Trigeneration using biomass energy for sustainable development

Purpose: The paper aims to design and prove the concept of micro-industry using trigeneration fuelled by biomass, for sustainable development in rural NW India. Design/methodology/approach: This is being tested at village Malunga, near Jodhpur in Rajasthan. The system components comprise burning of waste biomass for steam generation and its use for power generation, cooling system for fruit ripening and the use of steam for producing distilled water. Site was selected taking into account the local economic and social needs, biomass resources available from agricultural activities, and the presence of a NGO which is competent to facilitate running of the enterprise. The trigeneration system was designed to integrate off-the-shelf equipment for power generation using boilers of approximate total capacity 1 tonne of fuel per hour, and a back-pressure steam turbo-generator (200 kW). Cooling is provided by a vapour absorption machine (VAM). Findings: The financial analysis indicates a payback time of less than two years. Nevertheless, this is sensitive to market fluctuations and availabilities of raw materials. Originality/value: Although comparable trigeneration systems already exist in large food processing industries and in space heating and cooling applications, they have not previously been used for rural micro-industry. The small-scale (1-2 m3/h output) multiple effect distillation (3 effect plus condenser) unit has not previously been deployed at field level. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Enhanced renewable energy adoption for sustainable development in India:interpretive structural modeling approach

Poverty alleviation and social upliftment of rural India is closely linked with the availability and use of energy for development. At the same time, sustainable supply of clean and affordable renewable energy sources is required if development is to be sustainable, so that it does not cause any environmental problems. The purpose of this paper is to determine the key variables of renewable energy implementation for sustainable development, on which the top management should focus. In this paper, an interpretive structural modeling (ISM) - based approach has been employed to model the implementation variables of renewable energy for sustainable development. These variables have been categorized under ‘enablers’ that help to increase the implementation of renewable energy for sustainable development. A major finding of this research is that public awareness regarding renewable energy for sustainable development is a very significant enabler. In this paper, an interpretation of variables of renewable energy for sustainable development in terms of their driving and dependence powers has been examined. For better results, top management should focus on improving the high-driving power enablers such as leadership, strategic planning, public awareness, top management support, availability of finance, government support, and support from interest groups.

The use of maturity models in improving project management performance:an empirical investigation

Purpose – The purpose of the paper was to conduct an empirical investigation to explore the impact of project management maturity models (PMMMs) on improving project performance. Design/methodology/approach – The investigation used a cross-case analysis involving over 90 individuals in seven organisations. Findings – The findings of the empirical investigation indicate that PMMMs demonstrate very high levels of variability in individual's assessment of project management maturity. Furthermore, at higher levels of maturity, the type of performance improvement adopted following their application is related to the type of PMMM used in the assessment. The paradox of the unreliability of PMMMs and their widespread acceptance is resolved by calling upon the “wisdom of crowds” phenomenon which has implications for the use of maturity model assessments in other arena. Research limitations/implications – The investigation does have the usual issues associated with case research, but the steps that have been taken in the cross-case construction and analysis have improved the overall robustness and extendibility of the findings. Practical implications – The tendency for PMMMs to shape improvements based on their own inherent structure needs further understanding. Originality/value – The use of empirical methods to investigate the link between project maturity models and extant changes in project management performance is highly novel and the findings that result from this have added resonance.

Hungarian international development cooperation:context, stakeholders and performance

This paper explores the domestic and international context of Hungary's emerging international development policy. Specifically, it looks at three factors that may influence how this policy operates: membership in the European Union (EU) and potential ‘Europeanization’, Hungary's wider foreign policy strategy, and the influence of domestic stakeholders. In order to uncover how these factors affect the country's international development policy, semi-structured interviews were carried out with the main stakeholders. The main conclusions are: (1) While accession to the EU did play a crucial role in restarting Hungary's international development policy, the integration has had little effect since then; (2) international development policy seems to serve mainly Hungary's regional strategic foreign policy and economic interests, and not its global development goals; and (3) although all the domestic development stakeholders are rather weak, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) still seems to play a dominating role. Convergence with European requirements and best practices is, therefore, clearly hindered by foreign policy interests and also by the weakness of non- governmental stakeholders.

