scholarly journals Research Insights and Knowledge Headways for Developing Remote, Off-Grid Microgrids in Developing Countries

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhi Chatterjee ◽  
Daniel Burmester ◽  
Alan Brent ◽  
Ramesh Rayudu
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Review Process ◽  
Developing Nations ◽  
Rural Electrification ◽  
Value Proposition ◽  
Remote Communities ◽  
The World ◽  
Key Aspects

Recent reports from international energy agencies indicate that more than a billion of the population in the world is deprived of basic electricity provisions, confined mainly to the remote communities of developing nations. Microgrids are promoted as a potential technology for electricity provisions to off-grid rural communities, but have failed to reach their value proposition in the context of rural electrification access. In view of the rampant rural electrification issues, the objective of this paper is to furnish an understanding of, and advance the knowledge into, methods to facilitate the design and development of microgrid systems for remote communities in developing countries. The methodology involves an integrative review process of an annotated bibliography to summarise past empirical or theoretical literature. As such, this research is based on evaluation attributes, and identifies the challenges and barriers for remote microgrids through an analysis of 19 case studies. The paper concludes by proposing key aspects that need to be considered for developing a framework to improve the sustainability of electricity provisions for off-grid rural communities in developing countries.

Population, Environment, and Women’s Issues

2002 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Family Planning ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Married Couples ◽  
Developing Nations ◽  
World Population ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
Fertility Rates ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
The World

Ultimately, the necessity to supply food, energy, habitat, infrastructure, and consumer goods for the ever-growing population is responsible for the demise of the environment. Remedial actions for pollution abatement, and further technological progress toward energy efficiency, development of new crops, and improvements in manufacturing processes may help to mitigate the severity of environmental deterioration. However, we can hardly hope for restoration of a clean environment, improvement in human health, and an end to poverty without arresting the continuous growth of the world population. According to the United Nations count, world population reached 6 billion in mid October 1999 (1). The rate of population growth and the fertility rates by continent, as well as in the United States and Canada, are presented in Table 14.1. It can be seen that the fastest population growth occurs in the poorest countries of the world. Despite the worldwide decrease in fertility rates between 1975–80 period and that of 1995–2000, the rate of population growth in most developing countries changed only slightly due to the demographic momentum, which means that because of the high fertility rates in the previous decades, the number of women of childbearing age had increased. Historically, the preference for large families in the developing nations was in part a result of either cultural or religious traditions. In some cases there were practical motivations, as children provided helping hands with farm chores and a security in old age. At present the situation is changing. A great majority of governments of the developing countries have recognized that no improvement of the living standard of their citizens will ever be possible without slowing the explosive population growth. By 1985, a total of 70 developing nations had either established national family planning programs, or provided support for such programs conducted by nongovernmental agencies; now only four of the world’s 170 countries limit access to family planning services. As result, 95% of the developing world population lives in countries supporting family planning. Consequently, the percentage of married couples using contraceptives increased from less than 10% in 1960 to 57% in 1997.

PREVENTION OF OBSTETRIC HAEMORRHAGE

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
SOHA SAID ◽  
MICHAEL GEARY
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Maternal Death ◽  
Millennium Development Goals ◽  
Postpartum Haemorrhage ◽  
Developing Nations ◽  
Obstetric Haemorrhage ◽  
The World ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Developed World

Obstetric haemorrhage has been recognised as a major cause of maternal death as long as physicians have studied and written about childbirth. Until the 20th century, however, little was possible in the way of effective treatment. Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is still a frequent cause of death in many parts of the world. Even in developing countries, it remains the 3rd biggest killer of women in childbirth, despite considerable advances in medical care in the last half-century. The modern management of PPH may include a team of anaesthetists, haematologists, vascular surgeons, gynaecologists and radiologists.1Clearly, this change represents an advance which has saved and will continue to save countless lives, not only in the developed world where such teamwork is routine, but also in developing nations that are desperately looking for ways to reduce maternal mortality as part of their efforts to comply with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by the year 2015.2

scholarly journals Spoken Dialogue System: Its Applications in the Developing Countries and a Technology for Bridging the Digital Divide and Augmenting Scarce Services in those Countries

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Oyelami Olufemi Moses
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Developing Nations ◽  
Dialogue Systems ◽  
Dialogue System ◽  
Spoken Dialogue Systems ◽  
Spoken Dialogue ◽  
Spoken Dialogue System ◽  
The World

