Inventory of U.S.-led International Activities on Building Energy Efficiency Initial Findings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Delgado, Alison; Evans, Meredydd

2010-04-01

Several U.S. Government agencies promote energy efficiency in buildings internationally. The types and scope of activities vary by agency. Those with the largest role include the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Department of State and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Both USAID and the Department of State have a substantial presence overseas, which may present some complementarities with the Department of Energy’s efforts to reach out to other countries. Generally speaking, USAID focuses on capacity building and policy issues; the Department of State focuses on broad diplomatic efforts and some targeted grants in support of these efforts, and EPA has more targeted roles linked to ENERGY STAR appliances and a few other activities. Several additional agencies are also involved in trade-related efforts to promote energy efficiency in buildings. These include the Department of Commerce, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Trade and Development Agency (TDA). This initial synthesis report is designed to summarize broad trends and activities relating to international cooperation on energy efficiency in buildings, which can help the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in developing its own strategy in this area. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will develop a more complete synthesis report later in 2010 as it populates a database on international projects on building energy efficiency.

Evaluating the Factors that Activate the Development of Public-Private Partnership in Foreign Economic Activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pyroh Olha V.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The article is concerned with research on public-private partnership in foreign economic activity as process of interaction of the State and business-structures – entities of economic activity of Ukraine along with foreign entities of economic activity, this process includes attraction of investments, acceleration of economic development, etc. The factors determining public-private partnership in the foreign economic sphere (system of the State government bodies, system of economic relations in the State, financial resources of various States, experience in the implementation of public-private partnership projects, trust between partners are researched and generalized. Influence of each of the factors was defined by means of conjunctive analysis, determining that the system of economic relations in the State is most influenced by the formation of conditions, rules and implementation of principles of functioning of public-private partnership in the foreign economic sphere.

Facilities Management Service Delivery in Public and Private High Rise Residential Buildings in Nigeria: A case study of Eko Court Complex and Niger Towers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olanrele O. O.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This study assessed and compared the delivery of Facilities Management (FM services in public and private high rise residential buildings in Lagos, Nigeria. While some facilities or services may not be available in some public estates, the efficiency of the available ones is inadequate in comparison with the adequacy and efficiency of services provided in private estates. The objectives set for the study include identification of services that are provided in the case studies, service delivery method, and an assessment of the residents’ satisfaction of the services. This study adopted questionnaire survey for collection of data. 127 questionnaires were distributed to the residents of the case studies and 93 were returned. Three of which were discarded for incompleteness, thus 90 were analysed. The study found that most but not all of the facilities services expected in high rise buildings are available in the case studies and the services are outsourced under a standard Service Level Agreement. The service delivery in private high rise residential building is better than the public residential high rise buildings as revealed by the study. The study recommends improved standardization of services, customized services and meeting customer’s expectation for improved service delivery.

Flood loss reduction of private households due to building precautionary measures -- lessons learned from the Elbe flood in August 2002

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Kreibich

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Building houses in inundation areas is always a risk, since absolute flood protection is impossible. Where settlements already exist, flood damage must be kept as small as possible. Suitable means are precautionary measures such as elevated building configuration or flood adapted use. However, data about the effects of such measures are rare, and consequently, the efficiency of different precautionary measures is unclear. To improve the knowledge about efficient precautionary measures, approximately 1200 private households, which were affected by the 2002 flood at the river Elbe and its tributaries, were interviewed about the flood damage of their buildings and contents as well as about their precautionary measures. The affected households had little flood experience, i.e. only 15% had experienced a flood before. 59% of the households stated that they did not know, that they live in a flood prone area. Thus, people were not well prepared, e.g. just 11% had used and furnished their house in a flood adapted way and only 6% had a flood adapted building structure. Building precautionary measures are mainly effective in areas with frequent small floods. But also during the extreme flood event in 2002 building measures reduced the flood loss. From the six different building precautionary measures under study, flood adapted use and adapted interior fitting were the most effective ones. They reduced the damage ratio for buildings by 46% and 53%, respectively. The damage ratio for contents was reduced by 48% due to flood adapted use and by 53% due to flood adapted interior fitting. The 2002 flood motivated a relatively large number of people to implement private precautionary measures, but still much more could be done. Hence, to further reduce flood losses, people's motivation to invest in precaution should be improved. More information campaigns and financial incentives should be issued to encourage precautionary measures.

Europe-building through private law : Lessons from constitutional theory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mak, C.

2012-01-01

Questioning the link between private law and the nation-state that is implied by nationalist perceptions of the law, this paper seeks to find support for a transnational (Europeanist,constitutional-patriotist or cosmopolitan) view on private law in constitutional theory. Normative theories of

Preparedness for physiotherapy in private practice: Novices identify key factors in an interpretive description study.

Science.gov (United States)

Atkinson, Robyn; McElroy, Theresa

2016-04-01

Physiotherapists in Australia deliver services to a diverse range of clients, across many settings, however little research exists examining graduate preparedness for practice, even in the populous field of private practice. To explore novice physiotherapist perspectives on preparedness for work in private practice. The qualitative approach of interpretive description was used to guide in-depth interviews with 8 novice physiotherapists from 3 universities working in 5 private practices in Melbourne. All interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically. Four main themes influencing graduate preparedness for work in private practice were identified: 1) non-curricular experiences (e.g. sports training) 2) elective curricular: practicum experiences; 3) curricular: attainment of skills specific to private practice; and 4) the private practice setting: supportive colleagues. This combination of non-curricular, curricular, and practice setting factors offered the necessary scaffolding for the graduates to report feeling prepared for work in private practice. Non-curricular activities, radiological instruction, clinical placements, building supportive colleague relations and professional development in private practice are recommended as potential means of building preparedness in novice therapists. Findings have implications for physiotherapy students, educators and private practice clinics looking to recruit new graduates. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Privatization of solid waste collection services: Lessons from Gaborone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bolaane, Benjamin; Isaac, Emmanuel

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We compared efficiency and effectiveness of waste collection by the public and private sector. • Public sector performs better than private sector in some areas and vice versa. • Outsourcing waste collection in developing countries is hindered by limited capacity on contractual issues. • Outsourcing collection in developing countries is hampered by inadequate waste information. • There is need to build capacity in the public sector of developing countries to support outsourcing. - Abstract: Formal privatization of solid waste collection activities has often been flagged as a suitable intervention for some of the challenges of solid waste management experienced by developing countries. Proponents of outsourcing collection to the private sector argue that in contrast to the public sector, it is more effective and efficient in delivering services. This essay is a comparative case study of efficiency and effectiveness attributes between the public and the formal private sector, in relation to the collection of commercial waste in Gaborone. The paper is based on analysis of secondary data and key informant interviews. It was found that while, the private sector performed comparatively well in most of the chosen indicators of efficiency and effectiveness, the public sector also had areas where it had a competitive advantage. For instance, the private sector used the collection crew more efficiently, while the public sector was found to have a more reliable workforce. The study recommends that, while formal private sector participation in waste collection has some positive effects in terms of quality of service rendered, in most developing countries, it has to be enhanced by building sufficient capacity within the public sector on information about services contracted out and evaluation of performance criteria within the contracting process

Privatization of solid waste collection services: Lessons from Gaborone

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bolaane, Benjamin, E-mail: bolaaneb@mopipi.ub.bw; Isaac, Emmanuel, E-mail: eisaac300@gmail.com

2015-06-15

Highlights: • We compared efficiency and effectiveness of waste collection by the public and private sector. • Public sector performs better than private sector in some areas and vice versa. • Outsourcing waste collection in developing countries is hindered by limited capacity on contractual issues. • Outsourcing collection in developing countries is hampered by inadequate waste information. • There is need to build capacity in the public sector of developing countries to support outsourcing. - Abstract: Formal privatization of solid waste collection activities has often been flagged as a suitable intervention for some of the challenges of solid waste management experienced by developing countries. Proponents of outsourcing collection to the private sector argue that in contrast to the public sector, it is more effective and efficient in delivering services. This essay is a comparative case study of efficiency and effectiveness attributes between the public and the formal private sector, in relation to the collection of commercial waste in Gaborone. The paper is based on analysis of secondary data and key informant interviews. It was found that while, the private sector performed comparatively well in most of the chosen indicators of efficiency and effectiveness, the public sector also had areas where it had a competitive advantage. For instance, the private sector used the collection crew more efficiently, while the public sector was found to have a more reliable workforce. The study recommends that, while formal private sector participation in waste collection has some positive effects in terms of quality of service rendered, in most developing countries, it has to be enhanced by building sufficient capacity within the public sector on information about services contracted out and evaluation of performance criteria within the contracting process.

