Holistic balancing

Holistic balances are decision-making aids that are helpful in the selection of materials and processes during product development. Qualified judgments cannot be forthcoming until production, processing, utilization, and recycling/disposal have been analyzed in the form of a closed cycle, completely and objectively (applying understandable, clearly defined framework conditions). Interactive databases and standardized evaluation methods are needed for this purpose. 

Today, the principles of holistic balancing are used to analyze and evaluate such examples correctly [68, 69], see also Sect. Holistic balancing (lifecycle engineering) in Chap. Plastics and Structural Components - The Environment and Recycling. ... 

Environmental — None — Disadvantageous tendency, but depcmds on part geometry and concrete application (see Chapter 8,3.1 Holistic balancing) — Recycling expensive... 

Environmental — PP more environmentally compatible in the production phase than ABS however, overall effect depends on part geometry and application phase (see Chapter 8, 3.1 Holistic balancing) — Monomer-loaded gas in GIT process must be treated separately... 

More expensive, therefore not yet competitive in some applications Sranewhat less efficient than halogenated flameproofing agents, which is why larger amounts ate required - necessary to analyze overall effects throughout product life (incl. utilization and disposal see Chapter 8, 3.1 Holistic balancing)... 

Environmental — Clear environmental advantages in processing and recycling (confirmed by holistic balancing) — Unknown... 

Holistic balancing (or LCE) must be conceived as a combination of the three dimensions technology, economy, and environment, Eig. 9. It is, essentially, a method of collecting, documenting, and compounding environmental parameters of products, processes, systems and services on the basis of technical and economic specifications. 

Fig. 10 System of holistic balancing (or lifecycle engineering (LCE)) (IKP, Stuttgart University)...

Holistic balancing (lifecycle engineering of technical, economic, and environmental aspects) is now the established method used by major producers as a method of weak point analysis during the product development phase. 

Small and medium-sized businesses still have to be won over. To this end, the costs and handling of the method of holistic balancing must be reduced and improved respectively. Risk management, economic aspects, in particular costs, and social aspects are all integrated in the system. 

A unique holistically balanced extract was prepared by a special procedure developed by Bio-Botanica, Inc. 

The basic theory of TCM is to establish and maintain a holistic balance in the body, which results in good health. By following the principle that Therapy by Food is Better than Therapy by Medicine , proper daily diet and functional ( Yao Shan ) foods help to maintain health and the balance of Yin and Yang. However, as disease is caused by an imbalance of these two forces. TCM doctors prescribe drugs to restore the body s equilibrium. Thus, a Yin-cool drug is advised for a patient with a Yang-fever, but a Yang-warm dmg is prescribed for a Yin-cool problem. 

The holistic thermodynamic approach based on material (charge, concentration and electron) balances is a firm and valuable tool for a choice of the best a priori conditions of chemical analyses performed in electrolytic systems. Such an approach has been already presented in a series of papers issued in recent years, see [1-4] and references cited therein. In this communication, the approach will be exemplified with electrolytic systems, with special emphasis put on the complex systems where all particular types (acid-base, redox, complexation and precipitation) of chemical equilibria occur in parallel and/or sequentially. All attainable physicochemical knowledge can be involved in calculations and none simplifying assumptions are needed. All analytical prescriptions can be followed. The approach enables all possible (from thermodynamic viewpoint) reactions to be included and all effects resulting from activation barrier(s) and incomplete set of equilibrium data presumed can be tested. The problems involved are presented on some examples of analytical systems considered lately, concerning potentiometric titrations in complex titrand + titrant systems. All calculations were done with use of iterative computer programs MATLAB and DELPHI. 

The peripheral equipment such as control elements, thermostats, distillation equipment and so forth was included into the balance as well, but with the help of rough estimations based on their components or similar apparatuses. This has been done in order to provide a holistic view on its influence, but to reduce the effort of data acquisition. If a relevant influence would occur within the LCIA, the peripheral equipment would be investigated in more detail. 

A second point on which the authors in this anthology agree is that reductionism, as successful as it has been on a host of counts, is seriously inadequate. It must be supplemented with more holistic science. To understand nature in all its vicissitudes, methods from the most reductionist to the least reductionist must be used. Hence, anti-reductionists are forced, like it or not, to advocate pluralism. For example, Robert Williams concludes that We must not despise reductionism. However, it has to be put in a proper perspective . Too often reductionism and anti-reductionism are presented as if they are in diametric opposition when all that separates them is degree of emphasis. As Alfred Tauber observes, reductionism and holism cannot be defined in isolation from each other. An unsteady balance exists between the two. Holism and reductionism are inexorably coupled and cannot be defined independent of each other . As a result, like so many other contributors to this volume, he embraces a pluralistic approach . 

