WorldWideScience

Sample records for brokerage

  1. Culture brokerage as a form of caring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saidy Eliana Arias-Murcia

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective. To identify the meanings, uses, and contexts of applying the culture brokerage concept in nursing articles published from 1995 to 2011. Methodology. A total of 32 articles were identified from the following databases: Cuiden, SciElo, Ovid Nursing, Ovid, Medline and Pubmed. Results. It was found that 56.2% of the articles were about research, 37.5% on reflection, and 6.2% topic revision. Five categories emerged from the analysis: culture brokerage concepts, culture brokerage and cultural competence, culture brokerage and the performers, culture brokerage in the care of immigrants, and culture brokerage in the care of individuals with chronic diseases. Conclusion. Culture brokerage is a type of emerging care; it has various approaches and applications in both the community and hospital environments. Its conceptualization helps in the development of the nursing discipline.

  2. Brokerage-based value creation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gretzinger, Susanne; Leick, Birgit

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: Resource-dependence asymmetries and risks arising from network collaboration lead to benefits and challenges. The present paper studies this trade-off, highlighting both the need and the power of moderation and brokerage as appropriate tools for network managers to handle such conflicts....... inter-firm business networks is still an under-explored topic in management practice and research. By stressing the importance of brokerage as a tool to balance trade-offs asymmetrical networks, the case study contributes to this broad discussion.......Purpose: Resource-dependence asymmetries and risks arising from network collaboration lead to benefits and challenges. The present paper studies this trade-off, highlighting both the need and the power of moderation and brokerage as appropriate tools for network managers to handle such conflicts...... at the center of the case analysis. Findings: Network benefits stemming from asymmetrical resource-dependency constellations such as control and brokerage opportunities may not be sufficiently recognized by firms embedded in business networks. Such benefits may accrue owing to the central, unchallengeable...

  3. Information brokerage: GAIA service assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dormann, Claire

    1999-01-01

    Electronic brokerage concepts and systems offer the customer the opportunity to find the right product, at the right price, from the right supplier. Electronic brokerage systems have the potential to expand the market allowing customers to source a new range of products adapted to their need...

  4. Transportation Brokerage: An Instructional Module.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayden, Linda

    A concept-based introduction to transportation brokerage is provided in this instructional module for undergraduate and graduate transportation-related courses for disciplines such as engineering, business, marketing, and technology. The concept of transportation brokerage is defined as an assignment of the management of a specific element of a…

  5. Business Mododelling of Electronic Brokerage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skouby, Knud Erik; Øst, Alexander Gorm

    1998-01-01

    The central task of Business Modelling is to develop a theoretical techno-economic reference model for analyses of the value chain in the production of brokerage services in electronic networks......The central task of Business Modelling is to develop a theoretical techno-economic reference model for analyses of the value chain in the production of brokerage services in electronic networks...

  6. an assessment of information brokerage in academic libraries

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    windows xp professional setup

    GLOBAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH VOL 11, NO. ... information brokerage activities in the different units of the library through ... KEY WORDS: Information Brokerage; Information Products and Services; ... it can broker either on the demand or supply of ..... course brokers are business agents specializing in ...

  7. Brokerage in Cross-Border Mobility: Social Mechanisms and the (ReProduction of Social Inequalities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Faist

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Brokerage is an essential yet understudied function in social life. In one of the classics in the field of sociology, Georg Simmel differentiated three types of the “third” which help to analyse brokerage: the disinterested mediator or arbitrator, tertius gaudens and divide et impera. Studies that conceptualise traffickers and smugglers as brokers are extremely rare. Scholars lack a typology which can serve as a basis for comparative research. To advance scholarship on brokerage this article seeks to develop a conceptual-typological matrix by setting out to explore three questions: Why does brokerage exist? What kind of social mechanism is brokerage? What are the implications of brokerage for social inequalities and equalities? The analysis concludes with the consequences of different types of brokerage for the (reproduction of social inequalities.

  8. TD Waterhouse discount brokerage: a competitive strategy

    OpenAIRE

    Dangerfield, Catherine

    2007-01-01

    This paper provides a strategic analysis of TD Waterhouse (TDW), the discount brokerage provider within TD Bank Financial Group (TDBFG). Discount brokerage in Canada is an increasingly lucrative industry and contributes significantly to the bottom lines of every major financial institution in the country. It is also a rapidly changing and intensely price-competitive industry in which an explicit, educated business strategy is of the utmost importance. TDW currently employs a somewhat ambiguou...

  9. A Model of the Temporal Dynamics of Knowledge Brokerage in Sustainable Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hukkinen, Janne I.

    2016-01-01

    I develop a conceptual model of the temporal dynamics of knowledge brokerage for sustainable development. Brokerage refers to efforts to make research and policymaking more accessible to each other. The model enables unbiased and systematic consideration of knowledge brokerage as part of policy evolution. The model is theoretically grounded in…

  10. Dynamics of Brokerage Positions in Clusters: Evidence from the Spanish Foodstuffs Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Antonio Belso-Martínez

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Shifting away from traditional approaches orientated towards the analysis of the benefits associated with brokerage, this paper provides valuable insights into the dynamics of this network position and the opportunities to innovate that it provides. Using fine grain micro data collected in a foodstuff Spanish cluster, the evolution of different brokerage profiles is analyzed in depth. It was particularly evident how firm-level characteristics (status, former mediating experience and external openness and their interactions may generate changes in the different brokerage roles over a period of time. The findings of this work partially validate expectations based on the network dynamics approaches. Status and previous mediating experience facilitate the creation of partnerships, fostering brokerage. Conversely, interaction effects demote brokerage activity at the intra-cluster level, suggesting the selective nature of brokers’ relational behavior.

  11. Intermediation, Brokerage and Translation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hönke, Jana; Müller, Markus-Michael; Risse, Thomas; Draude, Anke; Börzel, Tanja

    2018-01-01

    Brokerage, a term prominent in the 1960s and 1970s, has returned. A huge literature analyses how brokers and intermediators— such as government officials, heads of non-governmental organization (NGOs), translators, neo-traditional authorities— strategically negotiate flows of resources and political

  12. Review the performance of brokerage firms and their role on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The main goal of present study is to review the performance of brokerage firms and their role on increasing investment trust and stock liquidity degree, in this regard, the role of brokerage firms is studied on increasing investors' trust and stock liquidity degree by utilization of four independent variables (providing general and ...

  13. Brokerage by a Project Manager across a New Product Development Project

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jepsen, Lisbeth Brøde; Jepsen, Anna Lund; Dietrich, Perttu

    2012-01-01

    between three subtypes of brokerage: Brokerage connecting actors from the project team with actors from the various departments within the same organization (intra-organizational brokerage), brokerage connecting employees at the NPD organization with someone working in another organization (inter...... as a hub between possible suppliers for the project. We had also expected that the PM would be more involved in coordination of, to and from the project team than what we found in this study. Based on the study, it seems that some of the connections that we, based on existing knowledge, would expect...... that the management of the project in terms of linking the stakeholders takes off in the solution development phase rather than in the concept development phase which is the phase in focus in large parts of the research that has taken place in this field. Further, contrary to expectations based on existing knowledge...

  14. Social capital in Asia: Investigating returns to brokerage in collectivistic national cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merluzzi, Jennifer

    2013-05-01

    Evidence on the returns to brokerage networks predominately comes from studies of firms located in the United States. Analyses conducted in other countries have noted differences in how social capital may be valued questioning whether brokerage networks yield economic advantage in less individualistic contexts such as Asia. Using network data on employees involved in a product launch in the Asian region of a large American software firm, evidence of returns to brokerage is found among the top executives located and working in the collectivistic national country offices. This finding provides new insights on how returns to brokerage in a non-US culture may arise by considering the differing influences of firm and national culture as well as an employee's formal position at a firm. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. The impact of design choices and market factors on brokerage firms' efficiency

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Groot, T.; Risseeuw, P.; Wiersma, E.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore how scale and scope of operations, firm age, and the choice to join a franchise formula influences brokerage firms' efficiency. Design/methodology/approach - Four-year data of 1,282 Dutch real estate brokerage firms is used to compute a relative

  16. The impact of design choices and market factors on brokerage firms' efficiency

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Groot, T.L.C.M.; Risseeuw, P.; Wiersma, E.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how scale and scope of operations, firm age, and the choice to join a franchise formula influences brokerage firms' efficiency. Design/methodology/approach: Four-year data of 1,282 Dutch real estate brokerage firms is used to compute a relative

  17. The Influences of Relationship Marketing in the Housing Brokerage Market

    OpenAIRE

    Tsung-Ju Yang; Yi-Chen Tu; Ching-Sung Shen

    2017-01-01

    Many companies and salesmen try to build and maintain long-term relationship with their customer. The influences of relationship marketing activities are important issue of the housing brokerage Market. The aims of study are to learn the impacts of relationship marketing on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the housing brokerage Market. The researchers survey the customers and use the regression analysis method to test the relationships between relationship marketing, customer sat...

  18. Comparison of Brokerage and Commission in Iranian Commercial Law

    OpenAIRE

    Manochehr Ghadami; Ali Radan Jebelli

    2017-01-01

    Terms such as commission and brokerage are similar in the concept of agency and in some cases they are different. In the legal system of Iran, commission section is derived from French law and it drives out the commission from the realm of agency and justifies it as an entity equal to the contract of the mandate. On the other hand, the brokerage has not been discussed in Iran’s jurisprudential sources and civil law as a legal body establishment; therefore, we can take it as new found phenomen...

  19. Franchising in Residential Brokerage

    OpenAIRE

    John D. Benjamin; Peter Chinloy; Donald Jud; Daniel T. Winkler

    2006-01-01

    This paper explores the profitability of real estate franchises. The database for the study consists of observations from the National Association of Realtors©' 2001 survey of real estate brokerage firms. Franchises are found to generate additional revenue for franchisees. However, net margins defined as the difference between revenues received and expenses paid (including franchise royalties) are lower for firms with franchises. The findings indicate that franchisors appear to extract the e...

  20. Language, cultural brokerage and informed consent - will ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Language, cultural brokerage and informed consent - will technological terms impede telemedicine use? C Jack, Y Hlombe, M Mars. Abstract. Background. Telemedicine provides a solution to treatment of economically and geographically compromised patients and enhances the level of care. However, a problem has ...

  1. Comparison of Brokerage and Commission in Iranian Commercial Law

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manochehr Ghadami

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Terms such as commission and brokerage are similar in the concept of agency and in some cases they are different. In the legal system of Iran, commission section is derived from French law and it drives out the commission from the realm of agency and justifies it as an entity equal to the contract of the mandate. On the other hand, the brokerage has not been discussed in Iran’s jurisprudential sources and civil law as a legal body establishment; therefore, we can take it as new found phenomena that came to our legal system simultaneous with the commercial law concepts.  Such differences between commission agent with broker can be stated like this: the commission agent is only obliged to announce the actions and especially do his missions to the commander, in fact the commission agent has the right of disclosure before his commander, but according to the article 337 of the written law, the broker also has the right of disclosure of the details of transaction toward the party with whom the brokerage contract has not been signed. The broker is usually the middleman of the transmission in consideration of receiving a specific amount of money or he can find a party for a person who wants to conduct a transaction and he himself doesn’t get involved in the transaction and is not engaged, whereas the commission agent is directly a contracting party and the true beneficiary (commander which the transaction is done in his account has no contact with the main buyer. This survey is done by the analytical-descriptive method for comparing the brokerage and commission in the commercial law of Iran.

  2. Strategic approaches and assessment techniques-Potential for knowledge brokerage towards sustainability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sheate, William R.; Partidario, Maria Rosario

    2010-01-01

    The role of science in policy and decision-making has been an issue of intensive debate over the past decade. The concept of knowledge brokerage has been developing in this context contemplating issues of communication, interaction, sharing of knowledge, contribution to common understandings, as well as to effective and efficient action. For environmental and sustainability policy and decision-making the discussion has addressed more the essence of the issue rather than the techniques that can be used to enable knowledge brokerage. This paper aims to contribute to covering this apparent gap in current discussion by selecting and examining empirical cases from Portugal and the United Kingdom that can help to explore how certain environmental and sustainability assessment approaches can contribute, if well applied, to strengthen the science-policy link. The cases show that strategic assessment approaches and techniques have the potential to promote knowledge brokerage, but a conscious effort will be required to design in genuine opportunities to facilitate knowledge exchange and transfer as part of assessment processes.

  3. Brokerage and SME Innovation: An Analysis of the Technology Transfer Service at Area Science Park, Italy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cattapan, Paolo; Passarelli, Mariacarmela; Petrone, Michele

    2012-01-01

    This paper contributes to the literature on innovation brokerage by analysing the effects of brokerage activities on the innovation and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The authors provide a detailed description of the Technology Transfer Service (TTS), credited as a European best-practice innovation broker, at Area Science…

  4. 78 FR 51177 - Notice of Intent To Grant Partially Exclusive Patent License; ICAP Patent Brokerage, LLC

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-20

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Navy Notice of Intent To Grant Partially Exclusive Patent License; ICAP Patent Brokerage, LLC AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Department of the Navy hereby gives notice of its intent to grant to ICAP Patent Brokerage, LLC, a revocable...

  5. 78 FR 72872 - Notice of Intent To Grant Partially Exclusive Patent License; ICAP Patent Brokerage, LLC

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-04

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Navy Notice of Intent To Grant Partially Exclusive Patent License; ICAP Patent Brokerage, LLC AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Department of the Navy hereby gives notice of its intent to grant to ICAP Patent Brokerage, LLC, a revocable...

  6. Multilayer Brokerage in Geo-Social Networks

    OpenAIRE

    Hristova, Desislava; Panzarasa, Pietro; Mascolo, Cecilia

    2016-01-01

    This is a metadata record relating to an article that cannot be shared due to publisher copyright. Open network structures and brokerage positions have long been seen as playing a crucial role in sustaining social capital and competitive advantage. The degree to which individuals intermediate between otherwise disconnected others can differ across online and offline social networks. For example, users may broker online between two others who then exchange offline the i...

  7. Knowledge brokerage - potential for increased capacities and shared power in impact assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosario Partidario, Maria; Sheate, William R.

    2013-01-01

    Constructive and collaborative planning theory has exposed the perceived limitations of public participation in impact assessment. At strategic levels of assessment the established norm can be misleading and practice is illusive. For example, debates on SEA effectiveness recognize insufficiencies, but are often based on questionable premises. The authors of this paper argue that public participation in strategic assessment requires new forms of information and engagement, consistent with the complexity of the issues at these levels and that strategic assessments can act as knowledge brokerage instruments with the potential to generate more participative environments and attitudes. The paper explores barriers and limitations, as well as the role of knowledge brokerage in stimulating the engagement of the public, through learning-oriented processes and responsibility sharing in more participative models of governance. The paper concludes with a discussion on building and inter-change of knowledge, towards creative solutions to identified problems, stimulating learning processes, largely beyond simple information transfer mechanisms through consultative processes. The paper argues fundamentally for the need to conceive strategic assessments as learning platforms and design knowledge brokerage opportunities explicitly as a means to enhance learning processes and power sharing in IA. - Highlights: ► Debates on SEA recognize insufficiencies on public participation ► We propose new forms of engagement consistent with complex situations at strategic levels of decision-making ► Constructive and collaborative planning theories help explain how different actors acquire knowledge and the value of knowledge exchange ► Strategic assessments can act as knowledge brokerage instruments ► The paper argues for strategic assessments as learning platforms as a means to enhance learning processes and power sharing in IA.

  8. Futures Brokerages Face uncertain Future

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    WANG PEI

    2006-01-01

    @@ 2005 was a quiet year for China's futures market.After four new trading products, including cotton, fuel oil and corn, were launched on the market in 2004, the development of the market seemed to stagnate. The trade value of the futures market totaled 13.4 trillion yuan (US$ 1.67 trillion) in 2005, down 8.5 percent year-on-year. Although the decrease is quite small and the trade value was still the second highest in the market's history, the majority of futures brokerage firms were running in the red. In some areas, up to 80 percent of futures companies made losses.

  9. Essays on local housing and real estate brokerage markets.:Essays on local housing and real estate brokerage markets.

    OpenAIRE

    Helgers, Roel

    2016-01-01

    As noted by the late housing economist John Quigley (1979), housing markets are characterized by a peculiar combination of features, such as durability, spatial fixity and multidimensional heterogeneity. The combination of these features differentiate it from other product markets and it has been shown that they have a non-negligible impact upon market outcomes in housing and real estate brokerage markets. The inherent spatial fixation and the multidimensional heterogeneity of housing units, ...

  10. LEGAL PROTECTION FOR CUSTOMER SEGREGATED ACCOUNT OWNER FROM LOSS DUE TO THE BANKCRUPTY OF FUTURES BROKERAGE FIRM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yessy Meryantika Sari

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Commodity futures trading is a business activity that is complex and involves many parties including Client Segregated Account and Brokerage Company. This business promises huge benefits but ba-lanced with a high risk of loss. Therefore, a potential event of bankruptcy. Customer as the owner of the funds which mandated funds to the brokerage company to be managed for purposes of the transaction, should get legal protection from potential losses due to bankruptcy of futures brokerage firm. The spirit of the law in protection for customers is reflected in the preamble of le-gal norms futures trading as further elaborated in the general legal provisions stipulated in the Fu-tures Trading Act.

  11. Knowledge brokerage - potential for increased capacities and shared power in impact assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rosario Partidario, Maria, E-mail: mrp@civil.ist.utl.pt [Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon, Portugal, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 LISBOA (Portugal); Sheate, William R., E-mail: w.sheate@imperial.ac.uk [Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Collingwood Environmental Planning Ltd, London, 1E, The Chandlery, 50 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7QY (United Kingdom)

    2013-02-15

    Constructive and collaborative planning theory has exposed the perceived limitations of public participation in impact assessment. At strategic levels of assessment the established norm can be misleading and practice is illusive. For example, debates on SEA effectiveness recognize insufficiencies, but are often based on questionable premises. The authors of this paper argue that public participation in strategic assessment requires new forms of information and engagement, consistent with the complexity of the issues at these levels and that strategic assessments can act as knowledge brokerage instruments with the potential to generate more participative environments and attitudes. The paper explores barriers and limitations, as well as the role of knowledge brokerage in stimulating the engagement of the public, through learning-oriented processes and responsibility sharing in more participative models of governance. The paper concludes with a discussion on building and inter-change of knowledge, towards creative solutions to identified problems, stimulating learning processes, largely beyond simple information transfer mechanisms through consultative processes. The paper argues fundamentally for the need to conceive strategic assessments as learning platforms and design knowledge brokerage opportunities explicitly as a means to enhance learning processes and power sharing in IA. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Debates on SEA recognize insufficiencies on public participation Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We propose new forms of engagement consistent with complex situations at strategic levels of decision-making Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Constructive and collaborative planning theories help explain how different actors acquire knowledge and the value of knowledge exchange Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Strategic assessments can act as knowledge brokerage instruments Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The paper argues for strategic assessments as learning

  12. The Influences of Relationship Marketing in the Housing Brokerage Market

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tsung-Ju Yang

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Many companies and salesmen try to build and maintain long-term relationship with their customer. The influences of relationship marketing activities are important issue of the housing brokerage Market. The aims of study are to learn the impacts of relationship marketing on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the housing brokerage Market. The researchers survey the customers and use the regression analysis method to test the relationships between relationship marketing, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in Taiwan. The research results show that the relationship marketing positively impacts on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, then customer satisfaction positively impacts on customer loyalty. Customer satisfaction plays a mediating role between relationship marketing and customer loyalty. Besides, the study confirm that brokers’ expertise moderates the relationship of relationship marketing process. The findings suggest that the brokers’ relationship marketing and expertise empirically impact on the customers.

  13. LEGAL PROTECTION FOR CUSTOMER SEGREGATED ACCOUNT OWNER FROM LOSS DUE TO THE BANKCRUPTY OF FUTURES BROKERAGE FIRM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yessy Meryantika Sari

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Commodity futures trading is a business activity that is complex and involves many parties including Client Segregated Account and Brokerage Company. This business promises huge benefits but ba-lanced with a high risk of loss. Therefore, a potential event of bankruptcy. Customer as the owner of the funds which mandated funds to the brokerage company to be managed for purposes of the transaction, should get legal protection from potential losses due to bankruptcy of futures brokerage firm. The spirit of the law in protection for customers is reflected in the preamble of le-gal norms futures trading as further elaborated in the general legal provisions stipulated in the Fu-tures Trading Act. Keywords : Legal Protection, Customer Segregated Account Owner, Broker, Bankruptcy Law

  14. Technology and Real Estate Brokerage Firm Financial Performance

    OpenAIRE

    John D. Benjamin; Peter Chinloy; Donald Jud; Daniel T. Winkler

    2005-01-01

    This study investigates the impact of Internet usage on the financial performance of residential real estate brokerage firms using a database of over 1,700 observations. Factor loadings and a factor score for Internet usage are developed. The results show that Internet use is positively related to revenue and net income, and negatively related to net margin. In a second stage analysis, Internet use is found to be positively associated with franchise affiliation, affiliation with a referral /r...

  15. The economics of real estate brokerage and contracts

    OpenAIRE

    Wignall, Christopher David

    2009-01-01

    This dissertation collects research on real estate brokerage and contract theory that was completed while the author was a student at the University of California, San Diego. Chapter 1 presents an empirical analysis of the role of social networks in economic decision-making. Specifically, it is demonstrated that individuals are likely to choose the same real estate agent as a peer who is in the same social network. Evidence is presented that the social influence comes through peer-to-peer com...

  16. The cluster is not flat. Uneven impacts of brokerage roles on the innovative performance of firms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luís Martínez-Cháfer

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates whether and to what extent individual firms improve their innovation from behaving as brokers connecting other actors in the Spanish ceramic tile cluster. The effects of the brokerage roles are analyzed for different innovation levels by means of quantile regressions. Finally, we speculate about the indirect and interactive effects of the distinct individual organization attributes and these benefits. Results show that brokerage activities unevenly influence the broker's innovative performance. In addition, the intensity of the impact varies for different innovation levels and the firm's absorptive capacity moderate the final effect of acting as a broker.

  17. Trade brokerage property of industrial sectors on the global value chain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xing, Lizhi; Xu, Xiaoyu; Guan, Jun; Dong, Xianlei

    2017-08-01

    ICIO data have proven itself to be a reliable source for the analysis of economic globalization, with which sectors all over the world could be constructed into a sophisticated GVC, bringing the advantages of simultaneous study on international and domestic economies in detail as a holistic network. This paper uses OECD-WTO TiVA data to set up GIVCN-TiVA networks as the general analytical framework, depicting the transferring process of intermediate goods among sectors of various countries/regions. Secondly, the conception of brokerage roles in SNA has been adopted to redefine sector’s function while linkage exists between its upstream providers and downstream consumers, referred to as “Trade Brokerage Property”, as well as to quantify the ratio of each types of the roles. Thirdly, a set of simulations have been defined to testify the contribution that different TBPs incur to the robustness of global economic system. Finally, analyses on TBPs and NTBPs have been carried out in the levels of industry and country/region, respectively.

  18. Knowledge brokerage context factors – What matters in knowledge exchange in impact assessment?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saarela, Sanna-Riikka; Söderman, Tarja; Lyytimäki, Jari

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Different knowledge brokerage strategies can be applied in impact assessment. • A conceptual framework for knowledge brokering is introduced. • Six test cases from different areas and jurisdictions are reviewed. • Various context factors affect the success of knowledge brokering in IA. - Abstract: The success of an impact assessment (IA) can mean both instrumental success of applying IA results directly in decision-making, and conceptual success linked to learning about policy problems more generally. Both instrumental and conceptual success can be claimed to be reliant on the knowledge exchange context of the IA, shaped by factors such as the complexity of the policy problem, type of policy area, organisational norms, actor constellations and continuance and openness of information sharing. Even though such context factors may be pre-set, they are nevertheless contested and reformulated during each IA process. This paper ties together lessons from six different IA processes that were performed between 2011 and 2013. The cases include agricultural policy at the EU and regional level in Greece, national-level climate change and energy policy in Finland and Estonia, resource efficiency policy at the German national level, and sustainable land use policy in Inner Mongolia, China. The paper introduces and applies a typology of knowledge brokerage context factors. The paper asks how knowledge brokerage is shaped by different contexts and what determines the consequent application (or non-application) of IA tools and the use of IA results. The paper concludes by highlighting the significance of identification and acknowledgement of different knowledge exchange contexts in IA

  19. Revisiting Office Rent Determinants : Development of the Istanbul Office Market in the Last Decade from Perspective of Real Estate Brokerage Firms

    OpenAIRE

    Dilek Pekdemir

    2014-01-01

    Many studies on the office market have been conducted for the last thirty years. Especially variables which are expected to affect office rents were examined for different cities. The extent of variables was used in these studies reflecting variations in locational and/or economical conditions of the different cities.It is aimed to examine the development of the Istanbul office market in the last decade from the perspective of brokerage firms. The perception of brokerage firms on the effectiv...

  20. International Business Models Developed Through Brokerage Knowledge and Value Creation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Nicolaj Hannesbo; Rasmussen, Erik Stavnsager

    This paper highlights theoretically and empirically international business model decisions in networks with knowledge sharing and value creation. The paper expands the conceptual in-ternational business model framework for technology-oriented companies to include the focal firm’s network role...... and strategic fit in a global embeddedness. The brokerage role in the in-ternationalization of a network is discussed from both a theoretical and empirical point of view. From a business model and social network analysis perspective, this paper will show how firms and network grow internationally through two...

  1. A multi-agent brokerage platform for media content recommendation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Veloso Bruno

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Near real time media content personalisation is nowadays a major challenge involving media content sources, distributors and viewers. This paper describes an approach to seamless recommendation, negotiation and transaction of personalised media content. It adopts an integrated view of the problem by proposing, on the business-to-business (B2B side, a brokerage platform to negotiate the media items on behalf of the media content distributors and sources, providing viewers, on the business-to-consumer (B2C side, with a personalised electronic programme guide (EPG containing the set of recommended items after negotiation. In this setup, when a viewer connects, the distributor looks up and invites sources to negotiate the contents of the viewer personal EPG. The proposed multi-agent brokerage platform is structured in four layers, modelling the registration, service agreement, partner lookup, invitation as well as item recommendation, negotiation and transaction stages of the B2B processes. The recommendation service is a rule-based switch hybrid filter, including six collaborative and two content-based filters. The rule-based system selects, at runtime, the filter(s to apply as well as the final set of recommendations to present. The filter selection is based on the data available, ranging from the history of items watched to the ratings and/or tags assigned to the items by the viewer. Additionally, this module implements (i a novel item stereotype to represent newly arrived items, (ii a standard user stereotype for new users, (iii a novel passive user tag cloud stereotype for socially passive users, and (iv a new content-based filter named the collinearity and proximity similarity (CPS. At the end of the paper, we present off-line results and a case study describing how the recommendation service works. The proposed system provides, to our knowledge, an excellent holistic solution to the problem of recommending multimedia contents.

  2. Mutual brokerage and women’s participation in nineteenth-century Anglo-American abolitionist movements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Walsh-Russo, Cecelia Catherine

    2017-01-01

    an international network of abolitionist actors tied to one another through previous fora for discussion and debate. Mutual brokerage is perhaps most clearly seen within the example of female abolitionists during the nineteenth-century abolition campaigns. Women brought to the Anglo-American abolitionism the co...... of the movement were channels through which ideas flowed. Instead of a one-directional flow with brokers as translators bringing new tactics from one locale to another, the channels were characterized by the absence of earlier ‘originators’ and later ‘adopters’ – traditional categories assigned to actors within...

  3. Brokers and brokerage in the process of trading in commodity futures markets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eremić Milan B.

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper mainly deals with the analysis of a very complex process of brokerage in commodity futures markets. Unlike a classical commodity market in which brokers are not a necessity, sales and purchases in commodity futures markets cannot be carried out without brokers. Brokers who act as agents of buyers and sellers of futures are a necessary condition for trading in organized markets, such as commodity futures markets. The structure of brokers in futures trading is multilayer and involves participants in futures trading from floor brokers, immediate futures traders and the members of clearing and the clearing house itself, on the one hand, to numerous other necessary actors whose activities out of the stock exchange and the clearing house contribute to the efficient functioning of futures market. The fact that transactions between buyers and sellers in futures markets are not carried out directly but through brokers means that the obligations of buyers and sellers are formally conveyed to brokers, providing at the same time the guarantee by the broker that the actual buyer and the actual seller will fulfill their contractual obligations. At the very beginning of futures trading, the relationship between the seller and the buyer is transformed into a relationship between two brokers. Since that moment on, the original relationship is conveyed to higher levels of brokerage reaching the level of the clearing house. In the process of transformation of the buyer-seller relationship and transmitting obligations and guaranteeing their fulfillment, the clearing house itself becomes the buyer relative to all sellers and the seller relative to all buyers. In this way, it guarantees that obligations regarding all transactions in futures market will be fulfilled. The whole process is carried out in accordance with the prescribed procedures conducted on the floor of commodity exchange, in its administrative departments and in the clearing house itself.