Aims: This article reports the various application areas of the spoken dialogue system in the developing world to determine if the system could be used to bridge the digital divide prevalent in these regions of the world. The work also aims to identify in which developing nations is the system currently being put to use. Study Design:  A survey of twenty articles on the subject matter was carried out and their domains of the application were identified. The different forms of the evaluation carried out on them were also identified towards determining their outcomes positivity for bridging the digital divide. Various comments made of the different evaluations were also considered in determining the suitability of spoken dialogue systems in bridging the digital divide. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, Bowen University, Iwo, Nigeria, between February 2013 and October 2019. Methodology: The different domains of the works, the different forms of the evaluation carried out on the systems, the various comments consequent upon the testing of the systems by the participants and the developing countries where those works were carried out were identified. A position was now taken based on the results obtained.   Results: Nine of the works are in the healthcare domain, three in agriculture, one in banking, one in aviation, one in secretarial work, one in the accuracy of recognition, one in education and three having multiple domains. The various comments and results from the evaluations all point towards the system’s suitability for bridging the digital divide. The spoken dialogue system is currently being used in only six developing nations of the world. Conclusion: Consequent upon the results obtained, it is clear that spoken dialogue systems can be used to bridge the digital divide in the developing world and that other application areas not yet covered could be explored for the benefits of the citizens of these regions, especially the digitally disadvantaged ones.

IMPROVING THE PEER REVIEW PROCESS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

2021 ◽  
pp. 82-83
Author(s):  
Oluwole Gbolagunte Ajao ◽  
Adekola Alao
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
Review Process ◽  
Peer Review Process ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Developing Nations ◽  
Peer Review System ◽  
Review System ◽  
Administrative Positions ◽  
Selection Of

SUMMARY: The peer review process has been regarded as an essential part of accepting or rejecting a paper for publication since 1752 when the process was started by The Royal Society of London in the publication entitled “Philosophical Transactions”. In developing countries, one of the primary reasons for submitting pieces for publication is to support promotion in universities. In fact, the argument can be made that the only reason for publishing in developing countries is for faculty promotion. Despite the peer review process being standard practice for scientic journals, many of the research publications on COVID-19 were not subjected to the peer review system. In fact, numerous publications were pre-prints and papers shared by researchers online which were not peer reviewed, yet they were accepted and published by scientic journals in developing nations. When authors start to lose condence in the peer review process of a journal, they are not likely to submit their research work to such journals and this can lead to a diminished impact and reputation of such journals. Additionally, the selection of the assessors by the Editor-in -Chief is usually from the academic space of the editor and from the colleagues of the editor that usually share the editor's view. Contrary to what some editors in the developing countries believe, medical and academic administrative positions do not necessarily result in expertise in the peer review process. An editor can easily identify a poor assessment of an article, from the vitriolic feed-back of the author to the editor about an assessor when a paper is not recommended for publication. This paper provides evidence of and outlines the possible reasons that the peer review process is substandard in developing countries.

A Conceptual Framework to improve the design of sustainable off-grid microgrid systems for remote communities in developing countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Abhi Chatterjee
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
The Body ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Remote Communities ◽  
Grid Systems ◽  
The World ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Standard Framework

<p>From job creation to economic development, from security concerns to the full empowerment of women, energy lies at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - agreed to by the world’s leaders in September 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda. In the words of former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, “Energy is the golden thread that connects economic growth, increased social equity, and an environment that allows the world to thrive." Approximately 1 billion people in the world today have no access to electricity, and the issues are dominating in the remote communities of the developing countries.  Decentralized systems have existed over a couple of decades to provide electricity provisions in the off-grid communities devoid of the necessary energy services. The literature, however, suggests that off-grid systems have failed in delivering the tasks set forth to curb the electricity crisis. The crisis has resulted in communities primarily residing in the remote/islanded areas having lower social and economic status compared to the urban areas with centralized grid connectivity. A further review of the literature points to a lack of a detailed standard framework for cross-sectional evaluation of sustainability and reliability of the off-grid systems, which results in non-uniformity of the universal electricity access.   Given this, the main objective of the thesis is to establish a conceptual framework to improve the design of remote off-grid microgrid systems through a Techno-Economic Assessment (TEA) approach, by implementing a mixed-research approach. The research strategy adopted to advance knowledge and for achieving the objective of the research follows the Technology and Policy Assessment (TPA) approach, developed by the UK Energy Research Centre (UKREC). The research evaluation design involves formative evaluations where questionnaires designed for investigating failure cases of remote microgrids are introduced, and a conceptual framework is developed, based on the lessons learned.   The conceptual framework comprising of modules incorporates essential features of improving the TEA of the remote microgrids and emphasizes on features like stakeholder assessments, sustainability aspects, energy management, and improving energy efficiency as well as overall system autonomy of the rural off-grid systems. Furthermore, following the TPA approach, the conceptual framework has been verified by involving a focus group. IEEE-Sustainable Energy Systems for Developing Communities (SESDC) was involved in the research verification process. The proposed conceptual framework was validated by incorporating a quantitative analysis to situate the research findings.  The research findings in the thesis contribute extensively to the body of knowledge by establishing a standard framework indicating the importance of energy-efficient approaches towards scaling up sustainable remote microgrids for solving energy crisis issues. As it were, the practical contribution of the thesis is critical in identifying and characterizing the dimensions of the Sustainable Developing Goal 7 for “affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all” and its impact on the other SDGs, thereby enabling progress towards the target 2030 of the United Nations.</p>

