01

The first objective of this study is to shed light on the public opinion on age-related degradation at nuclear power plants, namely, on how the general public recognizes or views age-related degradation, which is a safety-related issue and one of the factors contributing to accidents and failures which occur at nuclear power plants. The second objective is to look into the impacts of the accident at Mihama Unit 3, which was caused by a failure to check on the piping wall thickness, on the public opinion on age-related degradation. The first survey was conducted in August 2003, followed by the second survey in October 2004, two months after the accident. The surveys found that the age-related degradation is being perceived by people as one of the risk factors that affect the safety of nuclear power plants. The characteristics of the citizens' perceptions toward age-related degradation in the form of piping cracks are that: (a) many respondents feel uneasy but a relatively few people consider that nuclear operators are technologically capable of coping with this problem; (b) many people believe that radioactivity may be released; and (c) numerous respondents consider that signs of cracks must be thoroughly detected through inspections, while on the other hand, a large percentage of the respondents attribute the accident to improper inspections/maintenance. Based on these results, the government and nuclear operators are expected to give most illuminating explanation on the current situation of and remedial measures against age-related degradation at nuclear power plants. As for the effects of the Mihama-3 accident on the public opinion on age-related degradation, it was revealed that the accident has not so significantly affected the general view for the safety of nuclear power plants, but has newly or strongly aroused people's consciousness of two of the risk factors - improper inspections/maintenance and the age-related degradation of piping. (author)

Empirical Global Relations Converting M S and m b to Moment Magnitude

Science.gov (United States)

Scordilis, E. M.

2006-04-01

The existence of several magnitude scales used by seismological centers all over the world and the compilation of earthquake catalogs by many authors have rendered globally valid relations connecting magnitude scales a necessity. This would allow the creation of a homogeneous global earthquake catalog, a useful tool for earthquake research. Of special interest is the definition of global relations converting different magnitude scales to the most reliable and useful scale of magnitude, the moment magnitude, M W. In order to accomplish this, a very large sample of data from international seismological sources (ISC, NEIC, HRVD, etc.) has been collected and processed. The magnitude scales tested against M W are the surface wave magnitude, M S, the body wave magnitude, m b, and the local magnitude, M L. The moment magnitudes adopted have been taken from the CMT solutions of HRVD and USGS. The data set used in this study contains 20,407 earthquakes, which occurred all over the world during the time period 1.1.1976-31.5.2003, for which moment magnitudes are available. It is shown that well-defined relations hold between M W and m b and M S and that these relations can be reliably used for compiling homogeneous, with respect to magnitude, earthquake catalogs.

India and the BRICS: Global Bandwagoning and Regional Balancing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew D Stephen

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Indian policy makers have welcomed India’s framing as a ‘rising power’ and celebrated the BRICS initiative as a common front in reforming aspects of global governance. Yet China’s rise in Asia has unsettled the balances of power which have underpinned the region, as a consequence of which India has hesitantly pursued a strategic rapprochement with the United States. Assessing New Delhi’s multilateral and geo-strategic diplomacy, this article argues that India bandwagons with the BRICS on a global level, but seeks to balance China at the regional level. On the global multilateral level, India has common cause with other rising powers in reforming the policies and structures of most international organizations. The exceptions are the United Nations Security Council and the Non-proliferation Treaty, where China and Russia can be qualified as established powers. On the regional level, however, India has maintained ties to Russia and cultivated a strong relationship with the United States in an effort to balance and increase leverage relative to a rising China. This underlines that major power rivalries are strongly mediated by issue area and institutional context.

Thinking out of the box : a green and social climate fund comment on "Politics, Power, Poverty and Global Health: Systems and Frames"

OpenAIRE

Ooms, Gorik; van de Pas, Remco; Decoster, Kristof; Hammonds, Rachel

2017-01-01

Abstract: Solomon Benatar's paper "Politics, Power, Poverty and Global Health: Systems and Frames" examines the inequitable state of global health challenging readers to extend the discourse on global health beyond conventional boundaries by addressing the interconnectedness of planetary life. Our response explores existing models of international cooperation, assessing how modifying them may achieve the twin goals of ensuring healthy people and planet. First, we address why the inequality re...

Economic opportunities resulting from a global deployment of concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies-The example of German technology providers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vallentin, Daniel; Viebahn, Peter

2010-01-01

Several energy scenario studies consider concentrated solar power (CSP) plants as an important technology option to reduce the world's CO 2 emissions to a level required for not letting the global average temperature exceed a threshold of 2-2.4 o C. A global ramp up of CSP technologies offers great economic opportunities for technology providers as CSP technologies include highly specialised components. This paper analyses possible value creation effects resulting from a global deployment of CSP until 2050 as projected in scenarios of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Greenpeace International. The analysis focuses on the economic opportunities of German technology providers since companies such as Schott Solar, Flabeg or Solar Millennium are among the leading suppliers of CSP technologies on the global market.

Edge fluctuations and global confinement with lower hybrid current drive in the ASDEX tokamak

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stoeckel, J; Soeldner, F X; Giannone, L.; Leuterer, F; Steuer, K H [Association Euratom-Max-Planck-Institut fuer Plasmaphysik, Garching (Germany); ASDEX Team

1992-03-01

Electrostatic edge fluctuations were investigated by means of Langmuir probes on the ASDEX tokamak in lower hybrid current drive regimes, simultaneously with the global particle and energy balances. It was found that the edge fluctuations are reduced and the global particle/energy confinement improves when the LH power is below the initial ohmic power. The maximum reduction of the fluctuations and the best confinement occur when the total power input (OH + LH) is minimum. With a LH power higher than the initial OH value, the fluctuation level increases noticeably, while no improvement of the global confinement is observed. The increase of the edge fluctuations seems to be poloidally localized and caused by local power deposition in front of the grill antenna. Therefore, the relative positions of the probe and antenna structure have to be taken account for correct interpretation of the fluctuation data. (orig.).

Edge fluctuations and global confinement with lower hybrid current drive in the ASDEX tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoeckel, J.; Soeldner, F.X.; Giannone, L.; Leuterer, F.; Steuer, K.H.

1992-03-01

Electrostatic edge fluctuations were investigated by means of Langmuir probes on the ASDEX tokamak in lower hybrid current drive regimes, simultaneously with the global particle and energy balances. It was found that the edge fluctuations are reduced and the global particle/energy confinement improves when the LH power is below the initial ohmic power. The maximum reduction of the fluctuations and the best confinement occur when the total power input (OH + LH) is minimum. With a LH power higher than the initial OH value, the fluctuation level increases noticeably, while no improvement of the global confinement is observed. The increase of the edge fluctuations seems to be poloidally localized and caused by local power deposition in front of the grill antenna. Therefore, the relative positions of the probe and antenna structure have to be taken account for correct interpretation of the fluctuation data. (orig.)

With power comes responsibility: motorcycle engine power and power-to-weight ratio in relation to accident risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Mattsson, Markus; Summala, Heikki

2010-02-01

Current European legislation allows the EU member states to restrict the maximum power output of motorcycles to 74 kW even though evidence supporting the limit is scarce and has produced mixed results-perhaps because motorcycle performance has been measured by engine displacement, not engine power, in most of the previous studies. This study investigates the relationship of motorcycle engine power and power-to-weight ratio to risk of fatal and nonfatal crashes in Finland. The fatality rate (number of fatal accidents/number of registered motorbikes) for riders of different ages riding bikes belonging to different power and power-to-weight ratio classes was examined using a comprehensive in-depth database. Data on nonfatal accidents were acquired from a Web questionnaire (N = 2708), which also served as a basis for estimating riders' annual mileage. Mileage data allowed the calculation of accident risk per kilometer ridden for bikes differing in power and power-to-weight ratio. The fatality risk per number of registered motorcycles and per kilometer ridden increases both with power and power-to-weight ratio, independently of rider's age. No relationship between performance and risk of a less severe crash was found. The pre-accident speed of the most powerful bikes was 20 km/h or more over the speed limit in a large proportion of the fatal accidents (odds ratio = 4.8 for > 75 kW motorbikes; odds ratio = 6.2 for > 0.3 kW/kg motorbikes). The risk of being involved in a fatal crash is higher among the riders of powerful motorcycles. However, it is not clear whether the results are related to the riding habits of the riders that choose the most powerful bikes available or whether the high risk is due to the properties of the bikes themselves. Therefore, further research is needed before considering legal limits on motorcycle performance.

Globalization and deficit and limitations of global governance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stojanović Stanislav

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Character and dynamics of relationships in international politics, in which the stronger return to real politics content in the functioning of the foreign policy of the great powers, unequivocally affirms that globalization does not work to its declining power that is less credible design concept of modern world society. The global financial collapse that hit the world in 2008 is a convincing indication that most of the globalization is discredited. The belief in one humanity is becoming a less desirable concept. At the same time, with the increase in global issues that require solving, there are numerous human activities that involve unique or international regulation. The world is increasingly one homeostatic system of interdependent parts of a continent where many aspects of the borders between countries are difficult or even impossible to sustain. Hence the importance of global factors, some of which will fully depend on the articulation of individual and community life of people in the future, stressing the importance of the issue of joint management to ensure global peace and security and promote the prosperity around the world in a universally acceptable and effective way. Therefore, the demonstrated substantial shortcomings of global governance of the world, although they discourage belief in humanity, did not reduce the objective need for global access to many amenities of modern human existence. Many aspects of security, ranging from the security of the individual to the energy and environmental security in modern conditions are not conceivable without international access. However, global security management has been associated with numerous limitations and challenges.

Estimation of nuclear power-related expenditures in fiscal 1982

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-01-01

In fiscal 1982 (April to March, 1983), the research and development on nuclear power should be promoted actively and extensively by taking the appropriate measures. In view of the importance, the budgetary expenditures are to be estimated duly for the purpose, considering also the stringent financial situation. The budgetary expenditures for nuclear power estimated for the fiscal year 1982 are about 292,800 Million in total and the obligation act limit is about 139,900 Million. The following matters are described: nuclear power-related measures for securing nuclear power safety, promotion of nuclear power generation, establishment of the nuclear fuel cycle, development of power reactors, research on nuclear fusion, strengthening of the foundation in nuclear power research, development and utilization, promotion of international cooperation, etc.; estimated budgetary expenditures; tables of budgetary demands in various categories. (J.P.N.)

Law, Contestation, and Power in the Global Political Economy: An Introduction.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edward S. Cohen

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The papers included in this collection are part of concerted project to develop a political economy of law in the contemporary global system. Over the past two decades, scholars have noted the expanding role of law, legal institutions, and legal agents that have been part of the process of “globalization,” and have employed a number of frameworks to make sense of this process of legalization. A central theme of our project is that none of these frameworks has provided an adequate political economic analysis of the creation, diffusion, and use of law, and we present an alternative approach to advance the understanding of the turn to law across the many dimensions and sectors of the global system. The papers advance the analysis behind this approach and explore the various ways in which law matters in a variety of areas, including global finance, corporate governance, copyright, diplomacy, and the provision of security. Their goal is to advance our understanding of how law intersects with the mobilization of power in the construction of the contemporary political economy. Los trabajos incluidos en esta colección son parte de un proyecto conjunto para desarrollar una economía política de la ley en el sistema mundial contemporáneo. En las últimas dos décadas, los expertos han señalado el creciente papel de la ley, las instituciones legales, y los agentes judiciales que han sido parte del proceso de "globalización", y han empleado una serie de marcos para dar sentido a este proceso de legalización. Un tema central de nuestro proyecto es que ninguno de estos marcos ha proporcionado un adecuado análisis económico político de la creación, difusión y uso de la ley, y se presenta un enfoque alternativo para avanzar en la comprensión de la vuelta a la ley a través de las muchas dimensiones y sectores del sistema global. Los trabajos avanzan el análisis de este enfoque y exploran las diversas formas en que la ley importa en una variedad

Gamma power and cognition in patients with schizophrenia and their first-degree relatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Díez, Álvaro; Suazo, Vanessa; Casado, Pilar; Martín-Loeches, Manuel; Molina, Vicente

2014-01-01

Gamma oscillations are essential for functional neural assembly formation underlying higher cerebral functions. Previous studies concerning gamma band power in schizophrenia have yielded diverse results. In this study, we assessed gamma band power in minimally treated patients with schizophrenia, their first-degree relatives and healthy controls during an oddball paradigm performance, as well as the relation between gamma power and cognitive performance. We found a higher gamma power in the patient group than in the healthy controls at the P3, P4, Fz, Pz and T5 sites. Compared with their relatives, gamma power in the patients was only marginally higher over P3 and P4. We found a nearly significant inverse association between gamma power at F4 and Tower of London performance in the patients, as well as a significant inverse association between gamma power at T5 and verbal memory and working memory scores in the relatives. These results support higher total gamma power in association with schizophrenia and its inverse association with cognitive performance in patients and their first-degree relatives.

Global Discourses and Power/Knowledge: Theoretical Reflections on Futures of Higher Education during the Rise of Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Geerlings, L. R. C.; Lundberg, A.

2018-01-01

This paper re-reads a selection of critical interdisciplinary theories in an attempt to open a space in higher education for cross-cultural dialogue during the rise of Asia. Theories of globalization, deterritorialization, power/knowledge and postcolonialism indicate that students and academics have the ability to re-imagine and influence…

Brazil, China, US: a triangular relation?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José-Augusto Guilhon-Albuquerque

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This article is divided in three sections. The first one explores the so-called "strategic partnership" between Brazil and China. In the second section we shall examine how US-China relations in the global system could affect both Brazil-US, and Brazil-China bilateral relations. A final section presents some recommendations for Brazil strategic orientations regarding the current systemic transition in the allotment of global power.

Global prospects for nuclear power development in the long term

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Semenov, Boris A.

1994-01-01

supply, in the world and by region. In the long term, up to 2100, the broad range of uncertainties with regard to population, economic growth and technology evolution prevent from any sound forecast in the field of energy and in particular of nuclear power. The scenario presented in the paper has been prepared for the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in order to illustrate the potential role of nuclear power in alleviating greenhouse gas emissions. The global energy demand projections established by IPCC, which serve as a basis for the nuclear power scenario, assume high economic growth, drastic energy efficiency improvement and the implementation of voluntary policies for greenhouse gas reduction. Under these assumptions, it is estimated that the total primary energy consumption in the world will reach some 660 EJ per annum in 2100 as compared to 330 EJ per annum in 1985. Since the world population is expected to more than double during this time frame, it means that the average energy consumption per capita will a sustained deployment of nuclear power worldwide as a means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector. Although this scenario would require strong commitment to the development of nuclear energy, technical and industrial capabilities would enable its implementation. In view of the potential role of nuclear power in sustainable energy supply strategies, there is a need for continued research and development aiming towards the design and implementation of advanced reactors with enhanced safety, technical and economic performance. Natural nuclear fuel resources could support a broad deployment of nuclear energy production as a major part of the mix of options for sustainable supply in the long term. The challenge for the nuclear industry is to restore the confidence in nuclear energy and enhance its social acceptability through the design and implementation of sound technical solutions for nuclear power plants, fuel cycle

Incorporating Global/Multicultural Perspectives in Public Relations Education: An Ethnographic Account.

Science.gov (United States)

Bardhan, Nilanjana

This paper points out that in public relations (PR) the global network approach is fast catching on along with the trend of opening subsidiary offices and entering joint ventures and affiliations with PR agencies in various parts of the world. The paper discusses the need to build theory in the area of international public relations so that…

Digital Images and Globalized Conflict

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blaagaard, Bolette; Mortensen, Mette; Neumayer, Christina

2017-01-01

As the number of digital images of globalized conflicts online grow, critical examination of their impact and consequence is timely. This editorial provides an overview of digital images and globalized conflict as a field of study by discussing regimes of visibility and invisibility, proximity...... and distance, and the multiplicity of images. It engages critically with these interlinking themes as they are addressed in the contributing articles to the Special Issue as well as beyond, asking how genres and tropes are reproduced, how power plays a role in access to images, and how the sheer quantity...... of conflict-related images raise issues of knowledge production and research....

Global solar energy radiation in relation with electricity supply in Romania

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zoran, Maria

2001-01-01

Solar energy is one of the most viable source of renewable energy being both clean and nonpolluting. Spiraling energy use and other human activities have led to measurable effects upon the global environment and climatic changes. There is increasing international concern particularly in the areas of global warming owing to the increase of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in the atmosphere and of other greenhouse gases as sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), hydrogen sulfide H 2 S, diethyl sulfide (DMS), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), methane CH 4 , as well in the effect of depletion of ozone (O 3 ) layer in the stratosphere. Climatological and global solar radiation analysis for some Romanian zones with great solar energy potential are presented. Remote sensing data provided by satellites are used for radiative fluxes monitoring and solar energy mapping as well as for solar energy use assessment. The realistic technical potential for solar energy applications in Romania is substantial, over 40000 TJyear -1 . As average energy global solar radiation in horizontal plane lies between 1100 and 1300 kWhm -2 year -1 , solar energy using for electrical power supply being a reliable alternative. More than one half of Romania's area has a range of insolation period between 1200 and 1500 hours year -1 , at an overall average daily irradiation of 1000 - 1200 kWh m -2 . The most favorable area in Romania is the North - Western part of Black Sea coast with an insolation period above 2300 hours year -1 . A small part 140 TJyear -1 are used profitably and almost 10% of the installed 10 6 m 2 of collector area, is still in operation. (author)

Prevented Mortality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Historical and Projected Nuclear Power

Science.gov (United States)

Kharecha, Pushker A.; Hansen, James E.

2013-01-01

In the aftermath of the March 2011 accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the future contribution of nuclear power to the global energy supply has become somewhat uncertain. Because nuclear power is an abundant, low-carbon source of base-load power, it could make a large contribution to mitigation of global climate change and air pollution. Using historical production data, we calculate that global nuclear power has prevented an average of 1.84 million air pollution-related deaths and 64 gigatonnes of CO2-equivalent (GtCO2-eq) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that would have resulted from fossil fuel burning. On the basis of global projection data that take into account the effects of the Fukushima accident, we find that nuclear power could additionally prevent an average of 420 000-7.04 million deaths and 80-240 GtCO2-eq emissions due to fossil fuels by midcentury, depending on which fuel it replaces. By contrast, we assess that large-scale expansion of unconstrained natural gas use would not mitigate the climate problem and would cause far more deaths than expansion of nuclear power.