Privatization an a national business

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrzej Tokarski

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Privatization is a very complicated process that builds a market economy. It entails numerous problems, the overcoming of which depends on the pace and scale of privatization in a particular country. The privatization process of the Polish economy is assessed differently, and still raises a lot of controversy and debate, not only for the economy, but also politics. This is particularly the privatization of state assets. Privatization was one of the foundations for political transformation in Poland and other Central- and Eastern European countries. Some say that was a great success, while for others it was a field for plunder and affairs. Who is right? Is privatization a success or a failure? This paper aims to present the arguments posed by both supporters and opponents of the privatization in Poland.

Private Military and Security Companies - Counterinsurgency and Nation Building Strategy

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-25

cans, and bought war bonds is long gone. One advantage that the private sector brings to public wars is capacity. Companies like Kellogg and Brown...1 Anne-Marie Buzatu, and Benjamin S . Buckland, “Private Military & Security Companies : Future Challenges in...From  -­‐  To)   September 2012 - April 2013 4.  TITLE  AND  SUBTITLE   Private Military and Security Companies - Counterinsurgency and

To procure for better buildings - FM and Public Private Partnerships in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristiansen, Kristian

and a review of literature on issues related to integration of FM considerations in the planning, design and construction of facilities has been made. Some case studies on the influence of elements in partnerships to the integration of FM are being prepared. Results: The results indicate that the effect of PPP......Purpose: The paper is based on a research project investigating whether PPP´s are good for the procurement of FM, i.e. are PPP´s advantageous for the integration of FM considerations into the planning, design and construction of buildings? Background: In Public-Private Partnerships FM services...... process and the relationships between the actors are paramount for the integration of FM. Practical Implications: The results imply that FM practitioners should pay interest to issues related to the sociology of the construction process rather than legal arrangements like PPP....

Assessment of capacity-building activities for forest measurement, reporting, and verification, 2011–15

Science.gov (United States)

Peneva-Reed, Elitsa I.; Romijn, J. Erika

2018-05-31

publication argued that plausible association, although not a precise measurement of cause and effect, was a realistic tool. Our review of the available literature on this subject did not find another similar assessment to assess capacity-building activities for supporting the countries in building MRV system for REDD+.Four countries from the main forested regions of Africa, the Americas, and Asia were chosen as subjects for this report based on the length of time SilvaCarbon and other providers have provided capacity-building activities toward MRV system for REDD+: Colombia (the Americas), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC; Africa), Peru (the Americas), and the Republic of the Philippines (referred to as “the Philippines” hereafter; Asia).Several providers were contacted for information to include in this report, but, because of various constraints, only SilvaCarbon, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) participated in this study. These three providers supported various targeted capacity-building activities through-out Africa, the Americas, and Asia, including the following: technical workshops at national and regional levels (referred to as “workshops” hereafter), hands on training, study tours, technical details by experts, technical consultation between providers and recipients, sponsorship for travel, organizing network meetings, developing sampling protocols, assessing deforestation and degradation drivers, estimating carbon stock and flow, designing monitoring systems for multiple uses, promoting public-private partnerships to scale up investments on MRV system for REDD+, and assisting with the design of national forest monitoring systems.Their activities were planned in coordination with key partners in each country and region and with the support and assistance of other providers. Note that several other organizations and institutions assisted the providers to deliver capacity-building

Guidelines for Building a Private Cloud Infrastructure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ali Babar, Muhammad; Pantić, Zoran

on open source software. One of the key objectives of this project was to create relevant material for providing a reference guide on the use of open source software for designing and implementing a private cloud. The primary focus on this document is to provide a brief background on different theoretical......, and a view on the different aspects of cloud computing in this document. Defining the cloud computing; analysis of the economical, security, legality, privacy, confidentiality aspects. There is also a short discussion about the potential impact on the employee’s future roles, and the challenges of migrating...... to a private cloud. The management of the instances and the related subjects are out of the scope of this document. This document is accompanied by three supplemental books that contain material from our experiences of scaling out in the virtual environment and cloud implementation in a physical environment...

Energy management at public-private partnerships. A reference model for energy efficient building construction projects; Energiemanagement bei Oeffentlich-Privaten Partnerschaften. Ein Referenzmodell fuer energieeffiziente Hochbauprojekte

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heidel, Robin

2013-04-01

The enhancement of the energy efficiency reduces the life cycle costs of real estates, and is an important component in achieving global climate goals. In the construction and operation of public building constructions, the state has to assume the function of a role model. Due to the budgetary position of the public authority continuously in deficit, the alternative form of procurement public-private partnerships will become increasingly important. The author of the contribution under consideration reports on the design of building construction projects of public-private partnerships in order to guarantee an energy efficient operation. A reference model with process descriptions for the single phases of the project is developed. The author describes the possible benefit of this model by means of an application example.

Active buildings: modelling physical activity and movement in office buildings. An observational study protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Lee; Ucci, Marcella; Marmot, Alexi; Spinney, Richard; Laskowski, Marek; Sawyer, Alexia; Konstantatou, Marina; Hamer, Mark; Ambler, Gareth; Wardle, Jane; Fisher, Abigail

2013-11-12

Health benefits of regular participation in physical activity are well documented but population levels are low. Office layout, and in particular the number and location of office building destinations (eg, print and meeting rooms), may influence both walking time and characteristics of sitting time. No research to date has focused on the role that the layout of the indoor office environment plays in facilitating or inhibiting step counts and characteristics of sitting time. The primary aim of this study was to investigate associations between office layout and physical activity, as well as sitting time using objective measures. Active buildings is a unique collaboration between public health, built environment and computer science researchers. The study involves objective monitoring complemented by a larger questionnaire arm. UK office buildings will be selected based on a variety of features, including office floor area and number of occupants. Questionnaires will include items on standard demographics, well-being, physical activity behaviour and putative socioecological correlates of workplace physical activity. Based on survey responses, approximately 30 participants will be recruited from each building into the objective monitoring arm. Participants will wear accelerometers (to monitor physical activity and sitting inside and outside the office) and a novel tracking device will be placed in the office (to record participant location) for five consecutive days. Data will be analysed using regression analyses, as well as novel agent-based modelling techniques. The results of this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and scientific presentations. Ethical approval was obtained through the University College London Research Ethics Committee (Reference number 4400/001).

Detecting privatization factors on promoting exports of steel companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyed Mohsen SeyedAliAkbar

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Privatization is considered as the transfer of business from the government to the private sector. This process is often accomplished in an attempt to reduce the size of government, increase the productivity and export activities. There is no doubt that in an export oriented economy, government tries to promote expert based activities by making necessary changes on rules and regulations. This paper presents an empirical investigation to determine important factors on promoting export in Iran. The study designs a questionnaire in Likert scale and distributes it among some experts active in steel industry. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy is equal to 0.839 and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity yields an approximation Chi-Square value of 2485.02 (Sig. = 0.000, df = 276. Using principle component analysis with Varimax rotation, the study has detected five important factors including human resources development, productivity management, marketing management, creating competitive environment and building necessary infrastructures, which influence the most on export activities.

Private sector joins family planning effort.

