Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS)

About: Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Life-cycle assessment & Sustainability. The organization has 167 authors who have published 318 publications receiving 6738 citations.

Predicting elections from the most important issue: A test of the take‐the‐best heuristic

Abstract: We used the take-the-best heuristic to develop a model to forecast the popular two-party vote shares in U.S. presidential elections. The model draws upon information about how voters expect the candidates to deal with the most important issue facing the country. We used cross-validation to calculate a total of 1000 out-of-sample forecasts, one for each of the last 100 days of the ten U.S. presidential elections from 1972 to 2008. Ninety-seven per cent of forecasts correctly predicted the winner of the popular vote. The model forecasts were competitive compared to forecasts from methods that incorporate substantially more information (e.g., econometric models and the Iowa Electronic Markets). The purpose of the model is to provide fast advice on which issues candidates should stress in their campaign. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Comparative life cycle assessment of astaxanthin production with Haematococcus pluvialis in different photobioreactor technologies

Abstract: Haematococcus pluvialis is one of the most abundant sources of natural astaxanthin when compared with other microorganisms, and has attracted the interest of the market thanks to its health benefits. We investigated the environmental performance of the cultivation of H. pluvialis and the astaxanthin production processes through a comprehensive Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). This study compares the potential environmental impact of three photobioreactors (PBR) available on the market: the flat panel airlift , the green wall panel , and the unilayer horizontal tubular PBR . These systems have different technical settings: the flat panel airlift has a double-sided light emitting diode (LED) illumination system and is placed inside a building; the green wall panel is located outside and equipped with one-side LED lighting; the unilayer horizontal tubular is placed outside without any artificial lighting. Two different functional units were considered: one kg of H. pluvialis (80% dw) and 1 kg of astaxanthin. Where 1 kg of astaxanthin was selected as functional unit, as the content of astaxanthin in the biomass is low, the system expansion method was applied. The LCA results, based on original data from pilot-scale production, indicate that the system design, and the energy mix used have a significant environmental impact, due to differences in algae productivities and energy demand. For indoor systems, even with light-emitting diodes (LED), the energy demand for lighting is the main contributor to climate change. This contribution decreases significantly if the share of renewable energy increases. In the case of the green wall panel another main climate change contributor is the material used for the diode production, including tin and molybdenum. Although the astaxanthin yield is higher in the flat panel airlift and green wall panel, electricity production systems still constitute an environmental burden. For this reason, the system with the lowest environmental impact is the unilayer horizontal tubular, i.e. the photobioreactor where no artificial light is used.

A life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) of oxymethylene ether as a diesel additive produced from forest biomass

Abstract: Due to efforts to reduce dependence on limited fossil energy reserves and increasing GHG emissions related to fossil fuel extraction and use in transportation vehicles, renewable fuel use is growing rapidly By adding renewable oxygenated fuel additives such as oxymethylene ether (OME) to conventional diesel, combustion GHG emissions can be reduced significantly without modifications to vehicle engines However, life cycle sustainability assessments (LCSA) of OME production and its use with diesel are scarce The objective of this paper is to develop an LCSA model of OME production from forest biomass to be used in vehicles as a diesel additive This study conducts an LCSA of OME production from two types of forest biomass as feedstock, whole tree and forest residue A framework was developed to assess environmental, economic, and social impacts of unit operations along the life cycle for a functional unit of 1 MJ of heat produced from OME Then, PROMITHEE (Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment and Evaluation) was used to rank and select the best sustainable pathway for OME production and the most sustainable OME-diesel blend based on a number of indicators Based on the sustainability assessments results, the forest residue pathway is found to be more sustainable than the whole tree pathway In addition, the environmental, economic, and social impact results for different OME-diesel blends show that a blend of 10% OME in 90% diesel is the most sustainable fuel mix Assuming that the GHG emissions from biofuel combustion are offset by CO2 sequestered during plant growth, the biomass production operation contributes the highest global GHG emissions in the OME life cycle; this is due to the high energy intensity of harvesting operations for both pathways (13 gCO2eq/MJ for whole tree and 713 gCO2eq/MJ for forest residue) OME production costs are higher for the whole tree (192 $/L) than the forest residue pathway (171 $/L) All the social indicators (ie, employment potential and employee wages and benefits) are more favorable in the forest residue pathway We conducted sensitivity analyses by varying parameters such as sustainability impact weights, threshold values, and indicator impact values We then determined the parameters’ impacts on overall ranking to verify the robustness of the model This model can be used to assess and rank other energy technologies that integrate environmental, economic, and social sustainability impacts and thereby contribute to policy-making for the energy industry

The application of ethics to engineering and the engineer's moral responsibility: perspectives for a research agenda

Abstract: There are different possibilities for defining the areas for the application of ethics to engineering. They range from descriptive analysis of engineers’ relationship to moral criteria and extend to normative issues on how engineers should design more “sustainable” technology. In this paper, a frame of reference is proposed, which makes it possible to elaborate in a transparent manner goals for analysis of the scope of ethics in engineering. Its point of departure is marked by two questions: 1) which types of situation in the practice of engineering require ethical reflection? and 2) to what extent are engineers expected to assume moral responsibility in the practice of their profession? The answers to both of these questions presuppose reflection on the societal processes of setting definitions and of making ascriptions. Understanding these processes of societal “construction” of demands for ethical reflection in engineering and of engineers’ moral responsibilities should be an important objective of the analysis of ethics in engineering.

The More the Better? A Comparison of the Information Sources Used by the Public during Two Infectious Disease Outbreaks.

Abstract: Recent infectious disease outbreaks have resulted in renewed recognition of the importance of risk communication planning and execution to public health control strategies. Key to these efforts is public access to information that is understandable, reliable and meets their needs for informed decision-making on protective health behaviours. Learning from the trends in sources used in previous outbreaks will enable improvements in information access in future outbreaks. Two separate random-digit dialled telephone surveys were conducted in Alberta, Canada, to explore information sources used by the public, together with their perceived usefulness and credibility, during the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic (n = 1209) and 2009–2010 H1N1 pandemic (n = 1206). Traditional mass media were the most used information sources in both surveys. Although use of the Internet increased from 25% during SARS to 56% during H1N1, overall use of social media was not as high as anticipated. Friends and relatives were commonly used as an information source, but were not deemed very useful or credible. Conversely, doctors and health professionals were considered credible, but not consulted as frequently. The use of five or more information sources increased by almost 60% between the SARS and H1N1 surveys. There was a shift to older, more educated and more affluent respondents between the surveys, most likely caused by a decrease in the use of landlines amongst younger Canadians. It was concluded that people are increasingly using multiple sources of health risk information, presumably in a complementary manner. Subsequently, although using online media is important, this should be used to augment rather than replace more traditional information channels. Efforts should be made to improve knowledge transfer to health care professionals and doctors and provide them with opportunities to be more accessible as information sources. Finally, the future use of telephone surveys needs to account for the changing demographics of the respondents accessed through such surveys.