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An investigation into evaluating laptop PCs using TBL : an economic view

University of British Columbia. Sustainability Office

The following report is an investigation into the laptop computer usage by faculty and staff at UBC including an evaluation using the accounting concept of the triple bottom line (TBL) assessment. The TBL assessment consists of evaluations of social, environmental and economic impacts on the purchase of laptop PCs to replace the existing ones currently in use at the university. This portion of the report examines the economic view of the TBL and will be considered alongside separate reports on the social and environmental aspects. Based on data provided by the stakeholders regarding the current laptop use on campus, a sample set of laptops to be examined was researched into as part of constructing a price vs. performance ratio. The ratio would simplify the process of evaluation for the user to make more informed decisions when purchasing a laptop PC incorporated into an easy-to-understand scoring index. This index addresses the various performance and functionality components of a laptop PC that should be considered when evaluating the relevance of a laptop PC to meet the needs of a particular user. Constructing the scoring index began with research into methods previously used to evaluate laptop PCs based on performance and benchmark ratings. Next, a database of possible laptop PCs that may be adopted on campus was created with detailed technical information for each model type. Next, after further research, an equation resulting in an overall rating for a particular model was created considering the various components that affect the purchase of a laptop PC depending on the user such as benchmark rating, screen size and memory size, among others. Although the department purchases the laptops from on campus vendors, the information collected to prepare a price vs. performance ratio was collected directly from the manufacturers. The index is created with two specific users in mind: a basic user and a power user; where the power user is expected to have higher performance demands than the basic user. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”

Text

University of British Columbia. APSC 262; UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0108764

Applied Science, Faculty of

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/