  4. Solving public passenger transportation problems: a need for policy reorientation. [Brokerage or consumer-oriented approach needed

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davis, F.W. Jr.; Oen, K.

    1977-01-01

    Public transportation has declined because policymakers and outdated regulations have restricted the evolution of transportation systems which more closely reflect the mobility and lifestyles of today. Public policy needs to take a consumer-oriented approach to public transportation by recognizing that all consumers do not have the same transportation needs and that one or two modes of transportation cannot satisfy these needs. This report argues that if public transportation is to become an efficient method of satisfying the transportation needs of a community, a brokerage or consumer-oriented approach should be adopted. The transportation broker will match specific individual needs with a broad array of transportation services, and overcome institutional, legal, and operational barriers to the development of new forms of transportation service. 51 references or footnotes.

  5. Anthropology, brokerage, and collaboration in the development of a Tongan public psychiatry: Local lessons for global mental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poltorak, Mike

    2016-12-01

    The Global Mental Health (GMH) movement has raised questions of the translatability of psychiatric concepts and the challenges of community engagement. In Tonga, the local psychiatrist Dr Puloka successfully established a publicly accessible psychiatry that has improved admission rates for serious mental illnesses and addressed some of the stigma attached to diagnosis. On the basis of historical analysis and ethnographic fieldwork with healers, doctors, and patients since 1998, this article offers an ethnographic contextualization of the development and reception of Puloka's three key interventions during the 1990s: (a) collaboration with traditional healers; (b) translation of psychiatric diagnoses into local cultural concepts; and (c) encouraging freedom of movement and legal appeal to involuntary admission. Dr Puloka's use of medical anthropological and transcultural psychiatry research informed a community-engaged brokerage between the implications of psychiatric nosologies and local needs that can address some of the challenges of the Global Mental Health movement.

  6. Gender and Power Dynamics in Transnational Marriage Brokerage: The Ban on Commercial Matchmaking in Taiwan Reconsidered

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hsun-Hui Tseng

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Taiwan attracted a considerable number of marriage migrants from Southeast Asia and China through brokers in the late 1990s and early 2000s. With widely circulated, sensational news stories about foreign spouses being abused and advertisements of foreign brides as objects for sale, women involved in the business were gradually seen by the public as victims of transnational marriage brokerage. Under pressure from some women’s groups in Taiwan and the anti-trafficking campaign in the international community, the Taiwanese government eventually banned transnational commercial matchmaking in 2008. This article examines the gender politics behind the ban by reviewing the debate over this policy. It also provides an ethnographic study of women’s power relationships with other parties involved in the marriage business. By exposing the market and cultural logic that made this business blossom, this article challenges the binaries of perpetrator/victim and exploitation/freedom in the dominant representations of the transnational marriage market. It calls for a transnational and transclass perspective to understand these women’s “active submission” to the market and concludes that, without this consideration, the enforcement of the 2008 ban ends up serving only to save the international reputation of the host country and fulfill the liberal middle-class imaginary of moral order of the host society, rather than solving women’s problems per se.

  7. Knowledge Brokerage for Impact Assessment of Land Use Scenarios in Inner Mongolia, China: Extending and Testing the FoPIA Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hannes J. König

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available While land serves numerous societal functions and contributes to sustainable development, it is often unclear how these functions are affected by political decisions and common drivers of land use change, such as economic development, climate change and demographic change. This study evaluates alternative land use scenarios in reference to a rural region of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (China, where various processes and decisions have historically triggered unsustainable development. The scientifically tested “Framework for Participatory Impact Assessment (FoPIA” method is developed further to address specific features of the case study region, and its function as a knowledge-brokerage (KB tool is evaluated. Three scenarios are developed and analysed in expert workshops. “Land intensification: Agriculture” and “Land intensification: Mining” scenarios are found to have mainly negative environmental and social effects and positive economic impacts, while the “Environmental conservation and tourism” scenario is found to more positively affect all three sustainability dimensions. Assessments of methodological phases show that the FoPIA primarily serves to establish the KB process and that the framework particularly benefits from early examinations of scientific results by policy makers.

  8. 76 FR 15025 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated: Notice of Filing and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-18

    ... order ticket). Such orders are charged $.02 per contract and, like floor brokerage fees, a discounted... the Floor Brokerage Fees assessed in Volatility Index Options, and (ii) waive PAR Official Fees for... Index Options that are consistent with the Floor Brokerage Fees assessed in Volatility Index Options...

  9. A knowledge brokerage approach for assessing the impacts of the setting up young farmers policy measure in Greece

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bournaris, Th.; Moulogianni, Ch.; Arampatzis, S.; Kiomourtzi, F.; Wascher, D.M.; Manos, B.

    2016-01-01

    This study explores Knowledge Brokerage (KB) aspects of an ex-post Impact Assessment (IA) for the Rural Development Programme (RDP) measure of setting up young farmers, under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), at the regional level in Northern Greece. The measure supports the entry of young farmers in agriculture by moving land from older to younger farmers. The aim of the study was to test a set of KB tools for improving the interaction between researchers and policy makers. Our analysis mainly focused on a suite of IA Support Modules to guide practitioners, and on a technical tool kit, a web-based contextualisation platform, to support the IA of the specific test case. Offering a structured approach towards IA, both the Support Modules and LIAISE-KIT allow framing the context, organisation, scheduling and method selection in the light of KB objectives. The evaluation of how IA Support Modules influence the Science Policy Interface (SPI), in the case of the ex-post assessment, demonstrated the high relevance of KB activities for facilitating the interaction between researchers and regional policy makers. The assessment bridges the gap between knowledge producers developing scientific output to be applied in a specific context, and knowledge users, who want clear messages regarding the policy challenges they face. Other conclusions include the need for specific guidelines and training for knowledge users, especially with regard to the use of tools. According to our findings, a consequent application of KB activities is a crucial pre-condition for successfully implementing IAs in future RDP measures.

  10. A knowledge brokerage approach for assessing the impacts of the setting up young farmers policy measure in Greece

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bournaris, Th.; Moulogianni, Ch.; Arampatzis, S.; Kiomourtzi, F. [Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece); Wascher, D.M. [Alterra Wageningen UR (Netherlands); Manos, B., E-mail: manosb@agro.auth.gr [Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece)

    2016-02-15

    This study explores Knowledge Brokerage (KB) aspects of an ex-post Impact Assessment (IA) for the Rural Development Programme (RDP) measure of setting up young farmers, under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), at the regional level in Northern Greece. The measure supports the entry of young farmers in agriculture by moving land from older to younger farmers. The aim of the study was to test a set of KB tools for improving the interaction between researchers and policy makers. Our analysis mainly focused on a suite of IA Support Modules to guide practitioners, and on a technical tool kit, a web-based contextualisation platform, to support the IA of the specific test case. Offering a structured approach towards IA, both the Support Modules and LIAISE-KIT allow framing the context, organisation, scheduling and method selection in the light of KB objectives. The evaluation of how IA Support Modules influence the Science Policy Interface (SPI), in the case of the ex-post assessment, demonstrated the high relevance of KB activities for facilitating the interaction between researchers and regional policy makers. The assessment bridges the gap between knowledge producers developing scientific output to be applied in a specific context, and knowledge users, who want clear messages regarding the policy challenges they face. Other conclusions include the need for specific guidelines and training for knowledge users, especially with regard to the use of tools. According to our findings, a consequent application of KB activities is a crucial pre-condition for successfully implementing IAs in future RDP measures.

  11. 75 FR 54465 - Temporary Registration of Municipal Advisors

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-08

    ... derivatives, guaranteed investment contracts, and the recommendation of and brokerage of municipal escrow... concerning guaranteed investment contracts, (4) recommendation and/or brokerage of municipal escrow...

  12. Analýza poistného kmeňa poisťovacieho makléra

    OpenAIRE

    Války, Patrik

    2017-01-01

    Bachelor thesis focuses on entrepreneurship in insurance brokerage, more precisely on activity of specific company which provides consultancy and non-life insurance brokerage primary on Slovak market. The main objective of bachelor thesis is analysis of insurance portfolio followed by a formulation of recommendation, which may lead to maximisation of commission earned for insurance brokerage in future. In the thesis, we use multi-criteria analysis, in which insurance portfolio and received co...

  13. 17 CFR 247.760 - Exemption from definition of “broker” for banks accepting orders to effect transactions in...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... brokerage accounts or that the bank's safekeeping and custody services substitute for a securities brokerage... custodian bank that contracted with the administrator or recordkeeper bank for services. (f) Subcustodians...

  14. Brokering the Research-Practice Gap: A typology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neal, Jennifer Watling; Neal, Zachary P; Kornbluh, Mariah; Mills, Kristen J; Lawlor, Jennifer A

    2015-12-01

    Despite widespread recognition of a research-practice gap in multiple service sectors, less is known about how pre-existing communication channels facilitate the flow of information between researchers and practitioners. In the current study, we applied an existing typology of brokerage developed by Gould and Fernandez (Sociol Methodol 19:89-126, 1989) to examine what types of brokerage facilitate information spread between researchers and educational practitioners. Specifically, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 school administrators and staff in two public school districts regarding their experiences searching for information about instructional, health, and social skills programs. Using deductive content analysis, we found evidence of all five types of brokerage identified by Gould and Fernandez (1989). However, only three types of brokerage-gatekeepers, representatives, and liaisons-were involved in the flow of information between school administrators and researchers. Moreover, information transfer often occurred in longer chains that involved multiple, distinct types of brokerage. We conclude with the broad implications of our findings for narrowing the research-practice gap by improving researchers' dissemination efforts and practitioners' search for information.

  15. Changing the navigator's course: How the increasing rationalization of healthcare influences access for undocumented immigrants under the Affordable Care Act.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Sanders, Laura

    2017-04-01

    A number of researchers have shown that brokers (e.g., navigators and street-level bureaucrats) bridge access to healthcare services and information for immigrant patients through rich personal relationships and a mission of ethical care. An open question remains concerning how the increasing rationalization of healthcare over the past few decades influences brokerage for undocumented immigrant patients. Drawing from fieldwork and interviews conducted in California, as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was implemented, I develop the concept of the "double-embedded-liaison." While other studies treat brokers as acting either as gatekeepers or patient representatives, this study explains how brokers simultaneously operate on multiple planes when new roles are added. I argue that with more formalization and scrutiny at health centers, the impact of brokerage is destabilized and, subsequently, diminished. Two consequences of the double-embedded-liaison brokerage form are: (1) some brokers become disillusioned and exit -resulting in the loss of valuable resources at the health centers, and (2) immigrants move away from the health centers that historically served them. In looking at brokers' simultaneous performance as gatekeepers and representatives, this research extends brokerage typologies and street-level bureaucracy arguments that largely treat brokerage in a mono-planar rather than in a bi-planar mode. Furthermore, in examining the risks and opportunities brokerage brings to addressing health disparities, the study provides insights into the effects of replacing the ACA or repealing it all together in the Post-Obama era. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. 28 CFR 50.24 - Annuity broker minimum qualifications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... providing annuity brokerage services in connection with structured settlements entered by the United States... insurance company to sell its structured settlement annuity contracts or to act as a structured settlement... substantial experience in each of the past three years in providing structured settlement brokerage services...

  17. 77 FR 20675 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Order Approving...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-05

    ..., Commission from Todd Weingart, Spot On Brokerage Services, Division of Trading Block, William O'Keefe, Spot On Brokerage Services, Division of Trading Block, and Steve Stepanek, The SJS Group, Inc., dated... Initiating TPH's single-price submission shall be allocated the greater of one contract or a certain...

  18. 76 FR 27114 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-10

    ... and discount brokerage firms. These firms have few registered representatives and thus pay very little in RR Fees compared to full service brokerage firms that have many registered representatives... (``ORF'') of $0.004 per contract.\\5\\ As described below, this fee would be assessed by the Exchange on...

  19. Recruiting Young Volunteers in an Area of Selective Education: A Qualitative Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean, Jon

    2016-01-01

    This article presents findings from a small qualitative case study of a youth volunteering brokerage organisation in England, operating in an area of selective state education. Data show how brokerage workers felt grammar schools managed their students in a concerted way to improve students' chances of attending university. Conversely, workers…

  20. 17 CFR 156.1 - Definition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... trade shall include two or more contract market members with floor trading privileges, of whom at least one is acting as a floor broker, who: (1) Engage in floor brokerage activity on behalf of the same employer, (2) have an employer and employee relationship which relates to floor brokerage activity, (3...

  1. 26 CFR 31.3406(h)-3 - Certificates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... furnish a separate Form W-9 for each obligation, deposit, certificate, share, membership, contract, or...—(1) Accounts or instruments that are not pre-1984 accounts and brokerage relationships that are post-1983 brokerage accounts. With respect to an account or instrument that is not a pre-1984 account (as...

  2. 76 FR 27108 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Notice of Filing and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-10

    ... were $.02 per contract and a discounted rate of $.01 per contract for crossed orders.\\5\\ PAR Official... for crossed orders, like Floor Brokerage Fees, are assessed at a discounted rate because these fees... their floor brokerage business, such that PAR Officials execute more than an incidental number of orders...

  3. Information Brokers: Case Studies of Successful Ventures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holland Johnson, Alice Jane

    This guide is intended for librarians planning to start an information brokerage, whether as an entrepreneur or as a member of a document delivery group in a library. The guide identifies specific skills and relevant characteristics required to establish a successful information brokerage firm and describes a model to assist readers in the process…

  4. The (Non-)Use of Configurative Reviews in Education

    OpenAIRE

    Levinsson, Magnus; Prøitz, Tine Sophie

    2017-01-01

    The push for evidence-based practice in education has led to a range of initiatives aimed at bridging the gap between research, policy and practice. Among these are the establishment of brokerage agencies with a mission to synthesise the findings of educational research. This development has been the subject of extensive controversy over the last decades. Critics emphasise that brokerage agencies in most fields prioritise experimental designs that measure the impact of interventions. However,...

  5. Nuclear fuel brokerage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoffman, J.; Schreiber, K.

    1985-01-01

    Making available nuclear fuels on the spot market, especially uranium in various compounds and processing stages, has become an important service rendered nuclear power plant operators. A secondary market has grown, both for natural uranium and for separative work, the conditions and transactions of which require a comprehensive overview of what is going on, especially also in connection with possibilities to terminate in a profitable manner existing contracts. This situation has favored the activity of brokers with excellent knowledge of the market, who are able to handle the complicated terms and conditions in an optimum way. (orig.) [de

  6. Op zoek naar de perfecte match in vrijwilligersland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Els van Gilst

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Finding the perfect volunteer matchOrganizations that are (partially staffed by volunteers in the Netherlands are experiencing a growing need for volunteers. This relates to stricter laws and regulations, the changing deployment of volunteers and reforms in the care system (Bekkers & Boezeman, 2009; Devilee, 2005; MOVISIE, 2014; Rutte & Samsom, 2012.Volunteer centres can form part of the solution to the growing demand for volunteers. There are about 240 volunteer centres in the Netherlands. They promote volunteering and provide information, training, advice and support in this area. In addition, they play an active role as brokers in bringing together supply (volunteers and demand (volunteer-involving organizations. This intermediary role is often the core business of volunteer centres (Ploegmakers, Merkus & Terpstra, 2011; Terpstra, Ploegmakers & van Laar, 2008.The success of volunteer brokerage remains relatively limited, however. Offline brokerage (at the office of the volunteer centre is in about half of the cases successful. This falls to 37 percent for online brokerage. Volunteer brokerage is classed as successful when a volunteer is placed at an organization for a short-term project or a period of three months (Ploegmakers et al., 2011.Literature research (Van Gilst, Schalk, Garretsen & Van de Goor, 2011 was carried out to determine how the results of volunteer brokerage can be improved. The motivation and feelings of pride and respect on the part of a volunteer are found to be important for the level of satisfaction and willingness to keep on volunteering in both the short term and the long term.This article examines how success factors such as motivation, pride and respect can be incorporated into the daily brokerage practices of volunteer centres. Two research questions are central to this article:1. How does volunteer brokerage occur in practice?2. When and how can success factors for matching volunteers and organizations (partially

  7. CORPUS

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scholl, Gerd; Berger, Gerald; Freytag, Elisabeth

    2016-01-01

    experience with a knowledge brokerage system comprised of two intertwined building blocks, a series of “policy meets research” workshops which attracted almost 300 professionals from all over Europe, and a web platform named “SCP Knowledge Hub” which evolved into a major knowledge repository for almost 900...... registered users. We identify three design principles for effective knowledge brokerage and overcoming of the translation barriers between science and policy - i.e. participatory, activating and modular - and formulate practical recommendations for brokering knowledge through an online medium....

  8. Bridges, brokers and boundary spanners in collaborative networks: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, Janet C; Cunningham, Frances C; Braithwaite, Jeffrey

    2013-04-30

    Bridges, brokers and boundary spanners facilitate transactions and the flow of information between people or groups who either have no physical or cognitive access to one another, or alternatively, who have no basis on which to trust each other. The health care sector is a context that is rich in isolated clusters, such as silos and professional "tribes," in need of connectivity. It is a key challenge in health service management to understand, analyse and exploit the role of key agents who have the capacity to connect disparate groupings in larger systems. The empirical, peer reviewed, network theory literature on brokerage roles was reviewed for the years 1994 to 2011 following PRISMA guidelines. The 24 articles that made up the final literature set were from a wide range of settings and contexts not just healthcare. Methods of data collection, analysis, and the ways in which brokers were identified varied greatly. We found four main themes addressed in the literature: identifying brokers and brokerage opportunities, generation and integration of innovation, knowledge brokerage, and trust. The benefits as well as the costs of brokerage roles were examined. Collaborative networks by definition, seek to bring disparate groups together so that they can work effectively and synergistically together. Brokers can support the controlled transfer of specialised knowledge between groups, increase cooperation by liaising with people from both sides of the gap, and improve efficiency by introducing "good ideas" from one isolated setting into another.There are significant costs to brokerage. Densely linked networks are more efficient at diffusing information to all their members when compared to sparsely linked groups. This means that while a bridge across a structural hole allows information to reach actors that were previously isolated, it is not the most efficient way to transfer information. Brokers who become the holders of, or the gatekeepers to, specialised knowledge

  9. Brokerage in SME networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kirkels, Y.E.M.; Duysters, G.M.

    2010-01-01

    This study focuses on SME networks of design and high-tech companies in Southeast Netherlands. By highlighting the personal networks of members across design and high-tech industries, the study attempts to identify the main brokers in this dynamic environment. In addition, we investigate whether

  10. Rationalising localism and brokerage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kusche, Isabel

    2017-01-01

    . The article employs the notion of global scripts and the concept of domestication of global trends in order to analyse how the question of the appropriate relationship between deputies and voters is informed both by a general trend towards the professionalisation of politicians and a domestic tradition...... of the domestic setting on the other. In this way the article contributes to a better understanding of the entanglement of the global and the local....

  11. Brokerage in SME networks

    OpenAIRE

    Kirkels, Y.E.M.

    2010-01-01

    Firms are increasingly facing their own limitations in today’s complex and demanding environment. The need for cooperation is evident in an environment characterized by uncertainty, complexity and rapid technological progress. Small and medium-sized enterprises in particular are faced by a dilemma. On the one hand SMEs feel the urge to cooperate with others in order to acquire knowledge and other competencies; on the other hand they often face difficulties in finding partners and often they l...

  12. Brokerage in SME networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kirkels, Y.E.M.

    2010-01-01

    Firms are increasingly facing their own limitations in today’s complex and demanding environment. The need for cooperation is evident in an environment characterized by uncertainty, complexity and rapid technological progress. Small and medium-sized enterprises in particular are faced by a dilemma.

  13. The Private and Common Benefits of Spanning Structural Holes within the MNE Network

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gärber, Lisa Katarina; Pedersen, Torben; Rogbeer, Shalini

    2012-01-01

    , innovation and knowledge outflows. In this way, we decompose some of the ways in which brokerage simultaneously affects knowledge outflows and innovation to map out the private and common benefits of brokering within the MNE network. We find that brokerage is indeed positively related to innovation...... but negatively to knowledge outflows, given also that, as expected, innovation is positively related to outflows. The reason that existing literature has ignored the knowledge outflow patterns of the broker, and as such its value-added to the network, may be that the total effect of knowledge outflow is indeed...

  14. Assessing the effectiveness of a longitudinal knowledge dissemination intervention: Sharing research findings in rural South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rhian Twine

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Knowledge dissemination interventions (KDIs are integral to knowledge brokerage activities in research as part of the ethics of practice, but are seldom evaluated. In this case study, we critically reflect on an annual KDI as part of knowledge brokerage activities in the MRC/Wits-Agincourt Unit health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS in rural South Africa from 2001 to 2015. The HDSS findings on births, deaths and migrations, as well as nested research project results, were shared with villagers, village leaders and service providers. The data used for this case study comprised secondary analysis of 13 reports and 762 evaluation forms of annual village-based meetings; records of requests for data from stakeholders; and qualitative analysis of 15 individual and five focus group interviews with local leaders and service providers involving 60 people. Over time, the KDI evolved from taking place over one week a year to being extended over six months, and to include briefings with service providers and local leaders. Attendance at village-level meetings remained low at an average of 3 per cent of the total adult population. Since 2011, the KDI village-based meetings have developed into an embedded community forum for discussion of topical village issues. There has been a decrease in requests for health-care and other services from the research unit, with a concurrent increase in research-related questions and requests for data from service providers, village leaders and political representatives. We conclude that, in this setting, the dissemination of research findings is not a linear exchange of information from the researchers to village residents and their leadership, but is increasingly multi-directional. KDIs are a key component of knowledge brokerage activities and involve, influence and are influenced by other aspects of knowledge brokerage, such as identifying, engaging and connecting with stakeholders and supporting sustainability.

  15. INVESTMENTS IN BONDS ON ROMANIA’S CAPITAL MARKET

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ILIE RĂSCOLEAN

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Capital market, both the primary and secondary record financial transactions not only through property titles, but also issues debt securities, designed to attract monetary funds in the form of loans or medium term. Bonds are securities, consisting of a long-term debt on a company giving the holder of Bonds (Bondholders claim equal rights, corresponding nominal value of the bond. Bonds can be bought either in the public offering period, from banks or corporations Brokerage Financial Services Distributors, or from the stock through a brokerage firm by a procedure similar to that for action. Investing in bonds also entails risks, among which include the risk of default, interest rate risks and currency risks.

  16. Quality Management and Information Brokerage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Halm, Johan

    1995-01-01

    To compete effectively, information brokers need to adopt management and marketing tools; Total Quality Management can upgrade an organization's performance by using customer feedback of its services. SERVQUAL identifies gaps in service by assessing quality expectations versus quality experiences. (AEF)

  17. Stability in Bank Income through Fee-based Activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. K. Uppal

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper is an attempt to study the trends in non-interest income which is a vital source of stability in bank income. For this, the study takes some parameters like interest and non-interest income as a percentage to total income, share of non-interest income components like exchange & brokerage, sale in investment and exchange transaction. On the basis of these parameters the study concludes that interest income is continuously declining due to deregulation in interest rates and non-interest income is rising. Among the non-interest income components, commodity exchange & brokerage witnessed a large share while exchange transaction witnessed a meager part. The paper also gives some ways and means to bring stability in the total income.

  18. 76 FR 17720 - American Family Life Insurance Company, et al.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-30

    ... investment time horizons. For example, the adviser for the Replacement Portfolio seeks capital appreciation... brokerage commissions and legal, accounting, and other fees and expenses, will be paid by the Company. In...

  19. 76 FR 401 - MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut, et al.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-04

    ... Board of Directors/Trustees without shareholder approval. However, Met Series Fund and MIST represent... brokerage commission, fee, or other remuneration will be paid to any party in connection with the proposed...

  20. 38 CFR 36.4527 - Direct housing loans to Native American veterans on trust lands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    .... No service or brokerage fee shall be charged against the Native American veteran-borrower by any..., including, but not limited to, contracts of sale, installment contracts, deeds, leases, bills of sale...

  1. Knowledge brokering on emissions modelling in Strategic Environmental Assessment of Estonian energy policy with special reference to the LEAP model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuldna, Piret; Peterson, Kaja; Kuhi-Thalfeldt, Reeli

    2015-01-01

    Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) serves as a platform for bringing together researchers, policy developers and other stakeholders to evaluate and communicate significant environmental and socio-economic effects of policies, plans and programmes. Quantitative computer models can facilitate knowledge exchange between various parties that strive to use scientific findings to guide policy-making decisions. The process of facilitating knowledge generation and exchange, i.e. knowledge brokerage, has been increasingly explored, but there is not much evidence in the literature on how knowledge brokerage activities are used in full cycles of SEAs which employ quantitative models. We report on the SEA process of the national energy plan with reflections on where and how the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) model was used for knowledge brokerage on emissions modelling between researchers and policy developers. Our main suggestion is that applying a quantitative model not only in ex ante, but also ex post scenario modelling and associated impact assessment can facilitate systematic and inspiring knowledge exchange process on a policy problem and capacity building of participating actors. - Highlights: • We examine the knowledge brokering on emissions modelling between researchers and policy developers in a full cycle of SEA. • Knowledge exchange process can evolve at any modelling stage within SEA. • Ex post scenario modelling enables systematic knowledge exchange and learning on a policy problem

  2. Knowledge brokering on emissions modelling in Strategic Environmental Assessment of Estonian energy policy with special reference to the LEAP model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuldna, Piret, E-mail: piret.kuldna@seit.ee [Stockholm Environment Institute Tallinn Centre, Lai 34, Tallinn 10133 (Estonia); Peterson, Kaja [Stockholm Environment Institute Tallinn Centre, Lai 34, Tallinn 10133 (Estonia); Kuhi-Thalfeldt, Reeli [Stockholm Environment Institute Tallinn Centre, Lai 34, Tallinn 10133 (Estonia); Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, Tallinn 19086 (Estonia)

    2015-09-15

    Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) serves as a platform for bringing together researchers, policy developers and other stakeholders to evaluate and communicate significant environmental and socio-economic effects of policies, plans and programmes. Quantitative computer models can facilitate knowledge exchange between various parties that strive to use scientific findings to guide policy-making decisions. The process of facilitating knowledge generation and exchange, i.e. knowledge brokerage, has been increasingly explored, but there is not much evidence in the literature on how knowledge brokerage activities are used in full cycles of SEAs which employ quantitative models. We report on the SEA process of the national energy plan with reflections on where and how the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) model was used for knowledge brokerage on emissions modelling between researchers and policy developers. Our main suggestion is that applying a quantitative model not only in ex ante, but also ex post scenario modelling and associated impact assessment can facilitate systematic and inspiring knowledge exchange process on a policy problem and capacity building of participating actors. - Highlights: • We examine the knowledge brokering on emissions modelling between researchers and policy developers in a full cycle of SEA. • Knowledge exchange process can evolve at any modelling stage within SEA. • Ex post scenario modelling enables systematic knowledge exchange and learning on a policy problem.

  3. 26 CFR 1.937-1 - Bona fide residency in a possession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... time during the day. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the following days will not count as days... organizations in State C. Z receives mail in State C, including brokerage statements, credit card bills, and...

  4. 47 CFR 73.860 - Cross-ownership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... agreement of any type, including a time brokerage or management agreement, with either a full power... which the party also holds an interest unless such party is a college or university that can certify...

  5. 75 FR 33343 - Application Nos. and Proposed Exemptions; D-11573, Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. and Its...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-11

    ... wealth management (retail brokerage) and private wealth management businesses. According to the... programs previously sponsored by Morgan Stanley's Global Wealth Management Group (the MS Channel). As... management fee) which contains investments attributable to the Plan investor. (l) With respect to its...

  6. 77 FR 23391 - Guidance on Reporting Interest Paid to Nonresident Aliens

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-19

    ... Guidance on Reporting Interest Paid to Nonresident Aliens AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury... and is paid to certain nonresident alien individuals. These regulations will affect commercial banks..., securities brokerages, and insurance companies that maintain deposit accounts for nonresident alien...