Performance enhancement of asymmetric filtered 40 Gb/s carrier suppressed return to zero-differential phase shift keying receiver in a 50 GHz grid

The authors present the impact of asymmetric filtering of strong (e.g. 35 GHz) optical filters on the performance of 42.7 Gb/s 67% (carrier suppressed return to zero)-differential phase shift keying systems. The performance is examined (in an amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise-limited regime and in the presence of chromatic dispersion) when offsetting the filter at the receiver by substantial amounts via balanced, constructive and destructive single-ended detections. It is found that with a slight offset (vestigial side band) or an offset of almost half of the modulation frequency (single-side band), there is a significant improvement in the calculated 'Q'. © The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2013.

Understanding sustainable development

This new and expanded edition builds upon the first edition’s powerful multi-perspective approach and breath of coverage. A truly comprehensive introduction to sustainable development, it is designed specifically to allow access to the topic from a wide range of educational and professional backgrounds and to develop understanding of a diversity of approaches and traditions at different levels. This second edition includes: •a complete update of the text, with increased coverage of major topics including ecosystems; production and consumption; business; urban sustainability; governance; new media technologies; conservation; leadership; globalization and global crises; sustainability literacy and learning; •more examples from the Global South and North America, while retaining its unique coverage of first world countries; •chapter aims at the start and summaries at the end of each chapter; •glossary of key terms; •a new chapter on Conservation with a focus on behaviour change and values; •a brand new website which includes discussion of how projects are done on the ground, additional exercises and online cases, test questions and recommended readings and films. Offering boxed examples from the local to the global, Understanding Sustainable Development is the most complete guide to the subject for course leaders, undergraduates and postgraduates.

Performance enhancement of partial-42.7 Gb/s DPSK via an asymmetrical receiver design

We present numerically and experimentally the combined impact of an asymmetric receiver design and a partial 42.7 Gb/s DPSK system. By implementing an optimized bit period delay at the MZI and Asymmetric filtering at the destructive port, system performance can be significantly improved by 1.8 dB for an OSNR of 20 dB. © 2013 IEEE.

Searching for resilience in sustainable development:learning journeys in conservation

Resilience is a term that is gaining currency in conservation and sustainable development, though its meaning and value in this context is yet to be defined. Searching for Resilience in Sustainable Development examines ways in which resilience may be created within the web of ecological, socio-economic and cultural systems that make up the world in. The authors embark upon a learning journey exploring both robust and fragile systems and asking questions of groups and individuals actively involved in building or maintaining resilience.

Village appraisals. A tool for sustainable community development in rural areas in the UK?

This paper evaluates the contribution that village appraisals can make to sustainable development in local communities in rural areas. Based upon an evaluation of the JIGSO initiative, it both outlines the strengths of this approach and argues for the necessity of proper community infrastructure if most benefit is to be gained from it.

Integrated project evaluation and selection using multiple-attribute decision-making technique

The evaluation and selection of industrial projects before investment decision is customarily done using marketing, technical and financial information. Subsequently, environmental impact assessment and social impact assessment are carried out mainly to satisfy the statutory agencies. Because of stricter environment regulations in developed and developing countries, quite often impact assessment suggests alternate sites, technologies, designs, and implementation methods as mitigating measures. This causes considerable delay to complete project feasibility analysis and selection as complete analysis requires to be taken up again and again till the statutory regulatory authority approves the project. Moreover, project analysis through above process often results sub-optimal project as financial analysis may eliminate better options, as more environment friendly alternative will always be cost intensive. In this circumstance, this study proposes a decision support system, which analyses projects with respect to market, technicalities, and social and environmental impact in an integrated framework using analytic hierarchy process, a multiple-attribute decision-making technique. This not only reduces duration of project evaluation and selection, but also helps select optimal project for the organization for sustainable development. The entire methodology has been applied to a cross-country oil pipeline project in India and its effectiveness has been demonstrated. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Social impact assessment:A case study of a sewerage project in Barbados

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reasons of social impacts of projects in developing countries despite of thorough impact assessment in appraisal phase of projects. A case study approach on a sewerage project in Barbados was undertaken using primary and secondary information. The study reveals that although the impact assessment report suggested appropriate mitigation measures, but they were not implemented by the contractors. The study suggests fostering an interconnected and symbiotic relationship between appraisal and implementation phases of a project in order to manage project environment. Additionally, a more vigilant and proactive supervisory role should be instituted and strengthened over time and adapted within the dictates of environmental needs. Copyright © 2005 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Decision support system for project selection

