scholarly journals Consumer Ownership of Natural Monopolies and its Relevance for the Green Transition: The Case of District Heating

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren Djørup ◽  
Ole Odgaard ◽  
Karl Sperling ◽  
Henrik Lund
Keyword(s):  
Policy Development ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Price Regulation ◽  
Information Costs ◽  
Monopoly Regulation ◽  
Consumer Prices ◽  
Institutional Structures ◽  
Sustainable Energy Systems

District heating is important for the transition to sustainable energy systems. In order to implement district heating, consumers’ trust and acceptance of this technical monopoly structure is necessary. This necessity leads to the question of price regulation and ownership in the district heating sector, since these institutional structures are the measures for creating trust and acceptance. This article is based on a Coasian approach, where information costs and concrete institutional structures are at the centre of the analysis. This approach is applied for the purpose of understanding the role of consumer ownership in the district heating sector. An ownership model which has been shown to be the most efficient in Denmark. Through a detailed empirical case study, it is shown how private commercial companies have avoided the state regulatory monopoly price regulation and inflated consumer prices. The case study also describes how changes in ownership immediately led to price reductions. It is concluded that the consumer ownership model has played a vital role in getting price regulation to succeed and thereby consumers to trust and accept the district heating systems in Denmark. This result is an important contribution to heating policy development as well as monopoly regulation theory.

Theological Principles in the Qur'an: Sūrat al-Baqara as a Model

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-139
Author(s):  
Hasan Shafie
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Islamic Jurisprudence

In this study we propose the establishment of theological rules (qawāʿid iʿtiqādiyya) similar to the jurisitic rules (qawāʿid fiqhiyya) which have for centuries been very important to Islamic jurisprudence, and which play a vital role in jurisprudence and uṣūl al-fiqh. The present article takes the second sura of the Qur'an, Sūrat al-Baqara, as a case study, identifying three fundamental principles in this sura: (i) man is honoured (al-insān mukarram), (ii) the Resurrection is a reality (al-baʿth ḥaqq) (iii) belief in all prophets is obligatory (al-īmān bi-kāfat al-anbiyāʾ wājib). These three rules are emphasised and reiterated in many parts of the sura, to a greater extent than any other principle. This study calls for other scholars to consider this proposition and develop it further.

The political economy of and practical policies for inclusive growth—a case study of Scotland

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Houston ◽  
Georgiana Varna ◽  
Iain Docherty
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Regional Governance ◽  
Community Empowerment ◽  
Inclusive Growth ◽  
Key Policy ◽  
Inclusive Governance ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Civic Institutions

Abstract The concept of ‘inclusive growth’ (IG) is discussed in a political economy framework. The article reports comparative analysis of economic and planning policy documents from Scotland, England and the UK and findings from expert workshops held in Scotland, which identify four key policy areas for ‘inclusive growth’: skills, transport and housing for young people; city-regional governance; childcare; and place-making. These policies share with the ‘Foundational Economy’ an emphasis on everyday infrastructure and services, but add an emphasis on inter-generational justice and stress the importance of community empowerment as much as re-municipalisation. Factors enabling IG policy development include: the necessary political powers; a unifying political discourse and civic institutions; and inclusive governance and participatory democracy.

District heating and electricity production based on biogas produced from municipal WWTPs in Turkey: A comprehensive case study

Energy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 223 ◽  
pp. 119904
Author(s):  
Aysegul Abusoglu ◽  
Alperen Tozlu ◽  
Amjad Anvari-Moghaddam
Keyword(s):  
District Heating ◽  
Electricity Production

Planning and maintenance of urban architectural environmental color—A case study of xingning traditional block in nanning city

2021 ◽  
pp. 002072092098467
Author(s):  
Lu Zhang ◽  
Zhenghong Peng
Keyword(s):  
Vital Role ◽  
Architectural Style ◽  
Unique Color ◽  
Architectural Features ◽  
City District ◽  
Urban Planning And Development ◽  
Systematic Planning ◽  
The Times ◽  
The City

As the most historically and culturally valuable city district in Nanning, Xingning Block has gradually formed its own unique color characteristics and architectural style in the slow process of urban historical development, showing the unique local customs and architectural features. However, restricted by the specific development conditions, many undesirable aspects can be found in the overall architectural landscape color of some nodes on the block, such as lack of systematic planning, poor material matching, messy building color, as well as various challenges of contemporary social development to the architectural environmental color on the block.The architectural environmental color of urban traditional blocks is an important part of the specific history, culture and spirit of the times of a city, which plays a vital role in the development and change of the city. Therefore, how to effectively and reasonably do a good job in sustainable urban planning and development is an issue that must attract the attention of competent authorities at all levels, scientific research institutions and planning practitioners.

scholarly journals Evaluating Landscape Attractiveness with Geospatial Data, a Case Study in Flanders, Belgium