  7. 77 FR 25681 - Export Trade Certificate of Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-01

    ... services related to compliance with customs' requirements; sales and marketing; export brokerage; foreign marketing and analysis; foreign market development; overseas advertising and promotion; rice and rice...: Consulting and trade strategy, converting harvest rice to marketable finished rice products via the drying...

  8. Not All Brokers Are Alike

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stea, Diego; Pedersen, Torben

    2017-01-01

    of brokerage, which raises important questions about when and how brokering between otherwise disconnected colleagues leads to individual creativity. We advance the relational perspective on individual creativity by adopting a contingency view, and showing that a curvilinear (inverted U-shape) specification...

  9. 49 CFR 365.107 - Types of applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... contract carrier of property (except household goods) , Mexican motor property carriers that perform private carriage and transport exempt items, and motor contract carrier of passengers transportation. (2) Motor carrier brokerage of general commodities (except household goods). (3) Certain types of motor...

  10. Service Brokerage with Prolog (Poster paper)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chong, C.N.; Etalle, Sandro; Hartel, Pieter H.; Joosten, Rieks; Kleinhuis, Geert; Seruca, I.; Cordeiro, J.

    Inter-library loan involves interaction among a dynamic number of digital libraries and users. Therefore, inter-library service management is complex. We need to handle different and conflicting requirements of services from the digital libraries and users. To resolve this problem, we present the

  11. Brokerage and governance for business networks:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gretzinger, Susanne

    2018-01-01

    This paper studies the functioning of network brokers from a governance perspective on inter-firm business networks. As a stylized fact, inter-firm business networks offer benefits to firms, but are at the same time associated with major risks and conflicts that should be managed through adequate...

  12. The Financial Industry's Challenge of Developing Commodity Derivatives

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pennings, J.M.E.; Meulenberg, M.T.G.

    1999-01-01

    With a constant new stream of financial services coming to the market, each often more exotic and complicated than the last, the financial services industry, which includes commodity derivatives exchanges, brokerage houses and banks providing price risk reduction services (the so-called hedging

  13. Gender Differences in Strategy and Human Resource Management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verheul, I.; Risseeuw, P.A.; Bartelse, G.

    2002-01-01

    The present study aims at investigating the existence of gender differences in entrepreneurship. The focus is on differences in strategy and human resource management (HRM) between male and female entrepreneurs in Dutch real estate brokerage. Several propositions are explored using data from

  14. Individual Investor Perceptions, Behavior, and Performance During the Financial Crisis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoffmann, A.O.I.; Pennings, J.M.E.; Post, T.

    2011-01-01

    We study how during the financial crisis individual investor perceptions change, impact trading and risk-taking behavior, and explain performance. Based on monthly survey data and matching brokerage records from April 2008 to March 2009, we find that successful investors had higher return

  15. The Learning University.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patterson, Glenys

    1999-01-01

    As universities make cross-sectoral alliances, various models for integrating postsecondary education into universities arise: contract, brokerage, collaborative, validation, joint program, dual-sector institution, tertiary university, metaphoric, and federal. The integrated, comprehensive university is the learning university of the 21st century.…

  16. Exploring the intellectual structure of nanoscience and nanotechnology: journal citation network analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jo, Haejin; Park, Yongtae; Kim, Sarah Eunkyung; Lee, Hakyeon

    2016-01-01

    Understanding the research trends and intellectual structure of nanoscience and nanotechnology (nano) is important for governments as well as researchers. This paper investigates the intellectual structure of nano field and explores its interdisciplinary characteristics through journal citation networks. The nano journal network, where 41 journals are nodes and citation among the journals are links, is constructed and analyzed using centrality measures and brokerage analysis. The journals that have high centrality scores are identified as important journals in terms of knowledge flow. Moreover, an intermediary role of each journal in exchanging knowledge between nano subareas is identified by brokerage analysis. Further, the nano subarea network is constructed and investigated from the macro view of nano field. This paper can provide the micro and macro views of intellectual structure of nano field and therefore help researchers who seek appropriate journals to acquire knowledge and governments who develop R&D strategies for nano.

  17. Exploring the intellectual structure of nanoscience and nanotechnology: journal citation network analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jo, Haejin, E-mail: insomnia0@snu.ac.kr; Park, Yongtae, E-mail: parkyt1@snu.ac.kr [Seoul National University, Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Sarah Eunkyung, E-mail: eunkyung@seoultech.ac.kr [Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Graduate School of Nano-IT-Design (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Hakyeon, E-mail: hylee@seoultech.ac.kr [Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-06-15

    Understanding the research trends and intellectual structure of nanoscience and nanotechnology (nano) is important for governments as well as researchers. This paper investigates the intellectual structure of nano field and explores its interdisciplinary characteristics through journal citation networks. The nano journal network, where 41 journals are nodes and citation among the journals are links, is constructed and analyzed using centrality measures and brokerage analysis. The journals that have high centrality scores are identified as important journals in terms of knowledge flow. Moreover, an intermediary role of each journal in exchanging knowledge between nano subareas is identified by brokerage analysis. Further, the nano subarea network is constructed and investigated from the macro view of nano field. This paper can provide the micro and macro views of intellectual structure of nano field and therefore help researchers who seek appropriate journals to acquire knowledge and governments who develop R&D strategies for nano.

  18. How to Address Citizens' Practices and Policies on Sustainability? A Consultative Tool for Brokering Policy-Related Knowledge between the Worlds of Policymaking and Everyday

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espluga, Josep; Konrad, Wilfried; Mays, Claire; Oltra, Christian; Poumadére, Marc; Prades, Ana

    2016-01-01

    An innovative investigative approach (STAVE), combining elements of research, engagement and brokerage, was used to uncover policy assumptions and daily experiences related to energy use practices. Exploratory work within three policymaker institutions and eight reconvened focus groups were carried out in three different European countries…

  19. 19 CFR 10.305 - Value content requirement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ..., marketing, accounting and legal services, and insurance; (ii) Brokerage charges relating to the importation and exportation of goods; (iii) Costs for telephone, mail, and other means of communication; (iv... cases involving a vertically integrated producer (that is, an entity which produces goods for export...

  20. the role of corporate governance and strategic leadership practices

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    However, majority of board members did not have adequate skills, knowledge or experience in strategic leadership, stock brokerage finance and risk management. The study concluded that corporate governance and strategic leadership practices were not being applied optimally to mitigate risks in the firms under study.

  1. 77 FR 70193 - Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., et al.; Notice of Application and Temporary Order

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-23

    ... West''), Golden Capital Management, LLC (``Golden Capital''), Alternative Strategies Brokerage Services... become an affiliated person within the meaning of section 2(a)(3) of the Act (together with the... 3BD; Metropolitan West, 610 Newport Center Drive, Suite 1000, Newport Beach, CA 92660; Golden Capital...

  2. Uncovering document fraud in maritime freight transport based on probabilistic classification

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Triepels, Ron; Feelders, A. F.; Daniels, Hennie

    2015-01-01

    Deficient visibility in global supply chains causes significant risks for the customs brokerage practices of freight forwarders. One of the risks that freight forwarders face is that shipping documentation might contain document fraud and is used to declare a shipment. Traditional risk controls are

  3. Funding of public libraries in Nigeria: a case study of Imo state ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Finally, the paper made recommendations on how to alleviate the problems of funding namely, good management of fund; strengthening alternative sources of funding like bookshop, printing, publishing, information brokerage and collaboration with the private sector. The paper also emphasized that with adequate funding ...

  4. 75 FR 59751 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-28

    ... entitled ``Brokerage Transactions on a Securities Exchange.'' The rule governs the remuneration that a... securities transactions by the fund. The rule requires a fund's board of directors to establish, and review as necessary, procedures reasonably designed to provide that the remuneration to an affiliated broker...

  5. Uncovering Document Fraud in Maritime Freight Transport Based on Probabilistic Classification

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Triepels, Ron; Feelders, A.J.; Daniels, Hennie

    2015-01-01

    Deficient visibility in global supply chains causes significant risks for the customs brokerage practices of freight forwarders. One of the risks that freight forwarders face is that shipping documentation might contain document fraud and is used to declare a shipment. Traditional risk controls are

  6. Individual Investor Perceptions, Behavior, and Performance During the Financial Crisis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoffmann, A.O.I.; Post, T.; Pennings, J.M.E.

    2011-01-01

    Abstract: We study how during the financial crisis individual investor perceptions change, impact trading and risk-taking behavior, and explain performance. Based on monthly survey data and matching brokerage records from April 2008 to March 2009, we find that successful investors had higher return

  7. 7 CFR 930.16 - Sales constituency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Definitions § 930.16 Sales constituency. Sales constituency means a common marketing organization or brokerage... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Sales constituency. 930.16 Section 930.16 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements...

  8. 5 CFR 7501.105 - Outside employment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT § 7501.105 Outside... active participation in a business dealing with or related to real estate or manufactured housing including but not limited to real estate brokerage, management and sales, architecture, engineering...

  9. 75 FR 25150 - NVOCC Negotiated Rate Arrangements

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-07

    ...,'' issued in 2004 and agreed to by the National Industrial Transportation League (NITL), NCBFAA, and the... Transportation League (NITL); New York/New Jersey Foreign Freight Forwarders & Brokers Association, Inc... contribute to the nation's security (New Direx, Inc. at 2-3; Superior Brokerage Services, Inc. at 2-3...

  10. The company you keep: Effects of leader and teams network position on performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vernet, A; Deichmann, D.; Moser, C.

    2016-01-01

    In this paper we argue that leaders positively influence team performance through their positions in a collaboration network. We propose also that the leader’s effect on team performance is moderated by the position of the team in the larger collaboration network. We distinguish between brokerage

  11. The European Commission as Network Broker

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borrás, Susana

    2007-01-01

    after the year 2000. Developing a conceptual framework about brokerage roles in EU policy, the article uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative data in an empirical analysis of two very different cases where the Commission has been embattled the past years. The article argues that previous...

  12. Financial and Investment Sources on the Web.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raeder, Aggi

    1997-01-01

    Discusses print and World Wide Web resources on personal finance, investments, and other business information and provides an annotated bibliography of investment and the stock market sites: meta sites, stock quotes, market news, data and analysis, brokerage firms, and sites for beginning investors. Includes addresses. (PEN)

  13. Brokering Educational Opportunity for Homeless Students and Their Families

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Peter M.; Pavlakis, Alexandra; Samartino, Lea; Bourgeois, Alexis

    2015-01-01

    This qualitative study in a Midwestern US city examines how school and community-based organizations support homeless students' connections to education-related resources and relationships. Drawing from organizational brokerage theory, which delineates how individuals' chances to thrive are shaped by the organizations in which they participate,…

  14. 77 FR 67334 - Frontseating Service Valves From the People's Republic of China; 2010-2011 Antidumping Duty...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-09

    ... the accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum. The Department recalculated the surrogate financial ratios using the financial statements of FVC Philippines, Inc. and Makati Foundry, Inc. See Comment 4 of... Comment 4: Financial Ratios Comment 5: Brokerage and Handling for DunAn Comment 6: Use of Historical FOPs...

  15. 78 FR 11856 - Agency Information Collection Activities Under OMB Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-20

    ...,'' that is employed by the ``Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage Industry... must be traded on a designated contract market (``DCM'') pursuant to part 33 of the Commission's... definition (for example, if it is an excluded forward contract--see id. at 48227), the commodity options...

  16. (Net)Working out: social capital in a private health club.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crossley, Nick

    2008-09-01

    In Bowling Alone Robert Putnam considers the possibility that the growth of private health clubs and the rising rates of membership to such clubs might represent a counter-trend to his thesis on the decline in social capital. In this paper I explore this idea using ethnographic data and social network analysis. I show both that and how networks form in health clubs and I discuss the ways in which these networks constitute social capital for their members. In addition, however, I explore the 'dark side' of this form of social capital. I argue that high integration amongst some members of a fitness class can generate a power differential between those members and other, less integrated members who experience this negatively. Furthermore, with an eye on Burt's (2005) important thesis on brokerage and closure, I argue that brokerage between relatively closed clusters of agents can lead to inter-group rivalry and conflict, which, in turn, is experienced negatively by those involved.

  17. SATISFACTION OF RETAIL INVESTORS ON THE STRUCTURAL EFFICIENCY OF THE MARKET: EVIDENCE FROM A DEVELOPING COUNTRY CONTEXT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mamunur Rashid

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Satisfied investors are a necessary element of the stock market. They help to finance rapid expansion in developing countries. This study explores the components of market structure that contribute to the satisfaction level of retail investors. Around 300 retail investors from 25 randomly selected brokerage houses registered with the Dhaka Stock Exchange, Bangladesh were surveyed using a structured questionnaire. Analyses reveal that most investors were young and inexperienced but educated, with shortages of skills and income. The investors put the strongest emphasis on effective investment analysis, followed by ease of the transaction process, effective information management and timely risk management. The trading experience of these investors was used as a moderating variable to investigate the impact of demographic variables and found to be insignificant. The study suggests the importance of effective regulation, disclosure requirements to ensure a supply of quality information, investor education and technology driven trading in brokerage houses for overall investor satisfaction.

  18. 78 FR 73825 - Frontseating Service Valves From the People's Republic of China; Final Results of Antidumping...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-09

    ... brokerage and handling on the per-unit costs identified in Doing Business 2013, Economy Profile: Philippines.... Cash Deposit Requirements The following cash deposit requirements will be effective for all shipments... the Act: (1) For DunAn, which claimed no shipments, the cash deposit rate will remain unchanged from...

  19. 26 CFR 1.6045-4 - Information reporting on real estate transactions with dates of closing on or after January 1, 1991.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ...” includes fee simple interests, life estates, reversions, remainders, and perpetual easements. In addition...) of this section; (ii) A transfer in full or partial satisfaction of any indebtedness secured by the... performs or is licensed to perform real estate brokerage services for a commission or fee. (2) Employees...

  20. Experiences of Knowledge Brokering for Evidence-Informed Public Health Policy and Practice: Three Years of the Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frost, Helen; Geddes, Rosemary; Haw, Sally; Jackson, Caroline A.; Jepson, Ruth; Mooney, John D.; Frank, John

    2012-01-01

    Despite a burgeoning literature on, and widespread interest in, knowledge translation and exchange in public health, few articles provide an account of the actual experiences of knowledge brokerage organisations. The Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy (SCPHRP) was formed in 2008 to: identify public health interventions…

  1. 78 FR 53175 - The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, et al.;

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-28

    ... its principal investment strategies. MSA has informed the Replaced Fund's Board of Directors that in... circumstances, the Replaced Fund's Board of Directors, at a meeting of the Board held on February 21, 2013... or remuneration will be paid in connection with the proposed transactions, except for any brokerage...

  2. A Typology of Black Leadership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tryman, Donald L.

    1977-01-01

    A leadership typology is developed which describes the relationship of Black leadership styles to the Black masses. The role that such leadership plays in the political integration of Blacks as an ethnic group is analyzed. Four authority types are discussed: traditional brokerage, cultural nationalist, religious nationalist, and faddist…

  3. 11 CFR 104.14 - Formal requirements regarding reports and statements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... statements of independent expenditures filed by facsimile machine or electronic mail under 11 CFR 104.4(b) or...) for requirements relating to preservation of records and accounts); and (4) Candidates, who obtain bank loans or loans derived from an advance from the candidate's brokerage account, credit card, home...

  4. Matching Schools With Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimes, Paul

    1977-01-01

    The Greater Cleveland External Degree Center is a nonprofit counseling organization and one of the most successful operations in the relatively new field called "educational brokering". Three brokerage services are described and a number of other large brokers listed. These educational brokers are middlemen in the field of adult…

  5. Knowledge Brokers, Entrepreneurs and Markets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caswill, Chris; Lyall, Catherine

    2013-01-01

    This paper expands the discussion of knowledge brokerage by connecting it to long-standing debates within the social sciences about the effective transmission of scientifically produced knowledge into the worlds of policy and practice. This longer-term perspective raises some different questions about intermediary roles which are then tested…

  6. 77 FR 38877 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Order Granting Approval of Proposed Rule Change...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-29

    ... activity (measured in terms of contract volume per quarter) in classes within its appointment. Commentary... options in which they do not hold an appointment in other than a floor brokerage capacity, they must... contracts outside of their appointment, market makers should not engage in transactions for an account in...

  7. 17 CFR 248.3 - Definitions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-2(a)(9)). (j) Customer means a consumer who has a customer relationship with you. (k)(1) Customer relationship means a continuing relationship between a consumer and you under which... provide brokerage services to the individual or establish a continuing relationship with the individual...

  8. Installation Restoration Program. Phase II - Confirmation/Quantification. Stage 1 for American Lake Garden Tract, Washington.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1985-12-20

    Lake Garden Tract which houses a grocery K’- store, a barber shop, a laundromat , fast food drive-in, and an automobile repair shop which no longer...store, a barber shop, an insur- ance brokerage, a laundromat , a fast food restaurant, and several equestrian " L . riding and boarding facilities

  9. 76 FR 23543 - Floor-Standing, Metal-Top Ironing Tables and Certain Parts Thereof From the People's Republic of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-27

    ... separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be the PRC-wide rate of 157.68 percent; and (5) for all non-PRC... that in the calculation of brokerage and handling expense, the Department incorrectly applied the... antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review. Cash Deposit Requirements The following...

  10. 12 CFR 362.9 - Purpose and scope.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... subpart does not cover acting solely as agent for the sale of insurance, securities, real estate, or... safekeeping services. (2) Interests in real estate in which the real property is used or intended in good... subpart as activities conducted as agent for a customer, conducted in a brokerage, custodial, advisory, or...

  11. The Real Cost of Linking Homeless Young People to Employment, Education and Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broadbent, Robyn

    2008-01-01

    This article explores the implementation of the Victorian Youth Employment, Education and Training Initiative (YEETI). This statewide initiative delivered brokerage funds to homeless young people through their housing advocates. One of the findings of the project was that the main barrier to young people achieving a stable continuum in their lives…

  12. Sentry Assurance: Bringing Outsiders "In."

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lease, Judy E.

    1998-01-01

    Presents a case study for use in business communication classes to help students understand and learn both the context and the strategies for communication with business and management. Deals with multiple problems caused by the rapid expansion of an insurance brokerage, including gender issues, clarification of responsibilities and roles, and…

  13. 75 FR 63876 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-18

    ... contingency order as described in Rule 1066; (v) number of contracts; (vi) limit price or market order or, in... trade in the crowd and the number of contracts bought or sold. This information would be immediately... upstairs firm \\12\\ which may involve Prime Brokerage \\13\\ relationships may require additional time, beyond...

  14. D6.3 – Energy brokerage module

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Per Printz

    The aim of this task is to develop an energy trading module that will enable building to sell or buy electrical energy from other buildings in given campus, neighbourhood, or district. The decision making process will be supported by considering own generation capacity (both current and future...

  15. Inter-library Service Brokerage in LicenseScript

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chong, C.N.; Etalle, Sandro; Hartel, Pieter H.; Joosten, Rieks; Kleinhuis, Geert

    Inter-library loan involves interaction among a dynamic number of digital libraries and users. Therefore, inter-library service management is complex. We need to handle different and conflicting requirements of services from the digital libraries and users. To resolve this problem, we present the

  16. Brokerage and the making of middle Indonesia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Klinken, G.

    2013-01-01

    Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous nation, extending 5,000 km west to east. Its grand myth of national becoming, the Revolution of 1945, intended to weld together a disparate colonial patchwork, stands in uneasy contrast with the spatial unevenness of its actual history of national

  17. 76 FR 26779 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.; Notice of Filing of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-09

    ... the form of other cash payments, such as a payment by an offeror to help pay the costs of a broker... brokerage arrangements, limits the payment and receipt of cash and non-cash compensation, sets conditions on... its entering into an arrangement to receive, cash compensation. Second, Rule 2341 would make a minor...

  18. A Typology of Social Capital and Associated Network Measures

    OpenAIRE

    Jackson, Matthew O.

    2017-01-01

    I provide a typology of social capital, breaking it down into seven more fundamental forms of capital: information capital, brokerage capital, coordination and leadership capital, bridging capital, favor capital, reputation capital, and community capital. I discuss how most of these forms of social capital can be identified using different network-based measures.

  19. 30 CFR 285.526 - What instruments other than a surety bond may I use to meet the financial assurance requirement?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... with: (i) Minimum net assets of $500,000,000; and (ii) Minimum Bankrate.com Safe & Sound rating of 3 Stars, and Capitalization, Assets, Equity and Liquidity (CAEL) rating of 3 or less; (4) Negotiable U.S... insured trust account by a licensed securities brokerage firm for the benefit of the MMS; (5) Investment...

  20. 77 FR 59375 - Sodium Hexametaphosphate From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-27

    ... supplier distances; \\5\\ \\5\\ See I&D Memo at Comment IV.A. Valued truck freight and brokerage and handling.... The product covered by this review includes sodium hexametaphosphate in all grades, whether food grade.... United States, 117 F. 3d 1401 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (``Sigma''). B. Surrogate Value for Truck Freight C...

  1. Information Brokers/Free-Lance Librarians: An Alternative Reference Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hogan, Matthew

    This paper examines the profession of information brokerage through a look at types of services provided, and through a discussion of major issues, including that of fee for service. The types of information broker and free-lance librarian services are identified: (1) non-profit reference and research services administered by public libraries and…

  2. 78 FR 70918 - Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Silica Bricks and Shapes From the People's...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-27

    ... Brokerage and Handling Use of Partial Adverse Facts Available for Unreported U.S. Sales Value Added Tax... Comment 8: Value Added Tax [FR Doc. 2013-28551 Filed 11-26-13; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P ... at Less Than Fair Value: Silica Bricks and Shapes From the People's Republic of China AGENCY...

  3. Multi- factor volatility of security at Charles Schwab Corporation ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper examined the rate of returns required by investors who invested at Charles Schwab (Discount Brokerage firm) from 30th September, 1987 to 29th August, 1997. The methodology adapted involved the use of a multi-factor stochastic model; APT. The study shows a low systematic risk of the security. There was ...

  4. A Financial Marriage

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    LAN XINZHEN

    2010-01-01

    @@ Love is in the air as financial church bells ring,ushering in a bonding between CITIC Securities Co.Ltd.land Crédit Agricole S.A.(CASA).The Chinese company and the French bank are planning to establish a global investment bank and strategic brokerage alliance,said a memorandum of understanding signed by the two sides on May 3.

  5. 75 FR 31665 - Electronic Fund Transfers

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-04

    ... to 12 CFR 226.3(d), which is credit secured by margin securities in brokerage accounts extended by... from assessing a fee or charge on a consumer's account for paying an ATM or one-time debit card... application of Sec. 205.17(b)(4) to accounts on an account type-by- account type basis. These provisions were...

  6. Transportation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1998-01-01

    Here is the decree of the thirtieth of July 1998 relative to road transportation, to trade and brokerage of wastes. It requires to firms which carry out a road transportation as well as to traders and to brokers of wastes to declare their operations to the prefect. The declaration has to be renewed every five years. (O.M.)

  7. Antecedents of Relational Capital

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nowinska, Agnieszka

    This paper merges economic geography and relational capital perspective in order to analyze the proximity-based antecedents of relational assets in brokerage. It investigates empirically the role and interplay of geographical and cognitive proximity between a broker and her buyers in a quantitative...... for buyers characteristics. Lastly, I make use the under-researched empirical field of brokers....

  8. Netzwerk-Broker als interdisziplinäres Forschungsthema

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gretzinger, Susanne; Leick, Birgit

    2018-01-01

    Sandelowski 2000 and 1997, and Howell Major and Savin-Baden 2010). This book chapter is introducing into the method based on an example - the support of brokerage of governance in company networks - from the entrepreneurship-research. Meta-synthesis is suited to synthesize and aggregate case......-based, qualitative empirical research, aggregate that needs interpretation on the meta-level and contributes to theory-building....

  9. Service with a smile : service companies are enjoying unconventional gas boom

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lunan, D.

    2005-01-01

    This article presented financial information from Calgary Brokerage House Peters and Co. Ltd. relating to the growth of unconventional gas production in Canada. The long-lived, stable and low-decline resource is expected to offset some of the rapid reservoir decline many producers are experiencing in conventional operations. However, it is anticipated that service companies involved in well drilling, well stimulation and infrastructure needs of the unconventional gas sector will become more profitable than the operations. In an expansive research paper published late last year, the brokerage house also noted that 2004 marked the transition year for coalbed methane (CBM), as the concept moved from experimental to an increasingly important source of natural gas production. It was suggested that CBM activity could represent the biggest growth opportunity for the Canadian oil-field service sector. Companies using newer generations of coiled tubing drilling units were expected to have the greatest success, as the units are extremely agile and can often drill more than one well a day. A review of service companies was presented, with details of financial activities, including revenues, stock market information and economic forecasts. 4 figs

  10. Affinity Programs and the Real Estate Brokerage Industry

    OpenAIRE

    G Stacy Sirmans; David A. Macpherson

    2001-01-01

    This study surveys active real estate brokers obtaining information on involvement in affinity programs and referral/relocation networks. Some results regarding affinity involvement are: (a) 13% of respondents reported affinity affilliations, 75% reported no affiliations, and 12% indicated plans to become involved within the next year; (b) about half having affinity affiliations were involved with 2-4 groups; (c) affinity relationships were most often with membership organizations, corporatio...

  11. Language, cultural brokerage and informed consent – will ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2014-05-14

    May 14, 2014 ... focus of recent debate around ethical issues relating to the standard of care and ... Forty-one key words relevant to computer terminology and concepts required to gain informed consent for a .... patients did not understand the meaning of the word 'consent' and .... [24] Lindegger and Richter[25] looked at.

  12. The Local Bias of Individual Investors

    OpenAIRE

    Ning Zhu

    2002-01-01

    This study investigates individual investors' bias towards nearby companies. Using data from a large U.S. discount brokerage, we find that individual investors tend to invest in companies closer to them relative to the market portfolio. Unlike Coval and Moskowitz's (1999) findings on institutional investors, however, we find that advantageous information cannot explain individual investors' local bias. Accounting numbers and information asymmetry matter less to individual investors' local bia...

  13. Negotiation platform for personalised advertising

    OpenAIRE

    Sousa, Luís Ventura de; Malheiro, Benedita; Foss, Jerry

    2012-01-01

    This paper describes a multi-agent brokerage platform for near real time advertising personalisation organised in three layers: user interface, agency and marketplace. The personalisation is based on the classification of viewer profiles and advertisements (ads). The goal is to provide viewers with a personalised advertising alignment during programme intervals. The enterprise interface agents upload new ads and negotiation profiles to producer agents and new user and negotiation profiles to ...

  14. Uncovering Document Fraud in Maritime Freight Transport Based on Probabilistic Classification

    OpenAIRE

    Triepels , Ron; Feelders , Ad; Daniels , Hennie

    2015-01-01

    Part 4: Data Analysis and Information Retrieval; International audience; Deficient visibility in global supply chains causes significant risks for the customs brokerage practices of freight forwarders. One of the risks that freight forwarders face is that shipping documentation might contain document fraud and is used to declare a shipment. Traditional risk controls are ineffective in this regard since the creation of shipping documentation is uncontrollable by freight forwarders. In this pap...

  15. Relationship Service Marketing and Investment in Financial Market of Iran

    OpenAIRE

    Mehrdad Alipour; Reza Ahmadi; Hamed Abasi Nami

    2012-01-01

    In competitive world, having expertise, knowledge and marketing experience for financial market activities, especially brokerage firms has proven inevitable. This should be accompanied by performing marketing operations along with intermediary roles and carrying on the daily transactions of shares in the Tehran stock exchange market. The current study aims investigating the level of marketing knowledge used in stock exchange market, identifying the reasons behind deficient use of the marketin...

  16. Developing a price management decision support system for hotel brokers using free and open source tools

    OpenAIRE

    Kisilevich, Slava; Keim, Daniel; Byshko, Roman; Tsibelman, Michael; Rokach, Lior

    2011-01-01

    In the Internet age, e-commerce provides customers global reach to a wide variety of products and plays a dominant role in business activity and competition. Competition is especially aggressive in the online travel domain where wholesalers, e.g. brokerage companies, contract through their contract managers with thousands of hotel brands and trade hotel products (usually hotel nights) for travel businesses or end customers. In order to conclude a profitable contract, a contract manager should...

  17. The impact of switching costs on closing of service branches

    OpenAIRE

    Baron, Mira G.

