title: Willingness-to-pay for renewable energy: Primary and discretionary choice of British households' for micro-generation technologies

authors: Scarpa, Riccardo

subjects: renewable energy

abstract: This paper documents the policy context of renewable energy production in the European Union. The research adopts a choice experiment approach to investigate households' WTP for these renewable energy technologies in the UK. The micro-generation technologies comprise solar photovoltaic, micro-wind, solar thermal, heat pumps, and biomass boilers and pellet stoves. The study compares the results from conditional and mixed logit models, which estimate the distribution of utility coefficients and then derives WTP values as a ratio of the attribute coefficient to the price coefficient, with a model in which the WTP distribution is estimated directly from utility in the money space. The results suggest that whilst renewable energy adoption is significantly valued by households, this value is not sufficiently large, for the vast majority of households, to cover the higher capital costs of micro-generation energy technologies.

text: Willingness-to-pay for renewable energy: Primary and discretionary choice of British households' for micro-generation technologies This paper documents the policy context of renewable energy production in the European Union. The research adopts a choice experiment approach to investigate households' WTP for these renewable energy technologies in the UK. The micro-generation technologies comprise solar photovoltaic, micro-wind, solar thermal, heat pumps, and biomass boilers and pellet stoves. The study compares the results from conditional and mixed logit models, which estimate the distribution of utility coefficients and then derives WTP values as a ratio of the attribute coefficient to the price coefficient, with a model in which the WTP distribution is estimated directly from utility in the money space. The results suggest that whilst renewable energy adoption is significantly valued by households, this value is not sufficiently large, for the vast majority of households, to cover the higher capital costs of micro-generation energy technologies.

year: 2010

title: Caffeine-carbohydrate mouth-rinsing counter-acts an observed negative effect of mouth-rinsing procedure during sprint-endurance training performance in fasted athletes: A pilot study

authors: Washif, Jad Adrian

subjects: Athletics

abstract: Carbohydrate mouth-rinsing has been reported to benefit endurance performance in athletes intermittently fasting; however, in the fasted state, the effects of combined caffeine and carbohydrate (CAF-CHO) mouth-rinsing on sprint-endurance performance are unknown. We determined the effects of CAF-CHO mouth-rinsing on kinetics, kinematics, and perceptual measures during a sprint-endurance performance commonly performed by track and field athletes in Muslim athletes fasting during Ramadan. In a randomised and counterbalanced single-blind study, ten national-level male sprinters and sprint/middle-distance runners (21.0 ± 2.0 y) participated in this study. They performed three sprint-endurance sessions on a non-motorised treadmill within the second and third weeks of Ramadan. Each session consisted of 3x15-s all-out sprints, with 2-min active recovery between each sprint. In each session, athletes either did not mouth rinse (NMR), or rinsed with 25 mL of CAF-CHO (4 g carbohydrate, 5 mg caffeine), or a placebo solution (PLA) prior to warm-up (30-min pre-trial), 1-min pre-trial, and mid-way through every recovery period. CAF-CHO maximised total sprint distance relative to NMR (210.3 ± 7.8 vs. 208.7 ± 9.1 m, d = 0.20), whilst counteracted the attenuation following PLA (204.6 ± 8.7 m; d = 0.66). Relative to NMR, CAF-CHO increased perceived activation prior to each sprint (p < 0.05, d = 1.23–2.05). Post-trial perceived exertion was lower for CAF-CHO (d = 0.12) and PLA (d = 0.58) compared to NMR (p > 0.05). Athletes indicated ‘no’ (50%) or ‘unsure’ (50%) whether mouth-rinsing would improve performance. The results suggest that CAF-CHO has a potential to optimise, and counter-act the negative effect of mouth-rinsing in Ramadan-fasted Muslims having a negative attitude towards this procedure.