Science.gov (United States)

1989-12-01

Projects supported by the Directorate for Population (S&T/POP) of the U.S. Agency for International Development and aimed at increasing for-profit private sector involvement in providing family planning services and products are described. Making products commercially available through social-marketing partnerships with the commercial sector, USAID has saved $1.1 million in commodity costs from Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Indonesia, and Peru. Active private sector involvement benefits companies, consumers, and donors through increased corporate profits, healthier employees, improved consumer access at lower cost, and the possibility of sustained family planning programs. Moreover, private, for-profit companies will be able to meet service demands over the next 20 years where traditional government and donor agency sources would fail. Using employee surveys and cost-benefit analyses to demonstrate expected financial and health benefits for businesses and work forces, S&T/POP's Technical Information on Population for the Private Sector (TIPPS) project encourages private companies in developing countries to invest in family planning and maternal/child health care for their employees. 36 companies in 9 countries have responded thus far, which examples provided from Peru and Zimbabwe. The Enterprise program's objectives are also to increase the involvement of for-profit companies in delivering family planning services, and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of private volunteer organizations in providing services. Projects have been started with mines, factories, banks, insurance companies, and parastatals in 27 countries, with examples cited from Ghana and Indonesia. Finally, the Social Marketing for Change project (SOMARC) builds demand and distributes low-cost contraceptives through commercial channels especially to low-income audiences. Partnerships have been initiated with the private sector in 17 developing countries, with examples provided from

20 CFR 641.660 - Who is eligible to participate in section 502(e) private sector training activities?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

...(e) private sector training activities? 641.660 Section 641.660 Employees' Benefits EMPLOYMENT AND... PROGRAM Private Sector Training Projects Under Section 502(e) of the OAA § 641.660 Who is eligible to participate in section 502(e) private sector training activities? The same eligibility criteria used in the...

Dietary habits and physical activity levels in Jordanian adolescents attending private versus public schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Tayyem, R F; Al-Hazzaa, H M; Abu-Mweis, S S; Bawadi, H A; Hammad, S S; Musaiger, A O

2014-07-08

The present study examined differences in dietary habits and physical activity levels between students attending private and public high schools in Jordan. A total of 386 secondary-school males and 349 females aged 14-18 years were randomly recruited using a multistage, stratified, cluster sampling technique. Dietary habits and physical activity level were self-reported in a validated questionnaire. The prevalence of obesity was significantly higher among adolescents in private (26.0%) than in public schools (16.7%). The frequency of breakfast intake was significantly higher among adolescents in private schools, whereas French fries and sweets intake was significantly higher in public schools. Television viewing showed a significant interaction with school type by sex. A higher rate of inactivity was found among students attending private schools. Despite a slightly better overall dietary profile for students in private schools, they had a higher rate of overweight and obesity compared with those in public schools.

20 CFR 641.630 - What private sector training activities are allowable under section 502(e)?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What private sector training activities are... Sector Training Projects Under Section 502(e) of the OAA § 641.630 What private sector training...: (a) Providing participants with services leading to transition to private sector employment...

Privatization of solid waste collection services: Lessons from Gaborone.

Science.gov (United States)

Bolaane, Benjamin; Isaac, Emmanuel

2015-06-01

Formal privatization of solid waste collection activities has often been flagged as a suitable intervention for some of the challenges of solid waste management experienced by developing countries. Proponents of outsourcing collection to the private sector argue that in contrast to the public sector, it is more effective and efficient in delivering services. This essay is a comparative case study of efficiency and effectiveness attributes between the public and the formal private sector, in relation to the collection of commercial waste in Gaborone. The paper is based on analysis of secondary data and key informant interviews. It was found that while, the private sector performed comparatively well in most of the chosen indicators of efficiency and effectiveness, the public sector also had areas where it had a competitive advantage. For instance, the private sector used the collection crew more efficiently, while the public sector was found to have a more reliable workforce. The study recommends that, while formal private sector participation in waste collection has some positive effects in terms of quality of service rendered, in most developing countries, it has to be enhanced by building sufficient capacity within the public sector on information about services contracted out and evaluation of performance criteria within the contracting process. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of Private Schools in the United States: Results From the 2007-08 Private School Universe Survey--First Look. NCES 2009-313

Science.gov (United States)

Broughman, Stephen P.; Swaim, Nancy L.; Keaton, Patrick W.

2009-01-01

Since 1989, the U.S. Bureau of the Census has conducted the biennial Private School Universe Survey (PSS) for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The PSS is designed to generate biennial data on the total number of private schools, students, and teachers, and to build a universe of private schools in the 50 states and the District…

26 CFR 1.103(n)-1T - Limitation on aggregrate amount of private activity bonds (temporary).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... activity bonds (temporary). 1.103(n)-1T Section 1.103(n)-1T Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE... Excluded from Gross Income § 1.103(n)-1T Limitation on aggregrate amount of private activity bonds (temporary). Q-1: What does section 103(n) provide? A-1: Interest on an issue of private activity bonds will...

IAI Capacity Building Activities in the Americas: Fostering Multinational and Multidisciplinary Research

Science.gov (United States)

Ohira, M. S.

2007-05-01

The IAI's Training and Education (T&E) activities are designed to encourage capacity building in the Americas and are developed within and in parallel with the IAI research programs in global environmental change (GEC). The IAI has various training priorities: (1) support for graduate students in the form of fellowships through research programs; (2) development of IAI Training Institutes in Interdisciplinary Sciences and Science-Policy Fora; and (3) support for technical workshops, scientific meetings, and seminars. It becomes increasingly evident that institutions such as IAI must provide training and support to policy and decision makers who deal with environmental issues. The IAI Training Institutes emphasize an exchange of information about the various scientific languages, needs, and methodologies of disciplines that study GEC. Particular attention is given to socio-economic impacts and ways in which nations can gain a better understanding of the complex mechanisms, degrees of change, causes, and consequences - and therefore, plan sound public and private policies to minimize problems and maximize opportunities. The IAI has also implemented a Training Institute Seed Grant (TISG) Program as an assessment activity of the Training Institutes to further encourage network building and multinational and multidisciplinary collaboration among its 19 member countries in the Americas. By fostering the development of such new multidisciplinary, multinational teams, the IAI ensures a future generation of professionals who will be engaged in IAI research programs and networks and will lead the integrated science programs in the next decades. Furthermore, IAI has organized Science-Policy Fora, which focus on the science- policy interface and ways to incorporate scientific information into policy and decision-making processes. Participants discussed what scientific information is available, what aspects need to be better understood, translation of scientific information for

The scope of private practice nursing in an Australian sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Anne; Averis, Andrea; Walsh, Ken

2004-01-01

The changing Australian health care system is creating new opportunities for nurses who work directly with clients in private practice settings. This study examines the scope of practice of a cohort of nurses in private practice. In a questionnaire sent to 106 self-employed nurse entrepreneurs, questions were asked pertaining to the participants' scope of practice, their clients, the types of services offered, and their fee structures. Questions about scope of practice were divided into domains of clinical practice, business consultancy, education, and research. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected for a final sample 54 eligible responses. Participants had been in private practice for an average of 7.6 years (range: 1-20) and reported a mean of 21 years of nursing experience (range: 4-42) before entering private practice. Over half held diplomas in specialty areas. Most participants reported clinical practice, consultancy, or education as the primary work domain; research was much less important as a work activity. Nurses reported difficulties with building client base and receiving adequate fees for service, particularly in clinical practice. Increasing awareness within the nursing profession and health sector about various aspects of private practice nursing could improve service quality for their clients.

22 CFR 1203.735-211 - Activities relating to private organizations and politics.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... politics. 1203.735-211 Section 1203.735-211 Foreign Relations UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT... Employees § 1203.735-211 Activities relating to private organizations and politics. (a) Definition. For the... engage in any form of political activity in any foreign country. (h) Activities relating to U.S. politics...