    2002-01-01

    The paper deals with the optimal location of service branches. Consumers can receive service from different firms and branches offering substitute services. The consumer chooses the firm and the branch. Examples are banking services (which firm and branch?), healthcare providers, insurance companies and their agents, brokerage firms and their branches. With the change in the accessibility of the internet, the service industry witnesses the impact of the change in technology. More customers pr...

  18. A behavioral analysis of investor diversification

    OpenAIRE

    Fuertes, A.; Muradoglu, G.; Ozturkkal, B.

    2014-01-01

    This paper studies the link between individual investors’ portfolio diversification levels and various personal traits that proxy informational advantages and overconfidence. The analysis is based on objective data from the largest Turkish brokerage house tracking 59,951 individual investors’ accounts with a total of 3,248,654 million transactions over the period 2008–2010. Wealthier, highly educated, older investors working in the finance sector and those trading relatively often show higher...

  19. Make or buy of IT-enabled innovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mahnke, Volker; Overby, Mikkel Lucas; Özcan, Serden

    2004-01-01

    , an analysis of three companies in the financial sector - Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investment, and Merrill Lynch - reveals that governance choices influence a company's ap-propriable learning curve advantage to slow down or speed up adoption and imitation of IT-enabled innovation. Moreover, we discuss...... the implications of governance choices in techno-logical environments characterised by either accumulation or disruption. Keywords: IT-enabled innovation, outsourcing, technological regime, strategic posture, first-mover advantages, financial services, online brokerage...

  20. Trading as Entertainment?

    OpenAIRE

    Daniel Dorn; Paul Sengmueller

    2009-01-01

    Among 1,000 German brokerage clients for whom both survey responses and actual trading records are available, investors who report enjoying investing or gambling turn over their portfolio at twice the rate of their peers. Including entertainment attributes as additional explanatory variables in cross-sectional regressions of portfolio turnover on objective investor attributes more than doubles the fraction of the total variation of portfolio turnover that can be explained. The results are rob...

  1. Non-Linear Transaction Costs Inclusion in Mean-Variance Optimization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian Johannes Zimmer

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available In this article we propose a new way to include transaction costs into a mean-variance portfolio optimization. We consider brokerage fees, bid/ask spread and the market impact of the trade. A pragmatic algorithm is proposed, which approximates the optimal portfolio, and we can show that is converges in the absence of restrictions. Using Brazilian financial market data we compare our approximation algorithm with the results of a non-linear optimizer.

  2. The enrichment secondary market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Einbund, D.R.

    1986-01-01

    This paper will addresses two topics: the background to the present status of the enrichment secondary market and the future outlook of the secondary market in enrichment services, and the viability of the nuclear fuel brokerage industry. These two topics are inevitably connected, as most secondary market activity, not only in enrichment but also in natural uranium, has traditionally been conducted with the participation of brokers. Therefore, the author interrelates these topics

  3. Of markets and middlemen

    OpenAIRE

    Gabre-Madhin, Eleni Z.

    1999-01-01

    Using survey data on traders and brokers in the Ethiopian foodgrain market, this paper reveals that the brokerage institution is critical to market performance in that it enables traders to circumvent the commitment problem of long-distance trade with unknown partners. In the absence of grain standardization, public information, and legal contract enforcement, brokers act as inspectors and guarantors of each transaction. The paper analyzes the sources of commitment failure, the role and funct...

  4. PEROLD-SHARPE REBALANCING STRATEGIES IN PRACTICE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valentyn Khokhlov

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to investigate the different strategies for portfolio rebalanc-ing (buy-and-hold, constant weights, and constant-proportion portfolio insurance (CPPI suggested by Perold and Sharpe in a reallife environment using the actual market data and considering trans-action costs. Methodology. Exchange-traded funds were used to represent asset classes, and actual market prices in 2007-2015 for the ETFs used to conduct the research. The Monte-Carlo simulations were used to generate 400 portfolios over 3 different time horizons in order to get a representative sample. Two actual fee structures were used from the leading U.S. brokerage firms. Results of the portfolio dynamics research show outperformance of CPPI over other strategies on holding periods over 36 months, and on shorter time horizons CPPI and constant weights strategies clearly dominate over buyand- hold strategy. Contrary to the previous conclusions by Perold and Sharpe, there was no definite link between the stock market dynamics or volatility and the preferred strategy. We also see that after a bull market period the CPPI portfolio allocation shifts to 100% equity. The portfolio turnover is typically higher and much more dispersed for CPPI strategy than for constant weights strategy. We also found a strong negative correlation between the CPPI portfolio turnover and the initial equity allocation, whereas for constant weights strategy the turnover is higher at 50% allocation to both stocks and bonds. Practical implications. The strategy choice is shown to be more a matter of the holding period; CPPI seems the best choice over longer periods. Contrary to the widespread perception, our research shows that brokerage fees has not had a material influence on the simulated portfolio performance and, thus, should not be a factor for choosing a strategy. Originality/value. Unlike previous studies in this area that focused on analytical derivation based on sample statistics

  5. Perlindungan Hukum Dalam Transaksi Margin Trading Dan Short Sales Di Pasar Modal

    OpenAIRE

    Kiandi, Ferry

    2015-01-01

    In the world of capital markets, there are many facilities offered by the securities, among other things, are margin trading and short selling. Margin trading is one of the facilities provided by the brokerage firm to investors. In margin trading, securuties (effects) purchase transactions made by the customers are financed by securities companies. So the investor can make the transaction exceeding the amount of money he has. In this facility, investors do not have to return th...

  6. Adoption of open source software in business models: a Red Hat and IBM case study

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Munga, N

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available and its position in the market identified [15]. Various types of business models are discussed in the literature. Rappa [16], using the customer relationship as the primary dimension, defines the brokerage model, information intermediary model... is growing at twice the rate of the platform business [29]. The Market After years of trying to sell to the individual consumer market, Red Hat decided to follow the money and focus its efforts on the enterprise market. The enterprise business customers...

  7. A COMPARISON OF BASIC AND EXTENDED MARKOWITZ MODEL ON CROATIAN CAPITAL MARKET

    OpenAIRE

    Bruna Škarica; Zrinka Lukač

    2012-01-01

    Markowitz' mean - variance model for portfolio selection, first introduced in H.M. Markowitz' 1952 article, is one of the best known models in finance. However, the Markowitz model is based on many assumptions about financial markets and investors, which do not coincide with the real world. One of these assumptions is that there are no taxes or transaction costs, when in reality all financial products are subject to both taxes and transaction costs – such as brokerage fees. In this pape...

  8. UMOWA BROKERSKA JAKO UMOWA O CZYNNOŚCI POŚREDNICTWA UBEZPIECZENIOWEGO

    OpenAIRE

    Pokrzywniak, Jakub

    2002-01-01

    The aim of the article is to designate those characteristics of a brokerage contract that distinguish it from other types of contracts. The author begins by analysing the notion of insurance mediation on the basis of its legal definition as well as the practice o f the market. In consequence, he uses the notion in its strict sense, i.e. in reference to concluding transactions, and not denoting any form of consulting, especially risk management. Since the main area of insurance bro...

  9. Application based on ArcObject inquiry and Google maps demonstration to real estate database

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, JinTsong

    2007-06-01

    Real estate industry in Taiwan has been flourishing in recent years. To acquire various and abundant information of real estate for sale is the same goal for the consumers and the brokerages. Therefore, before looking at the property, it is important to get all pertinent information possible. Not only this beneficial for the real estate agent as they can provide the sellers with the most information, thereby solidifying the interest of the buyer, but may also save time and the cost of manpower were something out of place. Most of the brokerage sites are aware of utilizes Internet as form of media for publicity however; the contents are limited to specific property itself and the functions of query are mostly just provided searching by condition. This paper proposes a query interface on website which gives function of zone query by spatial analysis for non-GIS users, developing a user-friendly interface with ArcObject in VB6, and query by condition. The inquiry results can show on the web page which is embedded functions of Google Maps and the UrMap API on it. In addition, the demonstration of inquiry results will give the multimedia present way which includes hyperlink to Google Earth with surrounding of the property, the Virtual Reality scene of house, panorama of interior of building and so on. Therefore, the website provides extra spatial solution for query and demonstration abundant information of real estate in two-dimensional and three-dimensional types of view.

  10. Group-Oriented Services: A Shift towards Consumer-Managed Relationships in the Telecom Industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vrdoljak, Luka; Bojic, Iva; Podobnik, Vedran; Jezic, Gordan; Kusek, Mario

    Today, telecom operators face a threefold challenge: a social challenge dealing with the evolution of the consumer lifestyle, a technological challenge dealing with ever changing ICT trends and a business challenge dealing with the need for innovative business models. This paper introduces an idea of group-oriented services, a special type of personalized telecom services, as a possible solution for all three of these challenges. A proof-of-concept service, called Agent-Based Mobile Content Brokerage, is presented and elaborated with the aim to demonstrate a shift towards consumer-managed relationships, a novel provisioning paradigm within the telecom industry.

  11. The Case for Information Brokering During Major Change: The Experience of the Transition Support Office of the McGill University Health Centre.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klag, Malvina; Richer, Marie-Claire

    2016-01-01

    This paper describes the emergence of an "information brokerage" in the project management office of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) in Montreal. This process evolved during unprecedented transformation linked to a redevelopment project. Information brokering became a core function in the MUHC's context of major change. To develop an information brokering model, the paper draws upon the literature on knowledge brokering, applies Daft and Lengel's (1986) seminal framework on information processing in organizations, and builds on the MUHC experience. The paper proposes that knowledge brokering and information brokering are related, yet distinct in content, purpose and structure.

  12. Rural Gas Program manual

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1987-11-01

    The intent and purpose of this manual is to describe the various guideliness and administrative procedures associated with the Alberta Rural Gas Program and to consolidate and expand upon the legislation under which the Program has been developed. It is intended primarily for the use and information of rural gas distributors, their agents, and other private or government parties having an interest in the Rural Gas Program. Information is presented on: rural gas franchises, technical applications, contracts and tenders, determination of system capital costs for grant support, grants, Gas Alberta brokerage arrangements, insurance coverage, utility rights-of-way, and lien notes.

  13. Firm-specific information, analysts’ superiority and investment value

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Lu; Li; Erjia; Yang; Tusheng; Xiao

    2014-01-01

    Using a sample of Chinese security analysts’recommendations from 2005 to2010,we examine the source of analysts’superiority and the investment value of their recommendations.Using a calendar-time portfolio approach,we find that,on average,analysts’recommendations are valuable and that analysts are better at analyzing and transferring firm-specific information than market-wide or industry-level information.In addition,we show that the investment value of recommendations increases as firm-specific information becomes more important in stock pricing.Our empirical results are useful in guiding investors and helping brokerage houses to evaluate the output of research departments.

  14. Network Churn: The Effects of Self-Monitoring Personality on Brokerage Dynamics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sasovova, Z.; Mehra, A.; Borgatti, S.P.; Schippers, M.C.

    2010-01-01

    The apparent stability of social network structures may mask considerable change and adjustment in the ties that make up the structures. In this study, we theorize and test-using longitudinal data on friendship relations from a radiology department located in the Netherlands-the idea that the

  15. GABE: A Cloud Brokerage System for Service Selection, Accountability and Enforcement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sundareswaran, Smitha

    2014-01-01

    Much like its meteorological counterpart, "Cloud Computing" is an amorphous agglomeration of entities. It is amorphous in that the exact layout of the servers, the load balancers and their functions are neither known nor fixed. Its an agglomerate in that multiple service providers and vendors often coordinate to form a multitenant system…

  16. Social network properties and self-rated health in later life: comparisons from the Korean social life, health, and aging project and the national social life, health and aging project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Youm, Yoosik; Laumann, Edward O; Ferraro, Kenneth F; Waite, Linda J; Kim, Hyeon Chang; Park, Yeong-Ran; Chu, Sang Hui; Joo, Won-Tak; Lee, Jin A

    2014-09-14

    This paper has two objectives. Firstly, it provides an overview of the social network module, data collection procedures, and measurement of ego-centric and complete-network properties in the Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (KSHAP). Secondly, it directly compares the KSHAP structure and results to the ego-centric network structure and results of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), which conducted in-home interviews with 3,005 persons 57 to 85 years of age in the United States. The structure of the complete social network of 814 KSHAP respondents living in Township K was measured and examined at two levels of networks. Ego-centric network properties include network size, composition, volume of contact with network members, density, and bridging potential. Complete-network properties are degree centrality, closeness centrality, betweenness centrality, and brokerage role. We found that KSHAP respondents with a smaller number of social network members were more likely to be older and tended to have poorer self-rated health. Compared to the NSHAP, the KSHAP respondents maintained a smaller network size with a greater network density among their members and lower bridging potential. Further analysis of the complete network properties of KSHAP respondents revealed that more brokerage roles inside the same neighborhood (Ri) were significantly associated with better self-rated health. Socially isolated respondents identified by network components had the worst self-rated health. The findings demonstrate the importance of social network analysis for the study of older adults' health status in Korea. The study also highlights the importance of complete-network data and its ability to reveal mechanisms beyond ego-centric network data.

  17. Variables influencing the use of derivatives in South Africa – the development of a conceptual model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Schwegler

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper, which is the first in a two-part series, sets out the development of a conceptual model on the variables influencing investors’ decisions to use derivatives in their portfolios. Investor-specific variables include: the investor’s needs, goals and return expectations, the investor’s knowledge of financial markets, familiarity with different asset classes including derivative instruments, and the investor’s level of wealth and level of risk tolerance. Market-specific variables include: the level of volatility, standardisation, regulation and liquidity in a market, the level of information available on derivatives, the transparency of price determination, taxes, brokerage costs and product availability.

  18. Social networks of professionals in health care organizations: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tasselli, Stefano

    2014-12-01

    In this article, we provide an overview of social network research in health care, with a focus on social interactions between professionals in organizations. We begin by introducing key concepts defining the social network approach, including network density, centrality, and brokerage. We then review past and current research on the antecedents of health care professionals' social networks-including demographic attributes, professional groups, and organizational arrangements-and their consequences-including satisfaction at work, leadership, behaviors, knowledge transfer, diffusion of innovation, and performance. Finally, we examine future directions for social network research in health care, focusing on micro-macro linkages and network dynamics. © The Author(s) 2014.

  19. Towards a Reactive Semantic Execution Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Komazec, Srdjan; Facca, Federico Michele

    Managing complex and distributed software systems built on top of the service-oriented paradigm has never been more challenging. While Semantic Web Service technologies offer a promising set of languages and tools as a foundation to resolve the heterogeneity and scalability issues, they are still failing to provide an autonomic execution environment. In this paper we present an approach based on Semantic Web Services to enable the monitoring and self-management of a Semantic Execution Environment (SEE), a brokerage system for Semantic Web Services. Our approach is founded on the event-triggered reactivity paradigm in order to facilitate environment control, thus contributing to its autonomicity, robustness and flexibility.

  20. Language cultural brokerage and informed consent will technological terms impede telemedicine use

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caron Jack

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Telemedicine provides a solution to treatment of economically and geographically compromised patients and enhances the level of care. However, a problem has arisen in safeguarding patients’ rights to informed consent.Objective. To determine the impact of language, translation and interpretation barriers on gaining legally valid informed consent in telemedicine.Design. Forty-one key words relevant to computer terminology and concepts required to gain informed consent for a telemedicine encounter were selected and sent for translation into isiZulu, the local indigenous language of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A questionnaire with the list of words was developed with three domains covering information communication technology (ICT use, ICT terms and ethics terms. This was administered to patients at four outpatient departments in rural KwaZulu-Natal hospitals.Results. Of the 54 participants, 50 (92.6% did not know or understand the term ‘telemedicine’, 49 (90.7% the term ‘video conference’ and 49 (90.7% the term ‘electronic records’. Words such as ‘consent’ and ‘autonomy’ were understood by less than a third of the participants. Only 19 individuals (35.2% understood the word ‘consent’, and only 4 (7.4% understood both the words ‘consent’ and ‘telemedicine’.Conclusions. The results of this study show that obtaining informed consent for a telemedicine consultation is problematic. Alternative ways of gaining informed consent need to be investigated.

  1. 11 CFR 100.83 - Brokerage loans and lines of credit to candidates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... living expenses. Any reduction in the unpaid balance of the loan, advance, or line of credit shall reduce..., or co-signer bears to the total number of endorsers or guarantors. However, if the spouse of the...-half of the available credit extended by the unsecured loan. (c) Routine living expenses. (1) A loan...

  2. 12 CFR 250.407 - Interlocking relationship involving securities affiliate of brokerage firm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... costs, and to the condition of the market for municipal and State bonds during the past year, a field in..., has become rather widespread in recent years. Accordingly, other cases may arise where a partner in... as a single entity or enterprise for purposes of section 32. (j) The remaining question was whether...

  3. Personal support networks, social capital, and risk of relapse among individuals treated for substance use issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panebianco, Daria; Gallupe, Owen; Carrington, Peter J; Colozzi, Ivo

    2016-01-01

    The success of treatment for substance use issues varies with personal and social factors, including the composition and structure of the individual's personal support network. This paper describes the personal support networks and social capital of a sample of Italian adults after long-term residential therapeutic treatment for substance use issues, and analyses network correlates of post-treatment substance use (relapse). Using a social network analysis approach, data were obtained from structured interviews (90-120 min long) with 80 former clients of a large non-governmental therapeutic treatment agency in Italy providing voluntary residential treatments and rehabilitation services for substance use issues. Participants had concluded the program at least six months prior. Data were collected on socio-demographic variables, addiction history, current drug use status (drug-free or relapsed), and the composition and structure of personal support networks. Factors related to risk of relapse were assessed using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models. A main goal of this study was to identify differences between the support network profiles of drug free and relapsed participants. Drug free participants had larger, less dense, more heterogeneous and reciprocal support networks, and more brokerage social capital than relapsed participants. Additionally, a lower risk of relapse was associated with higher socio-economic status, being married/cohabiting, and having network members with higher socio-economic status, who have greater occupational heterogeneity, and reciprocate support. Post-treatment relapse was found to be negatively associated with the socioeconomic status and occupational heterogeneity of ego's support network, reciprocity in the ties between ego and network members, and a support network in which the members are relatively loosely connected with one another (i.e., ego possesses "brokerage social capital"). These findings suggest the

  4. Application of remote debugging techniques in user-centric job monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dos Santos, T; Mättig, P; Harenberg, T; Volkmer, F; Beermann, T; Kalinin, S; Ahrens, R; Wulff, N

    2012-01-01

    With the Job Execution Monitor, a user-centric job monitoring software developed at the University of Wuppertal and integrated into the job brokerage systems of the WLCG, job progress and grid worker node health can be supervised in real time. Imminent error conditions can thus be detected early by the submitter and countermeasures can be taken. Grid site admins can access aggregated data of all monitored jobs to infer the site status and to detect job misbehaviour. To remove the last 'blind spot' from this monitoring, a remote debugging technique based on the GNU C compiler suite was developed and integrated into the software; its design concept and architecture is described in this paper and its application discussed.

  5. Online stock trading platform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ion LUNGU

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available The Internet is the perfect tool that can assure the market’s transparency for any user who wants to trade on the stock market. The investor can have access to the market news, financial calendar or the press releases of the issuers. A good online trading platform also provides real-time intraday quotes, trading history and technical analysis giving the investor a clearer view of the supply and demand in the market. All this information provides the investor a good image of the market and encourages him to trade. This paper wishes to draft the pieces of an online trading platform and to analyze the impact of developing and implementing one in a brokerage firm.

  6. What constitutes 'support' for the role of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child health workforce?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Karen; Young, Jeanine; Barnes, Margaret

    2013-02-01

    As well as providing primary health care services, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers are known to significantly contribute to the overall acceptability, access and use of health services through their role of cultural brokerage in the communities within which they work. As such they are uniquely positioned to positively influence health improvements for this vulnerable population. This study sought to identify key areas that both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous health professionals working within Indigenous communities felt were important in providing support for their roles. This group of workers require support within their roles particularly in relation to cultural awareness and capability, resource provision, educational opportunities, collaboration with colleagues and peers, and professional mentorship.

  7. Kidney for sale by live donor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brahams, D

    1989-02-04

    The capacity to consent to bodily harm is explored in relation to the trade in kidneys obtained from impoverished healthy live donors for cash. The British medical profession has unambiguously condemned the practice, but the law in Britain allows a donor to consent to serious injury where the act had some social purpose, recognized by the law as valid. Allegations against the private Humana Hospital Wellington that indigent Turks were brought to Britain to be paid kidney donors, and similar practices elsewhere, are discussed. Questions are raised about the illegality of such contracts in Britain and the possibility of a Parliamentary Act making brokerage and involvement with such cash transactions a criminal offense.

  8. Data Use for School Improvement : Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Brokerage in Network Structures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hubers, Mireille Desirée; Moolenaar, Nienke; Schildkamp, Kim; Handelzalts, Adam; Pieters, Julius Marie; Daly, A.J.; Daly, Alan J.

    2015-01-01

    Data teams are used in Dutch secondary education to support schools in data use for school improvement. Such teams are likely to be most effective when knowledge is shared between the data team members and brokered throughout the school. Social network structures may play an important role in this.

  9. Knowledge brokerage for impact assessment of land use scenarios in inner Mongolia, China

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    König, Hannes J.; Podhora, Aranka; Zhen, Lin; Helming, Katharina; Yan, Huimin; Du, Bingzhen; Wübbeke, Jost; Wang, Chao; Klinger, Julie; Chen, Cheng; Uthes, Sandra

    2015-01-01

    While land serves numerous societal functions and contributes to sustainable development, it is often unclear how these functions are affected by political decisions and common drivers of land use change, such as economic development, climate change and demographic change. This study evaluates

  10. Effects and Implications for Adoption of Brokerage System in Korea's Foreign Exchange Market

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yunjong Wang

    1999-03-01

    Full Text Available Since January 1st 1999, the South Korean government has begun to establish the understructure of the foreign exchange market in order to achieve the liberalization of foreign exchange. As one of the plans, the trade of foreign exchange which was under the monopolized mediation of the capital medium of financial settlement center will be in the charge of several commercial brokers. In the developed countries, the foreign exchange & stock system and the liberalization of foreign exchange are both widely used in a flexible way. So it is predicted that the introduction of commercial foreign exchange & stock system will bring positive effect to the enhancement of the market efficiency and the function of price both in South Korean market and overseas market, the foster of competitive power of the domestic broker and the improvement of the understructure of domestic foreign exchange market. But more importantly is that the foreign exchange market must expand the scale of its participator, bring in various relevant foreign exchange products and develop the bond market which has a close relationship with the foreign exchange market for further development.

  11. The Socio-political Dynamics of the Citizen’s Revolution. Political Work as the ‘Art of Serving’ that Separates and Unites State and Society

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Antonio Villarreal Velásquez

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This article analyses the relations between politics and society during the so-called citizen’s revolution in Ecuador. Drawing on ethnographic research focused on political brokerage or the ‘art of serving’, the article analyses the particularities of political work by analysing the linkages and tensions that are constructed between the population of a suburb of the city of Guayaquil, the members of the governing political party of the Citizen’s Revolution, Movimiento Patria Altiva i Soberana (Alianza PAIS and State functionaries. Meetings of political socialization and sectorial events- understood as institutional rituals- are taken as scenes in which to observe the interactions and the public performance of the protagonists of the pre-dominant political party in contemporary Ecuador.

  12. Interoperability challenges for the Sustainable Management of seagrass meadows (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nativi, S.; Pastres, R.; Bigagli, L.; Venier, C.; Zucchetta, M.; Santoro, M.

    2013-12-01

    Seagrass meadows (marine angiosperm plants) occupy less than 0.2% of the global ocean surface, annually store about 10-18% of the so-called 'Blue Carbon', i.e. the Carbon stored in coastal vegetated areas. Recent literature estimates that the flux to the long-term carbon sink in seagrasses represents 10-20% of seagrasses global average production. Such figures can be translated into economic benefits, taking into account that a ton of carbon dioxide in Europe is paid at around 15 € in the carbon market. This means that the organic carbon retained in seagrass sediments in the Mediterranean is worth 138 - 1128 billion €, which represents 6-23 € per square meter. This is 9-35 times more than one square meter of tropical forest soil (0.66 € per square meter), or 5-17 times when considering both the above and the belowground compartments in tropical forests. According the most conservative estimations, about 10% of the Mediterranean meadows have been lost during the last century. In the framework of the GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems) initiative, the MEDINA project (funded by the European Commission and coordinated by the University of Ca'Foscari in Venice) prepared a showcase as part of the GEOSS Architecture Interoperability Pilot -phase 6 (AIP-6). This showcase aims at providing a tool for the sustainable management of seagrass meadows along the Mediterranean coastline. The application is based on an interoperability framework providing a set of brokerage services to easily ingest and run a Habitat Suitability model (a model predicting the probability a given site to provide a suitable habitat for the development of seagrass meadow and the average coverage expected). The presentation discusses such a framework explaining how the input data is discovered, accessed and processed to ingest the model (developed in the MEDINA project). Furthermore, the brokerage framework provides the necessary services to run the model and visualize results

  13. Short-term uranium price formation: a methodology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hsieh, L.Y.; de Graffenried, C.L.

    1987-01-01

    One of the major problems in analyzing the short-term uranium market is the lack of a well-defined spot market price. The two primary sources of price data covering the US uranium market are the series published by the US Dept. of Energy (DOE) and by the Nuclear Exchange Corporation (NUEXCO), a private brokerage firm. Because of the differences in both definition and coverage, these two series are not directly comparable. In this study, an econometric model was developed for analyzing the interrelationship between short-term uranium price (NUEXCO exchange value), supply, demand, and future price expectations formed by market participants. The validity of this model has been demonstrated by the fact that all simulation statistics derived are highly significant. Three forecasting scenarios were developed in this study

  14. Econophysics: A challenge to econometricians

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zapart, Christopher A.

    2015-02-01

    The study contrasts mainstream economics-operating on time scales of hours and days-with behavioural finance, econophysics and high-frequency trading, more applicable to short-term time scales of the order of minutes and seconds. We show how the central theoretical assumption underpinning prevailing economic theories is violated on small time scales. We also demonstrate how an alternative behavioural econophysics can model reactions of market participants to short-term movements in foreign exchange markets and, in a direct contradiction of the orthodox economics, design a rudimentary IsingFX automated trading system. By replacing costly human forex dealers with banks of Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices that implement in hardware high-frequency behavioural trading models of the type described here, brokerages and forex liquidity providers can expect to gain significant reductions in operating costs.

  15. The right friends in the right places: Understanding network structure as a predictor of voluntary turnover.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ballinger, Gary A; Cross, Rob; Holtom, Brooks C

    2016-04-01

    Research examining the relationship between social networks and employee retention has focused almost exclusively on the number of direct links and generally found that having more ties decreases the likelihood of turnover. The present research moves beyond simple measures of network centrality to investigate the relationship between 2 additional, and theoretically distinct, facets of social capital and voluntary turnover. In 2 organizations, we found consistent evidence of a negative relationship between reputation, as measured by relationships with highly sought-out others (incoming eigenvector centrality) and voluntary turnover. Further, we found that the negative relationship between brokerage (structural holes) and turnover is significant, but only for higher-level employees. The theoretical and practical implications of expanding the suite of social capital measures to understand voluntary turnover are discussed. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. A COMPARISON OF BASIC AND EXTENDED MARKOWITZ MODEL ON CROATIAN CAPITAL MARKET

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruna Škarica

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Markowitz' mean - variance model for portfolio selection, first introduced in H.M. Markowitz' 1952 article, is one of the best known models in finance. However, the Markowitz model is based on many assumptions about financial markets and investors, which do not coincide with the real world. One of these assumptions is that there are no taxes or transaction costs, when in reality all financial products are subject to both taxes and transaction costs – such as brokerage fees. In this paper, we consider an extension of the standard portfolio problem which includes transaction costs that arise when constructing an investment portfolio. Finally, we compare both the extension of the Markowitz' model, including transaction costs, and the basic model on the example of the Croatian capital market.

