Search results

This study aims to investigate how environmentalism in photovoltaic (PV) substitution and nationalism in PV rivalry with the USA are associated with the trade-offs made by young consumers in Lanzhou when selecting Chinese brand portable solar power banks.

In this study, the choice-based conjoint survey was conducted to investigate mobile power bank consumers aged 18–28 in Lanzhou urban districts. A total of 2,004 valid questionnaires were collected and 1,813 sample was used in analyses. Logit and ordinary least squares regression models were run for empirical analyses.

The research results show that consumers tend to sacrifice certain levels of affordability for moderate technological capability, a reputable brand, better portability and advanced charging functions or sacrifice certain levels of technological capabilities for a moderate price. Consumers with stronger environmentalism in PV substitution tend to prioritize median price levels, larger battery capacity and better portability, while being less sensitive to brand and showing less preference for advanced charging functions. Consumers with stronger nationalism in PV rivalry tend to prioritize reasonably higher prices, bigger brands, enhanced portability, more solar panels and advanced charging functions.

This research sheds light on consumer trade-offs between price, brand, portability, technological capability and charging function. It also explores how environmentalism and nationalism sentiments are associated with consumer decision-making. These insights carry valuable policy implications for fostering product innovation, supporting brand-building initiatives for small and medium-size enterprises, promoting market competition and preventing the weaponization of consumer nationalism.

As an emerging solar power product, the portable solar power bank holds significant potential for widespread adoption as a means to drive energy transition. Within the current context, two notable sentiments have surfaced: environmentalism, which pertains to the adoption of PV technology as a substitute for conventional energy sources and nationalism, which manifests in the PV rivalry between China and the USA. This research aims to investigate consumer preference related to this emerging product, specifically focusing on its relationship with these two sentiments.

The purpose of this paper is to review critical success factors (CSFs) for the implementation of the Scaling Solar Programme in Zambia, the first solar public-private partnership (PPP) in the country.

The single case study is based on stakeholder interviews and the evaluation of primary and secondary sources of data. As a first step, the study illustrates the implementation of Scaling Solar in Zambia and links it to the formal PPP framework of the country. The second step compares central CSFs for PPPs identified by previous research with the current framework of the programme. Furthermore, it analyses whether these CSFs have affected the PPP project implementation in Zambia. Based on these findings the question discussed will be which CSFs can be identified that impacted the implementation of the programme in a third step.

The case study found that the design of the Scaling Solar Programme largely mitigated the main financial and political risks identified in previous studies with regard to the uptake of energy infrastructure processes in developing countries. It reveals that government stakeholder alignment and institutional capacity are the central CSFs which impact the roll-out of the programme in Zambia.

The study suggests that a pre-implementation phase of a complex PPP project should comprise government stakeholder alignment which can be based on approaches to Relationship Management Theory. By suggesting a stakeholder management approach, the study indicates how a PPP framework, with a redefined role of a horizontally integrated, independent Public-Private Partnership Unit, can support this approach.

The purpose of the presented IoT based sensor-fusion assistive technology for COVID-19 disinfection termed as “Smart epidemic tunnel” is to protect an individual using an automatic sanitizer spray system equipped with a sanitizer sensing unit based on individual using an automatic sanitizer spray system equipped with a sanitizer sensing unit based on human motion detection.

The presented research work discusses a smart epidemic tunnel that can assist an individual in immediate disinfection from COVID-19 infections. The authors have presented a sensor-fusion-based automatic sanitizer tunnel that detects a human using an ultrasonic sensor from the height of 1.5 feet and disinfects him/her using the spread of a sanitizer spray. The presented smart tunnel operates using a solar cell during the day time and switched to a solar power-bank power mode during night timings using a light-dependent register sensing unit.

The investigation results validate the performance evaluation of the presented smart epidemic tunnel mechanism. The presented smart tunnel can prevent or disinfect an outsider who is entering a particular building or a premise from COVID-19 infection possibilities. Furthermore, it has also been observed that the presented sensor-fusion-based mechanism can disinfect a person in a time of span of just 10 s. The presented smart epidemic tunnel is embedded with an intelligent sanitizer sensing unit which stores the essential information in a cloud platform such as Google Fire-base. Thus, the proposed system favours society by saving time and helps in lowering the spread of coronavirus. It also provides daily, weekly and monthly reports of the counts of individuals, along with in-out timestamps and power usage reports.

The presented system has been designed and developed after the lock-down period to disinfect an individual from the possibility of COVID-19 infections.

The presented smart epidemic tunnel reduced the possibility by disinfecting an outside individual/COVID-19 suspect from spreading the COVID-19 infections in a particular building or a premise.

The presented system is an original work done by all the authors which have been installed at the Symbiosis Institute of Technology premise and have undergone rigorous experimentation and testing by the authors and end-users.

Digital learning systems are crucial for education and data collected can analyse students learning performances to improve support. The purpose of this study is to design and build an asynchronous hardware and software system that can store data on a local device until able to share. It was developed for staff and students at university who are using the limited internet access in areas such as remote Northern Territory. This system can asynchronously link the users’ devices and the central server at the university using unstable internet.