Activity-Tracking Service for Building Operating Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hviid, Jakob; Kjærgaard, Mikkel Baun

2018-01-01

of Things sensors and devices promise to deliver rich data about human activities and control of loads. However, existing proposals for building operating systems that should combine such data and control opportunities does not provide concepts and support for activity data. In this paper we propose...... an activity-tracking service for building operating systems. The service is designed to consider the security, privacy, integration, extendability and scalability challenges in the building setting. We provide initial findings for testing the system in a proof of concept evaluation using a set of common......Several high consuming electricity loads in retail stores are currently highly intertwined in human activities. Without knowledge of such activities it is difficult to improve the energy efficiency of the loads operation for sustainability and cost reasons. The increasing availability of Internet...

Multi-Objective Optimization of Building Energy Design to Reconcile Collective and Private Perspectives: CO2-eq vs. Discounted Payback Time

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Hamdy

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Building energy design is a multi-objective optimization problem where collective and private perspectives conflict each other. For instance, whereas the collectivity pursues the minimization of environmental impact, the private pursues the maximization of financial viability. Solving such trade-off design problems usually involves a big computational cost for exploring a huge solution domain including a large number of design options. To reduce that computational cost, a bi-objective simulation-based optimization algorithm, developed in a previous study, is applied in the present investigation. The algorithm is implemented for minimizing the CO2-eq emissions and the discounted payback time (DPB of a single-family house in cold climate, where 13,456 design solutions including building envelope and heating system options are explored and compared to a predefined reference case. The whole building life is considered by assuming a calculation period of 30 years. The results show that the type of heating system significantly affects energy performance; notably, the ground source heat pump leads to the highest reduction in CO2-eq emissions, around 1300 kgCO2-eq/m2, with 17 year DPB; the oil fire boiler can provide the lowest DPB, equal to 8.5 years, with 850 kgCO2-eq/m2 reduction. In addition, it is shown that using too high levels of thermal insulation is not an effective solution as it causes unacceptable levels of summertime overheating. Finally a multi-objective decision making approach is proposed in order to enable the stakeholders to choice among the optimal solutions according to the weight given to each objective, and thus to each perspective.

Allocation private building in urban city and along the transport arteries for creating a modern energy-efficient living environment

Science.gov (United States)

Kasyanov, Vitaliy; Prelovskaya, Yana

2017-10-01

This article submits for consideration the structuring elements of the “private sector” development system, the so-called architectural heritage of the Russian province [1]. Three types of development, still present in central parts of settlement systems, i.e. parts of historical value, are revealed. Common features of private plot development for the majority of middle-scale and small towns are characterized. Dependence of the types on various factors: ethnical, natural (geographical), economical, is revealed. It is important to determine which buildings are located along the transport arteries. Does it have historical significance and cultural value, since it forms the image of the city. The outgoing line passes, as a rule, through the entire settlement system and leads to the central part. Basic principles of formation of historically emerged development types, such as blocks, streets and side streets, are shown, and also problems needed to be solved by the means of urban planning are generalized and casted.

Private Security Contractors in Iraq: Background, Legal Status, and Other Issues

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Elsea, Jennifer K; Schwartz, Moshe; Nakamura, Kennon H

2008-01-01

.... In Iraq, private firms known as Private Security Contractors (PSCs) serve to protect individuals, transport convoys, forward operating bases, buildings, and other economic infrastructure, and are training Iraqi police and military personnel...

Reconsidering Privatization in Cross-Border Engagements: The Sometimes Public Nature of Private Activity

Science.gov (United States)

Lane, Jason E.; Kinser, Kevin

2011-01-01

Privatization trends in higher education have typically been analyzed from the perspective of the institution and its relationship with the sponsoring state. The recent phenomenon of international cross-border higher education, however, represents a more complicated picture of privatization. Geographic separation from the sponsoring state is an…

20 CFR 641.640 - How do the private sector training activities authorized under section 502(e) differ from other...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false How do the private sector training activities... COMMUNITY SERVICE EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM Private Sector Training Projects Under Section 502(e) of the OAA § 641.640 How do the private sector training activities authorized under section 502(e) differ from other...

An Advanced Private Social Activity Invitation Framework with Friendship Protection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weitian Tong

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Due to the popularity of social networks and human-carried/human-affiliated devices with sensing abilities, like smartphones and smart wearable devices, a novel application was necessitated recently to organize group activities by learning historical data gathered from smart devices and choosing invitees carefully based on their personal interests. We proposed a private and efficient social activity invitation framework. Our main contributions are (1 defining a novel friendship to reduce the communication/update cost within the social network and enhance the privacy guarantee at the same time; (2 designing a strong privacy-preserving algorithm for graph publication, which addresses an open concern proposed recently; (3 presenting an efficient invitee-selection algorithm, which outperforms the existing ones. Our simulation results show that the proposed framework has good performance. In our framework, the server is assumed to be untrustworthy but can nonetheless help users organize group activities intelligently and efficiently. Moreover, the new definition of the friendship allows the social network to be described by a directed graph. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first work to publish a directed graph in a differentially private manner with an untrustworthy server.

Possibilities of Prisons Functioning in Support of Public Private Partnership Model

OpenAIRE

Marek Krzysztof Zając; Alina Zając

2008-01-01

From the end of the third quarter of year 2000 the number of penal individuals crosses the number of places provided for them. Therefore building of many convict prisons is necessary. The problem is if the private enterprises should or can participate in. Publication portrays in small degree the current situation of prison management, the idea of PPP as well as advantages and disadvantages of building prisons in support of Public Private Partnership model.

Creation of Real Estate Based on Public Private Partnership and Municipal Private Partnership Agreements in the Russian Federation

Science.gov (United States)

Voronina, M. D.

2017-11-01

The article considers individual questions connected with the application of the legislation on public private partnership and municipal private partnership agreements as new types of contracts at the newly built property development. Public private partnership and municipal private partnership agreements are contracts at the initial development stage. Their objective is to attract investments in the Russian economy including for the creation of separate real estate types (capital facilities). The Law enables one to build the relationship in such a way that joint efforts result in the grounds for the accrual of the ownership right to the built (reconstructed) asset. This circumstance certainly influences the infrastructural development of the Russian Federation and its municipal units, the rather that it occurs due to the attraction of extra-budgetary sources

The impact of public employment on private sector activity: Evidence from Berlin

OpenAIRE

Faggio, G.; Schluter, T.; vom Berge, P.

2016-01-01

We use the move of the seat of the German government from Bonn to Berlin in 1999 to test competing views about the impact of public employment on private sector activity in a local labor market. Using employment data from a 50% sample of establishments across 190 Berlin postcodes, we apply a treatment intensity approach which takes the possibility of spillovers into account. Results indicate that the arrival of 100 public sector jobs into an area generates 55 additional jobs in the private se...

Possibilities of Prisons Functioning in Support of Public Private Partnership Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marek Krzysztof Zając

2008-06-01

Full Text Available From the end of the third quarter of year 2000 the number of penal individuals crosses the number of places provided for them. Therefore building of many convict prisons is necessary. The problem is if the private enterprises should or can participate in. Publication portrays in small degree the current situation of prison management, the idea of PPP as well as advantages and disadvantages of building prisons in support of Public Private Partnership model.

The ELENA Programme in the Province of Chieti - A Public Private Partnership Best Practice Improving Energy Efficiency of Buildings and Public Lighting Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pierluigi Fecondo

2015-09-01

To date, the most relevant Project outcomes consist 87 municipalities involved, a structured database of energy audit and data about 144 buildings and about 46,000 public light points. Moreover, an effective engagement of public and private stakeholders, lays the foundation for a strong Energy Performance Contract framework able to leverage financing based on minimun guaranteed energy savings of 20% in respect to baseline values.

Institutional investor activism : Hedge funds and private equity, economics and regulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mc Cahery, Joseph; Bratton, W.