  17. Real Estate Course Outlines--Principles, Appraisal, Finance, Law, Math, Property Management, Investments, Marketing, Brokerage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyon, Robert

    This series of course outlines was developed by the Texas Real Estate Research Center to help instructors in developing courses in compliance with the Texas Real Estate License Act Section 7(a). The outlines are general in nature and designed to serve as the basis for the development of a comprehensive course outline based on the texts and…

  18. Electrical equipment distributors assuming greater role as suppliers to electric utilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1990-01-01

    A survey was conducted of Canada's largest distributors of electrical equipment to the utility market. Summaries are presented of the views of the major respondents concerning market trends and future challenges. Distributors have emerged as a supply source to utilities over the past two decades. Before then, electric utilities did virtually all their business directly with the manufacturers and rarely with distributors. One reason for this situation was that direct dealing with manufacturers was perceived by the utilites as providing better access to technical advice. Distributors have grown significantly since then and many have their own expert technical staff and provide full support for their products. Various advantages for utilities in dealing with distributors are noted: ability to supply most needs relatively rapidly from stock, simplification of ordering, improved inventory management, and savings in brokerage and other costs associated with imported equipment

  19. Evolution of the ATLAS PanDA Production and Distributed Analysis System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maeno, T; Wenaus, T; Fine, V; Potekhin, M; Panitkin, S; De, K; Nilsson, P; Stradling, A; Walker, R; Compostella, G

    2012-01-01

    The PanDA (Production and Distributed Analysis) system has been developed to meet ATLAS production and analysis requirements for a data-driven workload management system capable of operating at LHC data processing scale. PanDA has performed well with high reliability and robustness during the two years of LHC data-taking, while being actively evolved to meet the rapidly changing requirements for analysis use cases. We will present an overview of system evolution including automatic rebrokerage and reattempt for analysis jobs, adaptation for the CernVM File System, support for the multi-cloud model through which Tier-2 sites act as members of multiple clouds, pledged resource management and preferential brokerage, and monitoring improvements. We will also describe results from the analysis of two years of PanDA usage statistics, current issues, and plans for the future.

  20. The NYMEX electricity futures contract

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palmer-Huggins, D.

    1998-01-01

    Members of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) include bankers, industry (such as refiners, producers, and electricity marketers) brokerage houses, and individuals. NYMEX is the largest physical commodity futures exchange in the world. The primary economic role of the commodity exchange industry was discussed, with special emphasis on open interest, volume, and liquidity. Hedge dynamics were also reviewed. A hedge was described as a financial instrument used to lock in prices, costs, and profit margins. Futures contracts in general, and electricity futures contracts in particular were defined ('a firm commitment to deliver or to receive a specified quantity or grade of commodity at a specific location within a designated month'). Results expected from hedging, - cost control, predictable margins, securing a certain market share, price stabilization - , the nature of options trading, and its benefits were also reviewed. 1 tab., 4 figs

  1. Frontline health workers as brokers: provider perceptions, experiences and mitigating strategies to improve access to essential medicines in South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magadzire, Bvudzai Priscilla; Budden, Ashwin; Ward, Kim; Jeffery, Roger; Sanders, David

    2014-11-05

    Front-line health providers have a unique role as brokers (patient advocates) between the health system and patients in ensuring access to medicines (ATM). ATM is a fundamental component of health systems. This paper examines in a South African context supply- and demand- ATM barriers from the provider perspective using a five dimensional framework: availability (fit between existing resources and clients' needs); accessibility (fit between physical location of healthcare and location of clients); accommodation (fit between the organisation of services and clients' practical circumstances); acceptability (fit between clients' and providers' mutual expectations and appropriateness of care) and affordability (fit between cost of care and ability to pay). This cross-sectional, qualitative study uses semi-structured interviews with nurses, pharmacy personnel and doctors. Thirty-six providers were purposively recruited from six public sector Community Health Centres in two districts in the Eastern Cape Province representing both rural and urban settings. Content analysis combined structured coding and grounded theory approaches. Finally, the five dimensional framework was applied to illustrate the interconnected facets of the issue. Factors perceived to affect ATM were identified. Availability of medicines was hampered by logistical bottlenecks in the medicines supply chain; poor public transport networks affected accessibility. Organization of disease programmes meshed poorly with the needs of patients with comorbidities and circular migrants who move between provinces searching for economic opportunities, proximity to services such as social grants and shopping centres influenced where patients obtain medicines. Acceptability was affected by, for example, HIV related stigma leading patients to seek distant services. Travel costs exacerbated by the interplay of several ATM barriers influenced affordability. Providers play a brokerage role by adopting flexible

  2. Software Architecture Coupling Metric for Assessing Operational Responsiveness of Trading Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudiu VINTE

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The empirical observation that motivates our research relies on the difficulty to assess the performance of a trading architecture beyond a few synthetic indicators like response time, system latency, availability or volume capacity. Trading systems involve complex software architectures of distributed resources. However, in the context of a large brokerage firm, which offers a global coverage from both, market and client perspectives, the term distributed gains a critical significance indeed. Offering a low latency ordering system by nowadays standards is relatively easily achievable, but integrating it in a flexible manner within the broader information system architecture of a broker/dealer requires operational aspects to be factored in. We propose a metric for measuring the coupling level within software architecture, and employ it to identify architectural designs that can offer a higher level of operational responsiveness, which ultimately would raise the overall real-world performance of a trading system.

  3. A Tale of a Global Family: Shifts and Connections among Different Streams of Marriage Migrations in Asia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongfang Hao

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Transnational marriage migration is an important global phenomenon, yet each marriage remains an intimate, personal, and life-shaping event. This article traces the life of a family in rural northeast China that has developed global connections through marriage. In particular, it focuses on the story of a Chinese husband and his Vietnamese wife, which provides insight into the expansion of marriage migrations to and from China over the last decade. The article analyzes how different streams of marriage migrations are linked, specifically the flow of wives from China to Japan and South Korea, and from Vietnam to Taiwan, South Korea, and China. These flows are interconnected in many ways, including through personal networks, brokerage, remittances, and flows of information. Such interconnections in turn exemplify how apparently independent and unrelated migration flows may present multilayered connections of migration factors, diversification, and increasing complexity of migration experiences.

  4. Greenhouse gas trading

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Drazilov, P. [Natsource-Tullett Emissions Brokerage, Toronto, ON (Canada)

    2001-07-01

    Natsource-Tullett Emissions Brokerage is a market leader in natural gas, electricity, coal, and weather, emissions with a total of more than $2 billion by volume in emissions transactions in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and Europe. This power point presentation addressed issues dealing with global warming, the Kyoto Protocol, and explained where we are in terms of reaching commitments for the first compliance period between 2008-2012. The paper focused on international emissions trading (IET), joint implementation (JI) and the clean development mechanism (CDM) and explained how greenhouse gases are traded. Emissions trading refers to the trade of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxides, perfluoro-carbons, hydrofluorocarbons, and sulphur hexafluorides. The motivational drivers for trading were outlined in terms of liability for buyers and assets for sellers. To date, trading activity is nearly 120 transactions with nearly 70 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. tabs., figs.

  5. Local Politics and a Self-assessment of Political Practice. Perspective of a Neighbourhood Leader in Mexico City on their Political Trajectory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hélène Combes

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This article analyses politics at the local level through the perspective of a neighbourhood leader in Mexico City. Drawing on the comprehensive sociology approach and the study of a specific career trajectory, it analyses how a neighbourhood leader works to construct beneficiaries for neighbourhood level social programs and broker resources that would not be leveraged without their work. The analysis presents an alternative vision to other analysts who have emphasized the capture of public funds for electoral purposes by neighbourhood leaders. The objective is to invite researchers to rethink the role of the local political ‘broker’ or intermediary and to consider the complexity of this role. The moral and political dilemmas that condition the behaviour of such leaders are also considered. From here, without making a moral judgement, we consider how political brokerage and the activities that it involves combine instrumental considerations with moral and ideological dimensions.

  6. Application of rule-based data mining techniques to real time ATLAS Grid job monitoring data

    CERN Document Server

    Ahrens, R; The ATLAS collaboration; Kalinin, S; Maettig, P; Sandhoff, M; dos Santos, T; Volkmer, F

    2012-01-01

    The Job Execution Monitor (JEM) is a job-centric grid job monitoring software developed at the University of Wuppertal and integrated into the pilot-based “PanDA” job brokerage system leveraging physics analysis and Monte Carlo event production for the ATLAS experiment on the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG). With JEM, job progress and grid worker node health can be supervised in real time by users, site admins and shift personnel. Imminent error conditions can be detected early and countermeasures can be initiated by the Job’s owner immideatly. Grid site admins can access aggregated data of all monitored jobs to infer the site status and to detect job and Grid worker node misbehaviour. Shifters can use the same aggregated data to quickly react to site error conditions and broken production tasks. In this work, the application of novel data-centric rule based methods and data-mining techniques to the real time monitoring data is discussed. The usage of such automatic inference techniques on monitorin...

  7. Political Broker and Budget Mafia in Indonesian Parliament

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moh. Ilham A. Hamudy

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Budget mafia practices and brokerage phenomenon in ministries/agencies and the parliament in the country's financial dredge is very alarming. Not counted how much money is successfully robbed. The modus is varying, so it is not easy to dismantle. Because expert move, the law enforcers had trouble catching them. This article tried to describe the mode of action and often they do. The method is done by tracing the various reports in newspapers. From tracking and in-depth analysis, it could be concluded that in order to minimize the action of brokers and budget mafia practices there are some necessary steps. First, fixing the finances system of political parties, reducing the dominance of parliament in budget management and election of public officials, and encourage law enforcement. Second, transparency debates the state budget in the parliament to be a key budget reforms. Third, the involvement of the community is also important to increase the transparency of the state budget discussions.

  8. RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH INVESTMENTS IN STRUCTURED INVESTMENT PRODUCTS, SELECTION CRITERIA OF SIP`S

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ignatyuk Aleksandr Sergeevich

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Purpose To identify and classify the major risks affecting on the structured investment products, to submit proposals to limit their impact. Methodology The work is based on a studying of the practice of investments in structured investment products, detection and investigation of sources of market risk of structured investment products. Results Structured investment products, as any other investment product, has a significant set of risks that could affect to a large extent on its evaluation and determine the behavior of the investor. Financial engineers have the ability to control most of these risks, as well as to limit their impact. Thus, the structured investment product, unlike most classic investment instruments can provide investors with highly transparent mechanism to determining the ratio of investment risk and potential income. Practical implications The results can be used in a scientific investigation of the phenomenon of structured investment products, as well as practical work on the formation of the structured products by investment banks and brokerage firms.

  9. Business Storytelling and Leadership in the Insurance Companies from Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viorica Păuș

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The research addresses a new concept introduced into the managerial practice of the insurance industry from Romania and it aims to test the hypothesis that success, performance and competitiveness of the organizations in the insurance industry depend also on the quality of the leadership and the leaders’ ability to use storytelling, taking into account the intangibility of the insurance products. The main tool that this exploratory, qualitative research has used is the structured interview with three target groups, which we considered to be relevant: CEOs/managers of insurance companies and insurance brokerage firms, public relations specialists and economic journalists. The results of our research endeavours may be of interest for both the managers, employees and communication specialists in the insurance industry and the business world in general, for which the introduction of storytelling in the leadership practices might increase the attractiveness not only for employees, but also for stakeholders and customers.

  10. Overview of ATLAS PanDA Workload Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maeno, T.; De, K.; Wenaus, T.; Nilsson, P.; Stewart, G. A.; Walker, R.; Stradling, A.; Caballero, J.; Potekhin, M.; Smith, D.; ATLAS Collaboration

    2011-12-01

    The Production and Distributed Analysis System (PanDA) plays a key role in the ATLAS distributed computing infrastructure. All ATLAS Monte-Carlo simulation and data reprocessing jobs pass through the PanDA system. We will describe how PanDA manages job execution on the grid using dynamic resource estimation and data replication together with intelligent brokerage in order to meet the scaling and automation requirements of ATLAS distributed computing. PanDA is also the primary ATLAS system for processing user and group analysis jobs, bringing further requirements for quick, flexible adaptation to the rapidly evolving analysis use cases of the early datataking phase, in addition to the high reliability, robustness and usability needed to provide efficient and transparent utilization of the grid for analysis users. We will describe how PanDA meets ATLAS requirements, the evolution of the system in light of operational experience, how the system has performed during the first LHC data-taking phase and plans for the future.

  11. Overview of ATLAS PanDA Workload Management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maeno, T.; De, K.; Wenaus, T.; Nilsson, P.; Stewart, G.A.; Walker, R.; Stradling, A.; Caballero, J.; Potekhin, M.; Smith, D.

    2011-01-01

    The Production and Distributed Analysis System (PanDA) plays a key role in the ATLAS distributed computing infrastructure. All ATLAS Monte-Carlo simulation and data reprocessing jobs pass through the PanDA system. We will describe how PanDA manages job execution on the grid using dynamic resource estimation and data replication together with intelligent brokerage in order to meet the scaling and automation requirements of ATLAS distributed computing. PanDA is also the primary ATLAS system for processing user and group analysis jobs, bringing further requirements for quick, flexible adaptation to the rapidly evolving analysis use cases of the early datataking phase, in addition to the high reliability, robustness and usability needed to provide efficient and transparent utilization of the grid for analysis users. We will describe how PanDA meets ATLAS requirements, the evolution of the system in light of operational experience, how the system has performed during the first LHC data-taking phase and plans for the future.

  12. PUS in turbulent times II - A shifting vocabulary that brokers inter-disciplinary knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suerdem, Ahmet; Bauer, Martin W; Howard, Susan; Ruby, Luke

    2013-01-01

    To reflect further on 20 years of the journal, we present a lexicographic and bibliometric study of all papers published in Public Understanding of Science (PUS). Lexicographical analysis of the vocabulary of 465 abstracts shows five classes of associated concepts in two periods, 1992-2001 and 2002-2010. The concern for public attitudes and mass media coverage remains on the card; while language has shifted from 'public understanding' to 'public engagement' and environmental concerns have waned then waxed. The bibliometric analysis traces the position of PUS in the inter-citation network of 165 related journals (ISI Web of Science citation database), grouped into 10 disciplines for the purpose of this analysis. Indicators derived from network logic show that the established position of PUS has been stable since 1997. PUS serves a varied brokerage role as gatekeeper into and liaison maker between disciplines. Its inter-citation network position allows PUS to perform inter-disciplinary boundary spanning work that offers a safe space for experimentation with ideas.

  13. Epistemic brokerage in the bio-property narrative: contributions to explaining opposition to transgenic technologies in agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herring, Ronald J

    2010-11-30

    Unlike some global contentions - abolition of slavery, or universal franchise, for example - the rift over rDNA crops is not about ultimate values. Improvement of farmer welfare and enhanced sustainability of agriculture are universally valued goals. However, means to those ends are politically disputed; that dispute depends on alternative empirical stories about biotechnology, sometimes even alternative epistemologies. Opposition revolves around two fundamental dimensions: bio-safety and bio-property. There is convergence of these dimensions around exceptional risk and vulnerability to corporate control of farmers, but these are analytically separable questions of fact. This paper concentrates on bio-property. Epistemic brokers have successfully established knowledge claims that simultaneously undermine the case for rDNA technologies as potential contributors to development and motivate opposition. Epistemic brokers command authority from their positions at junctures of networks, enabling the screening, weighting, theorizing and diffusion of contentious empirical accounts. In contentions of low information, high information costs and diffuse anxiety, these claims provide cognitive support for opposition to 'GMOs'. Specifically, claims of patents, monopoly corporate control and terminator technology have diffused to and from India in global networks. Though effective in transnational advocacy networks, these claims have proved either false or inconsistent with dynamics on the ground. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Approach and Evaluation of a Mobile Video-Based and Location-Based Augmented Reality Platform for Information Brokerage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dastageeri, H.; Storz, M.; Koukofikis, A.; Knauth, S.; Coors, V.

    2016-09-01

    Providing mobile location-based information for pedestrians faces many challenges. On one hand the accuracy of localisation indoors and outdoors is restricted due to technical limitations of GPS and Beacons. Then again only a small display is available to display information as well as to develop a user interface. Plus, the software solution has to consider the hardware characteristics of mobile devices during the implementation process for aiming a performance with minimum latency. This paper describes our approach by including a combination of image tracking and GPS or Beacons to ensure orientation and precision of localisation. To communicate the information on Points of Interest (POIs), we decided to choose Augmented Reality (AR). For this concept of operations, we used besides the display also the acceleration and positions sensors as a user interface. This paper especially goes into detail on the optimization of the image tracking algorithms, the development of the video-based AR player for the Android platform and the evaluation of videos as an AR element in consideration of providing a good user experience. For setting up content for the POIs or even generate a tour we used and extended the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standard Augmented Reality Markup Language (ARML).

  15. Knowledge Brokerage for Environmentally Sustainable Sanitation. Position Paper and Guidelines from the EU-FP7 BESSE project.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    BESSE, Project team; Bijker, W.E.; Caiati, Giovanni; d'Andrea, Luciano

    2012-01-01

    The EU-funded BESSE project explores how sanitation in Europe can be made more sustainable. European sanitation is still based on 19th and early 20th century technologies and management systems. These systems do not adequately respond to the sustainable development needs of the 21st century, such as

  16. APPROACH AND EVALUATION OF A MOBILE VIDEO-BASED AND LOCATION-BASED AUGMENTED REALITY PLATFORM FOR INFORMATION BROKERAGE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Dastageeri

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Providing mobile location-based information for pedestrians faces many challenges. On one hand the accuracy of localisation indoors and outdoors is restricted due to technical limitations of GPS and Beacons. Then again only a small display is available to display information as well as to develop a user interface. Plus, the software solution has to consider the hardware characteristics of mobile devices during the implementation process for aiming a performance with minimum latency. This paper describes our approach by including a combination of image tracking and GPS or Beacons to ensure orientation and precision of localisation. To communicate the information on Points of Interest (POIs, we decided to choose Augmented Reality (AR. For this concept of operations, we used besides the display also the acceleration and positions sensors as a user interface. This paper especially goes into detail on the optimization of the image tracking algorithms, the development of the video-based AR player for the Android platform and the evaluation of videos as an AR element in consideration of providing a good user experience. For setting up content for the POIs or even generate a tour we used and extended the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC standard Augmented Reality Markup Language (ARML.

  17. The management of health care service quality. A physician perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bobocea, L; Gheorghe, I R; Spiridon, St; Gheorghe, C M; Purcarea, V L

    2016-01-01

    Applying marketing in health care services is presently an essential element for every manager or policy maker. In order to be successful, a health care organization has to identify an accurate measurement scale for defining service quality due to competitive pressure and cost values. The most widely employed scale in the services sector is SERVQUAL scale. In spite of being successfully adopted in fields such as brokerage and banking, experts concluded that the SERVQUAL scale should be modified depending on the specific context. Moreover, the SERVQUAL scale focused on the consumer's perspective regarding service quality. While service quality was measured with the help of SERVQUAL scale, other experts identified a structure-process-outcome design, which, they thought, would be more suitable for health care services. This approach highlights a different perspective on investigating the service quality, namely, the physician's perspective. Further, we believe that the Seven Prong Model for Improving Service Quality has been adopted in order to effectively measure the health care service in a Romanian context from a physician's perspective.

  18. The next generation of the ATLAS PanDA Monitoring System

    CERN Document Server

    Schovancova, J; The ATLAS collaboration; Klimentov, A; Love, P; Potekhin, M; Wenaus, T

    2014-01-01

    For many years the PanDA Workload Management System has been the basis for distributed production and analysis for the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Since the start of data taking PanDA usage has ramped up steadily, with up to 1M completed jobs/day in 2013. The associated monitoring data volume has been rising as well, to levels that present a new set of challenges in the areas of database scalability and monitoring system performance and efficiency. Outside of ATLAS, the PanDA system is also being used in projects like AMS, LSST and a few others. It currently undergoes a significant redesign, both of the core server components responsible for workload management, brokerage and data access, and of the monitoring part, which is critically important for efficient execution of the workflow in a way that’s transparent to the user and also provides an effective set of tools for operational support. The new generation of the PanDA Monitoring Service is designed based on a proven, scalable, industry-standard Web Fr...

  19. Challenges And Opportunities For The Future Of Icampuses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Thomas

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Meeting the educational needs of students currently requires moving towardcollaborative electronic and mobile learning systems that parallel the vision ofWeb 2.0. However, factors such as data freedom, brokerage, interconnectivityand the Internet of Things add to a vision for Web 3.0 that will require con-sideration in the development of future campus-based, distance and vocationalstudy. So, education can, in future, be expected to require deeper technologicalconnections between students and learning environments, based on significantuse of sensors, mobile devices, cloud computing and rich-media visualization.Therefore, we discuss challenges associated with such a futuristic campus con-text, including how learning materials and environments may be enriched byit. As an additional novel element the potential for much of that enrichmentto be realized through development by students, within the curriculum, is alsoconsidered. We will conclude that much of the technology required to embracethe vision of Web 3.0 in education already exists, but that further research inkey areas is required for the concept to achieve its full potential.

  20. Improving ATLAS grid site reliability with functional tests using HammerCloud

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elmsheuser, Johannes; Legger, Federica; Medrano Llamas, Ramon; Sciacca, Gianfranco; van der Ster, Dan

    2012-12-01

    With the exponential growth of LHC (Large Hadron Collider) data in 2011, and more coming in 2012, distributed computing has become the established way to analyse collider data. The ATLAS grid infrastructure includes almost 100 sites worldwide, ranging from large national computing centers to smaller university clusters. These facilities are used for data reconstruction and simulation, which are centrally managed by the ATLAS production system, and for distributed user analysis. To ensure the smooth operation of such a complex system, regular tests of all sites are necessary to validate the site capability of successfully executing user and production jobs. We report on the development, optimization and results of an automated functional testing suite using the HammerCloud framework. Functional tests are short lightweight applications covering typical user analysis and production schemes, which are periodically submitted to all ATLAS grid sites. Results from those tests are collected and used to evaluate site performances. Sites that fail or are unable to run the tests are automatically excluded from the PanDA brokerage system, therefore avoiding user or production jobs to be sent to problematic sites.

  1. Models of psychological service provision under Australia's Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pirkis, Jane; Burgess, Philip; Kohn, Fay; Morley, Belinda; Blashki, Grant; Naccarella, Lucio

    2006-08-01

    The Access to Allied Psychological Services component of Australia's Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care program enables eligible general practitioners to refer consumers to allied health professionals for affordable, evidence-based mental health care, via 108 projects conducted by Divisions of General Practice. The current study profiled the models of service delivery across these projects, and examined whether particular models were associated with differential levels of access to services. We found: 76% of projects were retaining their allied health professionals under contract, 28% via direct employment, and 7% some other way; Allied health professionals were providing services from GPs' rooms in 63% of projects, from their own rooms in 63%, from a third location in 42%; and The referral mechanism of choice was direct referral in 51% of projects, a voucher system in 27%, a brokerage system in 24%, and a register system in 25%. Many of these models were being used in combination. No model was predictive of differential levels of access, suggesting that the approach of adapting models to the local context is proving successful.

  2. Finding solid ground for soldiers' payment: 'military soliciting' as brokerage practice in the Dutch Republic (c.1600-1795)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brandon, P.; Conway, S.; Torres Sánchez, R.

    2011-01-01

    Troops’ payment was one of the largest items on the war budgets of early modern states. Private financiers played a crucial role in ensuring the steady flow of funds necessary to maintain the armed forces. This paper investigates the role of ‘military solicitors’ in the Dutch Republic, who acted as

  3. Breaking barriers to interoperability: assigning spatially and temporally unique identifiers to spaces and buildings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pyke, Christopher R; Madan, Isaac

    2013-08-01

    The real estate industry routinely uses specialized information systems for functions, including design, construction, facilities management, brokerage, tax assessment, and utilities. These systems are mature and effective within vertically integrated market segments. However, new questions are reaching across these traditional information silos. For example, buyers may be interested in evaluating the design, energy efficiency characteristics, and operational performance of a commercial building. This requires the integration of information across multiple databases held by different institutions. Today, this type of data integration is difficult to automate and propone to errors due, in part, to the lack of generally accepted building and spaces identifiers. Moving forward, the real estate industry needs a new mechanism to assign identifiers for whole buildings and interior spaces for the purpose of interoperability, data exchange, and integration. This paper describes a systematic process to identify activities occurring at building or within interior spaces to provide a foundation for exchange and interoperability. We demonstrate the application of the approach with a prototype Web application. This concept and demonstration illustrate the elements of a practical interoperability framework that can increase productivity, create new business opportunities, and reduce errors, waste, and redundancy. © 2013 New York Academy of Sciences.

  4. The Determinants of Sell-side Analysts’ Forecast Accuracy and Media Exposure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samira Amadu Sorogho

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This study examines contributing factors to the differential forecasting abilities of sell-side analysts and the relation between the sentiments of these analysts and their media exposure. In particular, I investigate whether the level of optimism expressed in sell-side analysts’ reports of fifteen constituents of primarily the S&P 500 Oil and Gas Industry1, enhance the media appearance of these analysts. Using a number of variables estimated from the I/B/E/S Detail history database, 15,455 analyst reports collected from Thompson Reuters Investext and analyst media appearances obtained from Dow Jones Factiva from 1999 to 2014, I run a multiple linear regression to determine the effect of independent variables on dependent variables.  I find that an analyst’s forecast accuracy (as measured by the errors inherent in his forecasts is negatively associated with the analyst’s level of media exposure, experience, brokerage size, the number of times he revises his forecasts in a year and the number of companies followed by the analyst, and positively associated with the analyst’s level of optimism expressed in his reports, forecast horizon and the size of the company he follows.

  5. Treatment and trade or organic manures in the future

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Verkuyten, J.C.A.M.

    1997-01-01

    The manure market is dominated by both low prices and low quality. This current market does not favour the sustainable use of manures, nor does it favour innovation. First step in improving both manure quality and manure utilisation is optimizing the manure supply chain. A powerful instrument for this optimizing forms ''certification of the links within the chain''. The successful marketing of the derivates requires technological and organisational innovation. A powerful instrument in successful marketing is ''certification''. Through certification of the supply chain, as well as certification of the products, upgrading of the products is possible, leading to economical viable investments in waste treatment. Product certification leads furthermore to the possibility of positioning the products. A positive positioning of the products, differentiating it from ''waste'', is essential for the desired investments by market parties. In this paper new ideas and developments on the Dutch manure market are presented. A new technology (v. Aspert plant), including the marketing concept as the derivates produced are presented. A profile on a manure brokerage organisation (MBO) and, on last year founded, European Manure association (EMA) are added. (au)

  6. Actors and networks in resource conflict resolution under climate change in rural Kenya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ngaruiya, Grace W.; Scheffran, Jürgen

    2016-05-01

    The change from consensual decision-making arrangements into centralized hierarchical chieftaincy schemes through colonization disrupted many rural conflict resolution mechanisms in Africa. In addition, climate change impacts on land use have introduced additional socio-ecological factors that complicate rural conflict dynamics. Despite the current urgent need for conflict-sensitive adaptation, resolution efficiency of these fused rural institutions has hardly been documented. In this context, we analyse the Loitoktok network for implemented resource conflict resolution structures and identify potential actors to guide conflict-sensitive adaptation. This is based on social network data and processes that are collected using the saturation sampling technique to analyse mechanisms of brokerage. We find that there are three different forms of fused conflict resolution arrangements that integrate traditional institutions and private investors in the community. To effectively implement conflict-sensitive adaptation, we recommend the extension officers, the council of elders, local chiefs and private investors as potential conduits of knowledge in rural areas. In conclusion, efficiency of these fused conflict resolution institutions is aided by the presence of holistic resource management policies and diversification in conflict resolution actors and networks.

  7. Knowledge sharing and organizational learning in the context of hospital infection prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangachari, Pavani

    2010-01-01

    Recently, hospitals that have been successful in preventing infections have labeled their improvement approaches as either the Toyota Production System (TPS) approach or the Positive Deviance (PD) approach. PD has been distinguished from TPS as being a bottom-up approach to improvement, as against top-down. Facilities that have employed both approaches have suggested that PD may be more effective than TPS for infection prevention. This article integrates organizational learning, institutional, and knowledge network theories to develop a theoretical framework for understanding the structure and evolution of effective knowledge-sharing networks in health care organizations, that is, networks most conducive to learning and improvement. Contrary to arguments put forth by hospital success stories, the framework suggests that networks rich in brokerage and hierarchy (ie, top-down, "TPS-like" structures) may be more effective for learning and improvement in health care organizations, compared with a networks rich in density (ie, bottom-up, "PD-like" structures). The theoretical framework and ensuing analysis help identify several gaps in the literature related to organization learning and improvement in the infection prevention context. This, in turn, helps put forth recommendations for health management research and practice.

