scholarly journals Sub-national government and pathways to sustainable energy

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 1139-1155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Cowell ◽  
Geraint Ellis ◽  
Fionnguala Sherry-Brennan ◽  
Peter A Strachan ◽  
David Toke
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Energy ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
National Government ◽  
Building Retrofit ◽  
Democratic Control ◽  
Direct Energy ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Local Reflexivity ◽  
Governance Processes ◽  
The Relationship

In an effort to understand how to promote more sustainable forms of energy provision, researchers have begun addressing the scale of political and governance processes, yet the effects of sub-national government remain neglected. At the same time, analysts of political devolution, decentralisation and independence have rarely given attention to the energy sector. Papers in this special issue seek to better understand the relationship between sub-national government and pathways to sustainable energy: examining how city-regional and devolved governments have shaped agendas for building retrofit; elucidating the importance of decentralised governance in knitting together electricity, heat and transport energy markets; mapping the complex, fuzzy spatial organisation of legal powers to direct energy policy across multi-level polities; and analysing conflicts over the allocation of energy infrastructure consenting powers between national and devolved governments. The papers highlight the interdependencies of action in different governmental arenas, and reinforce arguments for greater central-to-local reflexivity in governance styles. Analysing the interface between sub-national government and energy transition also raises new questions about the meaning of ‘sovereignty’, the fragmentary nature of democratic control over energy systems, and the effects of boundaries.

scholarly journals A Network Analysis of the Relationship among Reading, Spelling and Maths Skills

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 656
Author(s):  
Pierluigi Zoccolotti ◽  
Paola Angelelli ◽  
Chiara Valeria Marinelli ◽  
Daniele Luigi Romano
Keyword(s):  
Network Analysis ◽  
Clinical Analysis ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Fifth Grade ◽  
Learning Skills ◽  
Level Model ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Unselected Group ◽  
The Relationship

Background. Skill learning (e.g., reading, spelling and maths) has been predominantly treated separately in the neuropsychological literature. However, skills (as well as their corresponding deficits), tend to partially overlap. We recently proposed a multi-level model of learning skills (based on the distinction among competence, performance, and acquisition) as a framework to provide a unitary account of these learning skills. In the present study, we examined the performance of an unselected group of third- to fifth-grade children on standard reading, spelling, and maths tasks, and tested the relationships among these skills with a network analysis, i.e., a method particularly suited to analysing relations among different domains. Methods. We administered a battery of reading, spelling, and maths tests to 185 third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade children (103 M, 82 F). Results. The network analysis indicated that the different measures of the same ability (i.e., reading, spelling, and maths) formed separate clusters, in keeping with the idea that they are based on different competences. However, these clusters were also related to each other, so that three nodes were more central in connecting them. In keeping with the multi-level model of learning skills, two of these tests (arithmetic facts subtest and spelling words with ambiguous transcription) relied heavily on the ability to recall specific instances, a factor hypothesised to underlie the co-variation among learning skills. Conclusions. The network analysis indicated both elements of association and of partial independence among learning skills. Interestingly, the study was based on standard clinical instruments, indicating that the multi-level model of learning skills might provide a framework for the clinical analysis of these learning skills.

The three paradoxes of the energy transition - Assessing sustainability of large-scale solar photovoltaic through multi-level and multi-scalar perspective in Rwanda

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 ◽  
pp. 125519
Author(s):  
Carole Brunet ◽  
Oumarou Savadogo ◽  
Pierre Baptiste ◽  
Michel A. Bouchard ◽  
Céline Cholez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
Multi Level

scholarly journals ‘Mind the Gap’: Reconnecting Local Actions and Multi-Level Policies to Bridge the Governance Gap. An Example of Soil Erosion Action from East Africa

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 352
Author(s):  
Claire Kelly ◽  
Maarten Wynants ◽  
Linus K. Munishi ◽  
Mona Nasseri ◽  
Aloyce Patrick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Policy Integration ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Institutional Processes ◽  
Governance Challenges ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Governance Processes ◽  
Design And Testing ◽  
Erosion Action

Achieving change to address soil erosion has been a global yet elusive goal for decades. Efforts to implement effective solutions have often fallen short due to a lack of sustained, context-appropriate and multi-disciplinary engagement with the problem. Issues include prevalence of short-term funding for ‘quick-fix’ solutions; a lack of nuanced understandings of institutional, socio-economic or cultural drivers of erosion problems; little community engagement in design and testing solutions; and, critically, a lack of traction in integrating locally designed solutions into policy and institutional processes. This paper focusses on the latter issue of local action for policy integration, drawing on experiences from a Tanzanian context to highlight the practical and institutional disjuncts that exist; and the governance challenges that can hamper efforts to address and build resilience to soil erosion. By understanding context-specific governance processes, and joining them with realistic, locally designed actions, positive change has occurred, strengthening local-regional resilience to complex and seemingly intractable soil erosion challenges.