2015-01-01

The increase in institutional ownership of recent decades has been accompanied by an enhanced role played by institutions in monitoring companies’ corporate governance behaviour. Activist hedge funds and private equity firms have achieved a degree of success in actively shaping the business plans of

The private partners of public health: public-private alliances for public good.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonnell, Sharon; Bryant, Carol; Harris, Jeff; Campbell, Marci Kramish; Lobb, Ano; Hannon, Peggy A; Cross, Jeffrey L; Gray, Barbara

2009-04-01

We sought to convey lessons learned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Prevention Research Centers (PRCs) about the value and challenges of private-sector alliances resulting in innovative health promotion strategies. Several PRCs based in a variety of workplace and community settings contributed. We conducted interviews with principal investigators, a literature review, and a review of case studies of private-sector alliances in a microbusiness model, a macrobusiness model, and as multiparty partnerships supporting public health research, implementation, and human resource services. Private-sector alliances provide many advantages, particularly access to specialized skills generally beyond the expertise of public health entities. These skills include manufacturing, distribution, marketing, business planning, and development. Alliances also allow ready access to employee populations. Public health entities can offer private-sector partners funding opportunities through special grants, data gathering and analysis skills, and enhanced project credibility and trust. Challenges to successful partnerships include time and resource availability and negotiating the cultural divide between public health and the private sector. Critical to success are knowledge of organizational culture, values, mission, currency, and methods of operation; an understanding of and ability to articulate the benefits of the alliance for each partner; and the ability and time to respond to unexpected changes and opportunities. Private-public health alliances are challenging, and developing them takes time and resources, but aspects of these alliances can capitalize on partners' strengths, counteract weaknesses, and build collaborations that produce better outcomes than otherwise possible. Private partners may be necessary for program initiation or success. CDC guidelines and support materials may help nurture these alliances.

Thermo Active Building Systems – Using Building Mass To Heat and Cool

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olesen, Bjarne W.

2014-01-01

, Austria, Netherlands, etc.), this type of system has been installed in a significant number of new office buildings since the late 1990s. The trend is spreading to other parts of the world (the rest of Europe, North America and Asia). Thermo active building systems (TABS) are primarily used for cooling...

Interests and Advantages of the Private Sector in the State-Private Partnership

OpenAIRE

Brailovskiy Ilya A.

2013-01-01

The article is devoted to analysis of interests that stimulate a private partner to joint activity with the state and advantages they obtain from realisation of projects of the state-private partnership (SPP). It marks out main features and fields of application of the state-private partnership. It underlines that an important prerequisite for motivation of the private sector to enter into partnership relations with the state is observance of clear law competent formal rules in the institutio...

Future projections of insured losses in the German private building sector following the A1B climatic change scenario

Science.gov (United States)

Held, H.; Gerstengarbe, F.-W.; Hattermann, F.; Pinto, J. G.; Ulbrich, U.; Böhm, U.; Born, K.; Büchner, M.; Donat, M. G.; Kücken, M.; Leckebusch, G. C.; Nissen, K.; Nocke, T.; Österle, H.; Pardowitz, T.; Werner, P. C.; Burghoff, O.; Broecker, U.; Kubik, A.

2012-04-01

We present an overview of a complementary-approaches impact project dealing with the consequences of climate change for the natural hazard branch of the insurance industry in Germany. The project was conducted by four academic institutions together with the German Insurance Association (GDV) and finalized in autumn 2011. A causal chain is modeled that goes from global warming projections over regional meteorological impacts to regional economic losses for private buildings, hereby fully covering the area of Germany. This presentation will focus on wind storm related losses, although the method developed had also been applied in part to hail and flood impact losses. For the first time, the GDV supplied their collected set of insurance cases, dating back for decades, for such an impact study. These data were used to calibrate and validate event-based damage functions which in turn were driven by three different types of regional climate models to generate storm loss projections. The regional models were driven by a triplet of ECHAM5 experiments following the A1B scenario which were found representative in the recent ENSEMBLES intercomparison study. In our multi-modeling approach we used two types of regional climate models that conceptually differ at maximum: a dynamical model (CCLM) and a statistical model based on the idea of biased bootstrapping (STARS). As a third option we pursued a hybrid approach (statistical-dynamical downscaling). For the assessment of climate change impacts, the buildings' infrastructure and their economic value is kept at current values. For all three approaches, a significant increase of average storm losses and extreme event return levels in the German private building sector is found for future decades assuming an A1B-scenario. However, the three projections differ somewhat in terms of magnitude and regional differentiation. We have developed a formalism that allows us to express the combined effect of multi-source uncertainty on return

Responsive Regulation in Public-Private Partnerships: Between Deterrence and Persuasion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reynaers, A.-M.; Parrado, S.

Design-Build-Finance-Maintain-Operate (DBFMO) contracts are a particular type of public-private partnership whereby governments transfer the responsibility for the design, construction, financing, maintenance, and operation of a public infrastructure or utility service building to a multi-headed

Investigating the barriers on media privatization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roghiyeh Jame

2013-01-01

Full Text Available During the past few years, there has been growing interests in reducing cost of products and services among developing countries. Privatization is believed to be one of the most important techniques to increase relative efficiencies of publically held organizations. In this paper, we study important barriers on privatization of television (TV media industry in Iran. The proposed study of this paper designs and distributes a questionnaire using a sample of 234 out of 600 graduate students who were enrolled in media communication studies and examined six hypotheses based on one-side t-student. The survey considers different factors influencing privatization of TV media industry. The results of the investigation indicate that the cost of TV production, short and long-term investment security, people's interest on investing on TV media industry, building appropriate culture, cultural obstacles and economic barriers influence media privatization, significantly.

BUILDING "BRIDGES" WITH QUALITY ASSURANCE

Science.gov (United States)

The papr describes how, rather than building "bridges" across centuries, quality assurance (QA) personnel have the opportunity to build bridges across technical disciplines, between public and private organizations, and between different QA groups. As reviewers and auditors of a...

Sustainable Consumption: Analysis of Consumers’ Perceptions about Using Private Brands in Food Retail

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan Boboc

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Private brands are representing an important vector for retailers, helping them to build sustainable relationships with their customers. Usually, private brands are perceived as products differentiated by lower prices. The purpose of this research is to identify consumers’ trust level in private brands used in food retail and their perceptions about the quality of retailers’ own products. The research question is: What are consumers’ perceptions about using private brands in food retail? Pursuing this question, a survey based on a questionnaire was carried out. Research findings showed that the main reason why people buy private brands’ products is lower price rather than high quality. The interviews showed that the typical private brand user is male, aged between 45 and 65 years old, with middle-level income, and employees with secondary education. These results are useful for retailers in their efforts to decide strategies for their private brands and for building consumers’ trust. The findings are useful for food producers as well, because they should reconsider their marketing strategies in order to adapt themselves to the continuous growth of retailers’ private brands.

2nd International Conference on Construction and Building Research

CERN Document Server

Fernández-Plazaola, Igor; Hidalgo-Delgado, Francisco; Martínez-Valenzuela, María; Medina-Ramón, Francisco; Oliver-Faubel, Inmaculada; Rodríguez-Abad, Isabel; Salandin, Andrea; Sánchez-Grandia, Rafael; Tort-Ausina, Isabel; Construction and Building Research

2014-01-01

Many areas of knowledge converge in the building industry and therefore research in this field necessarily involves an interdisciplinary approach. Effective research requires strong relations between a broad variety of scientific and technological domains and more conventional construction or craft processes, while also considering advanced management processes, where all the main actors permanently interact. This publication takes an interdisciplinary approach grouping various studies on the building industry chosen from among the works presented for the 2nd International Conference on Construction and Building Research. The papers examine aspects of materials and building systems; construction technology; energy and sustainability; construction management; heritage, refurbishment and conservation. The information contained within these pages may be of interest to researchers and practitioners in construction and building activities from the academic sphere, as well as public and private sectors.

Commercial Building Partnership General Merchandise Energy Savings Overview

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2013-03-01

The Commercial Building Partnership (CBP) paired selected commercial building owners and operators with representatives of DOE, national laboratories and private sector exports to explore energy efficiency measures across general merchandise commercial buildings.

Solar Heating/Cooling of Buildings: Current Building Community Projects. An Interim Report.

Science.gov (United States)

National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council, Washington, DC. Building Research Advisory Board.

