Consumer Inconvenience Research Articles

Low-carbon diets across diverse dietary patterns: Addressing population heterogeneity under constrained optimization

Mathematical optimization is a useful tool for modeling diets that fulfill requirements for health and environmental sustainability, however, population-based optimization approaches fail to account for underlying dietary diversity in populations. This study proposes a methodological approach to consider diverse dietary intake patterns in mathematical optimization of nutritionally adequate low-carbon diets and investigates the differences between different population groups, along with trade-offs between greenhouse gas emission (GHGE) reduction and the inconvenience of dietary changes required to achieve optimized diets. A k-means clustering analysis was applied to individual dietary intake data from Denmark, which resulted in four clusters with different dietary patterns. This was followed by quadratic programming, wherein the total dietary changes required from the observed diet within each cluster were used as a proxy for consumer inconvenience (i.e., “inconvenience index”) and were minimized while fulfilling nutrient constraints and incrementally tightened GHGE constraints. Across clusters, a steep increase of the inconvenience index was observed at GHGE levels below approximately 3 kg CO2e/10 MJ, corresponding to GHGE reductions of 24–36 % in different clusters. In all clusters, the optimized diets with nutritional and GHGE constraints showed common traits of increased content of cereals and starches, eggs, and fish and decreased amounts of beef and lamb, cheese, animal-based fats, and alcoholic beverages, but differences across clusters were also observed, maintaining characteristics of the clusters' baselines. When additional health-based targets for food amounts were applied as constraints, the optimized diets converged towards the same type of diet. The total inconvenience of dietary changes required to fulfill constraints differed between clusters, indicating that specific sub-populations may be more effective targets for dietary transition. The method has potential for future integration of more sustainability aspects and different consumer preferences.

Implementasi Model Prototye Dalam Pembuatan Aplikasi Pemesanan dan Perawatan Taxi Berbasis Website

Travel Janyakng Group is a travel company that operates in the car rental sector, where currently the company is facing several problems such as consumer inconvenience in ordering, apart from that, there are also difficulties in managing car maintenance data at the company. Seeing these problems, with the era of information technology Currently, companies can take steps, namely creating a website-based information system with the aim of improving the taxi ordering and maintenance process, as well as improving service to consumers. There are several methods used, namely the software development method using a prototype model and the data collection method using observation, interviews and literature study, while for building website-based applications the PHP and MySQL languages ​​are used, while for the application prototype the Balsamiq Wireframes application is used. In this application there will be three activities involved, namely user, admin and taxi driver. By using this application, it is hoped that the company can improve the quality of service to customers, make the ordering and maintenance process more efficient and the company can make better strategic decisions

Store density in omnichannel implementation while considering the environmental impact of packaging materials

A staggering amount of packaging materials consumption in e-commerce has become a significant threat to the environment. The option of ordering online and fulfillment by offline stores significantly decreases the use of packaging materials. The aim of this paper is to introduce an analytical model to support the decision of an omnichannel strategy implementation while simultaneously optimizing the offline stores' density, pricing strategy, and environmental impact of packaging materials. Two omnichannel models are compared, the Buy-Online-and-Pick-Up in-Store (BOPS) mode and a combination of the BOPS mode plus a Ship-From-Store (SFS) mode (BOPS + SFS). The BOPS and BOPS + SFS modes consider an inconvenience cost for consumers who decide to pick up their product at the offline store. The consumers' inconvenience cost is a function of the distance to the offline stores, which suggests that a greater stores' density results in a lower inconvenience cost. The proposed analytical model shows that both the BOPS and the BOPS + SFS modes support a reduction of the environmental impact of packaging materials when compared with the online-only mode. Moreover, there is an optimal offline stores' density that maximizes profits while reducing packaging materials. The density of offline stores is a strategic planning decision to balance operating costs and consumer inconvenience costs. The fulfillment of online orders through physical stores is an encouraging strategy to solve the problem of over-packaging and improves the customer's experience through fast and convenient order pickup; furthermore, it is aligned with the interests of environmentally aware customers. The research findings can guide decision makers when analyzing an omnichannel implementation or searching for improvement opportunities in sustainable e-commerce.