The evaluation and selection of industrial projects before investment decision is customarily done using marketing, technical, and financial information. Subsequently, environmental impact assessment and social impact assessment are carried out mainly to satisfy the statutory agencies. Because of stricter environment regulations in developed and developing countries, quite often impact assessment suggests alternate sites, technologies, designs, and implementation methods as mitigating measures. This causes considerable delay to complete project feasibility analysis and selection as complete analysis requires to be taken up again and again until the statutory regulatory authority approves the project. Moreover, project analysis through the above process often results in suboptimal projects as financial analysis may eliminate better options as more environment friendly alternative will always be cost intensive. In this circumstance, this study proposes a decision support system which analyses projects with respect to market, technicalities, and social and environmental impact in an integrated framework using analytic hierarchy process, a multiple attribute decision-making technique. This not only reduces duration of project evaluation and selection, but also helps select an optimal project for the organization for sustainable development. The entire methodology has been applied to a cross-country oil pipeline project in India and its effectiveness has been demonstrated. © 2008, IGI Global.

Analysis of interactions among variables of renewable energy projects:a case study on renewable energy project in India

This study highlights the variables associated with the implementation of renewable energy (RE) projects for sustainable development in India, by using an interpretive structural modeling (ISM) - based approach to model variables' interactions, which impact RE adoption. These variables have been categorized under enablers that help to enhance implementation of RE projects for sustainable development. A major finding is that public awareness regarding RE for sustainable development is a very significant enabler. For successful implementation of RE projects, it has been observed that top management should focus on improving highdriving power enablers (leadership, strategic planning, public awareness, management commitment, availability of finance, government support, and support from interest groups).

Greening operations management:an online sustainable procurement course for practitioners

In the Operations Management field, sustainable procurement has emerged as a way to green the purchasing and supply process. This paper explores issues in sustainable procurement training. The authors formed an interdisciplinary team to design, deliver and evaluate a training programme to promote and develop sustainable procurement in the United Kingdom health sector. Particular features of the project were its engagement with evolving and contested understandings of sustainable procurement and of the underlying concept of sustainable development and its recognition that relevant knowledge in the field is both incomplete and widely diffused through the procurement community. Eight practitioner groups worked together on themes to develop their understanding of sustainable procurement using the Blackboard virtual learning environment. Group interviews were conducted upon completion of the course and again three months later to explore qualitatively participants' experience of learning and implementing sustainable procurement. Although the course was delivered to practitioners, it might be modified for undergraduate and graduate students as it comprised the use of online activities in virtual learning environments, case studies and a broad range of literature. The course was also particularly significant in the context of contemporary policy moves in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to promote the role of higher education institutions in delivering workplace-based, high-skills education consistent with strategic policy considerations (see, for example, DIUS, 2008).

Compressed orally disintegrating tablets:excipients evolution and formulation strategies

Introduction: Orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs) have emerged as one of the novel solid oral dosage forms with a potential to deliver a wide range of drug candidates to both paediatric and geriatric patient populations. Of the plethora of available technologies, compression of excipients offers a cost-effective and translatable methodology for the manufacture of ODTs. Areas covered: The review is a modest endeavour from the authors to assemble literature published over the last couple of decades on formulation development of compressed ODT. It describes the main ODT excipients used since the introduction of this dosage form in the 1990s and explores the switch from cellulose-based excipients towards sugar/polyols. Furthermore, it unfolds the key properties of ODT fillers, binders and disintegrants with an emphasis on their advantages and drawbacks. The review also provides a critical assessment of the various strategies employed for performance enhancement of compressed ODT with a focus on the underlying mechanisms for fast disintegration and acceptable mechanical strength. Expert opinion: Recent increase in the total number of compression-based technologies for ODT development promises to reduce the manufacturing cost of this dosage form in the future. However, some of the developed methods may affect the stability of tablets due to susceptibility to moisture, collapse of pores or the generation of less stable polymorphs which require rigorous testing prior to commercialization. © 2013 Informa UK, Ltd.