  8. Treatment and trade or organic manures in the future

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Verkuyten, J C.A.M. [European Manure Association, EMA, Deventer (Netherlands)

    1997-08-01

    The manure market is dominated by both low prices and low quality. This current market does not favour the sustainable use of manures, nor does it favour innovation. First step in improving both manure quality and manure utilisation is optimizing the manure supply chain. A powerful instrument for this optimizing forms `certification of the links within the chain`. The successful marketing of the derivates requires technological and organisational innovation. A powerful instrument in successful marketing is `certification`. Through certification of the supply chain, as well as certification of the products, upgrading of the products is possible, leading to economical viable investments in waste treatment. Product certification leads furthermore to the possibility of positioning the products. A positive positioning of the products, differentiating it from `waste`, is essential for the desired investments by market parties. In this paper new ideas and developments on the Dutch manure market are presented. A new technology (v. Aspert plant), including the marketing concept as the derivates produced are presented. A profile on a manure brokerage organisation (MBO) and, on last year founded, European Manure association (EMA) are added. (au)

  9. Perspectives for Web Service Intermediaries: How Influence on Quality Makes the Difference

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scholten, Ulrich; Fischer, Robin; Zirpins, Christian

    In the service-oriented computing paradigm and the Web service architecture, the broker role is a key facilitator to leverage technical capabilities of loose coupling to achieve organizational capabilities of dynamic customer-provider-relationships. In practice, this role has quickly evolved into a variety of intermediary concepts that refine and extend the basic functionality of service brokerage with respect to various forms of added value like platform or market mechanisms. While this has initially led to a rich variety of Web service intermediaries, many of these are now going through a phase of stagnation or even decline in customer acceptance. In this paper we present a comparative study on insufficient service quality that is arguably one of the key reasons for this phenomenon. In search of a differentiation with respect to quality monitoring and management patterns, we categorize intermediaries into Infomediaries, e-Hubs, e-Markets and Integrators. A mapping of quality factors and control mechanisms to these categories depicts their respective strengths and weaknesses. The results show that Integrators have the highest overall performance, followed by e-Markets, e-Hubs and lastly Infomediaries. A comparative market survey confirms the conceptual findings.

  10. An Optimal Strategic Business Model for Small Businesses Using Online Platforms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hana Kim

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available As ecommerce continues to grow, small businesses are using a variety of platforms to secure potential consumers. However, it is important for small business owners to choose an efficient business model because of constraints such as technical problems. In this study, based on platform characteristics we divide online shopping platforms into different types as follows: (1 information brokerage services; (2 online malls; and (3 omni-channel platforms. The efficiency of each group is measured by stochastic frontier analysis, and the efficiency comparison between the groups is made using meta-frontier analysis. As a result of the study, it is found that the efficiency of small business owners increases as functional integration increases, satisfying utilitarian motivations. However, a platform with greater integration that has a social presence satisfying hedonic motivations improves the efficiency of all small businesses using the platform instead of just the efficiency of a marginal number of small business owners. This study, based on the dynamic capabilities viewpoint, suggests that the omni-channel platform represents the most sustainable approach for small business owners undergoing difficulties such as technological and organizational changes.

  11. Final report of the radiological release survey of Building 11 at the Grand Junction Office Facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, R.K.; Corle, S.G.

    1997-09-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office (GJO) occupies a 61.7-acre facility along the Gunnison River near Grand Junction, Colorado. This site was contaminated with uranium ore concentrates and mill tailings during vanadium refining activities of the Manhattan Engineer District, and during sampling, assaying, pilot milling, storage, and brokerage activities conducted for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission's domestic uranium procurement program. The DOE Defense Decontamination and Decommissioning Program established the GJO Remedial Action Project (GJORAP) to clean up and restore the facility lands, improvements, and underlying aquifer. WASTREN-Grand Junction is the site contractor for the facility and the remedial action contractor for GJORAP. Building 11 and the underlying soil were found not to be radiologically contaminated; therefore, the building can be released for unrestricted use. Placards have been placed at the building entrances indicating the completion of the radiological release survey and prohibiting the introduction of any radioactive materials within the building without written approvals from the GJO Facilities Operations Manager. This document was prepared in response to a DOE-GJO request for an individual final release report for each GJO building

  12. Final report of the radiological release survey of Building 30B at the Grand Junction Office Facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krauland, P.A.; Corle, S.G.

    1997-09-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office (GJO) occupies a 61.7-acre facility along the Gunnison River near Grand Junction, Colorado. This site was contaminated with uranium ore concentrates and mill tailings during vanadium refining activities of the Manhattan Engineer District, and during sampling, assaying, pilot milling, storage, and brokerage activities conducted for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission's domestic uranium procurement program. The DOE Defense Decontamination and Decommissioning Program established the GJO Remedial Action Project (GJORAP) to clean up and restore the facility lands, improvements, and underlying aquifer. WASTREN-Grand Junction is the site contractor for the facility and the remedial action contractor for GJORAP. Building 30B and the underlying soil were found not to be radiologically contaminated; therefore, the building can be released for unrestricted use. Placards have been placed at the building entrances indicating the completion of the radiological release survey and prohibiting the introduction of any radioactive materials within the building without written approvals from the GJO Facilities Operations Manager. This document was prepared in response to a DOE-GJO request for an individual final release report for each GJO building

  13. Final report of the radiological release survey of Building 29 at the Grand Junction Office Facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, R.K.; Corle, S.G.

    1997-09-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office (GJO) occupies a 61.7-acre facility along the Gunnison River near Grand Junction, Colorado. This site was contaminated with uranium ore concentrates and mill tailing during vanadium refining activities of the Manhattan Engineer District, and during sampling, assaying, pilot milling, storage, and brokerage activities conducted for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission's domestic uranium procurement program. The DOE Defense Decontamination and Decommissioning Program established the GJO Remedial Action Project (GJORAP) to clean up and restore the facility lands, improvements, and underlying aquifer. WASTREN-Grand Junction is the site contractor for the facility and the remedial action contractor for GJORAP. Building 29 and the underlying soil were found not to be radiologically contaminated; therefore, the building can be released for unrestricted use. Placards have been placed at the building entrances indicating the completion of the radiological release survey and prohibiting the introduction of any radioactive materials within the building without written approvals from the GJO Facilities Operations Manager. This document was prepared in response to a DOE-GJO request for an individual final release report for each GJO building

  14. Final report of the radiological release survey of Building 19 at the Grand Junction Office Facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, R.K.; Corle, S.G.

    1997-09-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office (GJO) occupies a 61.7-acre facility along the Gunnison River near Grand Junction, Colorado. This site was contaminated with uranium ore concentrates and mill tailings during vanadium refining activities of the Manhattan Engineer District, and during sampling, assaying, pilot milling, storage, and brokerage activities conducted for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission's domestic uranium procurement program. The DOE Defense Decontamination and Decommissioning Program established the GJO Remedial Action Project (GJORAP) to clean up and restore the facility lands, improvements, and underlying aquifer. WASTREN-Grand Junction is the site contractor for the facility and the remedial action contractor for GJORAP. Building 19 and the underlying soil were found not to be radiologically contaminated; therefore, the building can be released for unrestricted use. Placards have been placed at the building entrances indicating the completion of the radiological release survey and prohibiting the introduction of any radioactive materials within the building without written approvals from the GJO Facilities Operations Manager. This document was prepared in response to a DOE-GJO request for an individual final release report for each GJO building

  15. Final report of the radiological release survey of Building 54 at the Grand Junction Office Facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, R.K.; Corle, S.G.

    1997-09-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office (GJO) occupies a 61.7-acre facility along the Gunnison River near Grand Junction, Colorado. This site was contaminated with uranium ore concentrates and mill tailings during vanadium refining activities of the Manhattan Engineer District, and during sampling, assaying, pilot milling, storage, and brokerage activities conducted for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission's domestic uranium procurement program. The DOE Defense Decontamination and Decommissioning Program established the GJO Remedial Action Project (GJORAP) to clean up and restore the facility lands, improvements, and underlying aquifer. WASTREN-Grand Junction is the site contractor for the facility and the remedial action contractor for GJORAP. Building 54 and the underlying soil were found not to be radiologically contaminated, and can be released for unrestricted use. Placards have been placed at the building entrances indicating the completion of the radiological release survey and prohibiting the introduction of any radioactive materials within the building without written approvals from the GJO Facilities Operations Manager. This document was prepared in response to a DOE-GJO request for an individual release report for each GJO building

  16. Incorporating technical analysis in undergraduate curricula

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael R. Melton

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce instruction of technical analysis on the undergraduate level that can coincide with traditional teachings of fundamental analysis. Design/methodology/approach – Through examples using the latest in security analysis technology, this paper illustrates the importance of technical security analysis. Findings – This research illustrates how technical analysis techniques may be used to make more significant investment decisions. Originality/value – Kirkpatrick and Dahlquist define technical analysis as a security analysis discipline for forecasting future direction of prices through the study of past market data primarily price and volume This form of analysis has stood in direct contrast to the fundamental analysis approach whereby actual facts of the company its industry and sector may be ignored. Understanding this contrast, much of academia has chosen to continue to focus its finance curricula on fundamental analysis techniques. As more universities implement trading rooms to reflect that of industry, they must recognize that any large brokerage trading group or financial institution will typically have both a technical analysis and fundamental analysis team. Thus, the need to incorporate technical analysis into undergraduate finance curricula.

  17. Gatekeeping African studies: A preliminary insight on what do editorial boards indicate about the nature and structure of research brokerage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mendonça, S.; Pereira, J.; Ferreira, M.E.

    2016-07-01

    Issues of inequality and distribution of different sorts constitute salient aspects in the agenda of development studies. As globalisation unfolds new indicators are needed in order to update the capacity identify, capture, and interpret its dynamics and asymmetries. Notwithstanding the many changes in the world’s socio-economic landscape, Africa, in particular, remains a marginal geographical and cognitive space. This research deals with a particular segment of the development studies “academic value chain”. Unlike much of the contemporary work on scientometrics, this paper does not primarily analyse publications or citations. Our data regards the composition and characteristics of editorial boards in the field under analysis. (Author)

  18. Gas brokerage in Germany. Introduction to products and price modelling; Der boersliche Gashandel in Deutschland. Einfuehrung in Produkte und Preismodelle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wimschulte, J. [Regensburg Univ. (Germany). Lehrstuhl fuer Finanzdienstleistungen; Wilkens, S.

    2007-11-15

    Two events have contributed significantly to facilitating the trade in natural gas in Germany: The Federal Network Agency's decision in November 2006 in favour of the two-contract model as a means of governing access to the gas networks and the unification of high gas market regions. These developments will boost competition in the gas market and improve price transparency. Since July 2007 the European Energy Exchange has operated a trading floor for the spot and futures trade in natural gas in two German market regions. However it will probably take another two to three years for a robust and substantial trade in natural gas to develop. Major factors contributing to this goal will be the continued consolidation of market regions, improved access to natural gas storages and improved transparency of market information.

  19. Do Nobel Laureates Create Prize-Winning Networks? An Analysis of Collaborative Research in Physiology or Medicine.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caroline S Wagner

    Full Text Available Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine who received the Prize between 1969 and 2011 are compared to a matched group of scientists to examine productivity, impact, coauthorship and international collaboration patterns embedded within research networks. After matching for research domain, h-index, and year of first of publication, we compare bibliometric statistics and network measures. We find that the Laureates produce fewer papers but with higher average citations. The Laureates also produce more sole-authored papers both before and after winning the Prize. The Laureates have a lower number of coauthors across their entire careers than the matched group, but are equally collaborative on average. Further, we find no differences in international collaboration patterns. The Laureates coauthor network reveals significant differences from the non-Laureate network. Laureates are more likely to build bridges across a network when measuring by average degree, density, modularity, and communities. Both the Laureate and non-Laureate networks have "small world" properties, but the Laureates appear to exploit "structural holes" by reaching across the network in a brokerage style that may add social capital to the network. The dynamic may be making the network itself highly attractive and selective. These findings suggest new insights into the role "star scientists" in social networks and the production of scientific discoveries.

  20. A knowledge translation project on community-centred approaches in public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stansfield, J; South, J

    2018-03-01

    This article examines the development and impact of a national knowledge translation project aimed at improving access to evidence and learning on community-centred approaches for health and wellbeing. Structural changes in the English health system meant that knowledge on community engagement was becoming lost and a fragmented evidence base was seen to impact negatively on policy and practice. A partnership started between Public Health England, NHS England and Leeds Beckett University in 2014 to address these issues. Following a literature review and stakeholder consultation, evidence was published in a national guide to community-centred approaches. This was followed by a programme of work to translate the evidence into national strategy and local practice.The article outlines the key features of the knowledge translation framework developed. Results include positive impacts on local practice and national policy, for example adoption within National Institute for Health and Care Evidence (NICE) guidance and Local Authority public health plans and utilization as a tool for local audit of practice and commissioning. The framework was successful in its non-linear approach to knowledge translation across a range of inter-connected activity, built on national leadership, knowledge brokerage, coalition building and a strong collaboration between research institute and government agency.

  1. [Internet presence of neurologists, psychiatrists and medical psychotherapists in private practice].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuhnigk, Olaf; Ramuschkat, Meike; Schreiner, Julia; Anger, Anina; Reimer, Jens

    2014-04-01

    The world wide web provides new options to physicians in terms practice marketing, information brokerage, and process optimization. This study explores prevalence and content of homepages of neurologists, psychiatrists and medical psychotherapists in private practice. Through the legal bodies of physicians in private practice in six northern German states neurologists, psychiatrists and medical psychotherapists were identified. According to a standardized and operationalized criteria catalogue, homepages were rated. 1804 physicians were identified, 352 (19.5 %) had operated a homepage. Higher frequencies of homepages found for male physicians (vs. female physicians), practice centres (vs. single practices) and urban practices (vs. rural practices). In average, practices reached 18.8 (± 5.3) of 42 points; contact data and accessibility information were generally available; information as to qualification and specialization was provided more infrequently. Legal specifications were not considered in more than every second homepage, interactive elements like online appointment of follow-up prescription were only rarely offered. Only every fifth neurological or psychiatric practice operates an own homepage, higher competition (urban area) and higher professionalization (practice centres) seem to act as promotors. The legal framework has to be focused, and patient needs should be taken into account. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  2. Uranium loans

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1990-01-01

    When NUEXCO was organized in 1968, its founders conceived of a business based on uranium loans. The concept was relatively straightforward; those who found themselves with excess supplies of uranium would deposit those excesses in NUEXCO's open-quotes bank,close quotes and those who found themselves temporarily short of uranium could borrow from the bank. The borrower would pay interest based on the quantity of uranium borrowed and the duration of the loan, and the bank would collect the interest, deduct its service fee for arranging the loan, and pay the balance to those whose deposits were borrowed. In fact, the original plan was to call the firm Nuclear Bank Corporation, until it was discovered that using the word open-quotes Bankclose quotes in the name would subject the firm to various US banking regulations. Thus, Nuclear Bank Corporation became Nuclear Exchange Corporation, which was later shortened to NUEXCO. Neither the nuclear fuel market nor NUEXCO's business developed quite as its founders had anticipated. From almost the very beginning, the brokerage of uranium purchases and sales became a more significant activity for NUEXCO than arranging uranium loans. Nevertheless, loan transactions have played an important role in the international nuclear fuel market, requiring the development of special knowledge and commercial techniques

  3. Nuclear Physicists in Finance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mattoni, Carlo

    2017-01-01

    The financial services industry presents an interesting alternative career path for nuclear physicists. Careers in finance typically offer intellectual challenge, a fast pace, high caliber colleagues, merit-based compensation with substantial upside, and an opportunity to deploy skills learned as a physicist. Physicists are employed at a wide range of financial institutions on both the ``buy side'' (hedge fund managers, private equity managers, mutual fund managers, etc.) and the ``sell side'' (investment banks and brokerages). Historically, physicists in finance were primarily ``quants'' tasked with applying stochastic calculus to determine the price of financial derivatives. With the maturation of the field of derivative pricing, physicists in finance today find work in a variety of roles ranging from quantification and management of risk to investment analysis to development of sophisticated software used to price, trade, and risk manage securities. Only a small subset of today's finance careers for physicists require the use of advanced math and practically none provide an opportunity to tinker with an apparatus, yet most nevertheless draw on important skills honed during the training of a nuclear physicist. Intellectually rigorous critical thinking, sophisticated problem solving, an attention to minute detail and an ability to create and test hypotheses based on incomplete information are key to both disciplines.

  4. Resource Distribution Approaches in Spectrum Sharing Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Friedrich K. Jondral

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available It is increasingly difficult to satisfy growing demands for spectrum with the conventional policy of fixed spectrum allocation. To overcome this problem, flexible/dynamic spectrum sharing methods that can significantly improve spectrum utilization of the spectrum have gained increasing interest recently. This paper presents two dynamic spectrum sharing approaches, a centralized and a decentralized one. The centralized approach is based on hierarchical trading. Each level of hierarchy is composed of “markets” that are associated with a certain spatial area and trading occurrence frequency, whereas area size and trading occurrence frequency depend on the hierarchy level. The decentralized approach is based on game-theory. There, it is assumed that the operators are averse to unequal payoffs and act unselfishly, enabling a stable and sustainable community. Numerical results show that, in the observed scenario, both proposals outperform the reference case of fixed resource allocation significantly in terms of utilized bandwidth. Whereas, negotiation costs for spectrum brokerage appear in the centralized approach, nonnegligible amounts of spectrum are lost in the decentralized approach due to collisions. Thus, a hybrid of centralized and decentralized approach that exploits the benefits of both is also considered.

  5. INSURANCE MARKET. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS OF INSURANCES IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MARINEL NEDELUŢ

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Insurance is a contract made by a company or society, or by the state, to provide a guarantee for loss, damage, illness, death etc in return for regular payments. In other words it is a means by which one pays a relatively small known cost for protection against an uncertain and much larger cost. Still, this contract (insurance policy makes it possible for the insured to cover only losses that are measurable in terms of money and caused strictly by hazardous events, independent from own doing. If no such events should happen, the benefits won’t exist in a tangible, material form, but will take the shape of security against ruin. Since the insurance industry has developed more during the last decade due to the powerful players that have entered the market, the services provided by the insurance companies, and not only their products have evolved a lot in order to meet the requirements of the consumers, and to make them familiar with this type of investments. Therefore all the means of advertising became essential in this process of implementation and familiarization with this area of activity: mass-media advertising, insurance brokerage companies, the internet are all parts of this process.

  6. Evaluation of an integrated housing and recovery model for people with severe and persistent mental illnesses: the Doorway program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunt, David R; Benoy, Andrew W; Phillipou, Andrea; Collister, Laura L; Crowther, Elizabeth M; Freidin, Julian; Castle, David J

    2017-10-01

    Objective The Doorway program is a 3-year pilot integrated housing and recovery support program aimed at people with a severe and persistent mental illness who are 'at risk' or actually homeless. Participants source and choose properties through the open rental market, with appropriate rental subsidy and brokerage support. This arrangement is highly innovative, differing from widely favoured arrangements internationally involving congregate and scattered-site housing owned or managed by the support program. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of the Doorway program on participants' health, housing, service utilisation and costs. Methods A pre-post study design was used with outcome measures consisting of a number of question inventories and their costs (where relevant). The principal inventories were the Behaviour and Symptom Identification Scale 32 (BASIS-32), a consumer-oriented, self-report measure of behavioural symptoms and distress, the Health of the Nation Outcome Scale (HoNOS), an interviewer-administered measurement tool designed to assess general health and social functioning of mentally ill people and the Outcomes Star (Homelessness) system which measures various aspects of the homelessness experience. Baseline measurements were performed routinely by staff at entry to the program and then at 6-monthly intervals across the evaluation period. Results For 55 of 59 participants, total mean BASIS-32 scores (including as well three of five subscale scores) improved significantly and with moderate effect size. Four of the 10 domain scores on the Outcome Star (Homelessness) inventory also improved significantly, with effect sizes ranging from small-medium (three domains) to large (one domain). Mean usage of bed-based mental health clinical services and general hospital admissions both significantly decreased (with overall net savings of A$3096 per participant per annum). Overall cost savings (including housing) to government ranged from A

  7. UN MODELO LOGIT PARA LA FRAGILIDAD DEL SISTEMA FINANCIERO VENEZOLANO DENTRO DEL CONTEXTO DE LOS PROCESOS DE FUSIÓN E INTERVENCIÓN | A LOGIT APPROACH OF THE VENEZUELAN FINANCIAL SYSTEM WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF MERGER AND INTERVENTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    César Rubicundo

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available In Venezuela there have been more than 30 mergers, after the approval of the Banking Act in 1999, since from 103 institutions, the financial system closed the year 2013 with 35 brokerage firms, which represents a decrease of 66% due to 20 coalitions, 30 transformations and 18 settlements. Therefore, an analysis is proposed of the current economic situation of the financial system in the context of mergers and interventions, considering internal and external factors according to the constituted capital. The study was based on information from 37 private capital institutions and 04 public institutions, between January 2009 and December 2013. The previous analysis for privately held banks, showed that these institutions have a 78.40% chance of not incurring in situations of fragility; while the State capital banks have 83.30% of surviving in the market. As for the estimated logit models, it was found that the liquidity ratio, ROE, management index and inflation, are components that push towards a fragile situation for privately held banks, with a probability forecast of fragility. With regard to the state capital banks, this situation is explained by a 62.50% equity index, ROE, and inflation. A probability of stability for these banks is expected. The joint model forecasted a probability of a stable financial system for the coming months.

  8. Implementation of aggregation in the North American power industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feldman, R.; Williams, G.

    1998-01-01

    One key to the impact of deregulation being transmitted to residential customers is the successful formation of aggregation groups and their expansion to include different classes of customers with convergent usage interests. This activity currently is being sponsored not only by for-profit brokerage entities, but also by associations of not-for-profit corporations such as hospitals and universities and by countries. The issues presented fall into several categories. (1) Technical rate taking--feasibility of making appropriate arrangements for alternative supply to consumers on a basis which appropriately reflects customer characteristics and also confers benefit on them all; (2) Legal--Compatibility of proposed arrangements with FERC wholesale regulation under Order No. 888 and emerging state regulation under the different restructuring regimes which their state utility commissions are implementing; (3) Marketing/Sociopolitical--Utilization of modern marketing techniques to effect the political consensus which is a precursor of alternative aggregation arrangements; (4) Financing--identification of capital costs; techniques for financing such costs, including monetization of the savings to be realized. The presentation will extrapolate the potential future significance of aggregation as a force in both restructuring and the development of merchant power projects. It will also assess the extent to which institutional, legal, technical or financial factors may modify the ultimate significance of aggression in the North American Power Industry

  9. Clean air, clear market. Making emissions trading work: The role of a computer-assisted auction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bartels, C.W.; Marron, D.B.; Lipsky, M.I.

    1993-01-01

    Creating a new commodity presents the chance to develop new markets in which to trade it. In many cases, existing markets can be adapted easily; in other cases it proves worthwhile to develop new forms that reflect special characteristics of the commodity and those who trade it. In the case of the sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) emission allowances created by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, a number of standard market forms already have been adopted. While these will prove useful for handling some transactions, a new Market Clearing Auction (MCA) offers buyers and sellers a centralized marketplace for trading SO 2 emission allowances. The MCA, which was developed by the brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald, is a computer-assisted open-quotes smartclose quotes auction designed to replicate the outcome of an efficient market in emission allowances, and accepts bids and offers for any possible combination of allowances. Orders can be submitted for streams of allowances. Orders can be submitted for streams of allowances covering more than one year. The auction then determines the combination of bids and offers that maximizes the gains from trades in the market, and establishes uniform market clearing prices for each allowance issue (1995, 1996, and so on). Once executed, trades are settled on a cash-forward basis; that is, allowances are delivered and payments are made at future dates

  10. Cloud Instrument Powered by Solar Cell Sends Data to Pachube

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Doru Ursutiu

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Despite the economic downturn, there have been quite a few new developments in the world of remote measurements lately. Tag4M (www.tag4m.com introduced the concept of cloud instrument where sensors connected to WiFi tags send data to off-the-shelf Access Points which are part of the WiFi infrastructure that exists in enterprises, retail outlets, factories, and warehouses. Access Points route the data to the Internet where specialized web applications receive the information for processing and display. One of these specialized web applications is Pachube, (http://www.pachube.com which bills itself as a “real-time data brokerage platform”. Pachube enables people to tag and share real time sensor data from objects, devices and spaces around the world. This article presents the pachube cloud instrument where sensors connected to Tag4M WiFi tags send digitized data to www.pachube.com for public display. The article contains very detailed analysis of the solar cell power source that is used to continuously power the Tag4M tag during this application. Cloud Instruments powered by solar cells enable people around the world to share real time sensor data using web pages on the Internet. This is a very interesting and exciting technology development that we want to bring to your attention.

  11. INSURANCE INTERMEDIARIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreea Stoican

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available The actual Civil code regulates for the first time in the Romanian legislation the intermediation contract, until its entering into force existing multiple situations that lent themselves to this legal operation, but did not benefit of such particular legal rules. Yet, the case law has shown that the situations that arise in the activity of the legal or natural persons are much more complex, this leading, in time, to the reglementation of such particular rules. Such a case is that found in the matter of insurance contracts, the position of the insurance intermediaries being regulated especially by Law no. 32/2000, according to which they represent the natural or legal persons authorized in the conditions of the above mentioned legal document, that perform intermediation activities in the insurance field, in exchange of a remuneration, as well as the intermediaries from the EU member states that perform such an activity on the Romanian territory, in accordance with the freedom in performing services. Therefore, the present paper aims to analyze the conclusion of such insurance contracts and to underline the particular position of the insurance brokers, having the following structure: 1 Introduction; 2 The reglementation of the intermediation contract/brokerage agreement in the Romanian Law; 3 The importance of the intermediaries in the insurance contracts; 4 The conclusion of the insurance contracts; 5 Conclusions.

  12. Training multidisciplinary biomedical informatics students: three years of experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Mulligen, Erik M; Cases, Montserrat; Hettne, Kristina; Molero, Eva; Weeber, Marc; Robertson, Kevin A; Oliva, Baldomero; de la Calle, Guillermo; Maojo, Victor

    2008-01-01

    The European INFOBIOMED Network of Excellence recognized that a successful education program in biomedical informatics should include not only traditional teaching activities in the basic sciences but also the development of skills for working in multidisciplinary teams. A carefully developed 3-year training program for biomedical informatics students addressed these educational aspects through the following four activities: (1) an internet course database containing an overview of all Medical Informatics and BioInformatics courses, (2) a BioMedical Informatics Summer School, (3) a mobility program based on a 'brokerage service' which published demands and offers, including funding for research exchange projects, and (4) training challenges aimed at the development of multi-disciplinary skills. This paper focuses on experiences gained in the development of novel educational activities addressing work in multidisciplinary teams. The training challenges described here were evaluated by asking participants to fill out forms with Likert scale based questions. For the mobility program a needs assessment was carried out. The mobility program supported 20 exchanges which fostered new BMI research, resulted in a number of peer-reviewed publications and demonstrated the feasibility of this multidisciplinary BMI approach within the European Union. Students unanimously indicated that the training challenge experience had contributed to their understanding and appreciation of multidisciplinary teamwork. The training activities undertaken in INFOBIOMED have contributed to a multi-disciplinary BMI approach. It is our hope that this work might provide an impetus for training efforts in Europe, and yield a new generation of biomedical informaticians.