Non-State Actors in Global Governance. Three Faces of Power

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Arts, B.J.M.

2003-01-01

The political power of non-state actors (NSAs) remains a contested issue, as the continuing debates between neo-realists and transnationalists within the Study of International Relations (SIR) show. This paper builds on as well as tries to transcend this debate. Its objective is to bring more

Providing all global energy with wind, water, and solar power, Part II: Reliability, system and transmission costs, and policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delucchi, Mark A.; Jacobson, Mark Z.

2011-01-01

This is Part II of two papers evaluating the feasibility of providing all energy for all purposes (electric power, transportation, and heating/cooling), everywhere in the world, from wind, water, and the sun (WWS). In Part I, we described the prominent renewable energy plans that have been proposed and discussed the characteristics of WWS energy systems, the global demand for and availability of WWS energy, quantities and areas required for WWS infrastructure, and supplies of critical materials. Here, we discuss methods of addressing the variability of WWS energy to ensure that power supply reliably matches demand (including interconnecting geographically dispersed resources, using hydroelectricity, using demand-response management, storing electric power on site, over-sizing peak generation capacity and producing hydrogen with the excess, storing electric power in vehicle batteries, and forecasting weather to project energy supplies), the economics of WWS generation and transmission, the economics of WWS use in transportation, and policy measures needed to enhance the viability of a WWS system. We find that the cost of energy in a 100% WWS will be similar to the cost today. We conclude that barriers to a 100% conversion to WWS power worldwide are primarily social and political, not technological or even economic. - Research highlights: → We evaluate the feasibility of global energy supply from wind, water, and solar energy. → WWS energy can be supplied reliably and economically to all energy-use sectors. → The social cost of WWS energy generally is less than the cost of fossil-fuel energy. → Barriers to 100% WWS power worldwide are socio-political, not techno-economic.

Wind power and the conditions at a liberalized power market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morthorst, P.E.

2003-01-01

Wind power is undergoing a rapid development nationally as well as globally and in a number of countries covers an increasing part of the power supply. At the same time an ongoing liberalization of power markets is taking place and to an increasing extent the owners of wind power plants will themselves have to be responsible for trading the power at the spot market and financially handling the balancing. In the western part of Denmark (Jutland/Funen area), wind-generated power from time to time covers almost 100% of total power consumption. Therefore some examples are chosen from this area to analyse in more detail how well large amounts of wind power in the short-term are handled at the power spot market. It turns out that there is a tendency that more wind power in the system in the short run leads to relatively lower spot prices, while less wind power implies relatively higher spot prices, although, with the exception of December 2002, in general no strong relationship is found. A stronger relationship is found at the regulating market, where there is a fairly clear tendency that the more wind power produced, the higher is the need for down-regulation, and, correspondingly, the less wind power produced, the higher is the need for up-regulation. In general for the Jutland/Funen area the average cost of down-regulation is calculated as 1 2 c euros/kWh regulated for 2002, while the cost of up-regulation amounts to 0 7 c euros/kWh regulated. (author)

The role of nuclear power in the global electric power system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sidorenko, V.A.; Chernilin, Yu.F.

1992-01-01

Basic conclusions and recommendations developed in the process of preparing and conducting the symposium discussed are presented. All methods of electric power production, their prospects and effects on man and environment were discussed during the symposium. This paper is devoted mainly to nuclear power engineering only, its prospects and possible role in general electric power generation

Navigating Between Stealth Advocacy and Unconscious Dogmatism: The Challenge of Researching the Norms, Politics and Power of Global Health

OpenAIRE

Ooms, Gorik

2015-01-01

Abstract: Global health research is essentially a normative undertaking: we use it to propose policies that ought to be implemented. To arrive at a normative conclusion in a logical way requires at least one normative premise, one that cannot be derived from empirical evidence alone. But there is no widely accepted normative premise for global health, and the actors with the power to set policies may use a different normative premise than the scholars that propose policies - which may explain...

Assessing the decennial, reassessing the global

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Manners, Ian James

2013-01-01

in global politics by rethinking the nature of power and actorness in a globalizing, multilateralizing and multipolarizing era. To do this, the article assesses the past decade in terms of normative power engagement, internationalization and comparison. The article then argues that rethinking power...... and actorness involves reassessing global theory and pouvoir normatif in action. The article concludes by setting out three ways of developing the NPA in its second decade: macro-approach, meso-characterization and micro-analysis. Following the suggestion of Emanuel Adler, Barry Buzan and Tim Dunne, the article...

Anthropology, knowledge-flows and global health.

Science.gov (United States)

Feierman, S; Kleinman, A; Stewart, K; Farmer, D; Das, V

2010-01-01

Global health programmes are damaged by blockages in the upward flow of information from localities and regional centres about realities of professional practice and about patients' lives and conditions of treatment. Power differentials between local actors and national or international decision-makers present further obstacles to effective action. Anthropological research and action, in its most effective current forms, make important contributions to these issues. This research often continues over the long term, intensively. It can be multi-sited, studying actors at local, national and international levels simultaneously. It studies the relative knowledge and power of impoverished patients and global decision-makers, all within a single frame. By doing so, anthropological research is capable of providing new and important insights on the diverse meanings of patient decision-making, informed consent, non-compliance, public health reporting, the building of political coalitions for health and many other issues.

The cost and benefit of energy technology in the global context - the case of fusion power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clarke, J.F.

1994-01-01

This paper is an attempt to evaluate the economical and environmental consequences of fusion power for the next century. For this evaluation, the Pacific Northwest Laboratory global energy/economy model is used. In applying the model to analyse costs and benefits of fusion energy, the author compares the projections of the model for a world with and without fusion. (TEC). 5 tabs., 7 figs., 18 refs

Relations between perceptual and conceptual scope: how global versus local processing fits a focus on similarity versus dissimilarity.

Science.gov (United States)

Förster, Jens

2009-02-01

Nine studies showed a bidirectional link (a) between a global processing style and generation of similarities and (b) between a local processing style and generation of dissimilarities. In Experiments 1-4, participants were primed with global versus local perception styles and then asked to work on an allegedly unrelated generation task. Across materials, participants generated more similarities than dissimilarities after global priming, whereas for participants with local priming, the opposite was true. Experiments 5-6 demonstrated a bidirectional link whereby participants who were first instructed to search for similarities attended more to the gestalt of a stimulus than to its details, whereas the reverse was true for those who were initially instructed to search for dissimilarities. Because important psychological variables are correlated with processing styles, in Experiments 7-9, temporal distance, a promotion focus, and high power were predicted and shown to enhance the search for similarities, whereas temporal proximity, a prevention focus, and low power enhanced the search for dissimilarities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

Public relations activities of the Service Hall for Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kono, T.

1998-01-01

This article includes information of the Service Hall for Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station. About 30% of the total electricity production in Japan is due to 16 power stations and 52 reactors. The service hall is a kind of atomic power pavilion for public relations. In Japan, each nuclear power station has such a pavilion, which acts a a center of public relations activities for the atomic power. (S. Grainger)

Field theories on conformally related space-times: Some global considerations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Candelas, P.; Dowker, J.S.

1979-01-01

The nature of the vacua appearing in the relation between the vacuum expectation value of stress tensors in conformally flat spaces is clarified. The simple but essential point is that the relevant spaces should have conformally related global Cauchy surfaces. Some commonly occurring conformally flat space-times are divided into two families according to whether they are conformally equivalent to Minkowski space or to the Rindler wedge. Expressions, some new, are obtained for the vacuum expectation value of the stress tensor for a number of illustrative cases. It is noted that thermalization relates the Green's functions of these two families

78 FR 25488 - Qualification Tests for Safety-Related Actuators in Nuclear Power Plants

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-01

... Nuclear Power Plants AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for... regulatory guide (DG), DG-1235, ``Qualification Tests for Safety-Related Actuators in Nuclear Power Plants... entitled ``Qualification Tests for Safety-Related Actuators in Nuclear Power Plants'' is temporarily...

Population Pressure, Global Living Standards, and the Promise of Space Solar Power

Science.gov (United States)

Strickland, John K., Jr.

2002-01-01

uses of electricity and fuels currently covered by fossil fuels. This is a global replacement load of about 9000 gigawatts. Green theorists are divided on this issue. Some claim that ground based solar, wind, and other renewable sources will supply all the energy we need, ignoring economic costs that severely limit their use. Others would (unrealistically) require the developed countries to reduce their energy consumption per capita to a level closer to that of the developing world, thereby admitting the limitations of the "appropriate" systems they espouse. Both sides in the past have rejected as "non-appropriate" and/or "dangerous" all the chemically clean energy sources of high capacity that have been previously proposed, such as safer nuclear fission, fusion power, and space solar power. If ground based "appropriate" energy sources are not sufficient, the economic and social effects of sudden forced curtailments of fossil energy use could be drastic. This paper supports the thesis that Space Solar Power does have the potential to provide such a clean, abundant, and economical energy source. It will cover both the limitations and promise of ground based energy sources, including the difficulties of using intermittent energy sources. It will discuss whether specified levels of energy cost increases would be damaging to the world economy and whether economical ground based sources alone would have sufficient capacity. It will show how the one major problem of launch costs, (currently preventing economical implementation of Space Solar Power), has a number of quite reasonable solutions. Finally, it will consider whether Space Solar Power, along with the other major space goals of Science &Exploration, Mars Colonization, Non- terrestrial Materials Recovery and Space Tourism, could be another space "killer app" which, by creating a high demand for launch services, could force large reductions in launch costs.

Solidarity Action in Global Labor Networks. Four Cases of Workplace Organizing at Foreign Affiliates in the Global South

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Wad

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Globalization transforms workforces of transnational corporation from predominantly home countrydominated workforces into foreign-dominated, multinational workforces. Thus, the national grounding of trade unions as the key form of labor organizing is challenged by new multinational compositions and cross-border relocations of corporate employment affecting working conditions of employees and trade unions in local places. We assume that economic globalization is characterized by expanding global corporate network of vertically and horizontally integrated (equity-based and disintegrated (nonequity-based value chains. We also assume that globalization can both impede and enable labor empowerment. Based on these premises the key question is, how can labor leverage effective power against management in global corporate networks? This question is split into two subquestions: a How can labor theoretically reorganize from national unions and industrial relations institutions into global labor networks that allow prolabor improvement in global workplaces? b How and why has labor in a globalized economy secured the core International Labor Organization (ILO international labor right to organize companies and conduct collective bargaining? The Global Labor Network perspective is adopted as an analytical framework. Empirically, a comparative case methodology is applied comprising four more or less successful industrial disputes where labor achieved the right to organize and undertake collective bargaining. The disputes took place in affiliated factories of foreign transnational corporations located in Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Turkey. The conclusion is that the combination of global labor capabilities and global labor strategizing must generate strategic labor power that adequately matches the weaknesses of the counterpart’s global corporate network in order to achieve prolabor outcomes. The most efficient solidarity action was leveraged

GLOBAL GOVERNANCE VS. NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabina TUCA

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The global economic and financial crisis of 2007 highlighted the risks, threats and enormous costs of a global economy in the absence of a global government. The aim of this paper is to emphasize the importance of global governance in a world in which states are facing the erosion of national sovereignty. The two concepts are being analyzed from various points of view, including current challenges and future scenarios. Despite the fact that states, especially major powers, are not prepared to accept some elements of global governance and the limits that they would put on their national sovereignty, recent developments seem to make global governance a key component of the international scene.

Nuclear power from a long term global perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, D.A.

1994-01-01

The global problem with energy, now and into the longer term, is the same as the global problem with food. There is no absolute shortage of either and nor is there likely to be. But the pattern of availability is such that large numbers of people have inadequate supplies of one or the other, or of both. Thus, in considering global energy futures the problems are more about energy distribution than about its absolute availability: it is important that in arguing its case for expansion the nuclear industry bears that fact in mind. (Author)

Swiss electrical power association

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-01-01

Milestones of electrical power development in Switzerland during 1982 are quoted. An energy balance is shown for the utilisation of 864,630 terajoules of primary energy. This is related to global data on per capita power consumption. In the electricity generation section, annual load factors are given for the four nuclear stations. A brief review is made of hydro potential and monthly export/import figures for power to other countries (mostly export, especially in summer). Total electrical power output grew about 1.3% in the last year. Recent transmission line developments are noted, mostly 2x380kV, and including a link with Austria. In the financial section, consumer price indices are quoted for liquid and solid fuel, gas and electricity since 1966. Under administration, details are listed of the main and about 18 supporting Committees and working groups with special functions (e.g. tariffs, electrical vehicles). Public relations have included nuclear power press conferences, a mobile video unit, information leaflets for the media and a teaching seminar. (G.C.)

Politics or Technocracy - What Next for Global Health? Comment on "Navigating Between Stealth Advocacy and Unconscious Dogmatism: The Challenge of Researching the Norms, Politics and Power of Global Health".

Science.gov (United States)

Kickbusch, Ilona

2015-12-12

Politics play a central part in determining health and development outcomes as Gorik Ooms highlights in his recent commentary. As health becomes more global and more politicized the need grows to better understand the inherently political processes at all levels of governance, such as ideological positions, ideas, value judgments, and power. I agree that global health research should strengthen its contribution to generating such knowledge by drawing more on political science, such research is gaining ground. Even more important is - as Ooms indicates - that global health scholars better understand their own role in the political process. It is time to acknowledge that expert-based technocratic approaches are no less political. We will need to reflect and analyse the role of experts in global health governance to a greater extent and in that context explore the links between politics, expertise and democracy. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

Skill of a global seasonal streamflow forecasting system, relative roles of initial conditions and meteorological forcing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Candogan Yossef, N.; Winsemius, H.C.; Weerts, A.; Van Beek, R.; Bierkens, M.F.P.

2013-01-01

We investigate the relative contributions of initial conditions (ICs) and meteorological forcing (MF) to the skill of the global seasonal streamflow forecasting system FEWS-World, using the global hydrological model PCRaster Global Water Balance. Potential improvement in forecasting skill through

Transforming Power Systems Through Global Collaboration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2017-06-01

Ambitious and integrated policy and regulatory frameworks are crucial to achieve power system transformation. The 21st Century Power Partnership -- a multilateral initiative of the Clean Energy Ministerial -- serves as a platform for public-private collaboration to advance integrated solutions for the large-scale deployment of renewable energy in combination with energy efficiency and grid modernization.

Transforming Power Systems through Global Collaboration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None, None

2016-04-01

Ambitious and integrated policy and regulatory frameworks are crucial to achieve power system transformation. The 21st Century Power Partnership -- a multilateral initiative of the Clean Energy Ministerial -- serves as a platform for public-private collaboration to advance integrated solutions for the large-scale deployment of renewable energy in combination with energy efficiency and grid modernization.

GLOBALIZATION: A WORLD-SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher Chase-Dunn

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Using the world-systems perspective, this essay discusses the trajectories of several types of globalization over the last 100 years and the recent surge in public cognizance of global processes. It is found that different types of global-ization have different temporal characteristics. Some are long-term upward trends, while others display large cyclical oscillations. The factors that explain the recent emergence of the globalization discourse are examined, and this phenomenon is analyzed in terms of the contradictory interests of powerful and less-powerful groups. I contend that there is a lag between economic and political/cultural globalization, and that the latter needs to catch up if we are to convert the contemporary world-system of "casino capitalism" in to a more humane, democratic, balanced and sustainable world society.

Power relations in the family health team: focus on nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Iramildes Souza; Arantes, Cássia Irene Spinelli

2017-01-01

to analyze the power relations that permeate the work of the family health team, and to discuss perspectives of emancipation of these subjects, focusing on nursing and community health agents. a qualitative study with a family health team from a municipality in the countryside of the state of São Paulo. Data were collected through systematic observation and interview with workers. A thematic content analysis was performed. three categories were identified: the work of the family health team and power relations; power relations between the nurse and the healthcare team; and the relations among the nursing team and between community agents and the nurse. The team produces relations of power moved by hierarchical knowledge that move in the search for the reordering of powers. it is necessary to review the contradictions present in the performance scenario of the family health teams, with a view toward making power relations more flexible. analisar as relações de poder que permeiam o trabalho da equipe de saúde da família e discutir perspectivas de emancipação desses sujeitos, com enfoque na enfermagem e agentes comunitários de saúde. estudo qualitativo com equipe de saúde da família de município do interior paulista. Os dados foram coletados por meio de observação sistemática e entrevista com os trabalhadores. Foi realizada análise de conteúdo temática. foram identificadas três categorias: o trabalho da equipe de saúde da família e as relações de poder; a relação de poder entre enfermeira e equipe de saúde; as relações da enfermagem e agentes comunitários com a enfermeira. A equipe produz relações de poder movidas por saberes hierarquizados que se movimentam na busca pelo reordenamento dos poderes. é necessário rever as contradições presentes no cenário de atuação das equipes de saúde da família, com vistas à flexibilidade nas relações de poder.

The development of global energy supply as a succession of energy-related innovation processes. A qualitative model approach to assess the use of nuclear power; Die Entwicklung globaler Energieversorgung als Abfolge energietechnischer Innovationsprozesse. Ein qualitativer Modellansatz zur historischen Einordnung der Kernenergie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herrmann, Dieter

2017-04-15

Often, the development of the world energy supply is adopted as a painful sequence of the exhaustible and polluting use of primary energy sources. Therefore the expectations in practically inexhaustible and environmentally neutral renewable energy sources are high. However, in fact, it depends on the available production, conversion, and utilization technology, which sources of energy are suitable to meet given demands and requirements. In particular, the development of the energy demand requires energy technology innovations to use new energy sources, to use known energy sources more efficient and to replace exhaustible energy sources at an early stage by others. The historical development of the global energy supply is a sequence of interrelated energy technology innovation processes. This makes it also possible, to analyse the historical development of nuclear power and to derive a model on the future role of nuclear power worldwide.