A Novel Hierarchical Energy Management System Based on Optimization for Multi-Microgrid

The microgrid vision has come to incorporate various communication technologies, which facilitate residential users to adopt different scheduling schemes in order to manage energy usage with reduced carbon emission. Through this study, we have introduced a novel method for residential load control with energy resources integrated. To this end, an input and optimization algorithm has been employed to control and schedule residential charges for cost savings, consumer inconvenience, and peak-to-average rate savings (PAR) purposes, including real-time electricity costs, energy demand, user expectations, and renewable energy parameters. This paper also provides a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) technique used to obtain full power from a hybrid power system during the variation of environmental conditions in both photovoltaic stations and batteries. An IEEE 14 bus program was considered to determine the efficiency of the proposed algorithm. This research also aims at developing the role model to determine the behaviors, as a result of a shift in the opening Protocol to the disconnect establishing the power generation island, of distributed energy resources on 14-node IEEE networks. The micro-grid is a simple case for the study of energy flow and smart grid efficiencyvariables and has dispersed tools. The findings show that the energy management system loadcollection using the suggested approach improves performance and decreases losses in contrast to previous approaches.

Application of demand response to improve voltage regulation with high DG penetration

The ability of a consumer friendly demand response based voltage control (DR-VC) program to improve the voltage regulation in a low voltage distribution network (LVDN) with high penetration of DG is investigated. The use of active and reactive power management to regulate the nodal voltage in a distribution network with simple incremental reduction algorithm, in conjunction with DR, is proposed as a solution for over voltage and undervoltage issues in the LVDN. The algorithm micromanages the load and generation in the network enabling the operator to utilize grid resources economically and efficiently while maintaining fairness between consumers with minimum inconvenience. The algorithm is tested on a representative.74-load radial urban distribution network (Dublin, Ireland) using consumer load and DG generation profiles. The system is modelled and analysed using COM interface between OpenDSS and MATLAB. The DR is modelled through a mixed integer linear programming (MILP), implemented in CVX, such that consumer inconvenience is prioritized. The DR-VC algorithm is capable of regulating load and generation within normal operation limits during undervoltage and overvoltage scenarios.

Multi-objective optimization of household appliance scheduling problem considering consumer preference and peak load reduction

This paper addresses the load scheduling problem in residential sector while considering preferences of consumers and reduction of peak load. This study proposes an optimization model using multi-objective mixed integer linear programming considering a time-of-use (ToU) electricity tariff. Furthermore, this study considers the coordinated peak load reduction in a multiple-household environment. The proposed model aims to minimize three objectives: the electricity cost, the scheduling inconvenience and the peak load. Considering three objectives could enable consumers and utility companies to control their priority in minimizing one over the others. Three multi-objective optimization approaches are applied to solve the proposed model: normalized weighted-sum approach, preemptive optimization and compromise optimization. Numerical experiments show that the proposed solutions lead to significant savings in electricity costs, eliminate consumer inconvenience, while reducing the system peak loading. Furthermore, the results show outstanding performance when compared against three schedules from the literature and the consumer’s preferred schedule. Moreover, the coordinated schedules for the multiple-household problem lead to a significant reduction and levelling of the aggregated peak load.

Resiliency-Oriented Microgrid Optimal Scheduling

One of complementary value propositions of microgrids is to improve power system resiliency via local supply of loads and curtailment reduction. This subject is investigated in this paper by proposing a resiliency-oriented microgrid optimal scheduling model. The proposed model aims at minimizing the microgrid load curtailment by efficiently scheduling available resources when supply of power from the main grid is interrupted for an extended period of time. The problem is decomposed to normal operation and resilient operation problems. The normal operation problem solution, i.e., unit commitment states, energy storage schedules, and adjustable loads schedules, is employed in the resilient operation problem to examine microgrid capability in supplying local loads during main grid supply interruption. The schedule is revised via resiliency cuts if a zero mismatch is not obtained. Prevailing operational uncertainties in load, non-dispatchable generation, and the main grid supply interruption time and duration are considered and captured using a robust optimization method. The final solution, which is obtained in an iterative manner, is economically optimal, guarantees robustness against prevailing operational uncertainties, and supports a quick islanding with minimum consumer inconvenience and load curtailment. Numerical simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed resiliency-oriented microgrid optimal scheduling model applied to a test microgrid.