  13. Environmental assessment and planning theory: four short stories about power, multiple rationality, and ethics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richardson, Tim

    2005-01-01

    This paper engages with recent debates in the environmental assessment (EA) literature about the lessons that can be learned from planning theory. It argues that the current communicative turn in EA, echoing a similar shift in planning thought in the 1990s, has failed to benefit from this earlier experience. Instead of following this trend, the paper examines EA from a perspective which is more closely aligned with some of the critics of the communicative approach, and which combines concepts of power, rationality, value and ethics in a different way. First, the paper briefly sets out how planning theory has engaged with these concepts. It then argues that EA needs to engage with competing multiple rationalities, and the inescapable presence of value conflicts within EA. It then turns to recent debates in EA to show how the question of value has become a very difficult issue for EA theorists. These issues are then explored by looking at four cases where environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA) become dramatic sites of struggle, in very different ways: where the boundaries between facts, boundaries, and opinions are defined through power struggles; where SEA is used as a process of brokerage between a fragile coalition of interests; where power defines rationality in the construction of an SEA instrument; and where EIA is challenged from the outside by civil society. The paper closes by discussing how EA practitioners can operate reflexively and ethically in a world of contested rationality

  14. Physicians attitudes toward living non-related renal transplantation (LNRRT). The Living non-Related Renal Transplant Study Group.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1993-06-01

    Renal transplantation is considered now the definitive treatment for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Unfortunately, the worldwide shortage of kidneys remains the most important obstacle to transplantation. In developing countries, including those of the Middle East, the shortage is even more dramatic. Despite great efforts to establish and maintain successful transplant centers, the number of kidneys that have been transplanted in the last few years has actually declined. The lack of a dependable kidney source played well into the hands of unscrupulous entrepreneurs who started brokerage of organs for profit. In this practice, patients with ESRD travel to India and other countries to purchase kidneys from living genetically non-related poor donors. Patient care was therefore relegated to the laws of the marketplace and both patients and donors were exploited to maximize profit. Additionally, reported results of this type of transplantation were inferior to those of other types of transplantation. Not unexpectedly, these issues have created intense controversy among transplant physicians and the general public in which moral, ethical and medical issues were debated. To investigate these issues, we conducted a large multicenter study in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt. In the first phase of this study, we surveyed 50 institutions regarding their attitude toward LNRRT, of which 22 responded. The results of our survey clearly show that patients with ESRD take the initiative in seeking LNRRT despite physician discouragement and significant financial burden.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

  15. DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND MEDIATION ON CAPITAL MARKET

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CRISTIAN GHEORGHE

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Capital Market is usually depicted as a place for experts, for people with high trading skills. This is a half truth. There are entities established and functioning under strict scrutiny of Romanian National Securities Commission (RNSC, in compliance with Capital Market Law and regulations. There are also the investors, in many cases individuals involved in shares/financial instruments trade. In both cases disputes can rise. Disputes are inevitable a part of human interaction, hence the need for dispute resolution. First option is the judicial court system. Alternative dispute resolution comprises arbitration and mediation. Arbitration is an alternative choice to provide simpler, speedier and more accessible justice than ordinary courts as well as expertise in matters that are technical in nature and require special knowledge to adjudicate upon. Capital Market environment provides an institutional arbitration court for all participants, including investors. In many cases the agreement executed between participants under RNSC scrutiny The other option for settling disputes outside the court is mediation. Mediation can provide a much cheaper and quick extrajudicial resolution of disputes in commercial matters without time consuming procedures and rigid rules. Agreements resulting from mediation are more likely to be complied with voluntarily and are more likely to foster the commercial relationship between the parties. The interaction between investors and brokerage houses is based on investment services agreement concluded by parties. This is the usual framework for disputes between parties and the usual “landscape” for mediation on capital market.

  16. Виды договора комиссии

    OpenAIRE

    Кушнарев, Михаил

    2012-01-01

    В статье рассматриваются вопросы о необходимости классификации договора комиссии, выделение отдельных видов комиссионных договоров, таких как брокерский и дилерский, дистрибьюторский договор; консигнационные сделки, договор розничной комиссии.The article deals with the questions about the necessity of classification of a Commission agreement, the allocation of certain types of Commission agreements, such as brokerage and dealership, distributorship agreement; consignment deals, contract retai...

  17. Improved price transparency : how electronic trading is affecting natural gas prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gault, G.

    2002-01-01

    New electronic trading platforms can be categorized as: (1) proprietary or marketplace systems owned by the market maker or liquidity provider, (2) matching systems for brokerage systems where counter parties are matched and electronically executed through bilateral trading agreements, and (3) cleared exchanges which have traditional characteristics such as neutrality, anonymity, and clearing. The Calgary-based Natural Gas Exchange (NGX) is an independent electronic energy exchange. It is owned by OM in Stockholm, Sweden and operates under an order from the Alberta Securities Commission. Its main objective is to provide electronic energy trading and clearing services to participants in the the North American energy market. NGX has transacted more than 270,000 trades with zero default. The services at NGX include: centralized and anonymous electronic trading; centralized risk management and netting; centralized collateral management; transaction facilitation; pipeline title transfer coordination; and, real time price index generation. This paper described the impact of the many different types of trading platforms on liquidity and volatility in the marketplace. It also addresses the future of online energy trading and their respective platforms. Supply and demand of natural gas, storage, and weather are the basic market fundamentals, but trading platforms have an impact of volatility of natural gas because of market fragmentation, transparency, and market systems. As online energy exchanges evolve, we will see a consolidation of online energy exchanges that will thin a shrinking pool of players, and appropriately capitalized and centralized clearinghouses will become the backbone of all major online energy trading operations

  18. Illicit Trafficking of Natural Radionuclides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedrich, Steinhäusler; Lyudmila, Zaitseva

    2008-08-01

    Natural radionuclides have been subject to trafficking worldwide, involving natural uranium ore (U 238), processed uranium (yellow cake), low enriched uranium (20% U 235), radium (Ra 226), polonium (Po 210), and natural thorium ore (Th 232). An important prerequisite to successful illicit trafficking activities is access to a suitable logistical infrastructure enabling an undercover shipment of radioactive materials and, in case of trafficking natural uranium or thorium ore, capable of transporting large volumes of material. Covert en route diversion of an authorised uranium transport, together with covert diversion of uranium concentrate from an operating or closed uranium mines or mills, are subject of case studies. Such cases, involving Israel, Iran, Pakistan and Libya, have been analyzed in terms of international actors involved and methods deployed. Using international incident data contained in the Database on Nuclear Smuggling, Theft and Orphan Radiation Sources (DSTO) and international experience gained from the fight against drug trafficking, a generic Trafficking Pathway Model (TPM) is developed for trafficking of natural radionuclides. The TPM covers the complete trafficking cycle, ranging from material diversion, covert material transport, material concealment, and all associated operational procedures. The model subdivides the trafficking cycle into five phases: (1) Material diversion by insider(s) or initiation by outsider(s); (2) Covert transport; (3) Material brokerage; (4) Material sale; (5) Material delivery. An Action Plan is recommended, addressing the strengthening of the national infrastructure for material protection and accounting, development of higher standards of good governance, and needs for improving the control system deployed by customs, border guards and security forces.

  19. Understanding enabling capacities for managing the 'wicked problem' of nonpoint source water pollution in catchments: a conceptual framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patterson, James J; Smith, Carl; Bellamy, Jennifer

    2013-10-15

    Nonpoint source (NPS) water pollution in catchments is a 'wicked' problem that threatens water quality, water security, ecosystem health and biodiversity, and thus the provision of ecosystem services that support human livelihoods and wellbeing from local to global scales. However, it is a difficult problem to manage because water catchments are linked human and natural systems that are complex, dynamic, multi-actor, and multi-scalar in nature. This in turn raises questions about understanding and influencing change across multiple levels of planning, decision-making and action. A key challenge in practice is enabling implementation of local management action, which can be influenced by a range of factors across multiple levels. This paper reviews and synthesises important 'enabling' capacities that can influence implementation of local management action, and develops a conceptual framework for understanding and analysing these in practice. Important enabling capacities identified include: history and contingency; institutional arrangements; collaboration; engagement; vision and strategy; knowledge building and brokerage; resourcing; entrepreneurship and leadership; and reflection and adaptation. Furthermore, local action is embedded within multi-scalar contexts and therefore, is highly contextual. The findings highlight the need for: (1) a systemic and integrative perspective for understanding and influencing change for managing the wicked problem of NPS water pollution; and (2) 'enabling' social and institutional arenas that support emergent and adaptive management structures, processes and innovations for addressing NPS water pollution in practice. These findings also have wider relevance to other 'wicked' natural resource management issues facing similar implementation challenges. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Rational Choice theory and prison chaplaincy: the chaplain's dilemma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beckford, J A

    1999-12-01

    Critical responses to the application of Rational Choice theories to the study of religious phenomena tend to be polarized between outright denial that the theories have any relevance to religion and equally outspoken claims that the theories are the only hope for progress in the sociology of religion. This article aims to avoid both of these extreme positions by raising a question, instead, about one of Rational Choice's central propositions about religion. This proposition holds that levels of religious vitality vary positively with the degree to which agencies of the state are prevented from regulating religious activity. The findings of recent research into prison chaplaincy in the UK and the USA will be used to test this claim. The main argument will be that the existence of an established church has facilitated a higher level of religious activity, especially for minority faiths, in prisons in England and Wales than is possible in American prisons. This difference in religious vitality is explained in terms of the Church of England's privileged position as a 'broker' between the state and minority faith communities. There is greater equality of opportunity for religious activity in American prisons, but the level of the activity is necessarily lower. In neither country is there anything truly resembling a 'free' market for religion in prisons, but the established Church of England is able to use its quasi-monopoly powers to broker advantageous conditions for minority faith communities. This brokerage function may be advantageous to all religious organizations in the highly regulated 'economy' of prisons.

  1. Illicit Trafficking of Natural Radionuclides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Friedrich, Steinhaeusler; Lyudmila, Zaitseva

    2008-01-01

    Natural radionuclides have been subject to trafficking worldwide, involving natural uranium ore (U 238), processed uranium (yellow cake), low enriched uranium ( 20% U 235), radium (Ra 226), polonium (Po 210), and natural thorium ore (Th 232). An important prerequisite to successful illicit trafficking activities is access to a suitable logistical infrastructure enabling an undercover shipment of radioactive materials and, in case of trafficking natural uranium or thorium ore, capable of transporting large volumes of material. Covert en route diversion of an authorised uranium transport, together with covert diversion of uranium concentrate from an operating or closed uranium mines or mills, are subject of case studies. Such cases, involving Israel, Iran, Pakistan and Libya, have been analyzed in terms of international actors involved and methods deployed. Using international incident data contained in the Database on Nuclear Smuggling, Theft and Orphan Radiation Sources (DSTO) and international experience gained from the fight against drug trafficking, a generic Trafficking Pathway Model (TPM) is developed for trafficking of natural radionuclides. The TPM covers the complete trafficking cycle, ranging from material diversion, covert material transport, material concealment, and all associated operational procedures. The model subdivides the trafficking cycle into five phases: (1) Material diversion by insider(s) or initiation by outsider(s); (2) Covert transport; (3) Material brokerage; (4) Material sale; (5) Material delivery. An Action Plan is recommended, addressing the strengthening of the national infrastructure for material protection and accounting, development of higher standards of good governance, and needs for improving the control system deployed by customs, border guards and security forces

  2. Evaluation of the online-presence (homepage) of burn units/burn centers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Selig, H F; Lumenta, D B; König, C; Andel, H; Kamolz, L P

    2012-05-01

    A successful online presence is an important key factor in the competition among hospitals today. However, little is known about the internet presence and the quality of websites of burn units on the World Wide Web. The aim was to assess the online presence of hospitals provided by specialized burn units in German speaking countries with a focus on the rate and the performance of actively run websites. A multicenter, observational, cross-sectional study was performed over a period of 1.5 month (October-December 2010). Forty-four burn units were assessed by using a previously generated criteria list. The list included 36 criteria with following topics: "research and teaching"; "patient care"; "clinical emphases", "general information"; "information brokerage". Overall, the websites examined offered a good overview about their different online services with many multimedia-based elements included. All websites consisted of hyperlinks, general multimedia-based elements and information on means of communication with the hospital, respectively. In contrast, the quality of specific information for burn patients was relatively poor. With regard to the need of elderly people, the usability and the layout, the different websites offer a lot of options for future improvements. Burn centers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland already consider the World Wide Web as an important tool for self-promotion and communication. The potential of burn center websites to function as a knowledge base for first aid as well as preventive measurements should be considered and realized in future web site designs. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

  3. Big russian oil round

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slovak, K.; Beer, G.

    2006-01-01

    The departure of Mikhail Khodorkovsky has brought an end to the idyllic times of supplies of Russian oil to the MOL-Slovnaft group. The group used to purchase oil directly from Yukos. But now brokers have again entered the Central European oil business. And their aim is to take control over all of the oil business. The Russians demonstrated the changed situation to Slovakia last autumn: you will either accept the new model, or there will be problems with oil deliveries. Consumers got the message. The main brokers of Russian oil in Central Europe are the Swiss companies Glencore and Fisotra. Little information is available regarding these commodity brokers. But the information available is sufficient to indicate that these are not small companies. Glencore undertakes 3% of all international oil trades. With an annual turnover of 72 billions USD, it was the biggest Swiss company by turnover in 2004. Fisotra also has an extensive product portfolio. It offers financial and commercial services and does not hide its good relations with Russian oil companies. Between 1994 and 1998, it managed their financial operations with major western companies such as BP, Cargill, Elf, Exxon, Shell, Total, and Mutsubishi and also with Glencore. Fisotra states that some of its clients achieved an annual turnover of 1.5 billions USD. At present, the Swiss brokers receive a fee of 1 to 1.5 USD per barrel. The Russian political elite must be aware of these brokerage services as the oil transport through the transit system is closely monitored by the state owned company Transneft. (authors)

  4. Sinister connections: How to analyse organised crime with social network analysis?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomáš Diviák

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Networks have recently become ubiquitous in many scientific fields. In criminology, social network analysis (SNA provides a potent tool for analysis of organized crime. This paper introduces basic network terms and measures as well as advanced models and reviews their application in criminological research. The centrality measures – degree and betweenness – are introduced as means to describe relative importance of actors in the network. The centrality measures are useful also in determining strategically positioned actors within the network or providing efficient targets for disruption of criminal networks. The cohesion measures, namely density, centralization, and average geodesic distance are described and their relevance is related to the idea of efficiency-security trade-off. As the last of the basic measures, the attention is paid to subgroup identification algorithms such as cliques, k-plexes, and factions. Subgroups are essential in the discussion on the cell-structure in criminal networks. The following part of the paper is a brief overview of more sophisticated network models. Models allow for theory testing, distinguishing systematic processes from randomness, and simplification of complex network structures. Quadratic assignment procedure, blockmodels, exponential random graph models, and stochastic actor-oriented models are covered. Some important research examples include similarities in co-offending, core-periphery structures, closure and brokerage, and network evolution. Subsequently, the paper reflects the three biggest challenges for application of SNA to criminal settings – data availability, proper formulation of theories and adequate methods application. In conclusion, readers are referred to books and journals combining SNA and criminology as well as to software suitable to carry out SNA.

  5. A Voice of the US Southwestern Border: The 2012 “We the Border: Envisioning a Narrative for Our Future” Conference

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josiah McC. Heyman

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available In July 2012, a diverse group of US residents living near the US-Mexico border met in El Paso, Texas for a conference entitled, We the Border: Envisioning a Narrative for Our Future.  This paper describes a vision for the US-Mexico border by diverse border residents that is at odds with the widespread view of the border as a threat to the United States. These border residents viewed their region as a set of human communities with rights, capacities, and valuable insights and knowledge. They embraced an alternative vision of border enforcement that would focus on “quality” (dangerous entrants and contraband over “quantity” (mass migration enforcement.  They called for investments in the functionality and security of ports of entry, rather than in between ports of entry.  They noted the low crime rate in US border cities, and examined how policies of not mixing local law enforcement with federal immigration enforcement contributed to this achievement. They saw the border region as the key transportation and brokerage zone of the emerging, integrated North American economy. In their view, the bilingual, bicultural, and binational skills that characterize border residents form part of a wider border culture that embraces diversity and engenders creativity. Under this vision the border region is not an empty enforcement zone, but is part of the national community and its residents should enjoy the same constitutional and human rights as other US residents. The conference participants emphasized the necessity and value of accountability and oversight of central government enforcement operations, and the need for border communities to participate in federal decision-making that affects their lives. 

  6. E-CITY KNOWWARE: KNOWLEDGE MIDDLEWARE FOR COORDINATED MANAGEMENT OF SUSTAINABLE CITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tamer E. El-Diraby

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The realization of e-city is a necessary component for achieving the green city. This paper outlines a vision for an e-city platform that is based on knowledge brokerage in the green city. The proposed platform will be a venue for creating dynamic virtual organizations to harness collective intelligence of knowledge hubs to analyze and manage sustainability knowledge in urban areas. Knowledge assets of participating organizations will be presented in three dimensions: process structures, human profile and software systems. These three facets of knowledge will be accessible and viewable through a self-describing mechanism. Cities can post their geospatial and real-time data on the net. Relevant environmental and energy-use data will be extracted using topic maps and data extraction services. Local decision makers can synchronize work processes (from participating hubs to create an integrated workflow for a new ad hoc virtual organization to collaboratively analyze the multifaceted nature of sustainable decision making. An e-city platform is envisioned in this paper that will be realized through intelligent, agent-like, domain-specific middleware (KnowWare. Through triangulation between people, software and processes, these KnowWare will discover, negotiate, integrate, reason and communicate knowledge (related to energy and environment from across organizations to the right person at the right time. KnowWare is fundamentally, a portal of social semantic services that resides on a cloud computing infrastructure. Knowware exploits thee main tools: 1 existing ontologies to represent knowledge in a semantic manner, 2 topic maps to profile sources of knowledge and match these to the complex needs of sustainability analysis, 3 domain-specific middleware for knowledge integration and reasoning.

  7. Managing the effects of multiple stressors on aquatic ecosystems under water scarcity. The GLOBAQUA project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navarro-Ortega, Alícia; Acuña, Vicenç; Bellin, Alberto; Burek, Peter; Cassiani, Giorgio; Choukr-Allah, Redouane; Dolédec, Sylvain; Elosegi, Arturo; Ferrari, Federico; Ginebreda, Antoni; Grathwohl, Peter; Jones, Colin; Rault, Philippe Ker; Kok, Kasper; Koundouri, Phoebe; Ludwig, Ralf Peter; Merz, Ralf; Milacic, Radmila; Muñoz, Isabel; Nikulin, Grigory; Paniconi, Claudio; Paunović, Momir; Petrovic, Mira; Sabater, Laia; Sabaterb, Sergi; Skoulikidis, Nikolaos Th; Slob, Adriaan; Teutsch, Georg; Voulvoulis, Nikolaos; Barceló, Damià

    2015-01-15

    Water scarcity is a serious environmental problem in many European regions, and will likely increase in the near future as a consequence of increased abstraction and climate change. Water scarcity exacerbates the effects of multiple stressors, and thus results in decreased water quality. It impacts river ecosystems, threatens the services they provide, and it will force managers and policy-makers to change their current practices. The EU-FP7 project GLOBAQUA aims at identifying the prevalence, interaction and linkages between stressors, and to assess their effects on the chemical and ecological status of freshwater ecosystems in order to improve water management practice and policies. GLOBAQUA assembles a multidisciplinary team of 21 European plus 2 non-European scientific institutions, as well as water authorities and river basin managers. The project includes experts in hydrology, chemistry, biology, geomorphology, modelling, socio-economics, governance science, knowledge brokerage, and policy advocacy. GLOBAQUA studies six river basins (Ebro, Adige, Sava, Evrotas, Anglian and Souss Massa) affected by water scarcity, and aims to answer the following questions: how does water scarcity interact with other existing stressors in the study river basins? How will these interactions change according to the different scenarios of future global change? Which will be the foreseeable consequences for river ecosystems? How will these in turn affect the services the ecosystems provide? How should management and policies be adapted to minimise the ecological, economic and societal consequences? These questions will be approached by combining data-mining, field- and laboratory-based research, and modelling. Here, we outline the general structure of the project and the activities to be conducted within the fourteen work-packages of GLOBAQUA. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  8. Kidney black markets and legal transplants: are they opposite sides of the same coin?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendoza, Roger Lee

    2010-03-01

    This study investigates why the illegal traffic of kidneys exists and remains resilient in the Philippines. It also evaluates the efficacy of the legal and regulatory framework for kidney (and organ) transplantation, and the corresponding implications for health policy. The experiences of comparable countries are noted. Three surveys were employed in this study: 1) a review of related literature on kidney black markets; 2) questionnaire-based interviews of a multi-stage probability sample of 131 kidney vendors from the two largest supplier regions in the Philippines; and 3) a comparative content analysis of pertinent legal and regulatory measures to address the underground kidney trade. Survey results, based on a 4.0 percent statistical margin of error, indicate that kidney vendors are typically males (98.4 percent) who belong to the lower income classes/groups D and E (88.5 percent). The vast majority of vendors (89.2 percent) were unrelated to kidney recipients, many of whom were of foreign descent (60.3 percent). The study finds that certain key elements underpin the kidney black market in the Philippines: an open, brokered and compensation-based contractual system between unrelated donors and sellers. These elements are sustained and reinforced by a robust supply-and-demand interface anchored on brokerage pricing, government incapacity, policy contradictions and public tolerance or indifference. The study suggests that the relative ambiguity of, and continuity between, the legal and underground kidney transplant systems be carefully addressed prior to enacting more specific reforms. The study also calls attention to the unintended consequences of various reform efforts, which are often neglected in formulating health policy and evaluating its costs and benefits.

  9. The strategic management of organizational knowledge exchange related to hospital quality measurement and reporting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangachari, Pavani

    2008-01-01

    CONTEXT/PURPOSE: With the growing momentum toward hospital quality measurement and reporting by public and private health care payers, hospitals face increasing pressures to improve their medical record documentation and administrative data coding accuracy. This study explores the relationship between the organizational knowledge-sharing structure related to quality and hospital coding accuracy for quality measurement. Simultaneously, this study seeks to identify other leadership/management characteristics associated with coding for quality measurement. Drawing upon complexity theory, the literature on "professional complex systems" has put forth various strategies for managing change and turnaround in professional organizations. In so doing, it has emphasized the importance of knowledge creation and organizational learning through interdisciplinary networks. This study integrates complexity, network structure, and "subgoals" theories to develop a framework for knowledge-sharing network effectiveness in professional complex systems. This framework is used to design an exploratory and comparative research study. The sample consists of 4 hospitals, 2 showing "good coding" accuracy for quality measurement and 2 showing "poor coding" accuracy. Interviews and surveys are conducted with administrators and staff in the quality, medical staff, and coding subgroups in each facility. Findings of this study indicate that good coding performance is systematically associated with a knowledge-sharing network structure rich in brokerage and hierarchy (with leaders connecting different professional subgroups to each other and to the external environment), rather than in density (where everyone is directly connected to everyone else). It also implies that for the hospital organization to adapt to the changing environment of quality transparency, senior leaders must undertake proactive and unceasing efforts to coordinate knowledge exchange across physician and coding subgroups and

  10. Managing the effects of multiple stressors on aquatic ecosystems under water scarcity. The GLOBAQUA project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navarro-Ortega, Alícia; Acuña, Vicenç; Bellin, Alberto; Burek, Peter; Cassiani, Giorgio; Choukr-Allah, Redouane; Dolédec, Sylvain; Elosegi, Arturo; Ferrari, Federico; Ginebreda, Antoni; Grathwohl, Peter; Jones, Colin; Rault, Philippe Ker; Kok, Kasper; Koundouri, Phoebe; Ludwig, Ralf Peter; Merz, Ralf; Milacic, Radmila; Muñoz, Isabel; Nikulin, Grigory; Paniconi, Claudio; Paunović, Momir; Petrovic, Mira; Sabater, Laia; Sabaterb, Sergi; Skoulikidis, Nikolaos Th.; Slob, Adriaan; Teutsch, Georg; Voulvoulis, Nikolaos; Barceló, Damià

    2015-01-01

    Water scarcity is a serious environmental problem in many European regions, and will likely increase in the near future as a consequence of increased abstraction and climate change. Water scarcity exacerbates the effects of multiple stressors, and thus results in decreased water quality. It impacts river ecosystems, threatens the services they provide, and it will force managers and policy-makers to change their current practices. The EU-FP7 project GLOBAQUA aims at identifying the prevalence, interaction and linkages between stressors, and to assess their effects on the chemical and ecological status of freshwater ecosystems in order to improve water management practice and policies. GLOBAQUA assembles a multidisciplinary team of 21 European plus 2 non-European scientific institutions, as well as water authorities and river basin managers. The project includes experts in hydrology, chemistry, biology, geomorphology, modelling, socio-economics, governance science, knowledge brokerage, and policy advocacy. GLOBAQUA studies six river basins (Ebro, Adige, Sava, Evrotas, Anglian and Souss Massa) affected by water scarcity, and aims to answer the following questions: how does water scarcity interact with other existing stressors in the study river basins? How will these interactions change according to the different scenarios of future global change? Which will be the foreseeable consequences for river ecosystems? How will these in turn affect the services the ecosystems provide? How should management and policies be adapted to minimise the ecological, economic and societal consequences? These questions will be approached by combining data-mining, field- and laboratory-based research, and modelling. Here, we outline the general structure of the project and the activities to be conducted within the fourteen work-packages of GLOBAQUA. PMID:25005236

  11. Conservation and adaptation to climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooke, Cassandra

    2008-12-01

    The need to adapt to climate change has become increasingly apparent, and many believe the practice of biodiversity conservation will need to alter to face this challenge. Conservation organizations are eager to determine how they should adapt their practices to climate change. This involves asking the fundamental question of what adaptation to climate change means. Most studies on climate change and conservation, if they consider adaptation at all, assume it is equivalent to the ability of species to adapt naturally to climate change as stated in Article 2 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Adaptation, however, can refer to an array of activities that range from natural adaptation, at one end of the spectrum, to sustainability science in coupled human and natural systems at the other. Most conservation organizations deal with complex systems in which adaptation to climate change involves making decisions on priorities for biodiversity conservation in the face of dynamic risks and involving the public in these decisions. Discursive methods such as analytic deliberation are useful for integrating scientific knowledge with public perceptions and values, particularly when large uncertainties and risks are involved. The use of scenarios in conservation planning is a useful way to build shared understanding at the science-policy interface. Similarly, boundary organizations-organizations or institutions that bridge different scales or mediate the relationship between science and policy-could prove useful for managing the transdisciplinary nature of adaptation to climate change, providing communication and brokerage services and helping to build adaptive capacity. The fact that some nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are active across the areas of science, policy, and practice makes them well placed to fulfill this role in integrated assessments of biodiversity conservation and adaptation to climate change.

  12. Analysis of the intellectual structure of human space exploration research using a bibliometric approach: Focus on human related factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Tai Sik; Lee, Yoon-Sun; Lee, Jaeho; Chang, Byung Chul

    2018-02-01

    Human space exploration (HSE) is an interdisciplinary field composed of a range of subjects that have developed dramatically over the last few decades. This paper investigates the intellectual structure of HSE research with a focus on human related factors. A bibliometric approach with quantitative analytical techniques is applied to study the development and growth of the research. This study retrieves 1921 papers on HSE related to human factors from the year 1990 to the year 2016 from Web of Science and constructs a critical citation network composed of 336 papers. Edge-betweenness-based clustering is used to classify the citation network into twelve distinct research clusters based on four research themes: "biological risks from space radiation," "health and performance during long-duration spaceflight," "program and in-situ resources for HSE missions," and "habitat and life support systems in the space environment." These research themes are also similar to the classification results of a co-occurrence analysis on keywords for a total of 1921 papers. Papers with high centrality scores are identified as important papers in terms of knowledge flow. Moreover, the intermediary role of papers in exchanging knowledge between HSE sub-areas is identified using brokerage analysis. The key-route main path highlights the theoretical development trajectories. Due to the recent dramatic increase in investment by international governments and the private sector, the theoretical development trajectories of key research themes have been expanding from furthering scientific and technical knowledge to include various social and economic issues, thus encouraging massive public participation. This study contributes to an understanding of research trends and popular issues in the field of HSE by introducing a powerful way of determining major research themes and development trajectories. This study will help researchers seek the underlying knowledge diffusion flow from multifaceted

  13. The impact of a community mental health initiative on outcomes for offenders with a serious mental disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Lynn A; Farrell-MacDonald, Shanna; Feeley, Stacey

    2017-10-01

    The Community Mental Health Initiative (CMHI) is mandated to assist offenders with serious mental disorders in their transition from institutions to the community, but this incorporates different styles of service. An important unanswered question is whether these are equivalent. Our aim was to compare outcomes for different intervention styles within the CMHI, a programme for serious offenders in prison who also have at least one major mental disorder. Our specific research questions were as follows: do outcomes differ according to whether offenders with mental health difficulties receive (1) clinical discharge planning only; (2) community mental health services only; (3) the combined services or (4) none, although meeting criteria for any CMHI service? Survival analyses, controlling for variables with a significant effect on recidivism or return to prison, were used to test for differences in recidivism or return to prison rates between the intervention and no-intervention groups during a fixed follow-up period. Men receiving only community mental health services had a significantly lower risk of returning to custody and of recidivism than men receiving discharge planning alone or no community mental health service at all, even after controlling for potential confounders including age, number of previous imprisonments and number of previous community failures. The advantages were apparent within 3-6 months and sustained for up to 4 years. Provision of specialised community mental health services for higher-risk male offenders with a mental disorder may reduce recidivism in the short and longer term - within 3 months and up to 4 years respectively. Statistical modelling also pointed to the need to include treatment for substance abuse and assistance in identifying stable accommodation and brokerage of community services among the interventions and services. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  14. Syndication of the earth system: the future of geoscience?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elliott, Scott M.; Hanson, Howard P.

