I explore the environmental and economic value to be gained by using a greater proportion of renewable distributed generation, mainly solar, relative to centralized generation in the United States in this thesis. I explain the benefits of distributed solar, namely the reductions in environmental damage and the economic benefits for system owners. These benefits will are compared to the obstacles to renewable distributed generation adoption: the costs associated with installation, the political resistance from utilities and power producers, and the aspects of current energy infrastructure that limit wider adoption of distributed solar. I make recommendations for changes to utility strategy, as well as provide policy prescriptions at the local, state, and national level to incentivize distributed solar. These findings and suggested actions can help inform policymakers and utilities as they shape future U.S. energy infrastructure.

L'objectif de cette thèse est d'analyser les pratiques des consultants dans la gestion des risques psychosociaux au travail (RPS). Phénomène au cœur de l'actualité mais mal défini, les RPS peuvent faire l'objet d'une approche restrictive, tendant à individualiser le risque, à limiter la responsabilité de l'employeur et à soigner le travailleur ; ou d'une approche élargie, appréhendant la dimension organisationnelle du risque, étendant la responsabilité de l'employeur et soignant le travail et son organisation. Il s'agit d'un champ stratégique autour de l'imputation de la responsabilité du risque, opposant principalement employeurs et représentants du personnel.Sur la base d'un échantillon de 37 consultants et d'une démarche exploratoire qualitative, ancrée dans le paradigme interprétativiste pragmatique, nous avons souligné l'hétérogénéité de leurs pratiques, pouvant se traduire dans le choix du commanditaire, le profil disciplinaire du consultant, le contexte d'intervention et les modalités de questionnement, d'analyse et de « mise en marche » de la démarche. Il existe ainsi trois « pratiques-type » : les pratiques co-constructives, adaptatives et militantes. Inscrits dans une logique de marché, les consultants sont des acteurs hybrides, oscillant entre co-construction et adaptation, voire militantisme, en fonction des marges de manœuvre et des besoins du commanditaire. Un second terrain d'enquête, un établissement de soins privé ayant eu recours à l'intervention d'un consultant, a permis de mettre en évidence l'une des limites des pratiques des consultants : la « réappropriation stratégique » des préconisations et du contenu du rapport de mission par l'employeur. / The aim of this thesis is to analyze consultants' practices in psychosocial risks (PSR) management. Phenomenon at the heart of news but without consensual definition, PSR have both approaches: a restrictive one individualizes the risk, limits employer's responsibility and promotes individual care; a broader one considers the organizational dimension of the risk, extends employer's responsibility and promotes work and organization care. This is a strategic field around risk responsibility allocation, putting employers against union representatives.We conducted an exploratory qualitative study at the pragmatic interpretativist paradigm, using a consultant sample (n=37). We showed the consultants' practices heterogeneity around customer/sponsor, specialization, context and PSR management characteristics. Three “practices-type” exist: co-constructives, adaptatives and activists practices. Consultants are hybrids actors from the perspective of competitive market logic: their practices fluctuate between co-constructives and adaptatives practices, even activists ones. We also performed a second field work highlighted one limit of consultants' practices: the “strategic re-appropriation”of recommandations by employer.

No description available.

L'objectif de cette thèse est d'analyser les pratiques des consultants dans la gestion des risques psychosociaux au travail (RPS). Phénomène au cœur de l'actualité mais mal défini, les RPS peuvent faire l'objet d'une approche restrictive, tendant à individualiser le risque, à limiter la responsabilité de l'employeur et à soigner le travailleur ; ou d'une approche élargie, appréhendant la dimension organisationnelle du risque, étendant la responsabilité de l'employeur et soignant le travail et son organisation. Il s'agit d'un champ stratégique autour de l'imputation de la responsabilité du risque, opposant principalement employeurs et représentants du personnel. Sur la base d'un échantillon de 37 consultants et d'une démarche exploratoire qualitative, ancrée dans le paradigme interprétativiste pragmatique, nous avons souligné l'hétérogénéité de leurs pratiques, pouvant se traduire dans le choix du commanditaire, le profil disciplinaire du consultant, le contexte d'intervention et les modalités de questionnement, d'analyse et de " mise en marche " de la démarche. Il existe ainsi trois " pratiques-type " : les pratiques co-constructives, adaptatives et militantes. Inscrits dans une logique de marché, les consultants sont des acteurs hybrides, oscillant entre co-construction et adaptation, voire militantisme, en fonction des marges de manœuvre et des besoins du commanditaire. Un second terrain d'enquête, un établissement de soins privé ayant eu recours à l'intervention d'un consultant, a permis de mettre en évidence l'une des limites des pratiques des consultants : la " réappropriation stratégique " des préconisations et du contenu du rapport de mission par l'employeur.