Projects being carried out by the private sector involving the use of solar energy for heating and cooling buildings are profiled in this report. A substantial portion of the data were collected from a broad cross-section of the building community. Data collection efforts also involved the canvassing of the nearly 200 trade and professional…

The Role of the Private Sector in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States

OpenAIRE

Peschka, Mary Porter; Emery, James J.

2011-01-01

This paper explores how the private sector can positively contribute to peace-building and conflict prevention, and how that positive private sector role can be supported and enhanced. The starting premise recognizes that the private sector exists in all conflict situations and has the potential to both exacerbate and ameliorate conflict, the outcome of which can be greatly affected by app...

Pharmaceutical Public-Private Partnerships

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bagley, Constance; Tvarnø, Christina D.

2014-01-01

This article provides a game theory and law-and-management analysis of for- profit pharmaceutical public-private partnerships, a complex type of legal arrangement in the highly regulated pharmaceutical industry. A pharmaceutical public-private partnership (PPPP) agreement is a legally binding...... and a practical perspective on how properly crafted PPPP arrangements can promote innovation more efficiently than traditional self-optimizing contracts. In particular, a properly framed binding contract, coupled with respect for positive incentives, can move the parties away from an inefficient prisoners...... systems to build and share innovation. When coupled with appropriate attention to the difficult task of coordinating the actions of interdependent actors, a PPPP arrangement can enhance the likelihood of successful commercialization of pharmacological discoveries by flipping the par- ties’ incentives...

Private Cloud Communities for Faculty and Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel R. Tomal

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Massive open online courses (MOOCs and public and private cloud communities continue to flourish in the field of higher education. However, MOOCs have received criticism in recent years and offer little benefit to students already enrolled at an institution. This article advocates for the collaborative creation and use of institutional, program or student-specific private cloud communities developed as a way to promote academic identity, information dissemination, social discourse, and to form a bridge between faculty, administration and students. Concrete steps to build a private cloud are described. Placing a greater emphasis on meeting the needs of enrolled students versus engaging the masses in a MOOC for “edutainment” purposes is recommended.

Public and Private Activity in Commercial TV Broadcasting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olai Hansen, Bodil; Keiding, Hans

2006-01-01

We consider a model of commercial television market, where private broadcasters coexist with a public television broadcaster. Assuming that the public TV station follows a policy of Ramsey pricing whereas the private stations are profit maximizers, we consider the equilibria in this market...

Financial Private Regulation and Enforcement

OpenAIRE

MILLER, Geoffrey

2011-01-01

This paper has been delivered within the context of the research project "Transnational Private Regulatory Regimes: Constitutional foundations and governance design". This paper considers the topic of private regulation and enforcement for internationally active financial services firms. The paper documents the following types of regulation and enforcement that involve significant private input: house rules, contracts, internal compliance, management-based regulation, private standard-sett...

Building Maintenance. Math Learning Activity Packet.

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, Shelia I.

This collection of learning activities is intended for use in reinforcing mathematics instruction as it relates to building maintenance. Fifty activity sheets are provided. These are organized into units on the following topics: numeration, adding whole numbers, subtracting whole numbers, multiplying whole numbers, dividing whole numbers,…

Overview of Commercial Building Partnerships in Higher Education

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schatz, Glenn [Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Washington, DC (United States)

2013-03-01

Higher education uses less energy per square foot than most commercial building sectors. However, higher education campuses house energy-intensive laboratories and data centers that may spend more than this average; laboratories, in particular, are disproportionately represented in the higher education sector. The Commercial Building Partnership (CBP), a public/private, cost-shared program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), paired selected commercial building owners and operators with representatives of DOE, its national laboratories, and private-sector technical experts. These teams explored energy-saving measures across building systems–including some considered too costly or technologically challenging–and used advanced energy modeling to achieve peak whole-building performance. Modeling results were then included in new construction or retrofit designs to achieve significant energy reductions.

Extracurricular Physical Activity Programs in California Private Secondary Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Kahan, David; McKenzie, Thomas L

2017-12-01

Interscholastic, intramural, and club physical activity (PA) programs can be important contributors to student PA accrual at schools. Few studies have assessed factors related to the provision of these extracurricular PA programs, especially in private schools. We used a 16-item questionnaire to assess the associations and influences of selected factors relative to extracurricular PA program policies and practices in 450 private California secondary schools. Associations were evaluated using contingency table analyses (i.e., chi-squared, effect size, and post-hoc analyses). Six factors were associated with schools providing extracurricular PA programs: school location, level, enrollment, and religious classification and whether the physical education (PE) program met state PE time standards and was taught by PE specialists. Both static factors (e.g., school location, level, enrollment, and religious affiliation) and modifiable factors (e.g., meeting PE standards and employing specialists) affect the provision of extracurricular PA programs. As education is state-mandated, additional study is recommended to assess the generalizability of these findings to other states and to public schools.

Sustainable Building Operation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jesper Ole

2009-01-01

of sustainable building operation and a survey amongst building administrators from the private and the social housing sector. Our results show that there are many good examples on sustainable building operation in Danish housing estates, where local building managers, residents etc. have gained impressive......Energy-savings in the existing building stock have becomes a main goal in national and international policies. Often focus is on building-renovations, whereas the potential of sustainable building operation to a large extent has been neglected. Nevertheless, international research as well...... as practical experiences from Danish housing estates indicates that there are large potentials for energy savings by focusing on the operation of the buildings. We suggest that in order to achieve sustainability in the existing housing, renovation and operations should be seen as integrated parts...

Case-study of thermo active building systems in Japanese climate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Rongling; Yoshidomi, Togo; Ooka, Ryozo

2015-01-01

Thermo active building systems (TABS) have been applied in office buildings as a promising energy efficient solution in many European countries. The utilization of building thermal mass helps to provide high quality thermal environments with less energy consumption. However, the concept of TABS...... is entirely new in Japan. This paper introduces and evaluates TABS under Tokyo weather conditions to clarify the potential of use TABS in Japan. Cooling capacity of thermo active building systems used in an office building was evaluated by means of dynamic simulations. Two central rooms of the office were...

Public-Private partnership procurement: Game-theoretic studies of the tender process.

OpenAIRE

De Clerck, Dennis

2015-01-01

A Public-private partnership (PPP) is a settlement between a public party and a contractor or private sector consortium to engage in a long-term contractual agreement for designing, building, operating and/or maintaining capital intensive projects, while trying to attain value for money. PPPs are globally gaining importance in the construction industry. The risk transfer from the contracting government towards the private entity has important repercussions on the tender. Contractors need to c...

Sustainable Consumption: Analysis of Consumers’ Perceptions about Using Private Brands in Food Retail

OpenAIRE

Dan Boboc; Adrian Laurentiu Ariciu; Raluca Andreea Ion

2015-01-01

Private brands are representing an important vector for retailers, helping them to build sustainable relationships with their customers. Usually, private brands are perceived as products differentiated by lower prices. The purpose of this research is to identify consumers’ trust level in private brands used in food retail and their perceptions about the quality of retailers’ own products. The research question is: What are consumers’ perceptions about using private brands in food retail? Purs...

Hospital safeguards capital program through private sector partnership.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, J; Lungo, A; Bobrow, M

1984-02-01

As access to capital tightens, more hospitals are exploring the benefits of partnerships with private companies. A California hospital, burdened by the long-term debt it incurred for a medical office building, worked together with its medical staff and an outside real estate developer. By selling the building to the developer, not only was the hospital able to finance a much-needed expansion and reconstruction project, but the hospital's medical staff had an opportunity to become limited partners in the ownership of the building.

Commercial Building Partnership Retail Food Sales Energy Savings Overview

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2013-03-01

The Commercial Building Partnership (CBP) paired selected commercial building owners and operators with representatives of DOE, national laboratories and private sector exports to explore energy efficiency measures across general merchandise commercial buildings.

The crucial role of the private sector.