Entropy-power uncertainty relations: towards a tight inequality for all Gaussian pure states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hertz, Anaelle; Jabbour, Michael G; Cerf, Nicolas J

2017-01-01

We show that a proper expression of the uncertainty relation for a pair of canonically-conjugate continuous variables relies on entropy power, a standard notion in Shannon information theory for real-valued signals. The resulting entropy-power uncertainty relation is equivalent to the entropic formulation of the uncertainty relation due to Bialynicki-Birula and Mycielski, but can be further extended to rotated variables. Hence, based on a reasonable assumption, we give a partial proof of a tighter form of the entropy-power uncertainty relation taking correlations into account and provide extensive numerical evidence of its validity. Interestingly, it implies the generalized (rotation-invariant) Schrödinger–Robertson uncertainty relation exactly as the original entropy-power uncertainty relation implies Heisenberg relation. It is saturated for all Gaussian pure states, in contrast with hitherto known entropic formulations of the uncertainty principle. (paper)

Premises and solutions regarding a global approach of gaseous pollutants emissions from the fossil fuel power plants in Romania

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tutuianu, O.; Fulger, E.D.; Vieru, A.; Feher, M.

1996-01-01

This paper deals with the present state of RENEL (Romanian Electricity Authority) - controlled thermal power plants from the point of view of technical aspects, utilized fuels and pollutant emissions. National and international regulations are also analyzed as well as their implications concerning the management of pollutant atmospheric emissions of the plants of RENEL. Starting from these premises the paper points out the advantage of global approach of pollution problems and offers solutions already implemented by RENEL. This global approach will result in an optimization of costs implied in pollutant emission limitations as the most efficient solution were found and applied. Having in view this treatment of the pollution problems, RENEL has submitted to the Ministry of the Industries and to the Ministry of Waters, Forests and Environmental Protection a 'Convention on the limitation of CO 2 , SO 2 and NO x emissions produced in the thermal power plants of RENEL'. (author)

about imagery and function of a promised global catastrophe

OpenAIRE

Rainer, Bettina

2010-01-01

The present discourse on overpopulation is functional for the defence and stabilization of the economical and political position of power of the West. It applies accordingly to the realistic social conditions / relations, which means for today the reality of a global / globalized world economy. Over and above that the discourse on overpopulation can, however, be understood as an expression of the specifically modern endeavour to acquire control over life and death and if possible to produce i...

QUALITY-RELATED FUNDING IN ROMANIAN HIGHER EDUCATION THROUGHOUT 2003 – 2011: A GLOBAL ASSESSMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel-Alexandru Vîiu

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article explores quality-related funding and its global outcomes in the context of Romanian higher education by focusing on the funding allocations provided to public universities throughout a period of nine years based on their institutional performance on the quality indicators integrated in the funding algorithm. Global funding allocations between universities are analysed and a summative appraisal for the entire nine-year window is provided. The article also explores the relation between quality- related funding, institutional disciplinary profiles and the results of a comprehensive evaluation conducted in 2011 by the Ministry of Education to complete a classification of the universities. The main findings indicate a low overall impact of qualityrelated funding for many institutions, but also a clear pattern in which universities focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics overwhelmingly outperformed mixed institutions, as well as those focused on humanities, arts and social sciences. Furthermore, the global quality-related funding outcomes of the 2003 – 2011 period studied in the paper are shown to be significantly associated with the results of the 2011 classification

Political priority of global oral health: an analysis of reasons for international neglect.

Science.gov (United States)

Benzian, Habib; Hobdell, Martin; Holmgren, Christopher; Yee, Robert; Monse, Bella; Barnard, Johannes T; van Palenstein Helderman, Wim

2011-06-01

Global Oral Health suffers from a lack of political attention, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This paper analyses the reasons for this political neglect through the lens of four areas of political power: the power of the ideas, the power of the issue, the power of the actors, and the power of the political context (using a modified Political Power Framework by Shiffman and Smith. Lancet370 [2007] 1370). The analysis reveals that political priority for global oral health is low, resulting from a set of complex issues deeply rooted in the current global oral health sector, its stakeholders and their remit, the lack of coherence and coalescence; as well as the lack of agreement on the problem, its portrayal and possible solutions. The shortcomings and weaknesses demonstrated in the analysis range from rather basic matters, such as defining the issue in an agreed way, to complex and multi-levelled issues concerning appropriate data collection and agreement on adequate solutions. The political priority of Global Oral Health can only be improved by addressing the underlying reasons that resulted in the wide disconnection between the international health discourse and the small sector of Global Oral Health. We hope that this analysis may serve as a starting point for a long overdue, broad and candid international analysis of political, social, cultural, communication, financial and other factors related to better prioritisation of oral health. Without such an analysis and the resulting concerted action the inequities in Global Oral Health will grow and increasingly impact on health systems, development and, most importantly, human lives. © 2011 FDI World Dental Federation.

Definitions of engineered safety features and related features for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-01-01

In light water moderated, light water cooled nuclear power plants, definitions are given of engineered safety features which are designed to suppress or prevent dispersion of radioactive materials due to damage etc. of fuel at the times of power plant failures, and of related features which are designed to actuate or operate the engineered safety features. Contents are the following: scope of engineered safety features and of related features; classification of engineered safety features (direct systems and indirect systems) and of related features (auxiliaries, emergency power supply, and protective means). (Mori, K.)

The global existence problem in general relativity

CERN Document Server

Andersson, L

2000-01-01

We survey some known facts and open questions concerning the global properties of 3+1 dimensional space--times containing a compact Cauchy surface. We consider space--times with an $\\ell$--dimensional Lie algebra of space--like Killing fields. For each $\\ell \\leq 3$, we give some basic results and conjectures on global existence and cosmic censorship. For the case of the 3+1 dimensional Einstein equations without symmetries, a new small data global existence result is announced.

How organizational and global factors condition the effects of energy efficiency on CO_2 emission rebounds among the world's power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grant, Don; Jorgenson, Andrew K.; Longhofer, Wesley

2016-01-01

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the International Energy Agency (IEA), and several nations suggest that energy efficiency is an effective strategy for reducing energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Skeptics contend that because efficiency lowers the price of energy and energy services, it may actually increase demand for them, causing total emissions to rise. While both sides of this debate have researched the magnitude of these so-called rebound effects among end-use consumers, researchers have paid less attention to the conditions under which direct rebounds cause CO_2 emissions to rise among industrial producers. In particular, researchers have yet to explore how organizational and global factors might condition the effects of efficiency on emissions among power plants, the world's most concentrated sources of anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Here we use a unique dataset containing nearly every fossil-fuel power plant in the world to determine whether the impact of efficiency on emissions varies by plants' age, size, and location in global economic and normative systems. Findings reveal that each of these factors has a significant interaction with efficiency and thus shapes environmentally destructive rebound effects. - Highlights: •Skeptics charge that energy efficiency may actually cause CO_2 emissions to rise. •Few have examined whether such rebound effects occur among power plants. •Little also known about whether plants' organizational and global characteristics condition rebounds. •Conduct first analysis of rebound effects among the world's power plants. •Rebounds found to depend on plants' age, size, and location in international economic and normative systems.

Long-term outlook for global natural uranium and uranium enrichment supply and demand situations after the impact of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuo, Yuhji; Murakami, Tomoko

2012-01-01

In this paper, the authors propose long-term projections of global nuclear power generation, uranium production, and uranium enrichment capacities by region, and estimate the trade flows of natural uranium and uranium enrichment activities in 2020 and 2035. In spite of the rapid nuclear power generation capacity growth expected especially in Asia, the natural uranium and uranium enrichment trade will not be tightened by 2020 due to the projected increase in both natural uranium production and uranium enrichment capacities, which may cause a drop in natural uranium and uranium enrichment prices. Thus, there is a great possibility that the current projects for capacity expansion will be delayed considerably. However, in the 'high-demand scenario', where nuclear expansion will be accelerated due to growing concerns about global warming and energy security issues, additional investments in uranium production and enrichment facilities will be needed by 2035. In Asia, the self-sufficiency ratio for both natural uranium supply and uranium enrichment activities will remain relatively low until 2035. However, the Herfindahl-Hirschman (HH) index of natural uranium and uranium enrichment activity trade to Asia will be lowered considerably up to 2035, indicating that nuclear capacity expansion can contribute to enhancing energy security in Asia. (author)

Nuclear Power and Sustainable Energy Policy: Promises and Perils

OpenAIRE

Ioannis N. Kessides

2010-01-01

The author examines the challenges and opportunities of nuclear power in meeting the projected large absolute increase in energy demand, especially electricity, throughout the industrialized and developing world, while helping to mitigate the threat of climate change. A significant global nuclear power deployment would engender serious risks related to proliferation, safety, and waste disposal. Unlike renewable sources of energy, nuclear power is an unforgiving technology because human lapses...

Life cycle analysis of distributed concentrating solar combined heat and power: economics, global warming potential and water

Science.gov (United States)

Norwood, Zack; Kammen, Daniel

2012-12-01

We report on life cycle assessment (LCA) of the economics, global warming potential and water (both for desalination and water use in operation) for a distributed concentrating solar combined heat and power (DCS-CHP) system. Detailed simulation of system performance across 1020 sites in the US combined with a sensible cost allocation scheme informs this LCA. We forecast a levelized cost of 0.25 kWh-1 electricity and 0.03 kWh-1 thermal, for a system with a life cycle global warming potential of ˜80 gCO2eq kWh-1 of electricity and ˜10 gCO2eq kWh-1 thermal, sited in Oakland, California. On the basis of the economics shown for air cooling, and the fact that any combined heat and power system reduces the need for cooling while at the same time boosting the overall solar efficiency of the system, DCS-CHP compares favorably to other electric power generation systems in terms of minimization of water use in the maintenance and operation of the plant. The outlook for water desalination coupled with distributed concentrating solar combined heat and power is less favorable. At a projected cost of 1.40 m-3, water desalination with DCS-CHP would be economical and practical only in areas where water is very scarce or moderately expensive, primarily available through the informal sector, and where contaminated or salt water is easily available as feed-water. It is also interesting to note that 0.40-1.90 m-3 is the range of water prices in the developed world, so DCS-CHP desalination systems could also be an economical solution there under some conditions.

Introduction – Political Governance and Strategic Relations: Domestic-Foreign Policy Nexus and China’s Rise in the Global System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emile Kok-Kheng Yeoh

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Recent years have witnessed several momentous developments in the political economy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC both on the domestic front and in her foreign relations. Deriving correct interpretation of such fast-paced developments and changes has preoccupied much of the circles of China-watchers these days, with political scientists, economists, sociologists and international relations experts focusing their respective attentions on either the domestic transformation occurring within the PRC or on her foreign relations. While the volatile series of incidents involving a year of crackdowns on domestic civil societal movements, civil rights lawyers, labour activists and Hong Kong’s book publishers and distributors were unfolding dramatically, the year also witnessed the continued rise of China’s economic might culminating in the realisation of her initiative for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB that started operation on 25th December 2015 and the continued progress of her “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR proposal after the creation of the State-owned Silk Road Fund on 29th December 2014. Such developments on China’s domestic and global fronts have to be properly placed in the overall context of China’s domestic-foreign policy nexus that has uniquely evolved during her recent decades of continuous, astounding economic tour de force amidst the stagnation of the modernisation and democratisation of her political structure and sociopolitical power configuration, and the rise of her influence in the global system.

Introduction – Political Governance and Strategic Relations: Domestic-Foreign Policy Nexus and China’s Rise in the Global System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emile Kok-Kheng Yeoh

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Recent years have witnessed several momentous developments in the political economy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC both on the domestic front and in her foreign relations. Deriving correct interpretation of such fast-paced developments and changes has preoccupied much of the circles of China-watchers these days, with political scientists, economists, sociologists and international relations experts focusing their respective attention on either the domestic transformation occurring within the PRC or on her foreign relations. While the volatile series of incidents involving a year of crackdowns on domestic civil societal movements, civil rights lawyers, labour activists and Hong Kong’s book publishers and distributors were unfolding dramatically, the year also witnessed the continued rise of China’s economic might culminating in the realisation of her initiative for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB that started operation on 25th December 201 5 and the continued progress of her “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR proposal after the creation of the State-owned Silk Road Fund on 29th December 201 4. Such developments on China’s domestic and global fronts has to be properly placed in the overall context of China’s domestic-foreign policy nexus that has uniquely evolved during from her recent decades of continuous, astounding economic tour de force amidst the stagnation of the modernisation and democratisation of her political structure and sociopolitical power configuration, and the rise of her influence in the global system.

UNESCO Global Ethics Observatory: database on ethics related legislation and guidelines.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ang, T.W.; Have, H.A.M.J. ten; Solbakk, J.H.; Nys, H.

2008-01-01

The Database on Ethics Related Legislation and Guidelines was launched in March 2007 as the fourth database of the UNESCO Global Ethics Observatory system of databases in ethics of science and technology. The database offers a collection of legal instruments searchable by region, country, bioethical

Water-Related Power Plant Curtailments: An Overview of Incidents and Contributing Factors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McCall, James [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Macknick, Jordan [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Macknick, Jordan [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2016-12-01

Water temperatures and water availability can affect the reliable operations of power plants in the United States. Data on water-related impacts on the energy sector are not consolidated and are reported by multiple agencies. This study provides an overview of historical incidents where water resources have affected power plant operations, discusses the various data sources providing information, and creates a publicly available and open access database that contains consolidated information about water-related power plant curtailment and shut-down incidents. Power plants can be affected by water resources if incoming water temperatures are too high, water discharge temperatures are too high, or if there is not enough water available to operate. Changes in climate have the potential to exacerbate uncertainty over water resource availability and temperature. Power plant impacts from water resources include curtailment of generation, plant shut-downs, and requests for regulatory variances. In addition, many power plants have developed adaptation approaches to reducing the potential risks of water-related issues by investing in new technologies or developing and implementing plans to undertake during droughts or heatwaves. This study identifies 42 incidents of water-related power plant issues from 2000-2015, drawing from a variety of different datasets. These incidents occur throughout the U.S., and affect coal and nuclear plants that use once-through, recirculating, and pond cooling systems. In addition, water temperature violations reported to the Environmental Protection Agency are also considered, with 35 temperature violations noted from 2012-2015. In addition to providing some background information on incidents, this effort has also created an open access database on the Open Energy Information platform that contains information about water-related power plant issues that can be updated by users.

Innovative global architecture for sustainable nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wheeler, John; Kagramanyan, Vladimir; Poplavskaya, Elena; Edwards, Geoffrey; Dixon, Brent; Usanov, Vladimir; Hayashi, Hideyuki; Beatty, Randall

2011-01-01

The INPRO collaborative project 'Global architecture of innovative nuclear energy systems based on thermal and fast reactors with the inclusion of a closed nuclear fuel cycle (GAINS)' was one of several scenario studies implemented in the IAEA in recent years. The objective of GAINS was to develop a standard framework for assessing future nuclear energy systems (NESs) taking into account sustainable development, and to validate the results through sample analyses. Belgium, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, France, India, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Slovakia, Ukraine, USA, the European Commission and Argentina as an observer participated in the project. The results received are discussed in the paper, including: development of a heterogeneous multi-group model of a global NES, estimation of nuclear energy demand, identification of a representative set of reactors and fuel cycles, evaluation capability of available analytical and modelling tools, and quantitative analysis of the different options of the global architecture. It was shown that the approach used contributes to development of a coherent vision of driving forces for nuclear energy system development and deployment. (author)

Wind power development and policies in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liao, Cuiping; Farid, Nida R.; Jochem, Eberhard; Zhang, Yi

2010-01-01

The People's Republic of China foresees a target of 30 GW for installed wind power capacity by 2010 (2008: 12 GW). This paper reports on the technical and economic potentials of wind power, the recent development, existing obstacles, and related policies in China. The barriers to further commercialization of the wind power market are important and may deter the 100 GW capacity target of the Chinese government by 2020. The paper concludes that the diffusion of wind power in China is an important element for not only reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, but also for worldwide progress of wind power technology and needed economies of scale. (author)

The Global Menace

Science.gov (United States)

Hodges, Sarah

2015-01-01

Summary The history of medicine has gone ‘global.’ Why? Can the proliferation of the ‘global’ in our writing be explained away as a product of staying true to our historical subjects’ categories? Or has this historiography in fact delivered a new ‘global’ problematic or performed serious ‘global’ analytic work? The situation is far from clear, and it is the tension between the global as descriptor and an analytics of the global that concerns me here. I have three main concerns: (1) that there is an epistemic collusion between the discourses of universality that inform medical science and global-talk; (2) that the embrace of the ‘global’ authorises a turning away from analyses of power in history-writing in that (3) this turning away from analyses of power in history-writing leads to scholarship that reproduces rather than critiques globalisation as a set of institutions, discourses and practices. PMID:26345469

Navigating Between Stealth Advocacy and Unconscious Dogmatism: The Challenge of Researching the Norms, Politics and Power of Global Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Ooms, Gorik

2015-06-16

Global health research is essentially a normative undertaking: we use it to propose policies that ought to be implemented. To arrive at a normative conclusion in a logical way requires at least one normative premise, one that cannot be derived from empirical evidence alone. But there is no widely accepted normative premise for global health, and the actors with the power to set policies may use a different normative premise than the scholars that propose policies - which may explain the 'implementation gap' in global health. If global health scholars shy away from the normative debate - because it requires normative premises that cannot be derived from empirical evidence alone - they not only mislead each other, they also prevent and stymie debate on the role of the powerhouses of global health, their normative premises, and the rights and wrongs of these premises. The humanities and social sciences are better equipped - and less reluctant - to approach the normative debate in a scientifically valid manner, and ought to be better integrated in the interdisciplinary research that global health research is, or should be. © 2015 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

Uniform decrease of alpha-global field power induced by intermittent photic stimulation of healthy subjects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rau R.