A Conceptual Framework to improve the design of sustainable off-grid microgrid systems for remote communities in developing countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Abhi Chatterjee
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
The Body ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Remote Communities ◽  
Grid Systems ◽  
The World ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Standard Framework

<p>From job creation to economic development, from security concerns to the full empowerment of women, energy lies at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - agreed to by the world’s leaders in September 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda. In the words of former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, “Energy is the golden thread that connects economic growth, increased social equity, and an environment that allows the world to thrive." Approximately 1 billion people in the world today have no access to electricity, and the issues are dominating in the remote communities of the developing countries.  Decentralized systems have existed over a couple of decades to provide electricity provisions in the off-grid communities devoid of the necessary energy services. The literature, however, suggests that off-grid systems have failed in delivering the tasks set forth to curb the electricity crisis. The crisis has resulted in communities primarily residing in the remote/islanded areas having lower social and economic status compared to the urban areas with centralized grid connectivity. A further review of the literature points to a lack of a detailed standard framework for cross-sectional evaluation of sustainability and reliability of the off-grid systems, which results in non-uniformity of the universal electricity access.   Given this, the main objective of the thesis is to establish a conceptual framework to improve the design of remote off-grid microgrid systems through a Techno-Economic Assessment (TEA) approach, by implementing a mixed-research approach. The research strategy adopted to advance knowledge and for achieving the objective of the research follows the Technology and Policy Assessment (TPA) approach, developed by the UK Energy Research Centre (UKREC). The research evaluation design involves formative evaluations where questionnaires designed for investigating failure cases of remote microgrids are introduced, and a conceptual framework is developed, based on the lessons learned.   The conceptual framework comprising of modules incorporates essential features of improving the TEA of the remote microgrids and emphasizes on features like stakeholder assessments, sustainability aspects, energy management, and improving energy efficiency as well as overall system autonomy of the rural off-grid systems. Furthermore, following the TPA approach, the conceptual framework has been verified by involving a focus group. IEEE-Sustainable Energy Systems for Developing Communities (SESDC) was involved in the research verification process. The proposed conceptual framework was validated by incorporating a quantitative analysis to situate the research findings.  The research findings in the thesis contribute extensively to the body of knowledge by establishing a standard framework indicating the importance of energy-efficient approaches towards scaling up sustainable remote microgrids for solving energy crisis issues. As it were, the practical contribution of the thesis is critical in identifying and characterizing the dimensions of the Sustainable Developing Goal 7 for “affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all” and its impact on the other SDGs, thereby enabling progress towards the target 2030 of the United Nations.</p>

scholarly journals Strategies for Establishing Astronomy in Developing Countries

1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 888-889
Author(s):  
Mazlan Othman
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Developing Nations ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
The World ◽  
The Status ◽  
Political Economic

Developing countries have their own particular political, economic and cultural circumstances. There are, therefore, no unique solutions. However there are some factors which are common to all or most of them, namely the lack of human and financial resources and in most cases an absence of a political commitment to the advancement of science. Such situations are in a sense not peculiar to developing nations because in some developed countries astronomy has a ‘developing’ status. Even in countries where astronomy is well established, the commitment and allocations required to maintain the status quo need to be continuously addressed. Hence strategies for fighting this “constant battle” are relevant to all astronomers of the world, while being especially vital to those in the developing world.

scholarly journals "Youth" is an important part of rural revitalization

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 56-60
Author(s):  
Yan Wu
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Development ◽  
East Asia ◽  
The West ◽  
Regional Characteristics ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Rural Revitalization ◽  
The World

The characteristics of rural decline, in the rapid economic development of the present, is also spreading around the world. Overall, rural decline presents regional characteristics and national differences. After the fast industrialization and urbanization in the West, the scale and specialization of agriculture led to the expansion of farms, the decrease of population and the continuous decline of rural communities. In East Asia, aging and hollowing are increasingly common among precipitous industrialization and urbanization and government-driven rural development. In some developing countries, small and medium-sized farmers are forced to move into cities after bankruptcy, further aggravating the lagging status of rural development.

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