The Development and Issues of Energy-ICT: A Review of Literature with Economic and Managerial Viewpoints

This paper reviews the economic and managerial literature on the relationship between energy-ICT and the development of the green energy economy. It is summarized that there are four lines of existing literature on energy-ICT: cost and benefit analysis, fair competition issues, cybersecurity issues, and promotion policy issues. Even though ICT is energy-consuming, most of the existing empirical studies support the idea that energy-ICT has net positive effects on energy savings, energy efficiency improvement, emission reduction, and economic growth at both enterprise and economy-wide levels. Energy-ICT equips the platform operator with higher bargaining power, such that a governance mechanism to assure the fair access right of each entitled participant is required. A smarter energy-ICT network also becomes riskier, and hence the cybersecurity protection is more important than before. Future research and development opportunities remain on these issues of the fair competition, cybersecurity, and promotion policy of energy-ICT.

Economic Analysis Development and Provider Elective Decision Model on Auto-ID Technology Investment

In the last few years, the warehousing system use Auto Identification technology to manage the warehouse operation. Auto-ID is often used to obtain the information about amount, location, content, and condition of part or product. However, some industries still use manual warehouse management. Manual warehouse management systems usually cause some problem like inventory shrinkage and stock out. The investment and application of Auto-ID technology on the warehouse system can reduce the effect of the manual system. The use of Auto-ID technology in warehousing systems has a significant effect on the reduction of human error, the reduction of loss of goods, the accuracy of inventory stock, and can handle the product in large quantities, the speed of acceptance, and improve the delivery process. In this research, the cost and benefit analysis was carried out to assess the Auto-ID technology investments. The cost of inventory shrinkage reduction, labor and stock out, and the increase of productivity and maintenance on the spare parts warehouse management system used to analyse the cost benefit. To determine the expected NPV value in Auto-ID technology investments used Monte Carlo analysis. Furthermore, a company’s evaluation for selecting an Auto ID provider is a significant aspect. The evaluation of decision making for selecting Auto ID vendors is based on three criteria. This is referred to as many criteria decision making. Vendor performance, service after installation, and system attributes are the criteria employed in the decision-making model. Evaluation of Auto-ID vendor selection is done by using AHP. Based on the results of AHP analysis for the selection of Auto-ID suppliers, it was found that supplier PT C was the main priority (39.3%) for best suppliers, and the last priority was PT B (13.8%).

The feasibility of Indonesian potato’s farming and its global competitiveness

Potato’s farming in Indonesia is thought to be profitable. However, its competitiveness in global production is questionable. The purpose of this study is to analyze the financial feasibility of potato’s farming in Indonesia and its competitiveness in global production. The data used were the results of National Farmers Panel (PATANAS) surveys in 2008, 2011 and 2017. The cost and benefit analysis were used to analyze the financial feasibility. In addition, productivity and producer price were used to measure its global competitiveness. The results showed that potato’s farming during the period of 2008 to 2017 was highly profitable. The R/C ratios were high and continued to increase. These results showed that potato’s farming in the study area is profitable and feasible to be done. In contrast, although potato’s farming in the study area is very profitable, it has no competitiveness in global production, due to the relatively low yield and high cost shown by producer price. The highest cost component was seed. Therefore, there should be a significant effort to find out the efficient use of seed, as well as to increase the capacity of farmers in producing good quality seeds efficiently. It is a challenge for breeding research to produce potato’s varieties with higher yields than currently exist in Indonesia. Another challenge is the research on the use of cut seed into pieces with minimum of two shoots per section.

Study on the Bathroom Space and the Application of Same-Floor Drainage in Congregate Housing

There are no regulations in Taiwan that clearly forbid the current practice of configuring a pipeline that passes through the floor of a condo to reach the ceiling of another condo downstairs with different ownership, giving rise to potential disputes during pipeline maintenance. In Japan and China, the regulations for water supply and the drainage system strictly forbid the installation of drainage pipes that pass through the floor of a condo to reach the ceiling of another condo downstairs. In this study, life cycle cost analysis was adopted to investigate the traditional piping system as well as the same-floor drainage system, including the descended floor piping system, the raised floor piping system and a pre-wall piping system. According to the results of the life cycle cost and benefit analysis for pipeline renewal and maintenance, and taking into account the overall pipeline construction cost, although adoption of the same-floor drainage system increases the total cost by about 0.3–2.7%, it shows benefits in terms of pipeline maintenance and construction time. From the perspective of property management, if the same-floor drainage system can be implemented in the initial design stage, operation and management related issues can be minimized to reduce both pipeline maintenance and management costs, achieving the best performance in sustainable construction and maintenance.