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Nineteen-channel EEGs were recorded from the scalp surface of 30 healthy subjects (16 males and 14 females, mean age: 34 years, SD: 11.7 years at rest and under trains of intermittent photic stimulation (IPS at rates of 5, 10 and 20 Hz. Digitalized data were submitted to spectral analysis with fast fourier transformation providing the basis for the computation of global field power (GFP. For quantification, GFP values in the frequency ranges of 5, 10 and 20 Hz at rest were divided by the corresponding data obtained under IPS. All subjects showed a photic driving effect at each rate of stimulation. GFP data were normally distributed, whereas ratios from photic driving effect data showed no uniform behavior due to high interindividual variability. Suppression of alpha-power after IPS with 10 Hz was observed in about 70% of the volunteers. In contrast, ratios of alpha-power were unequivocal in all subjects: IPS at 20 Hz always led to a suppression of alpha-power. Dividing alpha-GFP with 20-Hz IPS by alpha-GFP at rest (R = alpha-GFP IPS/alpha-GFPrest thus resulted in ratios lower than 1. We conclude that ratios from GFP data with 20-Hz IPS may provide a suitable paradigm for further investigations.

Techno-Economic Evaluation of a Stand-Alone Power System Based on Solar Power/Batteries for Global System for Mobile Communications Base Stations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed H. Alsharif

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Energy consumption in cellular networks is receiving significant attention from academia and the industry due to its significant potential economic and ecological influence. Energy efficiency and renewable energy are the main pillars of sustainability and environmental compatibility. Technological advancements and cost reduction for photovoltaics are making cellular base stations (BSs; a key source of energy consumption in cellular networks powered by solar energy sources a long-term promising solution for the mobile cellular network industry. This paper addresses issues of deployment and operation of two solar-powered global system for mobile communications (GSM BSs that are being deployed at present (GSM BS 2/2/2 and GSM BS 4/4/4. The study is based on the characteristics of South Korean solar radiation exposure. The optimum criteria as well as economic and technical feasibility for various BSs are analyzed using a hybrid optimization model for electric renewables. In addition, initial capital, replacement, operations, maintenance, and total net present costs for various solar-powered BSs are discussed. Furthermore, the economic feasibility of the proposed solar system is compared with conventional energy sources in urban and remote areas.

Future gender relations in global restructuring processes case study evidence from knowledge-intensive, manufacturing and service occupations

OpenAIRE

Linda Nierling

2008-01-01

Global restructuring processes have not only strong implications for European working and living realities, but also have specific outcomes with regard to gender relations. The following contribution analyses in which way global restructuring shapes current gender relations in order to identify important trends and developments for future gender (in)equalities at the workplace. On the basis of a large qualitative study on global restructuring and impacts on different occupational groups it ar...

How states exerted power to create the Millennium Development Goals and how this shaped the global health agenda: Lessons for the sustainable development goals and the future of global health.

Science.gov (United States)

Marten, Robert

2018-04-26

Since 2000, the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) provided the framework for global development efforts transforming the field now known as global health. The MDGs both reflected and contributed to shaping a normative global health agenda. In the field of global health, the role of the state is largely considered to have diminished; however, this paper reasserts states as actors in the conceptualisation and institutionalisation of the MDGs, and illustrates how states exerted power and engaged in the MDG process. States not only sanctioned the MDGs through their heads of states endorsing the Millennium Declaration, but also acted more subtly behind the scenes supporting, enabling, and/or leveraging other actors, institutions and processes to conceptualise and legitimize the MDGs. Appreciating the MDGs' role in the conceptualisation of global health is particularly relevant as the world transitions to the MDGs' successor, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs' influence, impact and importance remains to be seen; however, to understand the future of global health and how actors, particularly states, can engage to shape the field, a deeper sense of the MDGs' legacy and how actors engaged in the past is helpful.

Estimating the Crustal Power Spectrum From Vector Magsat Data: Crustal Power Spectrum

Science.gov (United States)

Lowe, David A. J.; Parker, Robert L.; Purucker, Michael E.; Constable, Catherine G.

2000-01-01

The Earth's magnetic field can be subdivided into core and crustal components and we seek to characterize the crustal part through its spatial power spectrum (R(sub l)). We process vector Magsat data to isolate the crustal field and then invert power spectral densities of flight-local components along-track for R(sub l) following O'Brien et al. [1999]. Our model (LPPC) is accurate up to approximately degree 45 (lambda=900 km) - this is the resolution limit of our data and suggests that global crustal anomaly maps constructed from vector Magsat data should not contain features with wavelengths less than 900 km. We find continental power spectra to be greater than oceanic ones and attribute this to the relative thicknesses of continental and oceanic crust.

Effects of yoga on cancer-related fatigue and global side-effect burden in older cancer survivors.

Science.gov (United States)

Sprod, Lisa K; Fernandez, Isabel D; Janelsins, Michelle C; Peppone, Luke J; Atkins, James N; Giguere, Jeffrey; Block, Robert; Mustian, Karen M

2015-01-01

Sixty percent of cancer survivors are 65years of age or older. Cancer and its treatments lead to cancer-related fatigue and many other side effects, in turn, creating substantial global side-effect burden (total burden from all side effects) which, ultimately, compromises functional independence and quality of life. Various modes of exercise, such as yoga, reduce cancer-related fatigue and global side-effect burden in younger cancer survivors, but no studies have specifically examined the effects of yoga on older cancer survivors. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a 4-week yoga intervention (Yoga for Cancer Survivors: YOCAS©®) on overall cancer-related fatigue, and due to its multidimensional nature, the subdomains of cancer-related fatigue (general, physical, emotional, and mental) and global side-effect burden in older cancer survivors. We conducted a secondary analysis on data from a multicenter phase III randomized controlled clinical trial with 2 arms (standard care and standard care plus a 4-week YOCAS©® intervention). The sample for this secondary analysis was 97 older cancer survivors (≥60years of age), between 2months and 2years post-treatment, who participated in the original trial. Participants in the YOCAS©® intervention arm reported significantly lower cancer-related fatigue, physical fatigue, mental fatigue, and global side-effect burden than participants in the standard care arm following the 4-week intervention period (peffective standardized yoga intervention for reducing cancer-related fatigue, physical fatigue, mental fatigue, and global side-effect burden among older cancer survivors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The politics of researching global health politics

Science.gov (United States)

Rushton, Simon

2015-01-01

In this comment, I build on Shiffman’s call for the global health community to more deeply investigate structural and productive power. I highlight two challenges we must grapple with as social scientists carrying out the types of investigation that Shiffman proposes: the politics of challenging the powerful; and the need to investigate types of expertise that have traditionally been thought of as ‘outside’ global health. In doing so, I argue that moving forward with the agenda Shiffman sets out requires social scientists interested in the global politics of health to be reflexive about our own exercise of structural and productive power and the fact that researching global health politics is itself a political undertaking. PMID:25905482

An assessment of the potentials of nuclear power and carbon capture and storage in the long-term global warming mitigation options based on Asian Modeling Exercise scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mori, Shunsuke

2012-01-01

This paper presents an evaluation of global warming mitigation options based on scenarios from the Asian Modeling Exercise. Using an extended version of the integrated assessment model MARIA-23 (Multiregional Approach for Resource and Industry Allocation), we analyze nuclear fuel recycling options, carbon capture and storage technologies (CCS), and biomass utilization. To assess the potential implications of decreased social acceptance of nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident, additional scenarios including a nuclear power expansion limitation, are analyzed. We also evaluate MARIA-23 model simulation estimates of long-term contributions and interrelationships among nuclear power, biomass, and CCS. Finally, potential costs of nuclear limitation under carbon control policies are assessed. The simulation results in this paper suggest the following: (1) under the reference scenario, global GDP losses in climate limitation scenarios range from 1.3% per year to 3.9% per year in 2060, rising to between 3.5% per year and 4.5% per year in 2100; (2) the use of nuclear fuel reprocessing technologies increase rapidly in all carbon control policy scenarios; (3) under a scenario where the price of CO 2 is $30 and nuclear power expansion is strictly limited, GDP losses increase significantly—from 4.5% per year to 6.4% per year by 2100; (4) nuclear power and CCS are substitute mitigation technologies. With nuclear power technology available CCS deployment reaches approximately 15,000 Mt-CO 2 per year by 2010; without a nuclear power option, CCS deployment rises to more than 80,000 Mt-CO 2 per year; and (5) biomass utilization cannot fully compensate for limitations to nuclear power expansion in policy scenarios. In addition to examining the role of these three technologies on global scales, we report results for several major Asian regions, namely Japan, China, and India. China tends to deploy nuclear power (if available) in response to rapidly growing

Structural Power and International Relations Analysis: "Fill your basket, get your preferences"

OpenAIRE

Pustovitovskij, Andrej; Kremer, Jan-Frederik

2011-01-01

In this article, we will address current deficits of the study of power in IR by introducing a new concept of structural power. After briefly presenting existing concepts of relational power, of structural power as well as of conceptualizing power as the possession of resources (power-as-resources), we will introduce our concept of structural power as an approach suitable for bridging the gap between existing concepts (by strongly focusing on the importance of the structural level). We will s...

Nuclear position in power generation sector - under the pressure of anti-global warming and power market reform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayashi, Taizo

2005-01-01

The future structure surrounding fuel choice in power generation sector should be understood how to evaluate actual and potential merit and demerit both in economic and environmental aspects on nuclear power generation. That is i.e. nuclear can be understood as superior power source without GHGs and on the other hand, as unfavorable power source which might cause some critical dangers due to its hazardous radioactive nuclear waste. On this specific characteristic, this theme on fuel choice surrounding nuclear in power generation sector could be understood as a highly cultural problem as much as economic and political one. For instance, we can observe quite opposite direction with each other on nuclear power development in European countries like France and Finland on one hand and Germany and Sweden on the other hand. Looking at Asian countries, we also observe the very reality of high economic growth with rapid growth of electricity demand like China. What on earth, is it really possible without nuclear power source for such gigantic countries. I will develop my personal idea on nuclear power source based on Japanese experience towards successfully managing nuclear power technologies in the world, consisting of developing countries with growing economies and of advanced ones with rather matured nuclear technology under the pressure of environmentally restricted world order. My basic view point to discuss nuclear power problem has, conclusionally speaking, several aspects; The first one is in the relation with deregulation or liberalization of electricity market, which has been undergoing among such developed countries as OECD member countries i.e. USA, EU, Japan and other countries. Deregulation or liberalization of electricity market seems to be the inevitable process towards more matured market economy among developed countries group, and that process inevitably forces management of power companies towards more near sighted attitude if those companies are

Life cycle analysis of distributed concentrating solar combined heat and power: economics, global warming potential and water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norwood, Zack; Kammen, Daniel

2012-01-01

We report on life cycle assessment (LCA) of the economics, global warming potential and water (both for desalination and water use in operation) for a distributed concentrating solar combined heat and power (DCS-CHP) system. Detailed simulation of system performance across 1020 sites in the US combined with a sensible cost allocation scheme informs this LCA. We forecast a levelized cost of $0.25 kWh −1 electricity and $0.03 kWh −1 thermal, for a system with a life cycle global warming potential of ∼80 gCO 2 eq kWh −1 of electricity and ∼10 gCO 2 eq kWh −1 thermal, sited in Oakland, California. On the basis of the economics shown for air cooling, and the fact that any combined heat and power system reduces the need for cooling while at the same time boosting the overall solar efficiency of the system, DCS-CHP compares favorably to other electric power generation systems in terms of minimization of water use in the maintenance and operation of the plant. The outlook for water desalination coupled with distributed concentrating solar combined heat and power is less favorable. At a projected cost of $1.40 m −3 , water desalination with DCS-CHP would be economical and practical only in areas where water is very scarce or moderately expensive, primarily available through the informal sector, and where contaminated or salt water is easily available as feed-water. It is also interesting to note that $0.40–$1.90 m −3 is the range of water prices in the developed world, so DCS-CHP desalination systems could also be an economical solution there under some conditions. (letter)

Observing power blackouts from space - A disaster related study

Science.gov (United States)

Aubrecht, C.; Elvidge, C. D.; Ziskin, D.; Baugh, K. E.; Tuttle, B.; Erwin, E.; Kerle, N.

2009-04-01

world. Elvidge et al. (1998) first demonstrated that under certain conditions a detection of power outages is possible using OLS data. A standard procedure for visual detection of power outages has been developed. The procedure is based on identifying locations where consistently observed lighting is missing or reduced following a disaster event. Visible and thermal spectral bands of the event-related OLS data are compared to a recent cloud-free composite of nighttime lights by producing a color (RGB) composite image. For the cloud-free nighttime lights composite serving as reference information both monthly and annual composites can be used, depending on the respective availability and suitability of OLS data. The RGB color composite uses the reference lights as red (R), the current visible band as green (G) and the current thermal band as blue (B). The thermal band is typically inverted to make clouds appear bright. As clouds are typically colder than the surface of the Earth, in the thermal band higher values are observed on cloud-free areas, which thus appear brighter in standard visualization modes. The resulting color composite is visually interpreted to identify power outages, which show up as red lights on a dark (cloud-free) background. Red color stands for high values in the reference data (red band of the RGB composite) compared to low values in the event data (green and blue bands of the RGB composite), thus showing the disaster-related absence or reduction of lighting. Heavy cloud cover also obscures lights, resulting in red lights on a blue background. Yellow color in the RGB composite indicates areas where the lights are on, i.e. both red and green band (reference composite and visible band of the event image) feature high values with no cloud cover present (low values in the blue band). Under ideal conditions the presented procedure detects individual cities and towns where power has been lost or has been reduced. Conditions reducing or eliminating the

Nuclear power planning in the context of global climate change - the Malaysian perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alawiah Musa; Fairuz Suzana Mohd Chachuli; Nik Arlina Nik Ali

2007-01-01

The global warming effect due to ?greenhouse gases? is a hot topic discussed by world climate scientists today. This effect causes sea levels to rise, countries experiencing extreme weather conditions, violent storms and long dry spells. In centuries to come, these catastrophic effects can cause the spread of diseases and destroy food production and human habitat. Over one-third of the greenhouse gases come from the burning of fossil fuel to generate electricity. Nuclear power plants do not generate these gases. This paper presents the results obtained from a case study using MESSAGE, an analytical tool developed by the IAEA, which was used to evaluate Malaysia future energy requirements and strategies in addressing climate change issues. (Author)

The rise of global health diplomacy: An interdisciplinary concept linking health and international relations.

Science.gov (United States)

Chattu, Vijay Kumar

2017-01-01

Global health diplomacy (GHD) is relatively a very new field that has yet to be clearly defined and developed though there are various definitions given by different experts from foreign policy, global health, diplomacy, international relations, governance, and law. With the intensification of globalization and increasing gaps between countries, new and reemerging health threats such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome, Ebola, and Zika and a gradual rethinking on security concepts framed a new political context. The health problems addressed diplomatically have also become diverse ranging from neglected tropical diseases, infectious diseases, sale of unsafe, counterfeit drugs to brain drain crisis. We see that global health has become more diverse as the actors widened and also the interests appealing not only to the traditional humanitarian ideals associated with health but also to the principles grounded in national and global security. Recently, we are witnessing the increased priority given to the GHD because the issue of health is discussed by various actors outside the WHO to shape the global policy for health determinants. In fact, the area of health has become the part of UN Summit Diplomacy involving the G8, G20, BRICS, and the EU. The recent WHO Pandemic Influenza Framework, UN High Level Framework on Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases, and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control are some of the examples of long-term negotiation processes for agreements that took place.

Global regularization method for planar restricted three-body problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sharaf M.A.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, global regularization method for planar restricted three-body problem is purposed by using the transformation z = x+iy = ν cos n(u+iv, where i = √−1, 0 < ν ≤ 1 and n is a positive integer. The method is developed analytically and computationally. For the analytical developments, analytical solutions in power series of the pseudotime τ are obtained for positions and velocities (u, v, u', v' and (x, y, x˙, y˙ in both regularized and physical planes respectively, the physical time t is also obtained as power series in τ. Moreover, relations between the coefficients of the power series are obtained for two consequent values of n. Also, we developed analytical solutions in power series form for the inverse problem of finding τ in terms of t. As typical examples, three symbolic expressions for the coefficients of the power series were developed in terms of initial values. As to the computational developments, the global regularized equations of motion are developed together with their initial values in forms suitable for digital computations using any differential equations solver. On the other hand, for numerical evolutions of power series, an efficient method depending on the continued fraction theory is provided.

Relative Error Evaluation to Typical Open Global dem Datasets in Shanxi Plateau of China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, S.; Zhang, S.; Cheng, W.

2018-04-01

Produced by radar data or stereo remote sensing image pairs, global DEM datasets are one of the most important types for DEM data. Relative error relates to surface quality created by DEM data, so it relates to geomorphology and hydrologic applications using DEM data. Taking Shanxi Plateau of China as the study area, this research evaluated the relative error to typical open global DEM datasets including Shuttle Radar Terrain Mission (SRTM) data with 1 arc second resolution (SRTM1), SRTM data with 3 arc second resolution (SRTM3), ASTER global DEM data in the second version (GDEM-v2) and ALOS world 3D-30m (AW3D) data. Through process and selection, more than 300,000 ICESat/GLA14 points were used as the GCP data, and the vertical error was computed and compared among four typical global DEM datasets. Then, more than 2,600,000 ICESat/GLA14 point pairs were acquired using the distance threshold between 100 m and 500 m. Meanwhile, the horizontal distance between every point pair was computed, so the relative error was achieved using slope values based on vertical error difference and the horizontal distance of the point pairs. Finally, false slope ratio (FSR) index was computed through analyzing the difference between DEM and ICESat/GLA14 values for every point pair. Both relative error and FSR index were categorically compared for the four DEM datasets under different slope classes. Research results show: Overall, AW3D has the lowest relative error values in mean error, mean absolute error, root mean square error and standard deviation error; then the SRTM1 data, its values are a little higher than AW3D data; the SRTM3 and GDEM-v2 data have the highest relative error values, and the values for the two datasets are similar. Considering different slope conditions, all the four DEM data have better performance in flat areas but worse performance in sloping regions; AW3D has the best performance in all the slope classes, a litter better than SRTM1; with slope increasing

Comparison of tests for spatial heterogeneity on data with global clustering patterns and outliers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hachey Mark

2009-10-01

data with global clustering patterns should be used with caution since SatScan may reveal an incorrect spatial pattern even though it has enough power to reject a null hypothesis of homogeneous relative risk. Tango's method should be used for global clustering evaluation instead of SaTScan.

