Evaluating Projects in a Dynamic Economy: Some New Envelope Results

This paper is concerned with the modern theory of social cost-benefit analysis in a dynamic economy. The theory emphasizes the role of a comprehensive, forward-looking, dynamic welfare index within the period of the project rather than that of a project's long-term consequences. However, what constitutes such a welfare index remains controversial in the recent literature. In this paper, we attempt to shed light on the issue by deriving three equivalent cost-benefit rules for evaluating a small project. In particular, we show that the direct change in net national product (NNP) qualifies as a convenient welfare index without involving any other induced side effects. The project evaluation criterion thus becomes the present discounted value of the direct changes in NNP over the project period. We also illustrate the application of this theory in a few stylized examples.

Faktorer som kan påverka företags val mellan K2 och K3 : En jämförelsestudie mellan två branscher

Titel: Faktorer som kan påverka företags val mellan K2 och K3 Författare: Angelica Höglund och Julia Wiman Handledare: Klas Sundberg Bakgrund och problem: Det nya K-regelverket som infördes 1 januari 2014 innebär att mindre onoterade företag idag har valmöjligheten att välja mellan regelverken K2 och K3. För dessa mindre företag är valet av regelverk viktigt då det kommer att påverka företagets räkenskaper. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att studera fördelningen av K2 och K3 för mindre onoterade företag inom två olika branscher, dessa är byggbranschen och juridik,- ekonomi- och konsultbranschen, samt vilka faktorer som kan påverka valet av regelverk. Teori: Studien bygger på två teorier, dessa är positive accounting theory och institutionell teori. Metod: I studien används en kvantitativ forskningsmetod där årsredovisningar har granskats och sammanställts, samt en kvalitativ metod som bygger på fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer där de identifierade faktorerna analyserats utifrån en analysmodell. Resultat och slutsats: Utifrån det empiriska materialet identifierades sju faktorer, dessa var leasing, företagets storlek, rättvisande bild, revisorns påverkan, komponentavskrivning, kostnad/nytta och koncernredovisning. Ovanstående faktorer har kategoriserats och analyserats utifrån PAT och institutionell teori. Förslag till vidare forskning: Ett förslag vore att forska vidare på de identifierade faktorerna för att undersöka i hur stor utsträckning de påverkar företagens beslut. En intressant studie hade även varit att genomföra en fallstudie som utgår från att upprätta en årsredovisning utifrån både K2 och K3 för att studera de skillnader som kan uppkomma.

Thermal Evaluation of a Solarus PV-T collector

Low concentrator PV-T hybrid systems produce both electricity and thermal energy; this fact increases the overall efficiency of the system and reduces the cost of solar electricity. These systems use concentrators which are optical devices that concentrate sunlight on to solar cells and reduce expensive solar cell area. This thesis work deals with the thermal evaluation of a PV-T collector from Solarus.Firstly the thermal efficiency of the low concentrator collector was characterized for the thermal-collector without PV cells on the absorber. Only two types of paint were on the absorber, one for each trough of the collector. Both paints are black one is glossy and the other is dull,. The thermal efficiency at no temperature difference between collector and ambient for these two types of paint was 0.65 and 0.64 respectively; the U-value was 8.4 W/m2°C for the trough with the glossy type of paint and 8.6 W/m2°C for the trough with dull type of paint. The annual thermal output of these two paints was calculated for two different geographic locations, Casablanca, Morocco and Älvkarleby, Sweden.Secondly the thermal efficiency was defined for the PV-T collector with PV cells on the absorber. The PV cells cover 85% of the absorber, without any paint on the rest of the absorber area. We also tested how the electrical power output influences the thermal power output of the PV-T collector. The thermal and total performances for the PV-T collector were only characterized with reflector sides, because of the lack of time we could not characterize them with transparent sides also.