A Learning Box has been build based on minicomputer and a web learning management system (LMS). This study presents different options to create such a system and discusses various approaches for data syncing. The structure of the final setup is a Moodle (Modular Object Oriented Developmental Learning Environment) LMS on a Raspberry Pi which provides a Wi-Fi hotspot. The authors worked with lecturers from X University who work in remote Northern Territory regions to test this and provide feedback. This study also considered suitable data collection and techniques that can be used to analyse the available data to support learning analysis by the staff. This research focuses on building an asynchronous hardware and software system that can store data on a local device until able to share. It was developed for staff and students at university who are using the limited internet access in areas such as remote Northern Territory. This system can asynchronously link the users’ devices and the central server at the university using unstable internet. Digital learning systems are crucial for education, and data collected can analyse students learning performances to improve support.

The resultant system has been tested in various scenarios to ensure it is robust when students’ submissions are collected. Furthermore, issues around student familiarity and ability to use online systems have been considered due to early feedback.

Monitoring asynchronous collaborative learning systems through analytics can assist students learning in their own time. Learning Hubs can be easily set up and maintained using micro-computers now easily available. A phone interface is sufficient for learning when video and audio submissions are supported in the LMS.

This study shows digital learning can be implemented in an offline environment by using a Raspberry Pi as LMS server. Offline collaborative learning in remote communities can be achieved by applying asynchronized data syncing techniques. Also asynchronized data syncing can be reliably achieved by using change logs and incremental syncing technique.

Focus on audio and video submission allows engagement in higher education by students with lower literacy but higher practice skills. Curriculum that clearly supports the level of learning required for a job needs to be developed, and the assumption that literacy is part of the skilled job in the workplace needs to be removed.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first remote asynchronous collaborative LMS environment that has been implemented. This provides the hardware and software for opportunities to share learning remotely. Material to support low literacy students is also included.

The environmental impact of energy supply is growing which has a significant impact on regional and global environmental issues. As a solution for this, both developed and developing nations paying attention to convert their energy productivity by using renewable energy like wind and solar energy. Sri Lankan government also aims to obtain the full amount of electricity required from local renewable sources by the year 2050 under the project called “sooryabala sangramaya” (the battle for solar energy). Currently, Sri Lanka’s power generation sector is heavily dependent on imported fuels, such as petroleum and coal, resulting in growing detrimental impacts on the country’s sustainable socioeconomic development. With the growing market of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology, Sri Lanka is turning its attention towards generating the total amount of electricity required from solar power by promoting the installation of arrays of PV panels on the rooftops of households, religious places, hotels, commercial establishments and industries. It also aims to deploy solar PV for sustainable rural development, mainly focused on uplifting people living in remote areas in the country. This chapter discusses how Sri Lanka has initiated a rooftop solar PV adoption program to lessen imported fuels’ socioeconomic and environmental impacts. Moreover, this case demonstrates that the adoption of rooftop solar PV brings many socioeconomic benefits to its consumers.

This chapter provides an overview of the current status of renewable energy projects and identifies the key success factors of well-performing public–private partnerships (PPPs). To this end, this study analyses around 1,700 renewable projects on the World Bank’s Private Participation in Renewable Energy (PPRE) database. We then follow an inductive approach for a case review and examine a 5-MW rooftop solar PPP in Gujarat, India, that had been implemented in 2012. In spite of the rapid growth of renewable PPPs, regional disparity is distinct and most PPPs have been undertaken in Latin America and the Caribbean or a few selective countries such as China or South Africa. The case study informs that the successful PPPs may be attributed to such factors as policy coordination in multi-governance systems to attract project investments, the handling of land constraints in a project planning stage, and Green Incentive given to project participants. It offers a valuable insight into the significance of well-designed PPPs for enhanced energy access in developing countries, while accelerating the global transition to renewable-based energy supply to promote sustainable development.

In the wake of the December 2015 Paris COP21 (Conference of Parties), and India's announced renewable energy commitments, Reliance Power is reviewing its renewable energy investments to arrive at a long term strategy for the role of renewable energy in its power generation portfolio and the financing of renewable projects. The case reviews the Indian government's policies to promote renewable energy; the evolution of the renewable energy sector; and Reliance Power's financing of renewable energy investments. The case requires identification of alternative long term strategies and their financing implications. This case serves as an introduction to renewable energy from the perspective of Reliance Power, a large private power generator of the country. These projects also provide a learning opportunity for Reliance Power to deal with fast evolving renewable technologies.

Social entrepreneurship, Sustainability and Human Resource.

The case study is relevant for students of entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship. This case can be used as a case in strategy (growth strategy), marketing and innovation subjects as well.

The case study revolves around Mr Harish Hande and his efforts to build a for–profit social enterprise Solar Electric Light Company (SELCO) to provide electricity to poor and under–served. Harish focused on providing cheap, clean and sustainable energy sources to rural customers at bottom of the pyramid of the society. From the conception of SELCO, Harish has been on a roller–coaster ride of success and failure. Harish has used the problems as a learning ground and improved his business model successfully. But, when Harish tried to scale his operations in 2005–2006 he failed miserably. Some errors in the decision coupled with external pressure had brought SELCO to a verge of collapse. Owing to the determination of Harish and his team, SELCO was able to revive from the difficult times to generate profits again. Harish now again wants to expand but this time he would not take any chances. He wants to analyze and discuss every possible issue, he might face during his expansion plans.

The key learning aspects of this case is to understand importance and practice of talent management. The case also highlights the best practices that SELCO uses to reach its clients and provide them complete solution.

Teaching note.