University students' understanding level about words related to nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oiso, Shinichi; Watabe, Motoki

2012-01-01

The authors conducted a survey of university students' understanding level about words related to nuclear power before and after Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant accident, and analyzed the difference between before and after the accident. The results show that university students' understanding level improved after the accident, especially in the case of reported words by mass media. Understanding level of some nuclear power security words which were not reported so much by mass media also improved. That may be caused by rising of people's concern about nuclear power generation after the accident, and there is a possibility that the accident motivated people to access such words via internet, journals, etc. (author)

Power Deals. Mergers and acquisitions activity within the global electricity and gas market. 2008 Annual Review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

2008 was the year in which power deal values came down from their record-breaking highs of the two preceding years as the financial crisis and a number of market uncertainties had a negative impact on deal activity. Nonetheless, total deal numbers leapt by 24% as companies concentrated on smaller deals and took advantage of new opportunities that arose in the changed market conditions. Europe was least affected by the downturn in deal values and accounted for over half of all bidder and target power deal value. In contrast, power deals in Australia, which had previously been a main motor of growing M and A activity in the Asia Pacific region, virtually stalled as uncertainty over new carbon emission policies combined with the financial crisis to deter deal flow. In North America, like Europe, big deals were fewer but underlying deal activity was comparable with previous years. This report examines the rationale behind the overall trends and the key individual deals. We also highlight, in a series of deal dialogues throughout the report, some of the critical issues for companies engaging in deal activity within the sector, drawing on our global experience as an adviser to players in major deals throughout the sector in all key electricity and gas utilities markets. Looking to the future, the easing of the financial crisis will be key to deal flow but the near-term outlook looks less robust than the recent past, especially as debt markets will be further constrained by calls from the public financing required to support government bail-out programmes. Set against this, the underlying imperatives of consolidation, supply security and capitalisation remain in place and will create increasing pent-up deal demand. A lower energy price environment will change the metrics for more expensive cleaner power assets, placing an even higher importance on the outcome of global climate talks and the run-up to the December 2009 UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen

Power Deals. Mergers and acquisitions activity within the global electricity and gas market. 2008 Annual Review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2009-01-15

2008 was the year in which power deal values came down from their record-breaking highs of the two preceding years as the financial crisis and a number of market uncertainties had a negative impact on deal activity. Nonetheless, total deal numbers leapt by 24% as companies concentrated on smaller deals and took advantage of new opportunities that arose in the changed market conditions. Europe was least affected by the downturn in deal values and accounted for over half of all bidder and target power deal value. In contrast, power deals in Australia, which had previously been a main motor of growing M and A activity in the Asia Pacific region, virtually stalled as uncertainty over new carbon emission policies combined with the financial crisis to deter deal flow. In North America, like Europe, big deals were fewer but underlying deal activity was comparable with previous years. This report examines the rationale behind the overall trends and the key individual deals. We also highlight, in a series of deal dialogues throughout the report, some of the critical issues for companies engaging in deal activity within the sector, drawing on our global experience as an adviser to players in major deals throughout the sector in all key electricity and gas utilities markets. Looking to the future, the easing of the financial crisis will be key to deal flow but the near-term outlook looks less robust than the recent past, especially as debt markets will be further constrained by calls from the public financing required to support government bail-out programmes. Set against this, the underlying imperatives of consolidation, supply security and capitalisation remain in place and will create increasing pent-up deal demand. A lower energy price environment will change the metrics for more expensive cleaner power assets, placing an even higher importance on the outcome of global climate talks and the run-up to the December 2009 UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen.

Globalization of fluid power industry; Fluid power sangyokai no global ka

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ogasawara, F. [Kayaba Industry Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

1998-05-15

This paper takes a view of hydraulic and pneumatic industry. The United States accounts for 33% of hydraulic and pneumatic device shipment, while Japan accounts for 16% and Germany 14%. Japan has recorded the highest shipment record in 1991, but the shipment decreased largely in 1992 as a result of the collapse of the bubble economy. Thereafter, pneumatic devices recovered production in 1995, and continuing smooth growth since then. However, hydraulic devices have not reached the level of 1989. Pneumatic devices have achieved great progress as a result of making them lighter, thinner, shorter and smaller to meet users` strong demands, development of energy saving, space saving and life extending technologies and control technologies, function combination, and diversification. International competition is so intense that, in order to survive this mega-competition age, efforts must be made in areas of noise, oil leakage, positioning control and energy conservation as substantial technological issues. Measures against global environmental problems may include prevention of pollution and disaster caused from working oils and development of hydraulic devices. Transferring the excellent Japanese technologies and know-hows to developing countries constitutes international contribution. Progress in hydraulic and pneumatic technologies combined with electronics technologies is also desired. 3 figs., 1 tab.

Politics or Technocracy – What Next for Global Health?; Comment on “Navigating Between Stealth Advocacy and Unconscious Dogmatism: The Challenge of Researching the Norms, Politics and Power of Global Health”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilona Kickbusch

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Politics play a central part in determining health and development outcomes as Gorik Ooms highlights in his recent commentary. As health becomes more global and more politicized the need grows to better understand the inherently political processes at all levels of governance, such as ideological positions, ideas, value judgments, and power. I agree that global health research should strengthen its contribution to generating such knowledge by drawing more on political science, such research is gaining ground. Even more important is – as Ooms indicates – that global health scholars better understand their own role in the political process. It is time to acknowledge that expert-based technocratic approaches are no less political. We will need to reflect and analyse the role of experts in global health governance to a greater extent and in that context explore the links between politics, expertise and democracy.

Reduced order models, inertial manifolds, and global bifurcations: searching instability boundaries in nuclear power systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suarez Antola, R.

2011-01-01

One of the goals of nuclear power systems design and operation is to restrict the possible states of certain critical subsystems, during steady operation and during transients, to remain inside a certain bounded set of admissible states and state variations. Also, during transients, certain restrictions must be imposed on the time scale of evolution of the critical subsystem's state. A classification of the different solution types concerning their relation with the operational safety of the power plant is done by distributing the different solution types in relation with the exclusion region of the power-flow map. In the framework of an analytic or numerical modeling process of a boiling water reactor (BWR) power plant, this could imply first to find an suitable approximation to the solution manifold of the differential equations describing the stability behavior of this nonlinear system, and then a classification of the different solution types concerning their relation with the operational safety of the power plant, by distributing the different solution types in relation with the exclusion region of the power-flow map. Inertial manifold theory gives a foundation for the construction and use of reduced order models (ROM's) of reactor dynamics to discover and characterize meaningful bifurcations that may pass unnoticed during digital simulations done with full scale computer codes of the nuclear power plant. The March-Leuba's BWR ROM is used to exemplify the analytical approach developed here. The equation for excess void reactivity of this ROM is generalized. A nonlinear integral-differential equation in the logarithmic power is derived, including the generalized thermal-hydraulics feedback on the reactivity. Introducing a Krilov- Bogoliubov-Mitropolsky (KBM) ansatz with both amplitude and phase being slowly varying functions of time relative to the center period of oscillation, a coupled set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations for amplitude and phase

How global brands compete.

Science.gov (United States)

Holt, Douglas B; Quelch, John A; Taylor, Earl L

2004-09-01

It's time to rethink global branding. More than two decades ago, Harvard Business School professor Theodore Levitt argued that corporations should grow by selling standardized products all over the world. But consumers in most countries had trouble relating to generic products, so executives instead strove for global scale on backstage activities such as production while customizing product features and selling techniques to local tastes. Such "glocal" strategies now rule marketing. Global branding has lost more luster recently because transnational companies have been under siege, with brands like Coca-Cola and Nike becoming lightning rods for antiglobalization protests. The instinctive reaction of most transnational companies has been to try to fly below the radar. But global brands can't escape notice. In fact, most transnational corporations don't realize that because of their power and pervasiveness, people view them differently than they do other firms. In a research project involving 3,300 consumers in 41 countries, the authors found that most people choose one global brand over another because of differences in the brands'global qualities. Ratherthan ignore the global characteristics of their brands, firms must learn to manage those characteristics. That's critical, because future growth for most companies will likely come from foreign markets. Consumers base preferences on three dimensions of global brands--quality (signaled by a company's global stature); the cultural myths that brands author; and firms' efforts to address social problems. The authors also found that it didn't matter to consumers whether the brands they bought were American--a remarkable finding considering that the study was conducted when anti-American sentiment in many nations was on the rise.

Governmentalizing Gramsci: Topologies of power and passive revolution in Cambodia’s garment production network

OpenAIRE

Arnold, D.; Hess, M.

2017-01-01

This article takes a fresh look at the multiple power relations between state, capital and labor in global production networks. Moving beyond debates about public vs. private governance, it brings together Antonio Gramsci’s concepts of hegemony and the integral state with Michel Foucault’s concepts of governmentality and the “dipositive” in order to analyze the power topologies that permeate global production networks. Using the Cambodian garment production network as example, we scrutinize t...

Employment within the power supply industry and the power supply related activities; Sysselsatte i kraftnaeringen og kraftrelatert virksomhet 2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thoen, Haavard

2012-07-01

The report's main objective is to investigate employment within the power supply industry and the power supply related activities. The report will describe the composition of employees in regard to sex, age and education. The power supply industry is defined in Statistics Norway's Standard Industrial Classification, as 'Production and distribution of electricity'. The group of companies related to power supply related activities employ similar persons in regard to education and occupation, typical to companies in the power supply industry. These two groups make up the power supply sector in this report. In 2011 there were 18 450 employees in the power supply sector. This constitutes an increase of nearly 13.5 per cent since 2004 and 1.1 per cent since 2010. The sex distribution of about 80 per cent men and 20 per cent women has been fairly stable since 2004. The power supply sector has a low share of women among its employees compared to the private sector in general. In 2011 the level of education in the power supply sector was higher than for the private sector in general. Since 2004, the share of persons with higher education has increased from 27 to 33 per cent. Employees in the power supply sector are on average older than employees in the private sector. The employees have matured since 2004, but in the last few years, there have also been signs of fresh recruitment. The power supply industry had a net influx of 380 new employees, in the period between 2009 and 2011. There were 1678 new employees and 1298 employees lost in the sector due to attrition. If we look at the supply of new employees who were also employed in 2010, 14.2 percent of female employees worked in temporary staff recruitment agencies. Temporary work seems to be an important entry gate to the power supply industry for women. Among men, the building- and construction sector was the most common background for new employees in the power supply industry. Among people who quit

Application of digital solutions to help the safe and efficient operation of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ortega P, F.; Fernandez F, S.

2017-09-01

In the search for excellence, the emergence of solutions to digitize nuclear power plants is an opportunity to optimize the operation and safety of them. The new technologies available today in the market, applied under a global vision of the operation, can contribute to the excellent operation of nuclear power plants in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Tecnatom has a long experience in various areas related to the operation of the plants, giving the aforementioned global vision, essential to develop global solutions that pursue the safe and efficient operation of the operation. (Author)

The relation between statistical power and inference in fMRI.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henk R Cremers

Full Text Available Statistically underpowered studies can result in experimental failure even when all other experimental considerations have been addressed impeccably. In fMRI the combination of a large number of dependent variables, a relatively small number of observations (subjects, and a need to correct for multiple comparisons can decrease statistical power dramatically. This problem has been clearly addressed yet remains controversial-especially in regards to the expected effect sizes in fMRI, and especially for between-subjects effects such as group comparisons and brain-behavior correlations. We aimed to clarify the power problem by considering and contrasting two simulated scenarios of such possible brain-behavior correlations: weak diffuse effects and strong localized effects. Sampling from these scenarios shows that, particularly in the weak diffuse scenario, common sample sizes (n = 20-30 display extremely low statistical power, poorly represent the actual effects in the full sample, and show large variation on subsequent replications. Empirical data from the Human Connectome Project resembles the weak diffuse scenario much more than the localized strong scenario, which underscores the extent of the power problem for many studies. Possible solutions to the power problem include increasing the sample size, using less stringent thresholds, or focusing on a region-of-interest. However, these approaches are not always feasible and some have major drawbacks. The most prominent solutions that may help address the power problem include model-based (multivariate prediction methods and meta-analyses with related synthesis-oriented approaches.

Power relations and reciprocity: dialectics of knowledge construction.

Science.gov (United States)

Ben-Ari, Adital; Enosh, Guy

2013-03-01

In this article we suggest a theoretical framework of knowledge construction by employing the concept of dialectics to power relationships between researcher and participants. Power distribution in research is perceived as dichotomous and asymmetrical in favor of the researcher, creating unequal power relations that make exploitation possible. Acknowledging such exploitation has led to a critical stance and attempts to bridge gaps through egalitarianism and empowerment of participants. Some scholars have focused on shifting expert knowledge differentials between researcher and participants throughout the research project. Others have evaluated such gaps as a source of knowledge construction. In the present work we applied a dialectical approach to understanding research relationships, suggesting reciprocity as their defining attribute, regardless of symmetry or asymmetry and as a source of knowledge construction. In this article we recommend avoiding a taken-for-granted attitude, because we see it as a direct obstacle to the construction of knowledge.

Self-compassion versus global self-esteem: two different ways of relating to oneself.

Science.gov (United States)

Neff, Kristin D; Vonk, Roos

2009-02-01

This research examined self-compassion and self-esteem as they relate to various aspects of psychological functioning. Self-compassion entails treating oneself with kindness, recognizing one's shared humanity, and being mindful when considering negative aspects of oneself. Study 1 (N=2,187) compared self-compassion and global self-esteem as they relate to ego-focused reactivity. It was found that self-compassion predicted more stable feelings of self-worth than self-esteem and was less contingent on particular outcomes. Self-compassion also had a stronger negative association with social comparison, public self-consciousness, self-rumination, anger, and need for cognitive closure. Self-esteem (but not self-compassion) was positively associated with narcissism. Study 2 (N=165) compared global self-esteem and self-compassion with regard to positive mood states. It was found that the two constructs were statistically equivalent predictors of happiness, optimism, and positive affect. Results from these two studies suggest that self-compassion may be a useful alternative to global self-esteem when considering what constitutes a healthy self-stance.

What do human rights bring to discussions of power and politics in health policy and systems?

Science.gov (United States)

Forman, Lisa

2017-12-13

Scholarly interrogations of power and politics are not endemic to the disciplines primarily tasked with exploring health policy and planning in the domestic or global domains. Scholars in these domains have come late to investigating power, prompted in part by the growing focus in domestic and global health research on the intersections between governance, globalization and health inequities. Recent prominent reports in this area increasingly point to human rights as important norms capable of responding in part to power differentials that sustain and exacerbate health inequities. Yet human rights law is not traditionally incorporated into health policy scholarship or education, despite offering important normative and strategic frameworks for public and global health, with distinctive contributions in relation to identifying and challenging certain forms of power disparity. This paper overviews two of these reports and how they see power functioning to sustain health inequities. It then turns to investigate what human rights and the right to health in particular may offer in addressing and challenging power in the health policy context.

Harnessing wind power with sustained policy support

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meera, L. [BITS-Pilani. Dept. of Economics, Hyderabad (India)

2012-07-01

The development of wind power in India began in the 1990s, and has significantly increased in the last few years. The ''Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA)'' has played a leading role in promoting wind energy in India. Although a relative newcomer to the wind industry compared with Denmark or the US, a combination of domestic policy support for wind power and the rise of Suzlon (a leading global wind turbine manufacturer) have led India to become the country with the fifth largest installed wind power capacity in the world. Wind power accounts for 6% of India's total installed power capacity, and it generates 1.6% of the country's power. (Author)

RIPH: A Model for Representing the Reality in the Global and Local Television

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saket Hosseynov

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The world is witnessing great changes, and these changes are comprehensible in the realm of performance of "identity", "boundary", "geographic concept” (place and "time". Identities are now segmented, boundaries passed over, and places and time compressed. Television is one of the effective factors in making this happen. However, it seems like television, which itself is one of the evidences of globalization, has now acquired new characteristics. With a little care while reading texts related to globalization and media, we realize the four words "reality", "identity", "power" and "hyper-reality" are constantly repeated in these texts, and very few people doubt the close relationship between television and these topics. Facing such a situation, and to understand the characteristics of the global television, this article plans to start on the basis of a theoretic called "RIPH Model". Based on the presumption that the role and place of television in forming the cultural shapes must not be exaggerated, it tries to present an outlook of the activities of the local and global televisions in the age of globalization and share the outcomes with 20 Iranian experts through interviews. RIPH is the short form which stands for the four words "reality", "identity", "power" and "hyper-reality". These are the concepts with new definitions that have changed our views about life on the Planet Earth, and this article studies the factors related to global and local televisions in the frame of an innovative model suggested by the researcher called "The Lozenge of the Performance of the Global and Local Televisions (RIPH Model", by investigating the relations between television and the above-mentioned concepts.

Journalism in the jaw of globalism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đorđević Živorad

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Globalism has always been an important factor of both survival and development of human civilization. However, contemporary processes of globalization are founded upon accomplishment of interests of powerful states, powerful individuals and their domination. Journalism has made a great contribution to the accomplishment of goals of contemporary globalism. Instead of creative engagement in spreading of truth and objective informing, journalists are becoming transmission in publicity control and redirecting of its consciousness toward virtual. Hence the weaking of position and reputation of journalism.