Metering and the principal–agent problem in restructured energy markets

Metrology services, commonly known as the provision of electricity and gas metering, have traditionally been the domain of monopoly distribution network operators. Logic dictates that it is more efficient for a single entity to physically attend each home and business to read electricity and gas meters. However, when we tested this thesis in Australia’s National Energy Market (NEM) by examining service quality and costs arising from the interaction between agent (monopoly distribution networks) and principal (energy retailers), we found a classic principal–agent problem. Service quality is poor, with one-in-13 meter reads being estimated or erroneous. We find NEM wide agency costs of $16 million per annum and deadweight losses of $118 million per annum being accumulated by principals, let alone what must be a much higher cost of consumer inconvenience. We establish that the regulatory framework, rather than asymmetric information, is the root cause of the problem and that a sound case exists for policymakers to review the entire metering framework to correct adverse implications for energy customers. This case is strengthened by the emergence of new metering and embedded generation technologies which are fundamentally changing the nature of consumer interaction with the energy industry.

“UPSCALE” NEWS AUDIENCES AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF LABOUR NEWS

Changing economic conditions in the second half of the 20th century led to a transformation in the discursive frame of reports about labour in US and Canadian newspapers. The article first historically documents the shift in the target market of US and Canadian newspapers from a mass audience of the working and middle class to a niche, “upscale” audience of the upper middle class. Secondly, the article critically analyses news reports of transit (e.g., rail, bus, and airline) strikes, and how the framing of those strikes dramatically switched from a pre-1970s orientation of worker struggles to a post-1970s orientation of high consumer inconvenience. The article's analysis tracks three North American newspapers: the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Toronto Star. The purpose of the article is to demonstrate how the target market of the newspaper business clearly affects the language of news.

Optimum cost sharing of sorted waste collection between households and local authority considering consumer inconvenience: rational basis of shared responsibility

To find the optimum cost-sharing for sorted collections of waste between households and the local authority, an analytical model to evaluate the economic impact of the sorted collection activity has been developed based on the grid city model. The model takes into account the costs of space and handling in households. The sum of these costs and the costs of the local authority for sorted waste collection is minimized with collection frequencies of each sorting category as decision variables. The optimum collection frequencies of each sorting category is expressed by three nondimensional numbers, K, θ and φ i , which represent, respectively, the allocation of the variable cost of sorted waste collection between households and the local authority, nonlinearity of space cost function with respect to space, and the volumetic share of the i th sorting category. The optimum collection frequency for each sorting category is proportional to the square root of the volumetric share of that category. When the space cost is linear with the space, the optimum sharing of the variable costs of sorted waste collection between households and the local authority is evenly shared. When the space cost function is a positive, increasing, and convex function with space, more than half of the variable cost of sorted waste collection is borne by the local authority to minimize the total cost.

The myth of natural monopoly

M o s t so-called utilities have been public granted governmental f ranchise monopolies because they are thought to be "natural monopolies." Put simply, a na tura l monopoly is said to occur when product ion technology, such as relat ively high fixed costs, causes long-run average total costs to decline as output expands. In such industries, the theory goes, a single producer will eventual ly be able to produce at a lower cost than any two other producers, t he reby crea t ing a "natural" monopoly. Higher prices will resul t if more than one producer supplies the market. Fu r the rmore , competi t ion is said to cause consumer inconvenience because of the construct ion of duplicat ive facilities, e.g., digging up the s t ree t s to put in dual gas or wa te r lines. Avoiding such inconveniences is ano ther reason offered for government f ranchise monopol ies for i ndus t r i e s wi th decl ining long-run average total costs. It is a myth that natural monopoly theory was developed first by economists, and then used by legislators to "justify" franchise monopolies. The truth is that the monopolies were created decades before the theory was formalized by intervention-minded economists, who then used the theory as an ex post rationale for government intervention. At the time when the first government franchise monopolies were being granted, the large majority of economists understood that large-scale, capital intensive production did not lead to monopoly, but was an absolutely desirable aspect of the competitive process.

Michigan's Experience with Mandatory Deposits on Beverage Containers

In December 1978, Michigan's bottle bill, requiring redeemable deposits on containers of packaged beer and carbonated soft drinks, was launched amidst diverse predictions of restoration and ruin. The anticipated scenario involved a sizeable reduction in beverage-related litter and an extensive changeover from oneway beverage containers to a returnables system using refillable bottles. The resulting savings in the cost of containers were expected to offset the increased money distribution costs, leaving an uncertain balance between the added consumer inconvenience costs and the reduced litter

A preliminary technology assessment of a standardized container recycling system

As America shifts to a metric system, an opportunity exists to develop a standardized container recycling system (SCR). Such a system would consist of a limited number of glass container sizes and shapes which could be recycled without the necessity to reform the container. A preliminary technology assessment has been conducted of the SCR system. The major advantages are energy savings and reductions in solved waste. Disadvantages include a displacement of labor and increased consumer inconvenience.