Les anticorps catalytiques sont étudiés pour comprendre leur rôle en conditions physiopathologiques. Ils semblent aussi représenter des outils révolutionnaires pour des études à l'interface entre la chimie, la biochimie, la biologie et immunologie. Par conséquent, la connaissance des relations de structure- fonction représente un grand intérêt. Nous avons exploré deux systèmes d'expression pour la production d'un anticorps catalytique modèle présentant une activité bêta-lactamase. Le fragment scFv recombinant a été produit dans le système d'expression procaryote. Les scFv sont souvent décrits comme des protéines difficiles à produire. Une méthode efficace a été développée pour produire de grandes quantités de scFv solubles et correctement repliés. L'anticorps catalytique entier a aussi été produit en exploitant le système d'expression eucaryote. Des cellules de mammifères ont été utilisées car elles peuvent conserver le repliement original des protéines, leur assemblage et les modifications post-traductionnelles. La structure secondaire du scFv catalytique a été analysée par dichroïsme circulaire pour s'assurer que la renaturation du scFv est en accord avec le repliement des scFv natifs. La fonctionnalité du scFv catalytique et de l'anticorps catalytique entier a été validée par deux approches : (1) le développement d'un test immuno-enzymatique (ELISA) et la résonance plasmonique de surface (RPS) et (2) le développement d'un test catalytique sensible utilisant un substrat fluorogénique. Ce travail amène à considérer de potentielles applications biotechnologiques et thérapeutiques des anticorps catalytiques.

Master of Arts / Department of Economics / Tracy M. Turner / Economic growth requires growth of energy consumption. In the second half of the twentieth century energy consumption began to outgrow its production and the United States. Consequently, we observe growing dependence of the U.S. economy on energy imports which is causing political and economic insecurity; increasing pollution and depletion of natural resources. One way to alleviate these problems is to encourage renewable electricity production. Because the electric power industry is the largest consumer of energy sources, including renewable energy, it has become one of the most frequent subjects of the regulatory policies and financial incentives aiming to stimulate renewable electricity production. One of the most promoted renewable energy policies in this industry is a renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which requires electric utilities and other retail electric providers to supply a specified amount of electricity sales from renewable energy sources. Currently 29 states and District of Columbia have the RPSs, while 7 states have goals; but only about two third of those with the RPS have certain targets to meet. To my best knowledge, there are no studies analyzing compliance with the RPSs targets or the role of penalty mechanism in the RPS design on meeting its goal. In my Master Thesis I estimate which states are in compliance with their individual RPSs goals and analyze which factors affect the probability of compliance, with the focus on the role of penalty size, and controlling for complimentary policies promoting renewable energy production. I use a fixed effects linear probability model and state level data. Results indicate that including a penalty in the RPS design significantly increases the probability that states will comply with their goals.

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) require electricity providers to supply a minimum fixed percentage or total quantity of customer load from designated renewable energy resources by a given date. These policies have become increasingly prevalent in the past decade as state governments seek to increase the use of renewable energy sources. As a policy tool, RPS provide a cost-effective, market-based approach for meeting targets which promote greater use of renewable energy in both regulated and deregulated markets. To facilitate the obtainment of Renewable Portfolio Standards, most states allow the trading of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). RECs represent the environmental attributes of renewable energy generation which are decoupled from the generated power. These credits are created along with the generation of renewable energy, decoupled from energy generation, tracked by regional systems, and eventually purchased by retail suppliers to fulfill their RPS obligations. As of April 2010, RPS have been passed into law in 29 states and Washington D.C. and an additional 6 states have non-mandatory renewable portfolio goals however the U.S. government has yet to enact a Federal Renewable Portfolio Standard. Although the final requirements and details of a Federal RPS are undecided, federal standards would be unlikely to preempt or override state programs which are already in place. A key concern regarding the passage of a federal RPS is that a national REC market would result in a shift of wealth from states with few renewable energy resources and limited resource potential to regions richer in renewable resources. Because of the implications that a federal renewable portfolio standard would have on the economy, the environment, and the equitable treatment of all the states, many issues and concerns must be resolved before federal standards will be passed into law. A theoretical case study for an electric utility generation planning decision that includes obligations to meet Renewable Portfolio Standard is presented here. A framework is provided that allows decision makers and strategic planning teams to: assess their business situation, identify objectives of generation planning, determine the relative weights of the objectives, recognize tradeoffs, and create an efficient portfolio using Portfolio Theory. The case study follows the business situation for Austin Energy as it seeks to meet Texas State RPS and mandates set by Austin City Council and prepares for potential National RPS legislation. / text

The study compares FIT (Feed-in tariff) and RPS (Renewable Portfolio Standard) as the two most commonly used support schemes for renewable energy sources (RES) in the EU. It examines a relationship of an Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and by a practical experiment for public lighting in Prague the study proposes an ecological functioning of electricity grids in the EU with CO2 emissions reduction effect. The main contribution lies in the recency and originality of the econometric analysis and practical experiment. FIT and RPS analysis demonstrates that both schemes affect demand for electricity and increase its price. The econometric model was tested for 28 EU countries for 1990-2013. The results say that the EU is currently located on the downslope of the inverted U-shaped EKC with a turning point, after which the dependence begins to grow. Nevertheless, for the most of observations the turning point is too far to be a source of concern. Practical experiment has shown that installation of energy saving devices for electricity grids in the EU can bring satisfactory results in reducing CO2 emissions independently of state aid. More efficient use of existing energy sources, however, should rather serve as a complement to conventional support, phasing out with the development of RES technologies....