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 703
Author(s):  
Astrid Vannoppen ◽  
Jeroen Degerickx ◽  
Anne Gobin
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Geospatial Data ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Landscape Indicators ◽  
Landscape Characteristics ◽  
Landscape Quality

Attractive landscapes are diverse and resilient landscapes that provide a multitude of essential ecosystem services. The development of landscape policy to protect and improve landscape attractiveness, thereby ensuring the provision of ecosystem services, is ideally adapted to region specific landscape characteristics. In addition, trends in landscape attractiveness may be linked to certain policies, or the absence of policies over time. A spatial and temporal evaluation of landscape attractiveness is thus desirable for landscape policy development. In this paper, landscape attractiveness was spatially evaluated for Flanders (Belgium) using landscape indicators derived from geospatial data as a case study. Large local differences in landscape quality in (i) rural versus urban areas and (ii) between the seven agricultural regions in Flanders were found. This observed spatial variability in landscape attractiveness demonstrated that a localized approach, considering the geophysical characteristics of each individual region, would be required in the development of landscape policy to improve landscape quality in Flanders. Some trends in landscape attractiveness were related to agriculture in Flanders, e.g., a slight decrease in total agricultural area, decrease in dominance of grassland, maize and cereals, a decrease in crop diversity, sharp increase in the adoption of agri-environmental agreements (AEA) and a decrease in bare soil conditions in winter. The observed trends and spatial variation in landscape attractiveness can be used as a tool to support policy analysis, assess the potential effects of future policy plans, identify policy gaps and evaluate past landscape policy.

scholarly journals What matters? The role of values in transformations toward sustainability: a case study of coffee production in Burundi

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milda Nordbø Rosenberg
Keyword(s):  
Vital Role ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
New Materialism ◽  
Discursive Practices ◽  
Coffee Production ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Dynamic Relations ◽  
Participatory Observation

AbstractThis paper examines the role of values in transformations toward sustainability. Values, generally defined as what people deem to matter, are increasingly gaining interest in and outside of academia. For example, sustainability aligns with specific values such as dignity, equality, safety, and harmony for people and nature. However, current approaches to values are mind-matter dualistic, and therefore failing to honor the inherently dynamic relations of socio-ecological systems. Drawing on new materialism, I explore values as part of the relations that make this world and propose to consider values as material-discursive practices. Ethnographic fieldwork was done in 2017 with coffee producers in Burundi who aimed to transform production by caring for the coffee and people that grow it. Based on interviews and participatory observation, I present how values were integral to transforming the relational aspects of coffee production. In this study, values of togetherness, care, dignity, and faith were dominant and were found to reconfigure the socio-ecological system of coffee production. I argue that values are inseparable from, and hence co-productive of, the material world that we experience and play a vital role in sustainability transformations.

scholarly journals Tracking Progress from Policy Development to Implementation: A Case Study on Adoption of Mandatory Regulation for Nutrition Labelling in Malaysia

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 457
Author(s):  
SeeHoe Ng ◽  
Bridget Kelly ◽  
Heather Yeatman ◽  
Boyd Swinburn ◽  
Tilakavati Karupaiah
Keyword(s):  
Policy Development ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Nutrition Labelling ◽  
Policy Windows ◽  
Industry Engagement ◽  
Stakeholder Partnerships ◽  
Implementation Gaps ◽  
Health Experts

Mandatory nutrition labelling, introduced in Malaysia in 2003, received a “medium implementation” rating from public health experts when previously benchmarked against international best practices by our group. The rating prompted this qualitative case study to explore barriers and facilitators during the policy process. Methods incorporated semi-structured interviews supplemented with cited documents and historical mapping of local and international directions up to 2017. Case participants held senior positions in the Federal government (n = 6), food industry (n = 3) and civil society representations (n = 3). Historical mapping revealed that international directions stimulated policy processes in Malaysia but policy inertia caused implementation gaps. Barriers hindering policy processes included lack of resources, governance complexity, lack of monitoring, technical challenges, policy characteristics linked to costing, lack of sustained efforts in policy advocacy, implementer characteristics and/or industry resistance, including corporate political activities (e.g., lobbying, policy substitution). Facilitators to the policy processes were resource maximization, leadership, stakeholder partnerships or support, policy windows and industry engagement or support. Progressing policy implementation required stronger leadership, resources, inter-ministerial coordination, advocacy partnerships and an accountability monitoring system. This study provides insights for national and global policy entrepreneurs when formulating strategies towards fostering healthy food environments.

scholarly journals Partnerships for Policy Development: A Case Study From Uganda’s Costed Implementation Plan for Family Planning

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 284-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyson B Lipsky ◽  
James N Gribble ◽  
Linda Cahaelen ◽  
Suneeta Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Implementation Plan
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