Economics of hybrid photovoltaic power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Breyer, Christian

2012-08-16

The global power supply stability is faced to several severe and fundamental threats, in particular steadily increasing power demand, diminishing and degrading fossil and nuclear energy resources, very harmful greenhouse gas emissions, significant energy injustice and a structurally misbalanced ecological footprint. Photovoltaic (PV) power systems are analysed in various aspects focusing on economic and technical considerations of supplemental and substitutional power supply to the constraint conventional power system. To infer the most relevant system approach for PV power plants several solar resources available for PV systems are compared. By combining the different solar resources and respective economics, two major PV systems are identified to be very competitive in almost all regions in the world. The experience curve concept is used as a key technique for the development of scenario assumptions on economic projections for the decade of the 2010s. Main drivers for cost reductions in PV systems are learning and production growth rate, thus several relevant aspects are discussed such as research and development investments, technical PV market potential, different PV technologies and the energetic sustainability of PV. Three major market segments for PV systems are identified: off-grid PV solutions, decentralised small scale on-grid PV systems (several kWp) and large scale PV power plants (tens of MWp). Mainly by application of 'grid-parity' and 'fuel-parity' concepts per country, local market and conventional power plant basis, the global economic market potential for all major PV system segments is derived. PV power plant hybridization potential of all relevant power technologies and the global power plant structure are analyzed regarding technical, economical and geographical feasibility. Key success criteria for hybrid PV power plants are discussed and comprehensively analysed for all adequate power plant technologies, i.e. oil, gas and coal fired power

Economics of hybrid photovoltaic power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Breyer, Christian

2012-08-16

The global power supply stability is faced to several severe and fundamental threats, in particular steadily increasing power demand, diminishing and degrading fossil and nuclear energy resources, very harmful greenhouse gas emissions, significant energy injustice and a structurally misbalanced ecological footprint. Photovoltaic (PV) power systems are analysed in various aspects focusing on economic and technical considerations of supplemental and substitutional power supply to the constraint conventional power system. To infer the most relevant system approach for PV power plants several solar resources available for PV systems are compared. By combining the different solar resources and respective economics, two major PV systems are identified to be very competitive in almost all regions in the world. The experience curve concept is used as a key technique for the development of scenario assumptions on economic projections for the decade of the 2010s. Main drivers for cost reductions in PV systems are learning and production growth rate, thus several relevant aspects are discussed such as research and development investments, technical PV market potential, different PV technologies and the energetic sustainability of PV. Three major market segments for PV systems are identified: off-grid PV solutions, decentralised small scale on-grid PV systems (several kWp) and large scale PV power plants (tens of MWp). Mainly by application of 'grid-parity' and 'fuel-parity' concepts per country, local market and conventional power plant basis, the global economic market potential for all major PV system segments is derived. PV power plant hybridization potential of all relevant power technologies and the global power plant structure are analyzed regarding technical, economical and geographical feasibility. Key success criteria for hybrid PV power plants are discussed and comprehensively analysed for all adequate power plant technologies, i.e. oil, gas and

History, Structure and Agency in Global Health Governance; Comment on “Global Health Governance Challenges 2016 – Are We Ready?”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen Gill

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Ilona Kickbusch’s thought provoking editorial is criticized in this commentary, partly because she fails to refer to previous critical work on the global conditions and policies that sustain inequality, poverty, poor health and damage to the biosphere and, as a result, she misreads global power and elides consideration of the fundamental historical structures of political and material power that shape agency in global health governance. We also doubt that global health can be improved through structures and processes of multilateralism that are premised on the continued reproduction of the ecologically myopic and socially unsustainable market civilization model of capitalist development that currently prevails in the world economy. This model drives net financial flows from poor to rich countries and from the poor to the affluent and super wealthy individuals. By contrast, we suggest that significant progress in global health requires a profound and socially just restructuring of global power, greater global solidarity and the “development of sustainability.”

Upgrading to lead firm position via international acquisition: learning from the global biomass power plant industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Ulrich Elmer; Fold, Niels; Hansen, Teis

2016-01-01

This article examines the case of a Chinese firm that has upgraded to lead firm position in the global biomass power plant industry mainly through acquisitions of technological frontier firms in Denmark. Sustaining the lead firm position was, however, challenged by difficulties in developing...... innovative capability. Drawing on the literature on (i) firm-level technological capability and (ii) knowledge transfer in international acquisitions, we explain the reasons for insufficient innovative capability building. Based on these empirical findings, we suggest maintaining the existing upgrading...

Estimating current and future global urban domestic material consumption

Science.gov (United States)

Baynes, Timothy Malcolm; Kaviti Musango, Josephine

2018-06-01

Urban material resource requirements are significant at the global level and these are expected to expand with future urban population growth. However, there are no global scale studies on the future material consumption of urban areas. This paper provides estimates of global urban domestic material consumption (DMC) in 2050 using three approaches based on: current gross statistics; a regression model; and a transition theoretic logistic model. All methods use UN urban population projections and assume a simple ‘business-as-usual’ scenario wherein historical aggregate trends in income and material flow continue into the future. A collation of data for 152 cities provided a year 2000 world average DMC/capita estimate, 12 tons/person/year (±22%), which we combined with UN population projections to produce a first-order estimation of urban DMC at 2050 of ~73 billion tons/year (±22%). Urban DMC/capita was found to be significantly correlated (R 2 > 0.9) to urban GDP/capita and area per person through a power law relation used to obtain a second estimate of 106 billion tons (±33%) in 2050. The inelastic exponent of the power law indicates a global tendency for relative decoupling of direct urban material consumption with increasing income. These estimates are global and influenced by the current proportion of developed-world cities in the global population of cities (and in our sample data). A third method employed a logistic model of transitions in urban DMC/capita with regional resolution. This method estimated global urban DMC to rise from approximately 40 billion tons/year in 2010 to ~90 billion tons/year in 2050 (modelled range: 66–111 billion tons/year). DMC/capita across different regions was estimated to converge from a range of 5–27 tons/person/year in the year 2000 to around 8–17 tons/person/year in 2050. The urban population does not increase proportionally during this period and thus the global average DMC/capita increases from ~12 to ~14 tons

Intermittent 20-HZ-photic stimulation leads to a uniform reduction of alpha-global field power in healthy volunteers.

Science.gov (United States)

Rau, R; Raschka, C; Koch, H J

2001-01-01

19-channel-EEGs were recorded from scalp surface of 30 healthy subjects (16m, 14f, mean age: 34 ys, SD: 11.7 ys) at rest and under IPS (Intermittent Photic Stimulation) at rates of 5, 10 and 20 Hertz (Hz). Digitalized data underwent spectral analysis with fast fourier transfomation (FFT) yielding the basis for the computation of global field power (GFP). For quantification GFP values in the frequency ranges of 5, 10 and 20 Hz at rest were divided by the corresponding data gained under IPS. While ratios from PDE data showed no stable parameter due to high interindividual variability, ratios of alpha-power turned out to be uniform in all subjects: IPS at 20 Hz always led to a suppression of alpha-power. Dividing alpha-GFP at rest by alpha-GFP under 20-Hz IPS thus resulted in a ratio paradigma.

Nation state and the challenge of globalization: Project draft

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Obrenović Zoran G.

2002-01-01

Full Text Available This project draft discusses the issues facing a nation state in the dynamic processes of globalization. First, the term globalization is tentatively defined as a decentralized process of condensation and homogenization of space and time. Then, the ambivalent structure of the globalization discourse, i.e. its semantic and pragmatic dimensions, are shown. The neo-liberal viewpoint is explored of the erosion and weakening of the nation state within the global capitalist power, both in terms of its (state's traditional functions, and in terms of its internal and external sovereignty. Against the neo-liberal thesis about the decline of the nation state many empirical arguments have been offered. Some of these are presented in this text. The main point of this argumentation consists in a general view that the decline of the nation state is strongly linked with the process of globalization. In view of the critical argumentation included in the paper, it is argued that in the environment of global processes only the societies which have a strong state behind them have a chance to succeed. Politics, not economy, still dominates international relations. Emphasis on state politics opens a new perspective in discussing the process of globalization. Current globalization processes cannot be judged accurately unless geopolitical interests and the changing balance of world power are understood. Finally, the paper points to the ideological nature of the neo-liberal discourse of globalization, questioning another basic assumption of the latter, namely, the idea that the process of globalization is at the same time a process of emancipation. By challenging the positing of a necessary link between globalization and emancipation we formulate a position that allows for a normative critique of current processes.

Inspection of Nuclear Power Plant Structures - Overview of Methods and Related Applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naus, Dan J.

2009-01-01

The objectives of this limited study were to provide an overview of the methods that are available for inspection of nuclear power plant reinforced concrete and metallic structures, and to provide an assessment of the status of methods that address inspection of thick, heavily-reinforced concrete and inaccessible areas of the containment metallic pressure boundary. In meeting these objectives a general description of nuclear power plant safety-related structures was provided as well as identification of potential degradation factors, testing and inspection requirements, and operating experience; methods for inspection of nuclear power plant reinforced concrete structures and containment metallic pressure boundaries were identified and described; and applications of nondestructive evaluation methods specifically related to inspection of thick-section reinforced concrete structures and inaccessible portions of containment metallic pressure boundaries were summarized. Recommendations are provided on utilization of test article(s) to further advance nondestructive evaluation methods related to thick-section, heavily-reinforced concrete and inaccessible portions of the metallic pressure boundary representative of nuclear power plant containments. Conduct of a workshop to provide an update on applications and needed developments for nondestructive evaluation of nuclear power plant structures would also be of benefit.

Inspection of Nuclear Power Plant Structures - Overview of Methods and Related Applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naus, Dan J [ORNL

2009-05-01

The objectives of this limited study were to provide an overview of the methods that are available for inspection of nuclear power plant reinforced concrete and metallic structures, and to provide an assessment of the status of methods that address inspection of thick, heavily-reinforced concrete and inaccessible areas of the containment metallic pressure boundary. In meeting these objectives a general description of nuclear power plant safety-related structures was provided as well as identification of potential degradation factors, testing and inspection requirements, and operating experience; methods for inspection of nuclear power plant reinforced concrete structures and containment metallic pressure boundaries were identified and described; and applications of nondestructive evaluation methods specifically related to inspection of thick-section reinforced concrete structures and inaccessible portions of containment metallic pressure boundaries were summarized. Recommendations are provided on utilization of test article(s) to further advance nondestructive evaluation methods related to thick-section, heavily-reinforced concrete and inaccessible portions of the metallic pressure boundary representative of nuclear power plant containments. Conduct of a workshop to provide an update on applications and needed developments for nondestructive evaluation of nuclear power plant structures would also be of benefit.

Safety-related incidents at the Finnish nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lehtinen, P.

1986-03-01

This report contains detailed descriptions of operating incidents and other safety-related matters at the Finnish nuclear power plants regarded as significant by the regulatory authority, the Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety. In this connection, an account is given of the practical actions caused by the incidents, and their significance to reactor safety is evaluated. The main features of the incidents are also described in the general Quartely Reports, Operation of Finnish Nuclear Power Plants, which are supplemented by this report intended for experts. (author)

Safety-related incidents at the Finnish nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lehtinen, P.

1985-01-01

This report contains detailed descriptions of operating incidents and other safety-related matters at the Finnish nuclear power plants regarded as significant by the regulatory authority, the Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety. In this connection, an account is given of the practical actions caused by the incidents, and their significance to reactor safety is evaluated. The main features of the incidents are also described in the general Quartely Reports, Operation of Finnish Nuclear Power Plants, which are supplemented by this report intended for experts. (author)

The European Union's Role in the Development of Global Environmental Law

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Basse, Ellen Margrethe

2017-01-01

This article is focused on the role that the European Union (EU) is playing as a global actor when it is using its 'internal' regulatory power as well as its parallel market power 'externally' to strengthen and to fill out gaps in the global environmental law.......This article is focused on the role that the European Union (EU) is playing as a global actor when it is using its 'internal' regulatory power as well as its parallel market power 'externally' to strengthen and to fill out gaps in the global environmental law....

Theorising power as a capacity for action and social participation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Busch-Jensen, Peter

2015-01-01

an important mutualistic dimension of power that plays an important role in the conduct of our everyday lives, and needs to play an even more significant role in a still more complex and globalized world. Starting from a notion of power as a capacity for action, this paper attempts to outline an alternative......Power is often associated with struggles for power, and therefore with fair competition at best, domination at worst. However, since the ways we think and talk about a subject influence the ways we act in relation to it, it is important to recognize how this conceptualization of power blurs...... vocabulary for thinking about power. The vocabulary is not meant to replace, but rather situate the adversarial conception of power within a broader framework, encompassing both ‘power over’ and ‘power with’ relations. The framework draws on different inspirations but mainly on German–Danish critical...

American power conference: Proceedings. Volume 56-I

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1994-01-01

The first volume of this conference contains papers on the following topics: (1) Controls, monitoring, and expert systems (Harnessing microprocessor revolution for a more competitive power industry; Plant control--Upgrades; Neural network applications); (2) Diversification and globalization (Electric utility diversification/globalization--Panel; Private power in developing countries); (3) Environment and clean air (Clean Air compliance costs; Site selection for power stations and related facilities; Electric utility trace substance emissions; Solid waste disposal and commercial use; Precipitators/fabric filters; and Effect of flow modifications on fisheries and water quality); (4) Generation--Fuel options ampersand equipment (Alternate fuels; Advances in fuel cells for electric power applications; Secondary containment and seismic requirements for petrochemical facilities; Clean coal technology demonstration; Advanced energy systems; Hydropower); (5) Nuclear operations ampersand options (Radioactive waste management and disposal; Off normal conditions; Advanced light water reactors--15 years after TMI; Structural dynamic analyses for nuclear power plants); (6) Retrofit, betterment, repowering ampersand maintenance (Project management; Improving competitiveness through process re-engineering; Central stations; Water and wastewater treatment); (7) System planning, operation ampersand demand maintenance (Transmission system access; Stability; Systems planning); (8) Transmission and distribution (Transformers; Relaying for system protection; Managing EMF effects); and (9) Education (Power engineering). 155 papers have been processed separately for inclusion on the data base

Liberty, Security and Power: Some Reflections on Transatlantic Relations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela Liberatore

2009-08-01

Full Text Available The leitmotiv of the tensions between security and liberty is recurrent in democratic debate – especially in connection with wars, but also in relation to other cases where internal or external threats are seen as requiring the sacrifice of liberty to guarantee survival. Such tension can hardly arise in non-democracies, where liberties are seen as a threat themselves by those in power, while a democracy cannot survive as such without safeguarding liberty – including to criticise and ‘send back home’ those in power. Following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 the issue became especially acute, and heavily reflected on policies in the European Union (EU as well as in the relation between the EU and the USA. The changes taking place in the USA with the election of President Obama and those, admittedly less visible, taking place in the EU – including the election of the new European Parliament and the fate of the Lisbon Treaty – provide an interesting occasion for some reflection on the kind of continuity or change that may be expected in EU-US relations in handling the relations between security and liberty.

Socio-Economic Inequality, Human Trafficking, and the Global Slave Trade

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John R. Barner

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to discuss human trafficking within the broader framework of socio-economic inequality. The presence of socio-economic inequality in the world creates a system where those in power very easily dominate and take advantage of those people without power. One of the most serious contemporary effects of inequalities between and within nations is the phenomenon of global sex trade or human trafficking for the purposes of sex. Deriving from unequal power relations, human trafficking is a serious global crime that involves the exploitation of many, but mostly females and children. This paper provides an extensive discussion of inequality and its links with human trafficking as contemporary slavery. In conclusion, the paper provides a list of selected intra-national and multi-national service organizations that are adopting strategies for combating trafficking through the reduction of social and economic inequality. Implications for social welfare advocates and international collaborative efforts are highlighted.

Globalization by the Souths. Chinese-African Relations and International Order

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julien Rajaoson

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This study focuses on worldwide governance. It will be related to the Assian approach of international relationships. This approach claiming by the Chinese is closed to the David Miller Nationalist and liberal way of thinking. But it remains very restrictive because it is only based on the liberal economic point of view. We will do a critical study of the principles which are regulating the governances and we will analyse a special sectorial field: the Sino-African relations. These thoughts and statements need to have a sectorial dimension of approaching matters. The management of the different governments can have effects on local realities of people's life and on investments. In thirty years China passed from an emerging country to the second worldwide economically powerful country just behind the United States. Now, they must have an interdependance relationship with the United States. It is very important and necessary to undermine this interdependance relationship in order to understand how its economic strategy has an influence upon the worldwide market. And from this study, we will understand how the Chinese relate to the balance of power they are dealing with.

The global mission of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neumann, J.

1991-01-01

The contribution of nuclear power to satisfying the future energy needs of mankind and to alleviating the greenhouse effect problem is discussed. It is concluded that in addition to fossil fuels and the hydro-energy, nuclear power is the only macroeconomic source of energy for the majority of countries in this and the next centuries. In the first decade of the 21th century the production capacity of nuclear engineering shall roughly double, and high-temperature and fast-breeding reactors shall play an important role. It is expected that the research into nuclear fusion will progress. (Z.M.). 5 figs., 4 tabs., 8 refs

No Global War? A Role for Democratic Global Federalism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Myron J. Frankman

2015-08-01

Full Text Available In fact, the issue is not whether we shall be governed globally, but rather by whom and on what basis. The international realm is not one of anarchy as the realists would have us believe, but rather one of order: of rules, procedures and accepted norms of behavior associated in part with what are termed "international regimes" (Krasner 1983, each dedicated in principle to a separate functional domain. Global governance is not something that is to be created, but rather something to be altered in the public interest. The governance of the globe is currently configured by a shifting set of ill-coordinated actors: among them the one remaining super-power and, to a lesser extent, other strong states, as well as powerful individuals and a number of large transnational corporations and financial institutions. Whereas Le Monde Diplomatique (1995 speaks oflcs nouveaux maitres du monde, Robert Cox has summed up our current system of global governance with the phrase nebuleuse: "There is, in effect, no explicit political or authority structure for the global economy. There is, nevertheless, something there that remains to be deciphered, something that could be described by the French word nebulcuse or by the notion of 'governance without government."'