Les anticorps catalytiques sont étudiés pour comprendre leur rôle en conditions physiopathologiques. Ils semblent aussi représenter des outils révolutionnaires pour des études à l'interface entre la chimie, la biochimie, la biologie et immunologie. Par conséquent, la connaissance des relations de structure- fonction représente un grand intérêt. Nous avons exploré deux systèmes d'expression pour la production d'un anticorps catalytique modèle présentant une activité bêta-lactamase. Le fragment scFv recombinant a été produit dans le système d'expression procaryote. Les scFv sont souvent décrits comme des protéines difficiles à produire. Une méthode efficace a été développée pour produire de grandes quantités de scFv solubles et correctement repliés. L'anticorps catalytique entier a aussi été produit en exploitant le système d'expression eucaryote. Des cellules de mammifères ont été utilisées car elles peuvent conserver le repliement original des protéines, leur assemblage et les modifications post-traductionnelles. La structure secondaire du scFv catalytique a été analysée par dichroïsme circulaire pour s’assurer que la renaturation du scFv est en accord avec le repliement des scFv natifs. La fonctionnalité du scFv catalytique et de l'anticorps catalytique entier a été validée par deux approches : (1) le développement d’un test immuno-enzymatique (ELISA) et la résonance plasmonique de surface (RPS) et (2) le développement d'un test catalytique sensible utilisant un substrat fluorogénique. Ce travail amène à considérer de potentielles applications biotechnologiques et thérapeutiques des anticorps catalytiques. / Catalytic antibodies are investigated in order to understand their role under physio-pathological situations. But they also appear to be revolutionary tools to perform studies at the interface between chemistry, biochemistry, biology and immunology. Consequently, the knowledge of structure–function relationships is of great interest. We explored two expression systems for the production of a model catalytic antibody displaying a beta-lactamase activity. The recombinant scFv fragment was produced in the prokaryotic expression system. scFv fragments are often described as proteins being laborious to produce. An efficient method was developed to produce large quantities of refolded soluble catalytic scFv. Whole catalytic antibody was also produced by exploiting eukaryotic expression system. Mammalian cells were used because they are able to retain the original protein folding, assembly and post-translational modifications. The secondary structure of the catalytic scFv has been analyzed by circular dichroism to ensure that the refolded scFv is consistent with a native scFv fold. The functionality of the catalytic scFv and whole catalytic antibody has been validated by two approaches: (1) development of enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) approaches for testing that the binding characteristics of an inhibitory peptide have been retained, and (2) proof of the subtle catalytic properties conservation through the development of a new sensitive catalytic assay using a fluorogenic substrate. This will lead to consider potential biotechnological and therapeutic applications of catalytic antibodies.

Issues concerning gender equality are today an integral part of Swedish society. Because of this, even traditionally male-dominated actors are forced to incorporate a focus on gender equality. What kind of tensions may this provoke, and how are these tensions visible in the gender equality policy making of traditionally male-dominated organizations? Against this background, the aim of this dissertation is to analyse how issues of gender equality are “problematized” by three organizations that originate from masculine environments; Män för jämställdhet, IF Metall  and Rikpolisstyrelsen. I wish to analyse the meaning that these actors incorporate into the issue of gender equality and from which discourses these meanings are derived. This focus entails a specific theoretical standpoint. Thus, another aim of the study is to discuss the advantages of a post-structuralist approach to the study of public policy. More specifically, I want to develop the use of a range of discourse analytical modes of analysis and to evaluate their utility in capturing the dynamic of problematization processes. The empirical focus of the dissertation is on the years between 2000 and 2008. The research material consists of both formal and informal documents. The analysis shows that questions of gender equality can be problematized in a number of ways. Issues concerning gender equality can be tied to issues of men’s hegemony, men’s gender-specific problems, class-based problems and organizational problems. This wide array of problematizations also illustrates ways in which there still seems to be an underlying conflict over the meanings tied to the concept, even though nobody openly challenges the importance of gender equality reform efforts. I call this situation a “conflictual consensus” and point to the importance of deconstructing this supposed unity and illuminating the kind of power relations that lay hidden beneath it.