Evaluation of Urban Flood Control Project –Case Study at Bendung Watershed in Palembang City, Indonesia–

Palembang City locates on a lowland where the altitude is between 12 and 30m above sea level. There are many small rivers that flow into a main river, Musi river. Due to the topographical configuration and a seasonal heavy rainfall, those rivers had been overflowed and the city had an inundation disaster. Bendung watershed is one of the nineteen watersheds in Palembang City, and the watershed also experiences the inundation disaster frequently due to the flood caused by a poor river maintenance and drainage system.The local government of Palembang City has applied some flood control projects such as a normalization project to reduce the flood damages. These measures checked the river flow over the dike, but some areas still suffered from the flood damages due to their topography. Based on the current situation, this study evaluates the efficiency of the existing normalization project in this watershed to find a solution that reduces the flood in those areas. Furthermore, this study investigates the feasibility of infiltration-well system to overcome the flood in those areas. The feasibility study includes the cost and benefit analysis to realize the infiltration-well system for easing the inundation problem.Abstrak: Kota Palembang terletak di dataran rendah dengan ketinggian antara 12 sampai 30m di atas permukaan laut. Karena konfigurasi topografi dan curah hujan musiman yang tinggi, sebagian Kota Palembang sangat rentan terhadap genangan dan bencana banjir . DAS Bendung merupakan salah satu dari sembilan belas DAS yang ada di Kota Palembang, dan DAS tersebut juga sering mengalami bencana genangan akibat banjir yang disebabkan oleh sistem drainase yang buruk.Pemerintah Daerah Kota Palembang telah menerapkan beberapa proyek pengendalian banjir seperti proyek normalisasi sungai. Proyek ini cukup sukses mencegah air sungai bendung meluap melewati tanggul sungai tersebut, tetapi beberapa lokasi yang jauh dari sungai bendung masih mengalami genangan karena topografinya. Berdasarkan kondisi ini, studi ini mengevaluasi efisiensi proyek normalisasi di DAS ini untuk mencari solusi yang dapat mengurangi banjir di wilayah tersebut. Selanjutnya studi ini mengkaji kelayakan sistem sumur resapan untuk mengatasi banjir di wilayah tersebut. Studi kelayakan lain meliputi analisis biaya dan manfaat sistem sumur resapan untuk mengatasi masalah genangan.

Cost-Benefit Analysis of Palm Mill Oil Effluent Becomes Bio-CNG as HSD Fuel Substitution in West Kalimantan Province

Indonesia is the largest palm oil producer in the world and West Kalimantan Province is the second largest province in the palm oil industry with an area of 1.8 million hectares of plantation land. In palm oil processing at the plant, several types of waste are produced. One of them is liquid waste called Palm Mill Oil Effluent (POME). POME can be used as biogas with an Anaerobic Biological process. Biogas that has been purified and packaged in high pressure tubes is called Bio-CNG. Methane gas levels in Bio-CNG are 96-98% and CO² gas is 2-3%. The province of West Kalimantan has limited electricity infrastructure, so it relies a lot on diesel power plants (PLTD) to generate electricity. The installed capacity of PLN UIW West Kalimantan in 2019 is 211,713 KW with a PLTD capacity of 125,768 KW or 59% of the total installed capacity. The use of fossil energy sources cannot be sustained because Indonesia's oil production continues to decline and imports of fuel continue to increase. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the costs and benefits of POME into Bio-CNG as a substitute for HSD fuel in PLTD with the CBA (Cost Benefit Analysis) method. The result shows that the potential of POME energy into Bio-CNG in West Kalimantan Province meets the needs of PLTD PLN UIW West Kalimantan as a substitute for HSD fuel. In addition, based on the cost and benefit analysis that has been carried out on the Bio-CNG project obtained a greater value of benefits than the cost, so that the utilization of POME into Bio-CNG as a substitute for HSD fuel in PLTD is feasible to run.