Solar thermal aided power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, Eric; Yang, YongPing; Nishimura, Akira; Yilmaz, Ferdi; Kouzani, Abbas

2010-01-01

Fossil fuel based power generation is and will still be the back bone of our world economy, albeit such form of power generation significantly contributes to global CO 2 emissions. Solar energy is a clean, environmental friendly energy source for power generation, however solar photovoltaic electricity generation is not practical for large commercial scales due to its cost and high-tech nature. Solar thermal is another way to use solar energy to generate power. Many attempts to establish solar (solo) thermal power stations have been practiced all over the world. Although there are some advantages in solo solar thermal power systems, the efficiencies and costs of these systems are not so attractive. Alternately by modifying, if possible, the existing coal-fired power stations to generate green sustainable power, a much more efficient means of power generation can be reached. This paper presents the concept of solar aided power generation in conventional coal-fired power stations, i.e., integrating solar (thermal) energy into conventional fossil fuelled power generation cycles (termed as solar aided thermal power). The solar aided power generation (SAPG) concept has technically been derived to use the strong points of the two technologies (traditional regenerative Rankine cycle with relatively higher efficiency and solar heating at relatively low temperature range). The SAPG does not only contribute to increase the efficiencies of the conventional power station and reduce its emission of the greenhouse gases, but also provides a better way to use solar heat to generate the power. This paper presents the advantages of the SAPG at conceptual level.

What contribution can international relations make to the evolving global health agenda?

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, Sara E

2010-01-01

This article presents two approaches that have dominated International Relations in their approach to the international politics of health. The statist approach, which is primarily security-focused, seeks to link health initiatives to a foreign or defence policy remit. The globalist approach, in contrast, seeks to advance health not because of its intrinsic security value but because it advances the well-being and rights of individuals. This article charts the evolution of these approaches and demonstrates why both have the potential to shape our understanding of the evolving global health agenda. It examines how the statist and globalist perspectives have helped shape contemporary initiatives in global health governance and suggests that there is evidence of an emerging convergence between the two perspectives. This convergence is particularly clear in the articulation of a number of UN initiatives in this area - especially the One World, One Health Strategic Framework and the Oslo Ministerial Declaration (2007) which inspired the first UN General Assembly resolution on global health and foreign policy in 2009 and the UN Secretary-General's note "Global health and foreign policy: strategic opportunities and challenges". What remains to be seen is whether this convergence will deliver on securing states' interest long enough to promote the interests of the individuals who require global efforts to deliver local health improvements.

Sport and globalization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gems, Gerald R.; Pfister, Gertrud Ursula

2014-01-01

The authors describe, analyze and evaluate sport related globalization processes with a focus on transnationalism, colonialism, imperialism, and, more generally, geopolitical developments. They provide a variety of theoretical frameworks as they explore the emergence of modern sport and its...... dissemination around the world. In spite of resistance by the adherents of gymnastics or traditional movement cultures, sport with its focus on competition and records became popular all over the world. Both Great Britain and the United States induced their political and cultural hegemony via the soft power...... of modern sport which caused reactions, e.g. resistances or adaptations of indigenous, colonized, and other affected populations....

Performance Improvement of Power Analysis Attacks on AES with Encryption-Related Signals

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, You-Seok; Lee, Young-Jun; Han, Dong-Guk; Kim, Ho-Won; Kim, Hyoung-Nam

A power analysis attack is a well-known side-channel attack but the efficiency of the attack is frequently degraded by the existence of power components, irrelative to the encryption included in signals used for the attack. To enhance the performance of the power analysis attack, we propose a preprocessing method based on extracting encryption-related parts from the measured power signals. Experimental results show that the attacks with the preprocessed signals detect correct keys with much fewer signals, compared to the conventional power analysis attacks.

Converging divergences? An international comparison of the impact of globalization on industrial relations and employment careers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mills, Melinda; Blossfeld, Hans-Peter; Buchholz, Sandra; Hofaecker, Dirk; Bernardi, Fabrizio; Hofmeister, Heather

Profound social and economic transformations have taken place over the last two decades in modern societies. These changes are often referred to as globalization. The aim of this article is to examine whether processes of globalization have produced increasing convergence of employment-related

The TTIP negotiations: from interregionalism to global governance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephan Joseph Sberro Picard

2015-09-01

Full Text Available In this theoretical study, we show why the negotiation between the European Union and the United States of a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP could be a watershed in the field of international relations. Beyond the importance of a trade agreement between the world’s two largest economic powers, an eventual agreement would change international relations as a whole. Similarly, it would return relations between large regions to the centre of thinking about the world again, not just those between countries. Lastly, it would oblige the other powers to define themselves in relation to the regulations agreed between the two members of the TTIP, regulations that go beyond trade and investment. A step forward between Europe and the United States would signify, for that matter, a step forward for global governance, even if the objectives of that governance are yet to be defined.

Soft Power and Higher Education: An Examination of China's Confucius Institutes

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Rui

2010-01-01

China's global presence has become a significant subject. However, little attention has been directed to the role of higher education in projecting China's soft power, and little academic work has been done directly on it, despite the fact that there has been some work on related topics. Borrowing the theories of soft power and higher education…

History, Structure and Agency in Global Health Governance Comment on "Global Health Governance Challenges 2016 - Are We Ready?"

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, Stephen; Benatar, Solomon R

2016-08-29

Ilona Kickbusch's thought provoking editorial is criticized in this commentary, partly because she fails to refer to previous critical work on the global conditions and policies that sustain inequality, poverty, poor health and damage to the biosphere and, as a result, she misreads global power and elides consideration of the fundamental historical structures of political and material power that shape agency in global health governance. We also doubt that global health can be improved through structures and processes of multilateralism that are premised on the continued reproduction of the ecologically myopic and socially unsustainable market civilization model of capitalist development that currently prevails in the world economy. This model drives net financial flows from poor to rich countries and from the poor to the affluent and super wealthy individuals. By contrast, we suggest that significant progress in global health requires a profound and socially just restructuring of global power, greater global solidarity and the "development of sustainability." © 2017 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Safety-related occurrences at the Finnish nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reponen, H.; Viitasaari, O.

1985-04-01

This report contains detailed descriptions of operating incidents and other safety-related matters at the Finnish nuclear power plants regarded as significant by the regulatory authority, the Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety. In this connection, an account is given of the practical actions caused by the incidents, and their significance to reactor safety is evaluated. The main features of the incidents are also described in the general Quartely Report for this period, Operation of Finnish Nuclear Power Plants (STUK-B-YTO 7), which is supplemented by this report intended for experts. (author)

Essays and surveys in global optimization

CERN Document Server

Audet, Charles; Savard, Giles

2005-01-01

Global optimization aims at solving the most general problems of deterministic mathematical programming. In addition, once the solutions are found, this methodology is also expected to prove their optimality. With these difficulties in mind, global optimization is becoming an increasingly powerful and important methodology. This book is the most recent examination of its mathematical capability, power, and wide ranging solutions to many fields in the applied sciences.

The Internet and Democracy: Global Catalyst or Democratic Dud?

Science.gov (United States)

Best, Michael L.; Wade, Keegan W.

2009-01-01

In this study, we explore the global effect of the Internet on democracy over the period of 1992 to 2002 by observing the relationships between measures related to democracy and Internet prevalence. Our findings suggest that while Internet usage was not a very powerful predictor of democracy when examining full panel data from 1992 to 2002, it was…

Wind Power - A Power Source Enabled by Power Electronics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blaabjerg, Frede; Chen, Zhe

2004-01-01

. The deregulation of energy has lowered the investment in bigger power plants, which means the need for new electrical power sources may be very high in the near future. Two major technologies will play important roles to solve the future problems. One is to change the electrical power production sources from......The global electrical energy consumption is still rising and there is a steady demand to increase the power capacity. The production, distribution and the use of the energy should be as technological efficient as possible and incentives to save energy at the end-user should be set up...... the conventional, fossil (and short term) based energy sources to renewable energy sources. The other is to use high efficient power electronics in power systems, power production and end-user application. This paper discuss the most emerging renewable energy source, wind energy, which by means of power...

Committed CO2 Emissions of China's Coal-fired Power Plants

Science.gov (United States)

Suqin, J.

2016-12-01

The extent of global warming is determined by the cumulative effects of CO2 in the atmosphere. Coal-fired power plants, the largest anthropogenic source of CO2 emissions, produce large amount of CO2 emissions during their lifetimes of operation (committed emissions), which thus influence the future carbon emission space under specific targets on mitigating climate change (e.g., the 2 degree warming limit relative to pre-industrial levels). Comprehensive understanding of committed CO2 emissions for coal-fired power generators is urgently needed in mitigating global climate change, especially in China, the largest global CO2emitter. We calculated China's committed CO2 emissions from coal-fired power generators installed during 1993-2013 and evaluated their impact on future emission spaces at the provincial level, by using local specific data on the newly installed capacities. The committed CO2 emissions are calculated as the product of the annual coal consumption from newly installed capacities, emission factors (CO2emissions per unit crude coal consumption) and expected lifetimes. The sensitivities about generators lifetimes and the drivers on provincial committed emissions are also analyzed. Our results show that these relatively recently installed coal-fired power generators will lead to 106 Gt of CO2 emissions over the course of their lifetimes, which is more than three times the global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in 2010. More than 80% (85 Gt) of their total committed CO2 will be emitted after 2013, which are referred to as the remaining emissions. Due to the uncertainties of generators lifetime, these remaining emissions would increase by 45 Gt if the lifetimes of China's coal-fired power generators were prolonged by 15 years. Furthermore, the remaining emissions are very different among various provinces owing to local developments and policy disparities. Provinces with large amounts of secondary industry and abundant coal reserves have higher committed

Engineering experiences through nuclear power development in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uchida, Hideo

2004-01-01

This keynote paper deals with: energy issues and nuclear power development in Japan, problems of radiation protection, licensing and safety regulations, research on LOCA and ECCS, stress corrosion cracks related to pressure vessels, nuclear fuel failures, steam generators, incidents, waste management and fuel cycle facilities. In conclusion it is stated that: on order to cope with global matters vitally affecting the electricity generation, taking into consideration Japanese specific energy issues, the nuclear power development has been an indispensable policy of Japan. In order to proceed with further development of nuclear power plants, it is necessary to obtain proper understanding by the public, showing assurance of the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power plants through daily plant operation. The nuclear safety issues should be considered from a global point of view. It is necessary to establish common safety standards which could harmonize the safety level of nuclear power plants in the world. The safety goal concerning severe accidents should be established as an internationally agreeable one. Japan has accumulated highly technological experience in maintenance of nuclear power plants. It is believed that the cumulative experiences in Japan can contribute to the further improvement of safety of nuclear power plants throughout the world, and for this aim a mutual information exchange should be encouraged

Avoidance of singularity and global non-conservation of energy in general relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verma, M.M.

2009-06-01

We show that the singularity in the General Theory of Relativity (GTR) is the expression of a non-Machian feature. It can be avoided with a scale-invariant dynamical theory, a property lacking in GTR. It is further argued that the global non-conservation of energy in GTR also results from the lack of scale-invariance, and the field formulation presented by several authors can only partly resolve the problem. Assuming the global energy conservation, we propose a negative energy density component with a positive equation of state that can drive the late-time acceleration in the universe, while the positive component confines to smaller scales. (author)

Problems of globalization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Telebaković Boško

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The world has been going through the process of economical, political and cultural integration for a long time. At the end of the 20th century, the integration received a new meaning. In the world’s policy, sovereign countries were in conflict or collaborated earlier. A stricter hierarchy of economical and political power hubs is being established now. In such processes of globalization, differences in development, wealth and power arise, people are less safe, the sovereignity of national states is being violated. The story of equality remains in the sense of disappearance of cultural differences in floods of non-cultural culture. It is difficult to talk about democracy when the world’s power is getting stronger and stronger. Is it possible to have a globalization which would not affect human rights, and which would not prevent people from taking care of truth, freedom and happiness?

NGO Duties in Relation to Human Rights

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Philips, J.P.M.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/298979446

2010-01-01

This paper investigates the moral duties that human rights NGOs, such as Amnesty International, and development NGOs, such as Oxfam, have in relation to human rights – especially in relation to the human right to a decent standard of living. The mentioned NGOs are powerful new agents on the global

The global coastline dataset: the observed relation between erosion and sea-level rise

Science.gov (United States)

Donchyts, G.; Baart, F.; Luijendijk, A.; Hagenaars, G.

2017-12-01

Erosion of sandy coasts is considered one of the key risks of sea-level rise. Because sandy coastlines of the world are often highly populated, erosive coastline trends result in risk to populations and infrastructure. Most of our understanding of the relation between sea-level rise and coastal erosion is based on local or regional observations and generalizations of numerical and physical experiments. Until recently there was no reliable global scale assessment of the location of sandy coasts and their rate of erosion and accretion. Here we present the global coastline dataset that covers erosion indicators on a local scale with global coverage. The dataset uses our global coastline transects grid defined with an alongshore spacing of 250 m and a cross shore length extending 1 km seaward and 1 km landward. This grid matches up with pre-existing local grids where available. We present the latest results on validation of coastal-erosion trends (based on optical satellites) and classification of sandy versus non-sandy coasts. We show the relation between sea-level rise (based both on tide-gauges and multi-mission satellite altimetry) and observed erosion trends over the last decades, taking into account broken-coastline trends (for example due to nourishments).An interactive web application presents the publicly-accessible results using a backend based on Google Earth Engine. It allows both researchers and stakeholders to use objective estimates of coastline trends, particularly when authoritative sources are not available.

Sensory phenomena related to tics, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and global functioning in Tourette syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Kano, Yukiko; Matsuda, Natsumi; Nonaka, Maiko; Fujio, Miyuki; Kuwabara, Hitoshi; Kono, Toshiaki

2015-10-01

Sensory phenomena, including premonitory urges, are experienced by patients with Tourette syndrome (TS) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The goal of the present study was to investigate such phenomena related to tics, obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS), and global functioning in Japanese patients with TS. Forty-one patients with TS were assessed using the University of São Paulo Sensory Phenomena Scale (USP-SPS), the Premonitory Urge for Tics Scale (PUTS), the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS), the Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DY-BOCS), and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) Scale. USP-SPS and PUTS total scores were significantly correlated with YGTSS total and vocal tics scores. Additionally, both sensory phenomena severity scores were significantly correlated with DY-BOCS total OCS scores. Of the six dimensional OCS scores, the USP-SPS scores were significantly correlated with measures of aggression and sexual/religious dimensions. Finally, the PUTS total scores were significantly and negatively correlated with GAF scores. By assessing premonitory urges and broader sensory phenomena, and by viewing OCS from a dimensional approach, this study provides significant insight into sensory phenomena related to tics, OCS, and global functioning in patients with TS. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

China's coal price disturbances: Observations, explanations, and implications for global energy economies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Chi-Jen; Xuan, Xiaowei; Jackson, Robert B.

2012-01-01

Since China decontrolled coal prices, its coal price has risen steadily and been unusually volatile. In 2011 in particular, high coal prices and capped electricity prices in China discouraged coal-fired power generation, triggering widespread power shortages. We suggest that these coal-price disturbances could be symptomatic of a major change in pricing dynamics of global fossil-fuel markets, with increasing correspondence between coal and oil prices globally. Historically, global coal prices have been more stable and lower than oil and natural gas prices on a per-heat basis. In recent years, however, coal prices have been increasingly volatile worldwide and have tracked other fossil fuel prices more closely. Meanwhile, the recent development of unconventional gas has substantially decoupled US natural gas and oil prices. Technically, low US natural gas prices, with potential fuel switching, could drive US domestic coal prices lower. However, this effect is unlikely to counteract the overall trend in increasing coal consumption globally. China's market size and unique, partially-controlled energy system make its reform agenda a key force in the global economy. Policymakers in the US, E.U. and elsewhere should monitor China's economic reform agenda to anticipate and respond to changes accompanying China's increasing importance in the global energy economy. - Highlights: ► Since China decontrolled its coal prices, the price of coal has risen steadily in China, accompanied by unusual volatility. ► Relatively high and volatile coal prices have triggered widespread power shortages in China. ► Coal and oil prices have already become, and continue to become, more closely linked globally. ► China's demand will likely drive up global coal prices and make them as volatile as that of other fossil fuels. ► Policymakers should monitor China's economic reform agenda to anticipate and respond to changes in the global energy economy.

Whose global art (history?: Ancient art as global art

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cynthia Colburn

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Discourse on global art or art history arguably dominates the field of art history today in terms of curriculum and research. This discourse cuts across time and space, impacting all art historical specializations, from prehistoric to contemporary, and from Africa to the Americas. Yet, the mainstream theoretical discourse on global art or art history focuses almost explicitly on contemporary and, to a lesser extent, modern art, operating from the premise that only these arts were created in an age of globalization and, thus, emphasize hybridity. This essay seeks to expand the mainstream theoretical discourse regarding global art to pre-modern examples, given that artistic exchange and hybridity dates as early as the prehistoric era all over the world and is not dependent on newer technologies. Indeed, one might argue that the study of pre-modern examples of global art could provide a powerful historical lens through which to analyze contemporary global art.

Determining the effect of key climate drivers on global hydropower production

Science.gov (United States)

Galelli, S.; Ng, J. Y.; Lee, D.; Block, P. J.

2017-12-01

Accounting for about 17% of total global electrical power production, hydropower is arguably the world's main renewable energy source and a key asset to meet Paris climate agreements. A key component of hydropower production is water availability, which depends on both precipitation and multiple drivers of climate variability acting at different spatial and temporal scales. To understand how these drivers impact global hydropower production, we study the relation between four patterns of ocean-atmosphere climate variability (i.e., El Niño Southern Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation, and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation) and monthly time series of electrical power production for over 1,500 hydropower reservoirs—obtained via simulation with a high-fidelity dam model forced with 20th century climate conditions. Notably significant relationships between electrical power productions and climate variability are found in many climate sensitive regions globally, including North and South America, East Asia, West Africa, and Europe. Coupled interactions from multiple, simultaneous climate drivers are also evaluated. Finally, we highlight the importance of using these climate drivers as an additional source of information within reservoir operating rules where the skillful predictability of inflow exists.

Physical mechanisms of spring and summertime drought related with the global warming over the northern America

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, W.; Kim, K. Y.

