A user centric approach to the development and testing of a home energy management system

The development and small scale field trial in Flanders of a home energy management system is presented. During the development, a user-centric approach was used to create interaction between developers and possible end-users in a living lab setting. This allowed actively addressing people’s needs and wants in the development process and testing the system in their homes. The preliminary results of the field trial indicate a high usage during the starting week, which gradually slows down over the weeks that follow. Usage of the different elements in the system varies over the weeks but a consistent “top 3” of elements remains. Dynamic pricing is used by a small but consistent part of the participants. They actively adapt their appliance usage to these prices

The euro, five years later : what has happened to prices ?

While both the creation of the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999 and the introduction of the euro banknotes and coins in January 2002 actually went remarkably smooth, the introduction of the euro gave rise to a very lively debate regarding its impact on inflation. Indeed, the vast majority of consumers, both in the euro area as a whole and in Belgium, were, and still are, under the impression that the new currency has led to pronounced price increases. This article analyses both the movement of actual prices over the five years following the changeover to the euro and the trend in inflation perceptions as indicated by the European Commission’s consumer survey. It also considers a number of factors which may have contributed to the breaking of the link between actual and perceived inflation. There is clear evidence that the euro cash changeover led to a severing of the link between actual and perceived inflation. However, the direct impact on inflation was small in 2002. But, as it was concentrated in certain less competitive sectors where isolated goods and services are purchased, it was fairly visible. Since then, inflation has remained relatively low, but there has been greater dispersion in the movement of relative prices. At the microeconomic level, the process of price adjustment, which seems relatively slow, gave rise to a new attractive price structure and an increase in the number of prices used in the economy. Such structural changes probably imply that consumers experience difficulties in getting used to the euro. At the same time, these observations also illustrate indirectly that the process of adjusting prices to the euro is correctly reflected in the data used to measure inflation, so that the HICP is an accurate measure of inflation, even if consumers may see things differently. While the changeover’s role in the development of a persistent perception gap cannot be denied, it is very difficult to identify possible explanatory factors more precisely. The statement that consumers tend to form their perceptions on the basis of the movement in prices of frequently purchased items is not sufficient to explain a persistent perception gap. The socioeconomic characteristics of consumers did not play a dominant role either, while the impact of more psychological factors is difficult to assess. The specific characteristics of the HICP inflation measurement do not appear to have played a significant role in the emergence of the perception gap in the euro area. A similar gap arises when the national CPIs are used as benchmarks instead of the HICP ; the non-inclusion of the costs of owner occupied housing was not a key factor either. The fact that the accuracy and credibility of the HICP per se are not at stake is reassuring from the point of view of monetary policy.euro cash changeover, inflation, perceived inflation

Introducing smart grids in residential contexts : consumers' perception of smart household appliances

A more energy efficient supply and demand in household settings is high on the agenda. Smart grids, smart meters, demand side management and smart appliances play a crucial role in this context. Many stakeholders are involved, but the exact role of the customer is often neglected. More specifically, his opinion, attitude, drivers or barriers towards new ways of energy consumption and energy management. This paper employs a user-centric perspective. It aims at mapping consumers perception of the possibilities of demand side management through smart household appliances. A quantitative survey was conducted among 500 households spread over Flanders, Belgium. In this paper, the results of this survey with regard to the respondents perception of smart appliances are presented. The Technology Acceptance Model was used as the theoretical framework to measure these perceptions

Assessing the Gap between Observed and Perceived Inflation in the Euro Area : Is the Credibility of the HICP at Stake ?

We find strong econometric support for a break in the relationship between perceived and HICP inflation in the euro area, triggered by the introduction of euro notes and coins in January 2002. The break is fairly homogeneous across individuals with different socio-economic characteristics. We found no support for the thesis according to which perceptions are systematically formed by frequently purchased products. A similar break is found when national CPIs instead of HICPs are used as benchmarks. The role of the non-inclusion of owner-occupied housing in the HICP was negligible. Therefore the credibility of the HICP per se is not at stake.inflation, perceived inflation, panel unit roots tests

Measuring for Knowledge: A Data-Driven Research Approach for eGovernment

As ICT provide a lot of possibilities, high expectancies exist towards the electronic public service provision. All governments are increasingly establishing their e-strategies. However, eGovernment still faces many challenges as it continues to develop. The current status of electronic services delivery opens up a lot of questions, both for practitioners and researchers. Therefore, further progress of eGovernment needs a profound knowledge base. eGovernment policy has focused several years on bringing online public services and on benchmarking their availability and sophistication. Simultaneously, eGovernment measurement and monitoring activities are often based on the so-called supply-side benchmarking. Although this is important knowledge, it is under criticism because it lacks a user-centric viewpoint of eGovernment development. This article presents and discusses a bottom-up and data-driven approach about how research can help to manage (user-centric) eGovernment strategies. Based on statistical testing (techniques of structural equation modeling, SEM) of large-scale sample data from the Belgian government, the authors have investigated which relations do exist between contextual variables and the availability and/or satisfaction of electronic public services. By doing this, this manuscript presents an illustration of a data-driven approach in eGovernment monitoring and it explains how this can support and enrich the management and evaluation of eGovernment policy

Social security finances

One of the government’s main functions is to protect the population against a number of social risks. Hence, replacement incomes are provided in the event of unemployment, old age or occupational disability. Income supplements are granted to compensate in part for the financial burden associated with illness or with bringing up children. These social benefits are an important facet of the redistribution of income effected by the government. In Belgium, social protection is provided mainly by the social security sub-sector, which is the largest component of the general government sector. The level of government expenditure on social protection in Belgium is, expressed as a percentage of GDP, above the European Union average. This is due mainly to relatively higher expenditure on pensions and unemployment. The Belgian social security sector expanded strongly in the 1970s. In the ensuing period, total social security receipts and expenditure remained relatively stable on average; expressed as percentages of GDP, they stood in 2000 at roughly the same level as in 1980. During this period, however, there was a “stop and go” policy on expenditure and receipts : expansion periods were followed by periods in which a more restrictive policy was pursued. In recent years, social security has again been expanding, although only to a more limited extent. Over the years, the structure of social security spending has changed significantly : due to the strong rise in health care expenditure, this spending item has now become the most important component, just ahead of pensions. Since receipts and expenditure have hitherto moved very much in parallel, the financial balance of social security has always hovered around equilibrium. At present, the social security sector is not only free of any financial liabilities, it actually has substantial financial assets. Population ageing will clearly exert strong upward pressure on future expenditure on pensions and health care. This increase can be only partly offset by the predicted decline in unemployment expenditure and family allowances. Therefore, social security will have to face a major financial challenge in the (near) future.Belgian public finance, social security, social protection expenditure

Ferraris, the legend

At the end of the eighteenth century, a large-scale map of the Austrian Netherlands and the Prince-Bishopric of Liege was manufactured, covering more or less the current territory of Belgium. The work for this Carte de Cabinet was carried out by artillerists under the guidance of count Joseph de Ferraris, who was commissioned for the task by the Habsburg government. At the time that the map was designed, no modern legend was included. This paper tries to fill that gap by presenting a legend that was constructed more systematically than any of its predecessors. It is based on the structure of the legend of the Topographic Map of Belgium and the CORINE land cover map, making it an easy-to-use tool for modern researchers. The problems encountered during the development of the legend are described, and the link between the Carte de Cabinet and eighteenth-century French cartography as well as with cartographic manuals is also discussed