Science.gov (United States)

Barberis, M; Paxman, J M

1986-12-01

Private support for the development of family planning programs continues to grow and now includes industries that provide family planning services, commercial outlets that distribute contraceptives, community groups that help to build demand, private medical practitioners who include contraception as a part of health care, organizations that provide technical and financial assistance to developing country programs, pharmaceutical firms, and foundations that underwrite contraceptive research. Although the mix of private and public programs differs from country to country, these 2 family planning programs complement each other and often work in close partnership. The private sector has the advantages of being able to pioneer innovative programs the public sector is unwilling or unable to pursue, to bring foreign financial and technical assistance to developing countries without political implications, and to achieve financially self-sustaining family planning efforts that are linked to other development efforts. In many countries, the private sector has been instrumental in developing a national family planning program and in eliminating barriers to family planning in countries with restrictive laws and policies. The private sector has been especially important in pioneering grassroots programs that improve the status of women through education, health care, training, and economic opportunity.

System approach to machine building enterprise innovative activity management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

І.V. Levytska

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The company, which operates in a challenging competitive environment should focus on new products and provide innovative services that enhance their innovation to maintain the company’s market position. The article deals with the peculiarities of such an activity in the company. The authors analyze the various approaches used in the management, and supply the advantages and disadvantages of each. It is determine that the most optimal approach among them is a system approach. The definition of the consepts "a system" and "a systematic approach to innovative activity management" are suggested. The article works out the system of machine building enterprise innovative activity management, the organization of machine building enterprise innovative activity; the planning of machine building enterprise innovative activity; the control in the system of machine building enterprise innovative activity management; the elements of the control subsystem. The properties, typical for the system of innovative management, are supplied. The managers, engaged in enterprise innovative activity management, must perform a number of the suggested tasks, which affect the efficiency of the enterprise as a whole. These exact tasks are performed using the systematic approach, providing the enterprise competitive operation and quick adaptation to changes in the external environment.

Building Organisational Capability the Private Provider Way

Science.gov (United States)

Guthrie, Hugh

2008-01-01

Organisational capability is recognised as a key to organisational success. The combination of human capital (peoples' skills and knowledge), social capital (relationships between people) and organisational capital (the organisation's processes), is central to building an organisation's capability. This paper, presented at the 2008 annual…

Design requirements document for the phase 1 privatization electrical power system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, G.

1997-10-31

The electrical system for the Phase 1 privatization facilities will support the TWRS mission by providing the electrical power to the Phase 1 privatized facilities. This system will receive power from the Department of Energy-Richland Operations (RL) A4-8 230 kV transmission system powered from Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Ashe and Midway 230 kV Substations. The existing RL 230 kV transmission line will be modified and looped 1021 into the new 230 kV substation bus. The new substation will be located in the vicinity of the privatized facilities, approximately 3.2 km (2 mi) south of the existing RL A4-8 230 kV transmission line. The substation will be capable of providing up to 40 MW of electrical power to support the Phase 1 privatization facilities and has space for accommodating future expansions. The substation will require at least two 230-13.8 kV transformers, 13.8 kV split bus switchgear, switchgear building, grounding transformers, instrument transformers, control and monitoring equipment, associated protection and isolation devices, lightning protection, yard lighting, cable and raceways, and infrastructure needed to provide desired availability and reliability. The power from the 13.8 kV switchgear located in the switchgear building will be delivered at the privatization facilities site boundaries. The 13.8 kV distribution system inside the privatization facilities site boundaries is the responsibility of the privatization contract.

Design requirements document for the phase 1 privatization electrical power system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, G.

1997-01-01

The electrical system for the Phase 1 privatization facilities will support the TWRS mission by providing the electrical power to the Phase 1 privatized facilities. This system will receive power from the Department of Energy-Richland Operations (RL) A4-8 230 kV transmission system powered from Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Ashe and Midway 230 kV Substations. The existing RL 230 kV transmission line will be modified and looped 1021 into the new 230 kV substation bus. The new substation will be located in the vicinity of the privatized facilities, approximately 3.2 km (2 mi) south of the existing RL A4-8 230 kV transmission line. The substation will be capable of providing up to 40 MW of electrical power to support the Phase 1 privatization facilities and has space for accommodating future expansions. The substation will require at least two 230-13.8 kV transformers, 13.8 kV split bus switchgear, switchgear building, grounding transformers, instrument transformers, control and monitoring equipment, associated protection and isolation devices, lightning protection, yard lighting, cable and raceways, and infrastructure needed to provide desired availability and reliability. The power from the 13.8 kV switchgear located in the switchgear building will be delivered at the privatization facilities site boundaries. The 13.8 kV distribution system inside the privatization facilities site boundaries is the responsibility of the privatization contract

Public-private interactions in global food safety governance.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Ching-Fu

2014-01-01

In response to an apparent decline in global food safety, numerous public and private regulatory initiatives have emerged to restore public confidence. This trend has been particularly marked by the growing influence of private regulators such as multinational food companies, supermarket chains and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), who employ private standards, certification protocols, third-party auditing, and transnational contracting practices. This paper explores how the structure and processes of private food safety governance interact with traditional public governance regimes, focusing on Global Good Agricultural Practices (GlobalGAP) as a primary example of the former. Due to the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of public regulation in the face of global problems, private governance in food safety has gradually replaced states' command-and-control regulation with more flexible, market-oriented mechanisms. The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of constructive regime interaction instead of institutional boundary building to global food safety governance. Public and private ordering must each play a role as integral parts of a larger, dynamic and evolving governance complex.

Self-reported physical activity and food intake patterns in schoolchildren aged 7-10 from public and private schools.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Filipe Ferreira da Costa

2012-08-01

Physical activity and diet are related to several health outcomes. The aim of this study was to analyze physical activity (PA and diet patterns among Brazilian schoolchildren attending private or public schools. A cross-sectional, school-based study of elementary schoolchildren aged 7-10 years old (n = 2,936 was carried out in Florianopolis (southern Brazil. Self-reported food consumption and PA patterns were assessed by means of a questionnaire. A higher percentage of girls than boys met the rec­ommendations for consumption of fruits and vegetables and limited their consumption of sweets and soft drinks. Boys reported higher PA levels than girls (P < 0.001. Children attending private schools were more likely to be in the highest tertile of PA (odds ratio = 1.53, 1.14-2.05 and 80% less likely to be active in commuting to school compared to public school students. Private schoolchildren were more likely to meet recommendations for fruits and vegetables, limit sweet consumption, report adequate meal frequency and no consumption of fast food or soft drinks. In summary, girls and private schoolchildren reported better eating patterns, while boys and private schoolchildren reported higher PA levels. Such results highlight the public school setting as a target for health promotion initiatives, along with other strategies, in developing countries.

Possibilities and Limitations of Thermally Activated Building Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Behrendt, Benjamin

The strong political market drive towards energy savings in the building sector calls for efficient solutions. Using so called low temperature heating and high temperature cooling systems such as for instance thermally activated building systems (TABS) has a significant impact on the required...... will be mostly needed to operate the building within acceptable boundaries. It will also allow the user to see if dehumidification will be needed for undisturbed operation of TABS. With the combination of both tools it is possible to provide a holistic evaluation of a building proposal at a very early design...

Public-private partnerships to build human capacity in low income countries: findings from the Pfizer program.

Science.gov (United States)

Vian, Taryn; Richards, Sarah C; McCoy, Kelly; Connelly, Patrick; Feeley, Frank

2007-03-02

The ability of health organizations in developing countries to expand access to quality services depends in large part on organizational and human capacity. Capacity building includes professional development of staff, as well as efforts to create working environments conducive to high levels of performance. The current study evaluated an approach to public-private partnership where corporate volunteers give technical assistance to improve organizational and staff performance. From 2003 to 2005, the Pfizer Global Health Fellows program sent 72 employees to work with organizations in 19 countries. This evaluation was designed to assess program impact. The researchers administered a survey to 60 Fellows and 48 Pfizer Supervisors. In addition, the team conducted over 100 interviews with partner organization staff and other key informants during site visits in Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and India, the five countries where 60% of Fellows were placed. Over three-quarters of Fellowships appear to have imparted skills or enhanced operations of NGOs in HIV/AIDS and other health programs. Overall, 79% of Fellows reported meeting all or most technical assistance goals. Partner organization staff reported that the Fellows provided training to clinical and research personnel; strengthened laboratory, pharmacy, financial control, and human resource management systems; and helped expand Partner organization networks. Local staff also reported the Program changed their work habits and attitudes. The evaluation identified problems in defining goals of Fellowships and matching Organizations with Fellows. Capacity building success also appears related to size and sophistication of partner organization. Public expectations have grown regarding the role corporations should play in improving health systems in developing countries. Corporate philanthropy programs based on "donations" of personnel can help build the organizational and human capacity of frontline agencies

Privatization costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jackson, I.