2017-12-01

Drought during the growing season (spring through summer) is severe natural hazard in the large cropland over the northern America. It is important to understand how the drought is related with the global warming and how it will change in the future. This study aims to investigate the physical mechanism of global warming impact on the spring and summertime drought over the northern America using Cyclostationary Empirical Orthogonal Function (CSEOF) analysis. The Northern Hemisphere surface warming, the most dominant mode of the surface air temperature, has resulted in decreased relative humidity and precipitation over the mid-latitude region of North America. For the viewpoint of atmospheric water demand, soil moisture and evaporation have also decreased significantly, exacerbating vulnerability of drought. These consistent features of changes in water demand and supply related with the global warming can provide a possibility of credible insight for future drought change.

ON THE FLARE-INDUCED SEISMICITY IN THE ACTIVE REGION NOAA 10930 AND RELATED ENHANCEMENT OF GLOBAL WAVES IN THE SUN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Brajesh; Venkatakrishnan, P.; Mathur, Savita; Tiwari, Sanjiv Kumar; García, R. A.

2011-01-01

A major flare (of class X3.4) occurred on 2006 December 13 in the active region NOAA 10930. This flare event has remained interesting to solar researchers for studies related to particle acceleration during the flare process and the reconfiguration of magnetic fields as well as fine-scale features in the active region. The energy released during flares is also known to induce acoustic oscillations in the Sun. Here, we analyze the line-of-sight velocity patterns in this active region during the X3.4 flare using the Dopplergrams obtained by the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) instrument. We have also analyzed the disk-integrated velocity observations of the Sun obtained by the Global Oscillation at Low Frequency (GOLF) instrument on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory spacecraft as well as full-disk collapsed velocity signals from GONG observations during this flare to study any possible connection between the flare-related changes seen in the local and global velocity oscillations in the Sun. We apply wavelet transform to the time series of the localized velocity oscillations as well as the global velocity oscillations in the Sun spanning the flare event. The line-of-sight velocity shows significant enhancement in some localized regions of the penumbra of this active region during the flare. The affected region is seen to be away from the locations of the flare ribbons and the hard X-ray footpoints. The sudden enhancement of this velocity seems to be caused by the Lorentz force driven by the 'magnetic jerk' in the localized penumbral region. Application of wavelet analysis to these flare-induced localized seismic signals shows significant enhancement in the high-frequency domain (5 <ν < 8 mHz) and a feeble enhancement in the p-mode oscillations (2 <ν < 5 mHz) during the flare. On the other hand, the wavelet analysis of GOLF velocity data and the full-disk collapsed GONG velocity data spanning the flare event indicates significant post

The Role of Nuclear Power in Europe (Executive Summary)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

World Energy Council

2007-01-01

Energy is and will remain one of the major global concerns of the 21st century and Europe is no exception. With global energy demand expected to grow strongly in the coming years, burning questions are now being raised over the future of energy supplies, the economic competitiveness of different energy sources and the associated environmental impacts. The European policy makers and the energy industry currently face three major challenges: ensuring security of energy supply, stabilizing or reducing greenhouse gas emissions and maintaining economic competitiveness by keeping energy prices at an affordable level. The final costs of kWh depend on local legislation and taxes, which impact the discount rate, given that nuclear plants are highly capital intensive. As nuclear power generation does not produce greenhouse gases and emissions, the key sources in creating global climate change and air pollution, it would undoubtedly help tackle growing environmental concerns. The actual amount of spent nuclear fuel produced globally every year is relatively small. Given nuclear power's excellent operational safety record in Europe during past five decades, public concern in many countries today is shifting from operational risks to nuclear waste management. The future contribution of nuclear power to society will depend on innovation, such as development of new reactor and fuel cycle technologies

Safety issues relating to the design of fusion power facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stasko, R.R.; Wong, K.Y.; Russell, S.B.

1986-06-01

In order to make fusion power a viable future source of energy, it will be necessary to ensure that the cost of power for fusion electric generation is competitive with advanced fission concepts. In addition, fusion power will have to live up to its original promise of being a more radiologically benign technology than fission, and be able to demonstrate excellent operational safety performance. These two requirements are interrelated, since the selection of an appropriate safety philosophy early in the design phase could greatly reduce or eliminate the capital costs of elaborate safety related and protective sytems. This paper will briefly overview a few of the key safety issues presently recognized as critical to the ultimate achievement of licensable, environmentally safe and socially acceptable fusion power facilities. 12 refs

A High Performance PSO-Based Global MPP Tracker for a PV Power Generation System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kuei-Hsiang Chao

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to present an improved version of a typical particle swarm optimization (PSO algorithm, such that the global maximum power point (MPP on a P-V characteristic curve with multiple peaks can be located in an efficient and precise manner for a photovoltaic module array. A series of instrumental measurements are conducted on variously configured arrays built with SANYO HIP2717 PV modules, either unshaded, partially shaded, or malfunctioning, as the building blocks. There appear two, triple and quadruple peaks on the corresponding P-V characteristic curves. Subsequently, the tracking performance comparisons, made by some practical experiments, indicate the superiority of this improved MPP tracking algorithm over the typical one.

A fault diagnosis system for PV power station based on global partitioned gradually approximation method

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, S.; Zhang, X. N.; Gao, D. D.; Liu, H. X.; Ye, J.; Li, L. R.

2016-08-01

As the solar photovoltaic (PV) power is applied extensively, more attentions are paid to the maintenance and fault diagnosis of PV power plants. Based on analysis of the structure of PV power station, the global partitioned gradually approximation method is proposed as a fault diagnosis algorithm to determine and locate the fault of PV panels. The PV array is divided into 16x16 blocks and numbered. On the basis of modularly processing of the PV array, the current values of each block are analyzed. The mean current value of each block is used for calculating the fault weigh factor. The fault threshold is defined to determine the fault, and the shade is considered to reduce the probability of misjudgments. A fault diagnosis system is designed and implemented with LabVIEW. And it has some functions including the data realtime display, online check, statistics, real-time prediction and fault diagnosis. Through the data from PV plants, the algorithm is verified. The results show that the fault diagnosis results are accurate, and the system works well. The validity and the possibility of the system are verified by the results as well. The developed system will be benefit for the maintenance and management of large scale PV array.

High-resolution global irradiance monitoring from photovoltaic systems

Science.gov (United States)

Buchmann, Tina; Pfeilsticker, Klaus; Siegmund, Alexander; Meilinger, Stefanie; Mayer, Bernhard; Pinitz, Sven; Steinbrecht, Wolfgang

2016-04-01

Reliable and regional differentiated power forecasts are required to guarantee an efficient and economic energy transition towards renewable energies. Amongst other renewable energy technologies, e.g. wind mills, photovoltaic systems are an essential component of this transition being cost-efficient and simply to install. Reliable power forecasts are however required for a grid integration of photovoltaic systems, which among other data requires high-resolution spatio-temporal global irradiance data. Hence the generation of robust reviewed global irradiance data is an essential contribution for the energy transition. To achieve this goal our studies introduce a novel method which makes use of photovoltaic power generation in order to infer global irradiance. The method allows to determine high-resolution temporal global irradiance data (one data point every 15 minutes at each location) from power data of operated photovoltaic systems. Due to the multitude of installed photovoltaic systems (in Germany) the detailed spatial coverage is much better than for example only using global irradiance data from conventional pyranometer networks (e.g. from the German Weather Service). Our designated method is composed of two components: a forward component, i.e. to conclude from predicted global irradiance to photovoltaic (PV) power, and a backward component, i.e. from PV power with suitable calibration to global irradiance. The forward process is modelled by using the radiation transport model libRadtran (B. Mayer and A. Kylling (1)) for clear skies to obtain the characteristics (orientation, size, temperature dependence, …) of individual PV systems. For PV systems in the vicinity of a meteorological station, these data are validated against calibrated pyranometer readings. The forward-modelled global irradiance is used to determine the power efficiency for each photovoltaic system using non-linear optimisation techniques. The backward component uses the power efficiency

Investigation of potential fire-related damage to safety-related equipment in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wanless, J.

1985-11-01

Based on a review of vendor information, fire damage reports, equipment qualification and hydrogen burn test results, and material properties, thirty-three types of equipment found in nuclear power plants were ranked in terms of their potential sensitivity to fire environments. The ranking considered both the functional requirements and damage proneness of each component. A further review of the seven top-ranked components was performed, considering the relative prevalence and potential safety significance of each. From this, relays and hand switches dominate as first choices for fire damage testing with logic equipment, power supplies, transmitters, and motor control centers as future candidates

Wind power soars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Flavin, C. [Worldwatch Inst., Washington, DC (United States)

1996-12-31

Opinions on the world market for wind power are presented in this paper. Some data for global wind power generating capacity are provided. European and other markets are discussed individually. Estimated potential for wind power is given for a number of countries. 3 figs.

Entrepreneur-related constructs explaining the emergence of born global firms: A Systematic Literature Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Pawęta

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Objective: The paper is aimed at structuring entrepreneur-related constructs and building a conceptual framework that can serve as a foundation for future international entrepreneurship research and theory building. Research Design & Methods: The author conducted the systematic literature review of 94 empirical studies and conceptual papers on the entrepreneur-related determinants of early internationalization in the international management journals in the years 1966 – 2015. Findings: This article discusses and groups the existing knowledge on entrepreneur-related determinants of born globals successful international performance. The major theoretical contribution of the study is the conceptual framework of the main entrepreneur-level determinants of rapid internationalization. Implications & Recommendations: The results of the study are exploratory and there is a need in validating the theoretical framework through an advanced quantitative study. Future research might try to integrate the reviewed entrepreneur-related constructs with organizational characteristics and external characteristics which determine born globals emergence. Contribution & Value added: This paper provides the conceptual framework that groups entrepreneur-related constructs into 6 main constructs which can enrich future international entrepreneurship research.

Nuclear power and the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blix, H.

1989-11-01

The IAEA Director General pointed out that continued and expanded use of nuclear power must be one among several measures to restrain the use of fossil fuels and thereby limit the emissions of greenhouse gases. With regards to future trends in world electricity demands, the Director General emphasized the existing gap between the frequent claims as to what conservation can achieve and actual energy plans. The objections to nuclear power which are related to safety, waste disposal and the risk of proliferation of nuclear weapons are also discussed. His conclusion is that nuclear power can help significantly to meet growing needs of electricity without contributing to global warming, acid rains or dying forests, responsible management and disposal of nuclear wastes is entirely feasible, and the safety of nuclear power must be continuously strengthened through technological improvement and methods of operation

Globally Stable Microresonator Turing Pattern Formation for Coherent High-Power THz Radiation On-Chip

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Shu-Wei; Yang, Jinghui; Yang, Shang-Hua; Yu, Mingbin; Kwong, Dim-Lee; Zelevinsky, T.; Jarrahi, Mona; Wong, Chee Wei

2017-10-01

In nonlinear microresonators driven by continuous-wave (cw) lasers, Turing patterns have been studied in the formalism of the Lugiato-Lefever equation with emphasis on their high coherence and exceptional robustness against perturbations. Destabilization of Turing patterns and the transition to spatiotemporal chaos, however, limit the available energy carried in the Turing rolls and prevent further harvest of their high coherence and robustness to noise. Here, we report a novel scheme to circumvent such destabilization, by incorporating the effect of local mode hybridizations, and we attain globally stable Turing pattern formation in chip-scale nonlinear oscillators with significantly enlarged parameter space, achieving a record-high power-conversion efficiency of 45% and an elevated peak-to-valley contrast of 100. The stationary Turing pattern is discretely tunable across 430 GHz on a THz carrier, with a fractional frequency sideband nonuniformity measured at 7.3 ×10-14 . We demonstrate the simultaneous microwave and optical coherence of the Turing rolls at different evolution stages through ultrafast optical correlation techniques. The free-running Turing-roll coherence, 9 kHz in 200 ms and 160 kHz in 20 minutes, is transferred onto a plasmonic photomixer for one of the highest-power THz coherent generations at room temperature, with 1.1% optical-to-THz power conversion. Its long-term stability can be further improved by more than 2 orders of magnitude, reaching an Allan deviation of 6 ×10-10 at 100 s, with a simple computer-aided slow feedback control. The demonstrated on-chip coherent high-power Turing-THz system is promising to find applications in astrophysics, medical imaging, and wireless communications.

78 FR 67206 - Qualification Tests for Safety-Related Actuators in Nuclear Power Plants

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-08

... Nuclear Power Plants AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Revision to regulatory guide; issuance..., ``Qualification Tests for Safety-Related Actuators in Nuclear Power Plants.'' This RG is being revised to provide... Operators Installed Inside the Containment of Nuclear Power Plants,'' dated January 1974. ADDRESSES: Please...

Globalization as Continuing Colonialism: Critical Global Citizenship Education in an Unequal World

Science.gov (United States)

Mikander, Pia

2016-01-01

In an unequal world, education about global inequality can be seen as a controversial but necessary topic for social science to deal with. Even though the world no longer consists of colonies and colonial powers, many aspects of the global economy follow the same patterns as during colonial times, with widening gaps between the world's richest and…

A Relational Database of WHO Mortality Data Prepared to Facilitate Global Mortality Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albert de Roos

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Detailed world mortality data such as collected by the World Health Organization gives a wealth of information about causes of death worldwide over a time span of 60 year. However, the raw mortality data in text format as provided by the WHO is not directly suitable for systematic research and data mining. In this Data Paper, a relational database is presented that is created from the raw WHO mortality data set and includes mortality rates, an ICD-code table and country reference data. This enriched database, as a corpus of global mortality data, can be readily imported in relational databases but can also function as the data source for other types of databases. The use of this database can therefore greatly facilitate global epidemiological research that may provide new clues to genetic or environmental factors in the origins of diseases.

Safety-related occurrences at the Finnish nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viitasaari, O.; Rantavaara, A.

1984-03-01

This report contains detailed descriptions of operating incidents and other safety-related matters at the Finnish nuclear power plants regarded as significant by the regulatory authority, the Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety. In this connection, an account is given of the practical actions caused by the incidents, and their significance to reactor safety is evaluated. The main features of the incidents are also described in the general Quartely Report for this period, Operation of Finnish Nuclear Power Plants (STL-B-RTO-83/7), which is supplemented by this report intended principally for experts. (author)

Safety-related decision making at a nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaurio, J.K.

1998-01-01

The decision making environment of an operating nuclear power plant is presented. The organizations involved, their roles and interactions as well as the main influencing factors and decision criteria are described. The focus is on safety-related decisions, and the framework is based on the situation at Loviisa power station. The role of probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) is illustrated with decisions concerning plant modifications, optimization, acceptance of temporary configurations and extended repair times. Suggestions are made for rational and flexible risk-based control of allowed times to operate the plant with some components out of service. (orig.)

Is globalization good for your health?

Science.gov (United States)

Dollar, D

2001-01-01

Four points are made about globalization and health. First, economic integration is a powerful force for raising the incomes of poor countries. In the past 20 years several large developing countries have opened up to trade and investment, and they are growing well--faster than the rich countries. Second, there is no tendency for income inequality to increase in countries that open up. The higher growth that accompanies globalization in developing countries generally benefits poor people. Since there is a large literature linking income of the poor to health status, we can be reasonably confident that globalization has indirect positive effects on nutrition, infant mortality and other health issues related to income. Third, economic integration can obviously have adverse health effects as well: the transmission of AIDS through migration and travel is a dramatic recent example. However, both relatively closed and relatively open developing countries have severe AIDS problems. The practical solution lies in health policies, not in policies on economic integration. Likewise, free trade in tobacco will lead to increased smoking unless health-motivated disincentives are put in place. Global integration requires supporting institutions and policies. Fourth, the international architecture can be improved so that it is more beneficial to poor countries. For example, with regard to intellectual property rights, it may be practical for pharmaceutical innovators to choose to have intellectual property rights in either rich country markets or poor country ones, but not both. In this way incentives could be strong for research on diseases in both rich and poor countries.

Rents, Power and Governance in Global Value Chains

OpenAIRE

Dennis Davis; Raphael Kaplinsky; Mike Morris

2018-01-01

This paper addresses the  generation  of  rents  and  the  distribution  of  gains  in  the  global  operations  of  governed Global  Value  Chains  (GVCs)  and  seeks  to  provide  an  architecture  for  analyzing  the  governance  of  GVCs.  It distinguishes between four sets of rent—gifts of nature; innovation rents; exogenously defined rents; and market power—and three spheres of governance—setting the rules -“legislative governance”; implementing the rules -“executive governance”; and mo...

Feeling global, acting ethically: global identification and fairtrade consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Reese, Gerhard; Kohlmann, Fabienne

2015-01-01

Global identification has become a popular construct in recent psychological debate as it relates to harmonious intergroup relations and a caring for all humanity. Based on social identity theorizing, the current research tests whether global identification can also predict consumer choices, at the expense of lower personal benefit. Importantly, we assumed that concerns about global injustice represent a crucial component of that relation. We predicted that participants who identified strongly with all humanity would rather choose a Fairtrade product alternative over a conventional one, compared with low identifiers. In addition, we assumed that this effect be mediated by perceived global injustice. Both predictions were confirmed in a consumer choice study (N = 68). Overall, global identification and globally relevant consumer behavior seem meaningfully interconnected, and we discuss these findings with regard to recent theoretical developments in Fairtrade consumption research.

'Global' norms and 'local' agency

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Björkdahl, Annika; Gusic, Ivan

2015-01-01

This article explores how the 'liberal democratic peace package' is received in post-conflict spaces. As such, it is part of a critical peace research agenda that raises critical questions concerning the quality of peace in many post-conflict societies. A close reading of the peace-building process...... in post-conflict Kosovo provides the backdrop for the theoretical discussion that identifies friction in norm diffusion processes and the different agencies that are generated through encounters between global norms and local practices. We unpack the interplay between the 'global' and the 'local......' in peacebuilding and, through the lens of friction, we reveal the diverse and unequal encounters that produce new power relations. By foregrounding agency, we theorise different agentive subjects in the post-conflict setting, and map local agency from various segments of society that may localise, co-opt or reject...