text: Caffeine-carbohydrate mouth-rinsing counter-acts an observed negative effect of mouth-rinsing procedure during sprint-endurance training performance in fasted athletes: A pilot study Carbohydrate mouth-rinsing has been reported to benefit endurance performance in athletes intermittently fasting; however, in the fasted state, the effects of combined caffeine and carbohydrate (CAF-CHO) mouth-rinsing on sprint-endurance performance are unknown. We determined the effects of CAF-CHO mouth-rinsing on kinetics, kinematics, and perceptual measures during a sprint-endurance performance commonly performed by track and field athletes in Muslim athletes fasting during Ramadan. In a randomised and counterbalanced single-blind study, ten national-level male sprinters and sprint/middle-distance runners (21.0 ± 2.0 y) participated in this study. They performed three sprint-endurance sessions on a non-motorised treadmill within the second and third weeks of Ramadan. Each session consisted of 3x15-s all-out sprints, with 2-min active recovery between each sprint. In each session, athletes either did not mouth rinse (NMR), or rinsed with 25 mL of CAF-CHO (4 g carbohydrate, 5 mg caffeine), or a placebo solution (PLA) prior to warm-up (30-min pre-trial), 1-min pre-trial, and mid-way through every recovery period. CAF-CHO maximised total sprint distance relative to NMR (210.3 ± 7.8 vs. 208.7 ± 9.1 m, d = 0.20), whilst counteracted the attenuation following PLA (204.6 ± 8.7 m; d = 0.66). Relative to NMR, CAF-CHO increased perceived activation prior to each sprint (p < 0.05, d = 1.23–2.05). Post-trial perceived exertion was lower for CAF-CHO (d = 0.12) and PLA (d = 0.58) compared to NMR (p > 0.05). Athletes indicated ‘no’ (50%) or ‘unsure’ (50%) whether mouth-rinsing would improve performance. The results suggest that CAF-CHO has a potential to optimise, and counter-act the negative effect of mouth-rinsing in Ramadan-fasted Muslims having a negative attitude towards this procedure.

year: 2022-01-01

title: Biological flora of New Zealand 11. Eleochairs spacelata, kuta, paopao, bamboo spike sedge.

authors: Kapa, Mieke M

subjects: cultural

abstract: Information relevant to the ecology and morphology of Eleocharis sphacelata (Cyperaceae) available through published and unpublished sources is assembled and reviewed. Eleocharis sphacelata is a freshwater wetland sedge found growing at the edge of lake margins, swamps, lagoons, and bogs within New Zealand, Australia, and Papua New Guinea. It is a perennial rhizomatous herb, with tall green cylindrical culms rising from submerged rhizomes generally buried under water in aerobic soils. A tendency to dominate the deepwater margins makes E. sphacelata crucial to the ecology of this habitat as a source of food, shelter, and protection for invertebrates, birds, and fish. Eleocharis sphacelata is commonly named giant spike-rush, kuta, or paopao. Māori have traditionally used the plant for clothing and warm coverings within whare (houses). Recent interest comes from its use in restoration plantings and constructed wetlands.

text: Biological flora of New Zealand 11. Eleochairs spacelata, kuta, paopao, bamboo spike sedge. Information relevant to the ecology and morphology of Eleocharis sphacelata (Cyperaceae) available through published and unpublished sources is assembled and reviewed. Eleocharis sphacelata is a freshwater wetland sedge found growing at the edge of lake margins, swamps, lagoons, and bogs within New Zealand, Australia, and Papua New Guinea. It is a perennial rhizomatous herb, with tall green cylindrical culms rising from submerged rhizomes generally buried under water in aerobic soils. A tendency to dominate the deepwater margins makes E. sphacelata crucial to the ecology of this habitat as a source of food, shelter, and protection for invertebrates, birds, and fish. Eleocharis sphacelata is commonly named giant spike-rush, kuta, or paopao. Māori have traditionally used the plant for clothing and warm coverings within whare (houses). Recent interest comes from its use in restoration plantings and constructed wetlands.

year: 2009