PANA V : Evaluation of a Literacy Project

PANA V Evaluation of a Literacy ProjectSUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONSThis evaluation set out to explore the impact of the literacy work carried out through PANA V. It focussed on clarifying effects such as empowerment and poverty reduction in relation to the civil society. Two specific objectives were to evaluate the methodological approach and the didactic materials and to evaluate the sustainability of the project.Although the focus of the evaluation has been PANA V, the project has been evaluated in its context, as one in a series of five projects located in Rwanda ten years after the war and genocide. The conclusion will consider future plans in this field.The evaluator has striven to create a holistic picture of the effects of the project, although the given time for the evaluation was short. Only three weeks were spent in the field study and only ten days in the actual field. Although there were some organisational and logistic problems, as is common when carrying out a study like this in a poor country, many literacy sites were visited and quite many participators were interviewed. The overall impression from the study is overwhelmingly positive. So many people commit themselves in this task of teaching Rwandans reading, writing and numeracy. Despite harsh conditions learners strive to learn and group leaders devote themselves to the task. Many leaders on different levels try their very best to manage their difficult and demanding task. The main objective was to explore the impact of the project on poverty reduction, particularly on empowerment and strategies for everyday life. Women were to be regarded particularly. From the results it is clear that the project has a strong, positive impact both on poverty reduction and empowerment of marginalised groups. Among those who have benefited from the alphabetisation are mainly women. Unfortunately, when it comes to leaders in PANA, who may also be said to have benefited from the project, only a small minority is women. This is something that is recommended that it be reconsidered inside the organisation. As a majority of the targeted learners are women, and as the economic and social situation of women in Rwanda is generally weak, this is a question that I recommend the Pentesostal church and ADEPR to look particularly into. With many women being single breadwinners of their households, it is important that also women get access to positions that may bring benefits of different kind.It is also clear that the project has positive effects for the civil society. In the present situation in Rwanda, during the process of reconciliation and rapid progress, basic education for the poor majority is a democratic issue. In a country with a plethora of internet-cafés in the capital and a small minority that use cars and mobile-telephones to communicate nation-wide, it is of outmost importance that the majority acquires basic education, of which literacy is a central part. To strengthen the civil society in Rwanda literacy is important. One central issue is then that Rwanda develops toward becoming a country where literacy is used for the benefit of the citizens and it is a democratic issue that all citizens get an opportunity to participate. Crucial for this is that strong efforts are put into primary schools nation-wide. Literacy projects for adults, like PANA, may only complement these efforts, but they constitute important and necessary complements. Other relevant ways to promote literacy are campaigns in Radio and TV and through cultural events such as festivals, music and theatre. News papers, magazines and books are natural parts of such campaigns as well as adult education. As stated under the results not much can be said about the didactics in this evaluation. On the whole the methodology and the materials fill their function well and receive a high reputation. As people learn to read and write under very simple conditions, obviously the approach is appropriate. A few suggestions may be given from the study:•Focus groups leaders’ attention on clearness, that they show very clearly what is to be read. Good structuring is probably of great importance for many learners.•Make clear what is tested in the tests and consider the possibility to use a holistic test that would be more congruent with the methodology. The possibility to use only one grade, pass, would enable a more practical test, such as reading a short, relevant text, writing something relevant and solving practical mathematic problems. Avoid tests that demand school knowledge.•Avoid using methaphors such as “fight against illiteracy” and connections between illiteracy/literacy and darkness/light. It is not true that illiteracy causes bad things and that literacy only brings good. •Be prepared that it may be more difficult in the future to achieve the goals as it may be the case that the early learners where the ones who achieved easily. The goal of “literacy in six month” in PANA will probably hold only for some learners but also those who do not manage in six months need literacy skills.A third objective was to secure sustainability. As for sustainability of the project in itself, and of the literacy process, the main conclusion is that there is a good potential. The commitment and devotedness among many involved in PANA proves good. One weakness is individual leaders in ADEPR who do not see this as an important task for the Pentecostal church in Rwanda. Other weaknesses are the unwillingness to mention explicitly the wish, for example among group leaders, to get some kind of incentive and the fear of loosing believers by cooperation with other organisations. A higher degree of transparency in this issue would probably solve some irritations and tensions.As for the sustainability of the literacy skills much may be done to improve. The acquired skills seem to be comparably relevant. The level achieved, and the level tested, may be defined as basic literacy skills, consisting of basic reading, writing and numeracy skills. However, these skills are very restricted and there is a high risk that the skills will decline, which means that there is a high risk that people will forget how to read and write because of lack of exercising. From these conclusions a few suggestions for future development will be given.