    2003-01-01

    Current global change policy debate reverberates around the polarized extremes of civilization-level cooperation through treaties as a mitigation tactic, on the one hand, and a wait-and-see approach that may lead to a climatic tragedy of the commons, on the other. Meanwhile, energy technology research is rapidly generating a perception that it will be possible to tune the earth system via carbon sequestration and other types of biogeochemical engineering. The consequences of this potential for planetary management, based on provincial self-interest, include the transition of the earth sciences into a security industry involving proprietary scientific knowledge bases of biogeochemical cycling and the evolution of a climate-design brokerage dominated by military/industrial interests. As the dominant political powers perceive the potential for planetary engineering and consider implementation, the global economy will adjust to exploit new opportunities, perceptions of which will be determined by the quality of system simulations. The growth of a viable international climate-design community will profoundly influence the trajectory of the earth system by providing either the illusion or the reality of predictability. Although this process will be chaotic at first, the probability of stabilization will ultimately be enhanced because the vast resources of the military/industrial sector will become involved. These concepts are disturbingly familiar in that they acknowledge the pervasion of competition and conflict in human technological affairs. However, they are consistent with approaches used in thermodynamics, ecological energetics, behavioral evolution, economics, and interdisciplinary climate science to describe collectively the evolution of the earth system. This paper argues that the perception that the climate can be regulated inexpensively will create an economic driving force for international cartel-style management of the total earth system. That is, the earth

  15. Nuclear-fuel-cycle facility deployment and price generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andress, D.A.

    1981-04-01

    The enrichment process and how it is to be modeled in the International Nuclear Model (INM) is described. The details of enrichment production, planning, unit price generation, demand estimation and ordering are examined. The enrichment process from both the producer's and the utility's point of view is analyzed. The enrichment separative-work-unit (SWU) contracts are also discussed. The relationship of the enrichment process with other sectors of the nuclear fuel cycle, expecially uranium mining and milling is considered. There are portions of the enrichment process that are not completely understood at the present time. These areas, which require further study, will be pinpointed in the following discussion. In many cases, e.g., the advent of SMU brokerage activities, the answers will emerge only in time. In other cases, e.g., political trends, uncertainties will always remain. It is possible to cast the uncertainties in a probabilistic framework, but this is beyond the scope of this report. INM, a comprehensive model of the international nuclear industry, simulates the market decision process based on current and future price expectations under a broad range of scenario specifications. INM determines the proper reactor mix as well as the planning, operation, and unit price generation of the attendant nuclear fuel cycle facilities. The level of detail of many of the enrichment activities presented in this report, e.g., the enrichment contracts, is too fine to be incorporated into INM. Nevertheless, they are presented in a form that is ammendable to modeling. The reasons for this are two-fold. First, it shows the level of complexity that would be required to model the entire system. Second, it presents the structural framework for a detailed, stand-alone enrichment model

  16. Initiatives supporting evidence informed health system policymaking in Cameroon and Uganda: a comparative historical case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ongolo-Zogo, Pierre; Lavis, John N; Tomson, Goran; Sewankambo, Nelson K

    2014-11-29

    There is a scarcity of empirical data on institutions devoted to knowledge brokerage and their influence in Africa. Our objective was to describe two pioneering Knowledge Translation Platforms (KTPs) supporting evidence informed health system policymaking (EIHSP) in Cameroon and Uganda since 2006. This comparative historical case study of Evidence Informed Policy Network (EVIPNet) Cameroon and Regional East African Community Health Policy Initiative (REACH-PI) Uganda using multiple methods comprised (i) a descriptive documentary analysis for a narrative historical account, (ii) an interpretive documentary analysis of the context, profiles, activities and outputs inventories and (iii) an evaluative survey of stakeholders exposed to evidence briefs produced and policy dialogues organized by the KTPs. Both initiatives benefited from the technical and scientific support from the global EVIPNet resource group. EVIPNet Cameroon secretariat operates with a multidisciplinary group of part-time researchers in a teaching hospital closely linked to the ministry of health. REACH-PI Uganda secretariat operates with a smaller team of full time staff in a public university. Financial resources were mobilized from external donors to scale up capacity building, knowledge management, and linkage and exchange activities. Between 2008 and 2012, twelve evidence briefs were produced in Cameroon and three in Uganda. In 2012, six rapid evidence syntheses in response to stakeholders' urgent needs were produced in Cameroon against 73 in Uganda between 2010 and 2012. Ten policy dialogues (seven in Cameroon and three in Uganda) informed by pre-circulated evidence briefs were well received. Both KTPs contributed to developing and testing new resources and tools for EIHSP. A network of local and global experts has created new spaces for evidence informed deliberations on priority health policy issues related to MDGs. This descriptive historical account of two KTPs housed in government

  17. PanDA for ATLAS distributed computing in the next decade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barreiro Megino, F. H.; De, K.; Klimentov, A.; Maeno, T.; Nilsson, P.; Oleynik, D.; Padolski, S.; Panitkin, S.; Wenaus, T.; ATLAS Collaboration

    2017-10-01

    The Production and Distributed Analysis (PanDA) system has been developed to meet ATLAS production and analysis requirements for a data-driven workload management system capable of operating at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) data processing scale. Heterogeneous resources used by the ATLAS experiment are distributed worldwide at hundreds of sites, thousands of physicists analyse the data remotely, the volume of processed data is beyond the exabyte scale, dozens of scientific applications are supported, while data processing requires more than a few billion hours of computing usage per year. PanDA performed very well over the last decade including the LHC Run 1 data taking period. However, it was decided to upgrade the whole system concurrently with the LHC’s first long shutdown in order to cope with rapidly changing computing infrastructure. After two years of reengineering efforts, PanDA has embedded capabilities for fully dynamic and flexible workload management. The static batch job paradigm was discarded in favor of a more automated and scalable model. Workloads are dynamically tailored for optimal usage of resources, with the brokerage taking network traffic and forecasts into account. Computing resources are partitioned based on dynamic knowledge of their status and characteristics. The pilot has been re-factored around a plugin structure for easier development and deployment. Bookkeeping is handled with both coarse and fine granularities for efficient utilization of pledged or opportunistic resources. An in-house security mechanism authenticates the pilot and data management services in off-grid environments such as volunteer computing and private local clusters. The PanDA monitor has been extensively optimized for performance and extended with analytics to provide aggregated summaries of the system as well as drill-down to operational details. There are as well many other challenges planned or recently implemented, and adoption by non-LHC experiments such

  18. Social care informatics as an essential part of holistic health care: a call for action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rigby, Michael; Hill, Penny; Koch, Sabine; Keeling, Debbie

    2011-08-01

    The authors identified the need for a cross-disciplinary research view of issues to ensure an integrated citizen-centric support to achieve optimal health of individual citizens and, in particular, the role of informatics to inform and coordinate support towards integrated and holistic care. An Exploratory Workshop was approved and sponsored by the European Science Foundation. Twenty-three participants from 15 countries attended, covering a full range of health, social care and informatics professions and disciplines. The participants found strong common ground in identifying key issues to be addressed if citizens with compromised health are to receive integrated and coordinated support to a common set of objectives, while also ensuring appropriate choice and support for citizen, family and other informal carers. At the same time, optimal health was identified as a fundamental human right, and that achieving this is a necessary priority of a caring society. Moreover, Europe has a commitment to researching and developing health informatics (e-health), though not yet giving a priority to this integration of health and social care. Specifically the following main informatics challenges to be addressed were identified: (1) to identify available information and communication needs related to different scenarios of use in the intersection between health and social care, (2) to develop and map shared ontologies, and standards for integration and/or brokerage, (3) to enable planned information access and sharing, shaping a system of trust where the patient is an active partner and policies are established considering all partners/interests, (4) to investigate the use of automatic/intelligent knowledge based and context-relevant services, and (5) empowering the citizen (or their selected agent) as co-producer through modern informatics tools, while carefully avoiding selective disempowerment of the most vulnerable. The Exploratory Workshop resulted in a unanimous

  19. Risk communication and informed consent in the medical tourism industry: A thematic content analysis of canadian broker websites

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background Medical tourism, thought of as patients seeking non-emergency medical care outside of their home countries, is a growing industry worldwide. Canadians are amongst those engaging in medical tourism, and many are helped in the process of accessing care abroad by medical tourism brokers - agents who specialize in making international medical care arrangements for patients. As a key source of information for these patients, brokers are likely to play an important role in communicating the risks and benefits of undergoing surgery or other procedures abroad to their clientele. This raises important ethical concerns regarding processes such as informed consent and the liability of brokers in the event that complications arise from procedures. The purpose of this article is to examine the language, information, and online marketing of Canadian medical tourism brokers' websites in light of such ethical concerns. Methods An exhaustive online search using multiple search engines and keywords was performed to compile a comprehensive directory of English-language Canadian medical tourism brokerage websites. These websites were examined using thematic content analysis, which included identifying informational themes, generating frequency counts of these themes, and comparing trends in these counts to the established literature. Results Seventeen websites were identified for inclusion in this study. It was found that Canadian medical tourism broker websites varied widely in scope, content, professionalism and depth of information. Three themes emerged from the thematic content analysis: training and accreditation, risk communication, and business dimensions. Third party accreditation bodies of debatable regulatory value were regularly mentioned on the reviewed websites, and discussion of surgical risk was absent on 47% of the websites reviewed, with limited discussion of risk on the remaining ones. Terminology describing brokers' roles was somewhat inconsistent across

  20. A systematic review of barriers to and facilitators of the use of evidence by policymakers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliver, Kathryn; Innvar, Simon; Lorenc, Theo; Woodman, Jenny; Thomas, James

    2014-01-03

    The gap between research and practice or policy is often described as a problem. To identify new barriers of and facilitators to the use of evidence by policymakers, and assess the state of research in this area, we updated a systematic review. Systematic review. We searched online databases including Medline, Embase, SocSci Abstracts, CDS, DARE, Psychlit, Cochrane Library, NHSEED, HTA, PAIS, IBSS (Search dates: July 2000 - September 2012). Studies were included if they were primary research or systematic reviews about factors affecting the use of evidence in policy. Studies were coded to extract data on methods, topic, focus, results and population. 145 new studies were identified, of which over half were published after 2010. Thirteen systematic reviews were included. Compared with the original review, a much wider range of policy topics was found. Although still primarily in the health field, studies were also drawn from criminal justice, traffic policy, drug policy, and partnership working. The most frequently reported barriers to evidence uptake were poor access to good quality relevant research, and lack of timely research output. The most frequently reported facilitators were collaboration between researchers and policymakers, and improved relationships and skills. There is an increasing amount of research into new models of knowledge transfer, and evaluations of interventions such as knowledge brokerage. Timely access to good quality and relevant research evidence, collaborations with policymakers and relationship- and skills-building with policymakers are reported to be the most important factors in influencing the use of evidence. Although investigations into the use of evidence have spread beyond the health field and into more countries, the main barriers and facilitators remained the same as in the earlier review. Few studies provide clear definitions of policy, evidence or policymaker. Nor are empirical data about policy processes or implementation of

  1. Qué hace el cuidador familiar en el hospital: Cómo se ve a sí mismo y cómo lo ven los profesionales The role of the family caregivers in the hospital: Their self-concept and how they are seen by health professionals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael Villar Dávila

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Los cuidadores familiares han sido ampliamente estudiados en el ámbito domiciliario y de la atención primaria pero prácticamente no existen estudios que incidan sobre su realidad dentro de los hospitales. Con un enfoque cuantitativo y diseño descriptivo transversal mediante el uso de cuestionarios validados al efecto realizado a familiares que cuidan a ancianos ingresados en los hospitales se conoce el perfil de los mismos, qué actividades realizan y qué valoración hacen de ellos los profesionales de enfermería. Como conclusiones principales destacar: a Las principales actividades del cuidador familiar en el hospital son de acompañamiento, entretenimiento, soporte emocional e intermediación. b El desconocimiento de la actividad inhiben al cuidador familiar a realizar más actividades. c Si se educa y entrena al cuidador familiar en las actividades de cuidado, se harán más. d Los profesionales desconocen lo que los familiares dicen que hacen. No consideran que muchas de las acciones del cuidador sean realmente cuidados. Creen que los cuidadores familiares no ayudan tanto como ellos esperan al cuidado básico de los ancianos ingresados.Family caregivers have been widely studied in the home and primary care but virtually do no exits studies which influence the reality in hospitals. With a quantitative approach and cross-sectional design using questionnaires validated for that purpose made to relatives who care for elderly people in hospitals is called the profile them, what activities do and what makes them value the nurses. As main findings include: a The main activities of family caregivers in the hospital are accompanying, entertainment, emotional support and brokerage. b Lack of activity inhibit the family caregiver to be more active. c If you educate and train the family caregiver in activities of care, will be more. d Professionals know what family members say they do. Do not think that many of the actions of the caregiver are

  2. THE PLACE OF THE EMERGING ECONOMY OF ROMANIA INSIDE THE EUROPEAN UNION ECONOMIES IN TERMS OF FTSE CRITERIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mardiros Daniela-Neonila

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The importance of this research lies from the need to know the economies developed, emerging and frontier of the European Union and the mode of their manifestation according to the market indicators. Consequently, we had in mind a presentation of the economies in the categories mentioned above framed in terms of market criteria used by FTSE Group, a provider of stock market indices and associated data services. Using data from a series of reports published by FTSE we made an analysis of how each of the considered economies and in particular Romania, acts according of these. Was taken into consideration criteria as: market and regulatory environment (formal stock market regulatory authorities actively monitor market; fair and non-prejudicial treatment of minority shareholders; non or selective incidence of foreign ownership restrictions; free and well-developed equity market; no objections or significant restrictions or penalties applied on the repatriation of capital; free and well-developed foreign exchange market; non or simple registration process for foreign investors; custody and settlement (settlement-rare incidence of failed trades; custody-sufficient competition to ensure high quality custodian services; clearing and settlement; stock lending permitted; settlement-free delivery available; custody-omnibus account facilities available to international investors; dealing landscape (brokerage-sufficient competition to ensure high quality broker services; liquidity-sufficient broad market liquidity to support sizeable global investment; transaction costs-implicit and explicit costs to be reasonable and competitive; short sales permitted; off-exchange transactions permitted; efficient trading mechanism; transparency; derivates (developed derivatives market. The final part of the paper is reserved to the understanding of the mode in which each of the considered economies of the European Union, including Romania and regardless of what category

  3. Risk communication and informed consent in the medical tourism industry: A thematic content analysis of canadian broker websites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Crooks Valorie A

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Medical tourism, thought of as patients seeking non-emergency medical care outside of their home countries, is a growing industry worldwide. Canadians are amongst those engaging in medical tourism, and many are helped in the process of accessing care abroad by medical tourism brokers - agents who specialize in making international medical care arrangements for patients. As a key source of information for these patients, brokers are likely to play an important role in communicating the risks and benefits of undergoing surgery or other procedures abroad to their clientele. This raises important ethical concerns regarding processes such as informed consent and the liability of brokers in the event that complications arise from procedures. The purpose of this article is to examine the language, information, and online marketing of Canadian medical tourism brokers' websites in light of such ethical concerns. Methods An exhaustive online search using multiple search engines and keywords was performed to compile a comprehensive directory of English-language Canadian medical tourism brokerage websites. These websites were examined using thematic content analysis, which included identifying informational themes, generating frequency counts of these themes, and comparing trends in these counts to the established literature. Results Seventeen websites were identified for inclusion in this study. It was found that Canadian medical tourism broker websites varied widely in scope, content, professionalism and depth of information. Three themes emerged from the thematic content analysis: training and accreditation, risk communication, and business dimensions. Third party accreditation bodies of debatable regulatory value were regularly mentioned on the reviewed websites, and discussion of surgical risk was absent on 47% of the websites reviewed, with limited discussion of risk on the remaining ones. Terminology describing brokers' roles was

  4. Risk communication and informed consent in the medical tourism industry: a thematic content analysis of Canadian broker websites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penney, Kali; Snyder, Jeremy; Crooks, Valorie A; Johnston, Rory

    2011-09-26

    Medical tourism, thought of as patients seeking non-emergency medical care outside of their home countries, is a growing industry worldwide. Canadians are amongst those engaging in medical tourism, and many are helped in the process of accessing care abroad by medical tourism brokers - agents who specialize in making international medical care arrangements for patients. As a key source of information for these patients, brokers are likely to play an important role in communicating the risks and benefits of undergoing surgery or other procedures abroad to their clientele. This raises important ethical concerns regarding processes such as informed consent and the liability of brokers in the event that complications arise from procedures. The purpose of this article is to examine the language, information, and online marketing of Canadian medical tourism brokers' websites in light of such ethical concerns. An exhaustive online search using multiple search engines and keywords was performed to compile a comprehensive directory of English-language Canadian medical tourism brokerage websites. These websites were examined using thematic content analysis, which included identifying informational themes, generating frequency counts of these themes, and comparing trends in these counts to the established literature. Seventeen websites were identified for inclusion in this study. It was found that Canadian medical tourism broker websites varied widely in scope, content, professionalism and depth of information. Three themes emerged from the thematic content analysis: training and accreditation, risk communication, and business dimensions. Third party accreditation bodies of debatable regulatory value were regularly mentioned on the reviewed websites, and discussion of surgical risk was absent on 47% of the websites reviewed, with limited discussion of risk on the remaining ones. Terminology describing brokers' roles was somewhat inconsistent across the websites. Finally

  5. Free electrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nadeau, J.-B.

    2003-01-01

    Hydro-Quebec, Canada's leading exporter of electricity, generates 96 per cent of its electricity from hydropower. In 2002, the utility exported only 8 per cent of its annual output, but import-export and brokerage activities brought in $3.5 billion, representing more than 25 per cent of the total sales of $13 billion. Performance is improving, profitability is up and net exports are down. It was noted that on average, Hydro-Quebec pays $42.00 for each megawatt-hour and sells at $64. That is double the $27.90 paid by Quebec consumers. The traffic in energy blocks is controlled by hourly, daily and seasonal fluctuations. Power demand depends on the season, weather and consumption. It also depends on the power plants on stream in New England, available transmission lines and reservoir levels. Demand for electricity in Quebec is generally at its lowest in late June, at which time consumers in Ontario and New England states use their air conditioners creating a demand that peaks higher than in winter. Power producers are constantly monitoring weather patterns to determine which generating stations to fire up. Economic and demographic profiles in the New England states also affect demand. It is estimated that electricity demand in Ontario and New England markets will grow about 1.5 per cent. Other demand factors include grid commissioning and operating schedules which identify which facilities will be taken off stream temporarily for maintenance purposes. Information about water levels in reservoirs is kept confidential by all power producers. A hydropower plant can be put on stream or off stream on a few moments notice without added cost. The turbined water is free and it can also be stored. On the other hand, thermal generating stations such as oil-, coal- or nuclear-fired stations, can take days to power up or down. This renders adjustments in power production very costly. Open electricity markets mean that power system operators can stock smaller reserves because

  6. THE ISSUE OF CRYPTOCURRENCY LEGAL REGULATION IN UKRAINE AND ALL OVER THE WORLD: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mykola Inshyn

    2018-01-01

    protection. Practical implications of these are proposals to adopt certain amendments to the current legislation in this sphere, including setting up control over brokerage of cryptocurrency, licensing of the industry, and legal definition of the cryptocurrency for the purposes of taxation, etc. Value/originality. The paper represents one of the first comprehensive studies of the current state and prospects of development of the legal framework for the cryptocurrency in Ukraine. Its conclusions provide both proposals for the development of legislation in this sphere and may serve as a basis for the future studies of this topic.

  7. A Developmental Behavioral Analysis of Dual Motives’ Role in Political Economies of Corruption

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara Nora Ross

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper is a developmental meta-analysis of behaviors that contribute to political economies of corruption, deploying bioneurological dual motive and behavioral development theories. Together, these systems of analysis enable a developmental perspective to illustrate and analyze a progression of dual motives’ variations as humans and their conditions change. The progression of examples indicates that there are multiple evolutions of political economies that vary in their complexity, with different behavioral features at each level. Dual motive theory helps in identifying and understanding the complex linkages and layers of socio-political and economic behaviors as they become more complex. Increasingly complex horizontal and vertical stacks of social networks, like lattice-works of dual motives, enable individuals and groups to develop and maintain sturdy yet adaptable social systems of patronage, brokerage, and clientelism. These so-often informally structured relationships underlie corruption-like transactions long before, and long after, they are regarded as the enduring institution of corruption. Three hypotheses under gird the development of that thesis. The first is that dual motive theory facilitates meta-analyses of social networks’ often hidden layers of complexity. A second hypothesis is that analyses using dual motive theory can explicate more complexity when the theory is integrated with developmental behavioral theory. The third hypothesis is that analyses made possible by that integration offer substantive contributions to understanding socio-political-economic behaviors, including multiple political economies of corruption. Three strategies are employed to develop the paper’s thesis. First, the concepts of social ties, networks, reciprocity and dual motive theory are introduced to set the context. second, a behavioral task measurement theory is introduced: the model of hierarchical complexity. Scoped for this paper to

  8. Community-based child health nurses: an exploration of current practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borrow, Stephanie; Munns, Ailsa; Henderson, Saras

    2011-12-01

    community development and capacity building, often through a multidisciplinary partnership, which requires them to have sound brokerage and facilitation skills to enable community inclusion and inter-agency collaboration at the local level. The study has highlighted the importance and multifaceted nature of the role of the community-based child health nurse. To enable them to function optimally, the following suggestions/recommendations are offered. These being: More physical resources be allocated to community-based child health nursing More resources allocated to assist community-based child health nurses to support culturally and linguistically diverse families Mapping of child health nurses' workloads The development of community health client dependency rating criteria reflecting the social determinants of health in order for health service refinement of staffing allocations based on an acuity scale Specific staff development opportunities to reflect the increased workload complexity Managerial support for the implementation of formal clinical (reflective) supervision Additional clerical assistance with non-nursing duties.

  9. Pathways for Disposal of Commercially-Generated Tritiated Waste

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Halverson, Nancy V. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL). Environmental Sciences and Biotechnology

    2016-09-26

    From a waste disposal standpoint, tritium is a major challenge. Because it behaves like hydrogen, tritium exchanges readily with hydrogen in the ground water and moves easily through the ground. Land disposal sites must control the tritium activity and mobility of incoming wastes to protect human health and the environment. Consequently, disposal of tritiated low-level wastes is highly regulated and disposal options are limited. The United States has had eight operating commercial facilities licensed for low-level radioactive waste disposal, only four of which are currently receiving waste. Each of these is licensed and regulated by its state. Only two of these sites accept waste from states outside of their specified regional compact. For waste streams that cannot be disposed directly at one of the four active commercial low-level waste disposal facilities, processing facilities offer various forms of tritiated low-level waste processing and treatment, and then transport and dispose of the residuals at a disposal facility. These processing facilities may remove and recycle tritium, reduce waste volume, solidify liquid waste, remove hazardous constituents, or perform a number of additional treatments. Waste brokers also offer many low-level and mixed waste management and transportation services. These services can be especially helpful for small-quantity tritiated-waste generators, such as universities, research institutions, medical facilities, and some industries. The information contained in this report covers general capabilities and requirements for the various disposal/processing facilities and brokerage companies, but is not considered exhaustive. Typically, each facility has extensive waste acceptance criteria and will require a generator to thoroughly characterize their wastes. Then a contractual agreement between the waste generator and the disposal/processing/broker entity must be in place before waste is accepted. Costs for tritiated waste

  10. Pathways for Disposal of Commercially-Generated Tritiated Waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Halverson, Nancy V.

    2016-01-01

    From a waste disposal standpoint, tritium is a major challenge. Because it behaves like hydrogen, tritium exchanges readily with hydrogen in the ground water and moves easily through the ground. Land disposal sites must control the tritium activity and mobility of incoming wastes to protect human health and the environment. Consequently, disposal of tritiated low-level wastes is highly regulated and disposal options are limited. The United States has had eight operating commercial facilities licensed for low-level radioactive waste disposal, only four of which are currently receiving waste. Each of these is licensed and regulated by its state. Only two of these sites accept waste from states outside of their specified regional compact. For waste streams that cannot be disposed directly at one of the four active commercial low-level waste disposal facilities, processing facilities offer various forms of tritiated low-level waste processing and treatment, and then transport and dispose of the residuals at a disposal facility. These processing facilities may remove and recycle tritium, reduce waste volume, solidify liquid waste, remove hazardous constituents, or perform a number of additional treatments. Waste brokers also offer many low-level and mixed waste management and transportation services. These services can be especially helpful for small-quantity tritiated-waste generators, such as universities, research institutions, medical facilities, and some industries. The information contained in this report covers general capabilities and requirements for the various disposal/processing facilities and brokerage companies, but is not considered exhaustive. Typically, each facility has extensive waste acceptance criteria and will require a generator to thoroughly characterize their wastes. Then a contractual agreement between the waste generator and the disposal/processing/broker entity must be in place before waste is accepted. Costs for tritiated waste

  11. Development of a Comprehensive Energy Service Business Model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, S.K. [Korea Energy Economics Institute, Euiwang (Korea)

    2001-11-01

    Traditionally, energy industry has been regarded as supply- oriented and characterized by its vertically integrated structure and monopolized market. In particular, network industries such as electricity, natural gas, and district heating and cooling, because of their large initial capital investments, were inevitably state-owned. As their sizes have ever increased, government-owned corporations are confronted with internal crises such as financial limitations, increasing internal transaction costs, etc. In addition to these internal problems, fundamental changes in the external environment such as advances in communication and modular technologies, globalization, and market liberalization have forced energy industries to undergo a restructuring process. Restructuring in the energy industry is intended to introduce competition in the market by unbundling the energy service into production, transportation, and distribution. The energy service has been vertically as well as horizontally integrated by suppliers. Restructuring, which has been implemented in the United States and the European countries, is now being introduced in Korea. However, energy services have not yet been regulated as a separate industry even in those countries which are well advanced in their restructuring. WTO negotiation is under way to separate the service sector in 'General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade(GATT).' Areas that can be categorized as a service sector are 17 subdivided sub-sectors as dispersed in each sector. Energy service business models expected to be emerged in the restructuring process of energy industry include: transmission/trunk pipeline projects, distribution/local pipeline projects, trading, brokerage, metering service, local distribution of natural gas, to name a few, for electricity and natural gas sectors; rational use of energy such as CES business and ESCOs for district heating and cooling, and energy conservation sector. Rational use of energy, in

  12. CASES ON GLOBAL E-LEARNING PRACTICES:Successes and Pitfalls

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reviewed by Yavuz AKBULUT

    2007-10-01

    a new generation of distance education, which provides opportunity for both synchronous and asynchronous interaction among the stakeholders of the instruction process. The chapter also enlightens the readers in terms of the benefits of e-learning, design and development of e-learning systems and pedagogy of e-learning. Section I: Cases on Completely Online Learning Systems Chapter 1: Online Learning with the Use of WebCT VistaIn the chapter, authors offer reflections on various aspects of the use of WebCT Vista in online business education at Marshall University, U.S. It is claimed that if adequate technology, support and the cooperation of educational administrators are sustained, WebCT Vista can improve the current educational practices remarkably. Besides, it is argued that WebCT contributes to the effectiveness of distance learning by improving students’ critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, written communication, organization and analytical skills. Students’ feedback regarding their learning outcomes is also examined which reveals that most students positively evaluated the effect of WebCT on their learning. Chapter 2: Combining Synchronous and Asynchronous Distance Learning for Adult Training in Military Environments In the chapter, the territorial dispersion of military personnel in large geographical areas is presented as a major problem of military training. The traditional training camps require officers to gather in training camps and attend the lessons, which oblige them to leave their units. Such an approach is considered extremely costly. Thus, distance learning techniques are believed to solve such problems. A pilot study which aimed to train officers through a computer-based distance-learning system is presented along with the implementation, results and overall assessment of the study. Chapter 3: A Case Study on Education Networks and Brokerage The chapter maintains that the educational market is influenced by the increasing