The Impact of End-User Aggregation on the Electricity Business Ecosystem: Evidence from Europe

Author(s):  
Alessandro Barbiero ◽  
Silvia Blasi ◽  
Jan Marc Schwidtal
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Houwaart

Abstract End-user (e.g. patients or the public) testing of information material is becoming more common in the German public health care system. However, including the end-user (in this case patients) in an optimisation process and thus enabling a close collaboration while developing PIMs is still rare. This is surprising, given the fact that patients provide the exact perspective one is trying to address. Within the isPO project, a patient organization is included as a legal project partner to act as the patient representative and provide the patient's perspective. As such, the patient organization was included in the PHR approach as part of the PIM-optimisation team. During the optimisation process, the patients gave practical insights into the procedures of diagnosing and treating different types of cancer as well as into the patient's changing priorities and challenges at different time points. This was crucial information for the envisioned application of the individual PIMs and their hierarchical overview. Moreover, the developed PIM-checklist enabled the patients to give detailed feedback to the PIMs. With their experience of being in the exact situation in which the PIMs will be applied, their recommendations, especially on the wording and layout of the materials, have been a valuable contribution to the PIM optimisation process. In this part of the seminar, we will take a closer look at the following skill building aspects: What is gained from including patients as end-users in the development and optimization of PIM?How can we reach patients to contribute to a PIM optimization process? Which requirements and prerequisites do patients have to provide to successfully work on an optimisation team?How to compromise and weigh opinions when different ideas occur? Altogether, this part will construct a structured path of productive patient involvement and help to overcome uncertainties regarding a collaboration with patient organizations.


Author(s):  
Barbara Antonioli

- The reorganization of the energy market, together with an increase in the mobility of resources and the evolution of supply, have reduced borders between national and local market, and both regulatory policies and players' strategies have to consider these renewed environment. The goal of this paper is to make some considerations about the dimension and the interactions between national and locals, up-stream and downstream energy markets, both in terms of value chain phases regulation and of the impact on firms' organization and on the industry as a whole. We want to highlight evident problems of coordination of different rules, the necessity to define a clear national industrial policy (not fragmented at local level), as well as the relevance of the end user prices regulation for liberalized market. In particular, this kind of regulation seems to represent a key point of the current discussion between operators and the energy Authority. The end users price regulation present some critical aspects related to its (contested) limited contribution to a real price competition but, on the other side, had to be considered as a strong protection for domestic customers, as well as a way to reduce information asymmetry.Key words: Energy, competition, regulation.JEL classifications: H1, K2.Parole chiave: Energia, concorrenza, regolazione.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuchih Ernest Chang ◽  
YiChian Chen

BACKGROUND Blockchain technology is leveraging its innovative potential in various sectors and its transformation of business-related processes has drawn much attention. Topics of research interest have focused on medical and health care applications, while research implications have generally concluded in system design, literature reviews, and case studies. However, a general overview and knowledge about the impact on the health care ecosystem is limited. OBJECTIVE This paper explores a potential paradigm shift and ecosystem evolution in health care utilizing blockchain technology. METHODS A literature review with a case study on a pioneering initiative was conducted. With a systematic life cycle analysis, this study sheds light on the evolutionary development of blockchain in health care scenarios and its interactive relationship among stakeholders. RESULTS Four stages—birth, expansion, leadership, and self-renewal or death—in the life cycle of the business ecosystem were explored to elucidate the evolving trajectories of blockchain-based health care implementation. Focused impacts on the traditional health care industry are highlighted within each stage to further support the potential health care paradigm shift in the future. CONCLUSIONS This paper enriches the existing body of literature in this field by illustrating the potential of blockchain in fulfilling stakeholders’ needs and elucidating the phenomenon of coevolution within the health care ecosystem. Blockchain not only catalyzes the interactions among players but also facilitates the formation of the ecosystem life cycle. The collaborative network linked by blockchain may play a critical role on value creation, transfer, and sharing among the health care community. Future efforts may focus on empirical or case studies to validate the proposed evolution of the health care ecosystem.


Author(s):  
Mohannad Alahmadi ◽  
Peter Pocta ◽  
Hugh Melvin

Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) combines a set of standards and technologies to enable high-quality audio, video, and auxiliary data exchange in web browsers and mobile applications. It enables peer-to-peer multimedia sessions over IP networks without the need for additional plugins. The Opus codec, which is deployed as the default audio codec for speech and music streaming in WebRTC, supports a wide range of bitrates. This range of bitrates covers narrowband, wideband, and super-wideband up to fullband bandwidths. Users of IP-based telephony always demand high-quality audio. In addition to users’ expectation, their emotional state, content type, and many other psychological factors; network quality of service; and distortions introduced at the end terminals could determine their quality of experience. To measure the quality experienced by the end user for voice transmission service, the E-model standardized in the ITU-T Rec. G.107 (a narrowband version), ITU-T Rec. G.107.1 (a wideband version), and the most recent ITU-T Rec. G.107.2 extension for the super-wideband E-model can be used. In this work, we present a quality of experience model built on the E-model to measure the impact of coding and packet loss to assess the quality perceived by the end user in WebRTC speech applications. Based on the computed Mean Opinion Score, a real-time adaptive codec parameter switching mechanism is used to switch to the most optimum codec bitrate under the present network conditions. We present the evaluation results to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach when compared with the default codec configuration in WebRTC.