A Computer Vision Framework For Finger-Tapping Evaluation In Parkinson's Disease

Objective: To define and evaluate a Computer-Vision (CV) method for scoring Paced Finger-Tapping (PFT) in Parkinson's disease (PD) using quantitative motion analysis of index-fingers and to compare the obtained scores to the UPDRS (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale) finger-taps (FT). Background: The naked-eye evaluation of PFT in clinical practice results in coarse resolution to determine PD status. Besides, sensor mechanisms for PFT evaluation may cause patients discomfort. In order to avoid cost and effort of applying wearable sensors, a CV system for non-invasive PFT evaluation is introduced. Methods: A database of 221 PFT videos from 6 PD patients was processed. The subjects were instructed to position their hands above their shoulders besides the face and tap the index-finger against the thumb consistently with speed. They were facing towards a pivoted camera during recording. The videos were rated by two clinicians between symptom levels 0-to-3 using UPDRS-FT. The CV method incorporates a motion analyzer and a face detector. The method detects the face of testee in each video-frame. The frame is split into two images from face-rectangle center. Two regions of interest are located in each image to detect index-finger motion of left and right hands respectively. The tracking of opening and closing phases of dominant hand index-finger produces a tapping time-series. This time-series is normalized by the face height. The normalization calibrates the amplitude in tapping signal which is affected by the varying distance between camera and subject (farther the camera, lesser the amplitude). A total of 15 features were classified using K-nearest neighbor (KNN) classifier to characterize the symptoms levels in UPDRS-FT. The target ratings provided by the raters were averaged. Results: A 10-fold cross validation in KNN classified 221 videos between 3 symptom levels with 75% accuracy. An area under the receiver operating characteristic curves of 82.6% supports feasibility of the obtained features to replicate clinical assessments. Conclusions: The system is able to track index-finger motion to estimate tapping symptoms in PD. It has certain advantages compared to other technologies (e.g. magnetic sensors, accelerometers etc.) for PFT evaluation to improve and automate the ratings

Performance evaluation of ventilation radiators

A ventilation radiator is a combined ventilation and heat emission unit currently of interest due to its potential for increasing energy efficiency in exhaust ventilated buildings with warm water heating. This paper presents results of performance tests of several ventilation radiator models conducted under controlled laboratory conditions.   The purpose of the study was to validate results achieved by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in an earlier study and indentify possible improvements in the performance of such systems. The main focus was on heat transfer from internal convection fins, but comfort and health aspects related to ventilation rates and air temperatures were also considered.   The general results from the CFD simulations were confirmed; the heat output of ventilation radiators may be improved by at least 20 % without sacrificing ventilation efficiency or thermal comfort.   Improved thermal efficiency of ventilation radiators allows a lower supply water temperature and energy savings both for heating up and distribution of warm water in heat pumps or district heating systems. A secondary benefit is that a high ventilation rate can be maintained all year around without risk for cold draught.

Evaluation of a thermally driven heat pump for solar heating and cooling applications

Exploiting solar energy technology for both heating and cooling purposes has the potential of meeting an appreciable portion of the energy demand in buildings throughout the year. By developing an integrated, multi-purpose solar energy system, that can operate all twelve months of the year, a high utilisation factor can be achieved which translates to more economical systems. However, there are still some techno-economic barriers to the general commercialisation and market penetration of such technologies. These are associated with high system and installation costs, significant system complexity, and lack of knowledge of system implementation and expected performance. A sorption heat pump module that can be integrated directly into a solar thermal collector has thus been developed in order to tackle the aforementioned market barriers. This has been designed for the development of cost-effective pre-engineered solar energy system kits that can provide both heating and cooling. This thesis summarises the characterisation studies of the operation of individual sorption modules, sorption module integrated solar collectors and a full solar heating and cooling system employing sorption module integrated collectors. Key performance indicators for the individual sorption modules showed cooling delivery for 6 hours at an average power of 40 W and a temperature lift of 21°C. Upon integration of the sorption modules into a solar collector, measured solar radiation energy to cooling energy conversion efficiencies (solar cooling COP) were between 0.10 and 0.25 with average cooling powers between 90 and 200 W/m2 collector aperture area. Further investigations of the sorption module integrated collectors implementation in a full solar heating and cooling system yielded electrical cooling COP ranging from 1.7 to 12.6 with an average of 10.6 for the test period. Additionally, simulations were performed to determine system energy and cost saving potential for various system sizes over a full year of operation for a 140 m2 single-family dwelling located in Madrid, Spain. Simulations yielded an annual solar fraction of 42% and potential cost savings of €386 per annum for a solar heating and cooling installation employing 20m2 of sorption integrated collectors.