Neural network modeling of the efficiency of response to emergency situations in a multi-level control system

2021 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 79-93
Author(s):  
N. G. Topolsky ◽  
◽  
S. Y. Butuzov ◽  
V. Y. Vilisov ◽  
V. L. Semikov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Control System ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Hierarchical Control ◽  
Hierarchical Systems ◽  
Level Control ◽  
Emergency Situations ◽  
Expert Assessments ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
The Relationship

Introduction. It is important to have models that adequately describe the relationship between the integral indicators of the functioning of the system with the particular indicators of the lower levels of management in complex control systems, in particular in RSChS. Traditional approaches based on normative models often turn out to be untenable due to the impossibility of covering all aspects of the functioning of such systems, as well as due to the high variability of the environment and the values of the set of target indicators. Recently, adaptive machine-learning models have proven to be productive, allowing build stable and adequate models, one of the variants of which is artificial neural networks (ANN), based on the solution of inverse problems using expert estimates. The relevance of the study lies in the development of compact models that allow assessing the effectiveness of the functioning of complex multi-level control systems (RSChS) in emergency situations, developing according to complex scenarios, in which emergencies of various types can occur simultaneously. Goals and objectives. The purpose of the article is to build and test the technology for creating compact models that are adequate to the system of indicators of the functioning of hierarchically organized control systems. This goal gives rise to the task of choosing tools for constructing the necessary models and sources of initial data. Methods. The research tools include methods for analyzing hierarchical systems, mathematical statistics, machine learning methods of ANN, simulation modeling, expert assessment methods, software systems for processing statistical data. The research is based on materials from domestic and foreign publications. Results and discussion. The proposed technology for constructing a neural network model of the effectiveness of the functioning of complex hierarchical systems provides a basis for constructing dynamic models of this type, which make it possible to distribute limited financial and other resources during the operation of the system according to a complex scenario of emergency response. Conclusion. The paper presents the results of solving the problem of constructing an ANN and its corresponding nonlinear function, reflecting the relationship between the performance indicators of the lower levels of the hierarchical control system (RSChS) with the upper level. The neural network model constructed in this way can be used in the decision support system for resource management in the context of complex scenarios for the development of emergency situations. The use of expert assessments as an information basis makes it possible to take into account numerous target indicators, which are extremely difficult to take into account in other ways. Keywords: emergency situations, hierarchical control system, efficiency, artificial neural network, expert assessments

scholarly journals A Multi-Level Analysis of Risky Streets and Neighbourhoods for Dissident Republican Violence in Belfast

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 765
Author(s):  
Zoe Marchment ◽  
Michael J. Frith ◽  
John Morrison ◽  
Paul Gill
Keyword(s):  
Political Violence ◽  
Target Selection ◽  
Street Segment ◽  
Street Network ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
Protestant Churches ◽  
Small Area Level ◽  
Network Usage ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
The Relationship

This paper uses graph theoretical measures to analyse the relationship between street network usage, as well as other street- and area-level factors, and dissident Republican violence in Belfast. A multi-level statistical model is used. Specifically, we employ an observation-level random-effects (OLRE) Poisson regression and use variables at the street and area levels. Street- and area-level characteristics simultaneously influence where violent incidents occur. For every 10% change in the betweenness value of a street segment, the segment is expected to experience 1.32 times as many incidents. Police stations (IRR: 22.05), protestant churches (IRR: 6.19) and commercial premises (IRR: 1.44) on each street segment were also all found to significantly increase the expected number of attacks. At the small-area level, for every 10% change in the number of Catholic residents, the number of incidents is expected to be 4.45 times as many. The results indicate that along with other factors, the street network plays a role in shaping terrorist target selection. Streets that are more connected and more likely to be traversed will experience more incidents than those that are not. This has important practical implications for the policing of political violence in Northern Ireland generally and for shaping specific targeted interventions.

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