Author(s):  
Lindsey Kahn ◽  
Hamidreza Najafi

Abstract Lockdown measures and mobility restrictions implemented to combat the spread of the novel COVID-19 virus have impacted energy consumption patterns, particularly in the United States. A review of available data and literature on the impact of the pandemic on energy consumption is performed to understand the current knowledge on this topic. The overall decline of energy use during lockdown restrictions can best be identified through the analysis of energy consumption by source and end-user breakdown. Using monthly energy consumption data, the total 9-months use between January and September for the years 2015–2020 are calculated for each end-use. The cumulative consumption within these 9 months of the petroleum, natural gas, biomass, and electricity energy by the various end-use sectors are compared to identify a shift in use throughout time with the calculation of the percent change from 2019 to 2020. The analysis shows that the transportation sector experienced the most dramatic decline, having a subsequent impact on the primary energy it uses. A steep decline in the use of petroleum and natural gas by the transportation sector has had an inevitable impact on the emission of carbon dioxide and other air pollutants during the pandemic. Additionally, the most current data for the consumption of electricity by each state and each end-user in the times before and during the pandemic highlights the impact of specific lockdown procedures on energy use. The average total consumption for each state was found for the years 2015–2019. This result is used calculation of yearly growth rate and average annual growth rate in 2020 for each state and end-user. The total average annual growth rate for 2020 was used to find a correlation coefficient between COVID-19 case and death rates as well as population density and lockdown duration. To further examine the relationship a correlation coefficient was calculated between the 2020 average annual growth rate for all sectors and average annual growth rate for each individual end-user.


Author(s):  
Barbara Millet ◽  
Sharanya J. Majumdar ◽  
Alberto Cairo ◽  
Carolina Diaz ◽  
Qinyu Ding ◽  
...  

Hurricane forecast graphics have the challenging task of communicating information about spatio-temporal uncertainty. This study assesses the impact of graph literacy and graph format on user preference and understanding. In a laboratory setting, we compared user responses to official National Hurricane Center advisory maps and alternative visualizations. Results indicate that prior experience with a visualization drives preference and that graph literacy, visualization format, and tropical cyclone characteristics, in combination, influence interpretations of hurricane forecast track. The findings from this study are expected to inform redesign efforts of hurricane risk communication products.


Author(s):  
Tiago Almeida ◽  
Leonor Teixeira ◽  
Carlos Ferreira

This chapter analyzes the impact of the implementation of SAP R/3 in a Multinational Portuguese Organization (MPO), defining some Critical Success Factors (CSFs). In order to understand the motivations of end-users prior to implementation and to analyze the behavior after a change (post-implementation), a study based on a questionnaire was carried out. The sample included 67 users of SAP R/3 that were present throughout the process. Considering the results, the authors conclude that the implementation of SAP R/3 in MPO was successful, and the respondents consider their work more productive and achieve easier access to information. The existence of a solid team to support the project was established as a major facilitator in the whole process, as opposed to the limited time and lack of training that emerged as barriers to the implementation. It was also found that the learning period assumes a high importance in the success of the implementation, since increasing the training time reduces the need for support to the end-users.


Author(s):  
David Wierschem ◽  
Tom Brodnax

With each new improvement, the power, speed and capabilities of the computer have increased, as has the demand for computing power. Some managers have questioned the necessity of continuously upgrading computing technology when its efficient use is dictated more by the speed of the user than by the speed of the processor. These observations have led to the questioning of the value that continued processor speed upgrades add to end user productivity. This chapter identifies the impact that upgrades in processing speeds of personal computers have on end user productivity. A controlled lab experiment was conducted to measure the impact that processor speed had on student output. Based on the results of the experiment, it was observed that end user productivity (as measured by an increase in the amount of work completed) improved.


2008 ◽  
pp. 1579-1594
Author(s):  
Eitel J.M. Lauría

This paper explores the impact of human factor and organizational behavior on the outcome of information technology implementation projects. Client/server technology implementation is used as the leading case, given the fact that it is a good example of a major paradigm shift. The results draw attention to the importance of end-user interaction and the maturity level of organizations as significant factors in the success and benefits of the project. Client/server projects seem to be more successful, are executed in a more timely manner, and yield greater benefits when end users take an active participation in some of the stages, particularly during the implementation phase.


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