Incorporating indirect costs into energy system optimization models: Application to the Dutch national program Regional Energy Strategies

Energy system optimization models are widely used to aid long-term investment decision-making for energy systems. From a socio-technical system viewpoint, existing models focus on the cost modeling of the technical subsystem, while the indirect costs of the social subsystem are not often modeled. This paper incorporates indirect costs into such...

Heart of light an assessment of enhanced electricity access in Africa

A large part of the population in many African countries lacks access to electricity, in contrast to the ambition of reaching universal energy access as expressed in the Sustainable Development Goals. Off-grid electricity technologies have been proposed as an important means to solve this challenge. It is uncertain, however, at what rate these...

Incorporating car owner preferences for the introduction of economic incentives for speed limit enforcement

Human error including driving misbehavior contributes to over 90 percent of road vehicle accidents, and speeding is considered to be risky. Smart technologies, such as Connected Vehicle System (CVS) are among the interesting technical options to improve driving behavior, and Pay-As-You-Speed (PAYS) is an effective economic incentive to reduce...

Parents willingness to invest in their childrens oral health

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate parents’ Willingness to Invest (WTI) in their children's oral health in terms of money, visits to a dental practice, and brushing minutes. Objectives were to assess the association between parents’ WTI and a) children's dental caries experience, b) children's oral hygiene behavior (OHB), and c) maternal...

Quantifying the strength of the associations of prototype perceptions with behaviour, behavioural willingness and intentions: A meta-analysis

Prototypes (i.e., social images representing perceptions of typical persons engaging in or refraining from certain behaviour) have been shown to explain health-related behaviours. The present meta-analysis quantified the strength of the associations of prototype perceptions with health motivation and behaviour. Specifically, the analysis...

Drinker Prototype Alteration and Cue Reminders as Strategies in a Tailored Web-Based Intervention Reducing Adults’ Alcohol Consumption: Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Excessive alcohol use is a prevalent and worldwide problem. Excessive drinking causes a significant burden of disease and is associated with both morbidity and excess mortality. Prototype alteration and provision of a cue reminder could be useful strategies to enhance the effectiveness of online tailored interventions for excessive...

Mobile tethering: Overview, perspectives and challengess

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze mobile tethering from technological and social perspectives. Mobile tethering allows us to share cellular data connection with others over WiFi, Bluetooth or USB. Although the technology is ready and has promising outcomes, service providers and the users still keep their distance. Therefore, the...

Factors associated with the ability and willingness to continue working until the age of 65 in construction workers

Objectives: The working population is aging and a shortage of workers is expected in the construction industry. As a consequence, it is considered necessary that construction workers extend their working life. The purpose of this study was to explore factors associated with construction workers' ability and willingness to continue working until...

Predictors of the willingness and the ability to continue working until the age of 65 years

OBJECTIVE: To identify predictors of the willingness and ability of older workers to continue working until the age of 65. METHODS: In this longitudinal study, 4937 employees aged 45 to 63 years included in the Netherlands Working Conditions Cohort Study were studied. Logistic regression analyses were applied. RESULTS: Employees who experienced...

What triggers change and innovation?

Innovation and competitiveness amongst firms are currently seen as some of the main economic multipliers in industrialised and emerging economies. After 50 years of theoretical and empirical development in innovation studies explaining Why? and How? innovation occurs at the firm level remains as a prime challenge for academics and practitioners....