The relationship between the quality concept and human or animal health needs to be established from a holistic health perspective. The Louis Bolk Instituut has already started animal feeding experiments. Such research can only be done if foodstuffs are available which have been produced using well-balanced processes, in the sense described above, and which have thus achieved an optimum level of quality (defined hereunder). 

An industrial ecologist is an expert who takes a systems view, seeking to integrate and balance the environmental, business, and economic development interests of the industrial systems, and who will treat sustainability as a complex, whole systems challenge. The industrial ecologist will work to create comprehensive solutions, often simply integrating separate proven components into holistic design concepts for possible implementation by the chents. 

Unani-Tibb has been influenced by Ayurvedic medicine, and has in turn influenced it. It is a holistic system that treats the imbalances that lead to disease and encourages the patient to adopt a balanced way of life. It incorporates the following concepts ... 

The future development of chemometrics may be characterized by the balancing of opposites [GELADI, 1995] combination of hard and soft information, using a priori information when available and combining with a posteriori information. So, a holistic strategy (Fig. 1-2) with different chemometric methods in each of its steps may help to solve problems of the real world of chemistry and other disciplines . 

The electron which responds to both quantum and classical potential fields exhibits this dual nature in its behaviour. Like a photon, an electron spreads over the entire region of space-time permitted by the boundary conditions, in this case stipulated by the classical potential. At the same time it also responds to the quantum field and reaches a steady, so-called stationary, state when the quantum and classical forces acting on the electron, are in balance. The best known example occurs in the hydrogen atom, which is traditionally described to be in the product state tpH = ipP ipe, hence with broken holistic symmetry. In many-electron atoms the atomic wave function is further fragmented into individual quantum states for pairs of electrons with paired spins. 

The interacting waves from myriads of charge centres constitute the electromagnetic radiation field. In particle physics the field connection between balanced charge centres is called a virtual photon. This equilibrium is equivalent to the postulated balance between classical and quantum potentials in Bohmian mechanics, which extends holistically over all space. 

Well-defined products from the chaotic turmoil, which is a chemical reaction, result from a balance between external thermodynamic factors and the internal molecular parameters of chemical potential, electron density and angular momentum. Each of the molecular products, finally separated from the reaction mixture, is a new equilibrium system that balances these internal factors. The composition depends on the chemical potential, the connectivity is determined by electron-density distribution and the shape depends on the alignment of vectors that quenches the orbital angular momentum. The chemical, or quantum, potential at an equilibrium level over the entire molecule, is a measure of the electronegativity of the molecule. This is the parameter that contributes to the activation barrier, should this molecule engage in further chemical activity. Molecular cohesion is a holistic function of the molecular quantum potential that involves all sub-molecular constituents on an equal basis. The practically useful concept of a chemical bond is undefined in such a holistic molecule. 

A holistic approach to the selection of bioseparation equipment is vital, so that the unit operation is not considered in isolation, but in relation to the whole process, the facility or site where it will be located, the nature of the product, and the operating and capital costs. Only then can an informed decision be made to find the right balance between product quality and yield, processing costs and capital investment. 

The final step in the decision making process should be the selection of risk management options. Once the different options are evaluated, a decision has to be made as to which options are selected and which rejected. This decision is obvious if one or more options turn out to be dominant (relatively better on all criteria). Otherwise, trade-offs have to be made that need legitimisation (Graham and Wiener 1995). A legitimate decision can be made on the basis of formal balancing tools (such as cost-benefit or multi-criteria-decision analysis), by the respective decision makers (given his decision is informed by a holistic view of the problem) or in conjunction with participatory procedures. 

To capture the business opportunities, the procurement team then needs to build a holistic business plan. The business plan mentality is critical, since it will provide the organization with a clear proposal and basis for the decision to allocate necessary resources to the planned efforts. Organizations that have pursued such an approach have created the prerequisites for performance transparency and service-oriented behavior. Possible outcomes depending on the needs of the company and the capabilities developed within procurement can range from a strong procurement network with its own profit and loss statement and balanced scorecard to the creation of a market-oriented profit center unit. The business plan should be focused primarily on value creation rather than cost savings, and should consist of two distinct parts ... 

---