Cost-Benefit Analysis of Palm Mill Oil Effluent Becomes Bio-CNG as HSD Fuel Substitution in West Kalimantan Province

Indonesia is the largest palm oil producer in the world and West Kalimantan Province is the second largest province in the palm oil industry with an area of 1.8 million hectares of plantation land. In palm oil processing at the plant, several types of waste are produced. One of them is liquid waste called Palm Mill Oil Effluent (POME). POME can be used as biogas with an Anaerobic Biological process. Biogas that has been purified and packaged in high pressure tubes is called Bio-CNG. Methane gas levels in Bio-CNG are 96-98% and CO² gas is 2-3%. The province of West Kalimantan has limited electricity infrastructure, so it relies a lot on diesel power plants (PLTD) to generate electricity. The installed capacity of PLN UIW West Kalimantan in 2019 is 211,713 KW with a PLTD capacity of 125,768 KW or 59% of the total installed capacity. The use of fossil energy sources cannot be sustained because Indonesia's oil production continues to decline and imports of fuel continue to increase. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the costs and benefits of POME into Bio-CNG as a substitute for HSD fuel in PLTD with the CBA (Cost Benefit Analysis) method. The result shows that the potential of POME energy into Bio-CNG in West Kalimantan Province meets the needs of PLTD PLN UIW West Kalimantan as a substitute for HSD fuel. In addition, based on the cost and benefit analysis that has been carried out on the Bio-CNG project obtained a greater value of benefits than the cost, so that the utilization of POME into Bio-CNG as a substitute for HSD fuel in PLTD is feasible to run.

Women and Matrimony: A Study of Mona Lisa Smile

This study intended to use the film Mona Lisa Smile (1993) as an example to examine how women in the traditional generation of 1950 were gender stereotyped and used to trade themselves off through marriage in consideration of a cost-and-benefit analysis. However, as the change of women’s gender consciousness from the conservative to the feminist in the USA of 1950, women began to realize their potential and subjectivity, hence questing for liberal spirit and autonomy to choose their career and husbands based on love. The researchers used the qualitative method, with both the primary and secondary data, to facilitate a latent-content analysis. After conducting a content analysis of the film and the script of Mona Lisa Smile, the researchers took notes regarding gender stereotyping and conventional gender norms in social interactions and conducted a literature review of Becker’s side bet theory and Homan’s social exchange theory to investigate how women in America in the 1950s were disciplined to meet the expectation of social norms to fit the notion of conventional matrimony, and how people, both men and women, while choosing their mates, seek the maximum interest and minimum cost. The film Mona Lisa Smile lets readers have a chance to see the transformation of a marital relationship from the old days to modern ones. With raised gender consciousness, women may now subject their choices to their own will and, hence, apply a different definition to the word “marriage.”

Development of Social Cost and Benefit Analysis (SCBA) in the Maqāṣid Shariah Framework: Narratives on the Use of Drones for Takaful Operators

Takaful operators are part of the Islamic financial institutions that are expected to achieve the commercial and social objectives by their stakeholders particularly the takaful participants (policyholders). First, this study aims to postulate a new framework to measure cost effectiveness by including the social and economic benefits of drone-assisted technology in the context of maqāṣid Shariah. Second, the study intends to investigate how the takaful industry can benefit from the drone-assisted technology, particularly in terms of cost reduction. This paper presents an early finding that forms part of a bigger research project which is focusing on the use of drone for disaster victim identification (DVI). This study employs thematic analysis of qualitative research method by engaging key informants who are Shariah expert, drone practitioner and accounting expert. In the context of emerging economies like Malaysia, the adoption of drone is sporadic when some industries such as military and agriculture are quite experienced with it; but for the takaful sector is almost none. This study provides preliminary findings that suggests there is potential of cost effectiveness for drone usage from the perspectives of SCBA in the maqāṣid Shariah framework. The main contributions from this paper are: (1) the new SCBA framework derived from the maqāṣid Shariah perspective and, (2) the application of this framework in examining the cost effectiveness on the use of drones by the takaful operators especially during disaster.