2007-01-01

The efforts in progress now in Great Britain to liberalize the nuclear decommissioning activity market imply that by 2012 the competitive commercial private companies will lead the national nuclear decommissioning and decontamination related activity market. Paper dwells upon the new market peculiar features and upon some peculiar features of the new market related activities [ru

Efficiency improvement of the investment and innovation activities in the transport facility construction field with public-private partnership involvement

Science.gov (United States)

Shibayeva, Marina; Serebryakova, Yelena; Shalnev, Oleg

2017-10-01

Growing demand to increase the investment volume in modernization and development projects for transport infrastructure define the urgency of the current study. The amount of private sector investments in the field is insufficient to implement the projects for road construction due to their significant capital intensity and long payoff period. The implementation of social significant infrastructure projects on the principles of public-private partnership is one of the key strategic directions of growth for transport facilities. The authors come up with a concept and methodology for modeling the investment and innovation activity in the transport facility construction. Furthermore, there is developed a model to find the balance between public and private sector investments in implementing construction projects for transport infrastructure with involvement of PPP (further - public-private partnership). The suggested concepts aim to improve the efficiency rate of the investment and innovation activity in the field of transport facility construction on the basis of public and private sectors collaboration.

Enhancing the role of private practitioners in tuberculosis prevention and care activities in India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tanu Anand

2017-01-01

Full Text Available India accounts for the highest number of incident tuberculosis (TB cases globally. Hence, to impact the TB incidence world over, there is an urgent need to address and accelerate TB control activities in the country. Nearly, half of the TB patients first seek TB care in private sector. However, the participation of private practitioners (PPs has been patchy in TB prevention and care and distrust exists between public and private sector. PPs usually have varied diagnostic and treatment practices that are inadequate and amplify the risk of drug resistance. Hence, their regulation and involvement as key stakeholders are important in TB prevention and care in India if we are to achieve TB control at global level. However, there remain certain barriers and gaps, which are preventing their upscaling. The current paper aims to discuss the status of private sector involvement in TB prevention and care in India. The paper also discusses the strategies and initiatives taken by the government in this regard as evidence shows that the involvement of private sector in co-opting directly observed treatment short-course (DOTS helps to enhance case finding and treatment outcomes; it improves the accessibility of quality TB care with greater geographic coverage. Besides public-private mix, DOTS has been found more cost-effective and reduces financial burden of patients. The paper also offers to present some more solutions both at policy and program level for upscaling the engagement of PPs in the national TB control program.

Tank waste remediation system (TWRS) privatization contractor samples waste envelope D material 241-C-106

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Esch, R.A.

1997-04-14

This report represents the Final Analytical Report on Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Privatization Contractor Samples for Waste Envelope D. All work was conducted in accordance with ''Addendum 1 of the Letter of Instruction (LOI) for TWRS Privatization Contractor Samples Addressing Waste Envelope D Materials - Revision 0, Revision 1, and Revision 2.'' (Jones 1996, Wiemers 1996a, Wiemers 1996b) Tank 241-C-1 06 (C-106) was selected by TWRS Privatization for the Part 1A Envelope D high-level waste demonstration. Twenty bottles of Tank C-106 material were collected by Westinghouse Hanford Company using a grab sampling technique and transferred to the 325 building for processing by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). At the 325 building, the contents of the twenty bottles were combined into a single Initial Composite Material. This composite was subsampled for the laboratory-scale screening test and characterization testing, and the remainder was transferred to the 324 building for bench-scale preparation of the Privatization Contractor samples.

Transaction Costs (TCs) in Building Regulations and Control for Green Buildings : Case Study of Hong Kong

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fan, Ke; Qian, K.; Chan, EHW; Kähkönen, Kalle; Keinänen, Marko

2016-01-01

About 40% of global energy consumption and nearly one-third of global CO2 emissions are on account of buildings. In Hong Kong, buildings consume up to 90% of electricity during construction and operation, where all the design and construction of private developments is subject to control under the

76 FR 27843 - National Building Safety Month, 2011

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-13

... organizations and the public and private sectors--to implement effective standards and codes that sustain safe... and fire prevention codes help us withstand, mitigate, and rapidly recover from hurricanes, winter... Building Safety Month. I encourage citizens, government agencies, private businesses, nonprofit...

340 The Challenges and Prospects of Managing Private School ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

First Lady

2013-01-28

Jan 28, 2013 ... The Private School System is part of the education system in Rivers ... buildings, and adequacy of teaching staff. ... Baptist High School, Port Harcourt, Holy Rosary Secondary School, ..... Nigeria Demographic Profile (2012).

Project materials [Commercial High Performance Buildings Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2001-01-01

The Consortium for High Performance Buildings (ChiPB) is an outgrowth of DOE'S Commercial Whole Buildings Roadmapping initiatives. It is a team-driven public/private partnership that seeks to enable and demonstrate the benefit of buildings that are designed, built and operated to be energy efficient, environmentally sustainable, superior quality, and cost effective.

Reserve-building activities in multiple sclerosis patients and healthy controls: a descriptive study.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Carolyn E; Ayandeh, Armon; Ramanathan, Murali; Benedict, Ralph; Dwyer, Michael G; Weinstock-Guttman, Bianca; Zivadinov, Robert

2015-08-12

Cognitive reserve has been implicated as a possible protective factor in multiple sclerosis (MS) but to date no study has compared reserve-building activities across disease course or to healthy controls. This study aims to describe differences in reserve-building activities across the MS disease course and healthy controls. Secondary analysis of a cross-sectional cohort study that included 276 healthy controls, and subjects with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS; n = 67), relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS; n = 358) and secondary progressive MS (PMS; n = 109). Past reserve-building activities were operationalized as occupational attainment and education. Current activities comprised 6 strenuous and 6 non-strenuous activities, including 5 reserve-building activities and television-watching. Multivariate Analysis of Variance models examined group differences in past and current activities, after adjusting for covariates. There were group differences in past and current reserve-building activities. SPMS patients had lower past reserve-building activities than healthy controls. All forms of MS engaged in fewer strenuous current reserve-building pursuits than healthy controls. RRMS read less than healthy controls. SPMS engaged in fewer job-related non-strenuous activities. All MS groups watched more television than healthy controls. MS patients show significantly fewer past and present reserve-building activities. Although it is difficult to establish causality without future prospective studies, lifestyle-modifying interventions should prioritize expanding MS patients' repertoire of strenuous and non-strenuous activities.

Energy consumption in buildings for different sport activities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Norrfors, M; Werner, G; Oertenstrand, G

1978-01-01

Some buildings for different kinds of sport activities have a great energy demand. The actions which could be taken in order to decrease the energy demand and at the same time decrease the operating costs for these buildings are summarized. References are given to literature of current interest in this field.

PUBLIC SECTOR PLANT BREEDING IN A PRIVATIZING WORLD

OpenAIRE

Thirtle, Colin G.; Srinivasan, Chittur S.; Heisey, Paul W.

2001-01-01

Intellectual property protection, globalization, and pressure on public budgets in many industrialized countries have shifted the balance of plant breeding activity from the public to the private sector. Several economic factors influence the relative shares of public versus private sector plant breeding activity, with varying results over time, over country, and over crop. The private sector, for example, dominates corn breeding throughout the industrialized world, but public and private act...

How Does Physical Activity Help Build Healthy Bones?

Science.gov (United States)

... Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print How does physical activity help build healthy bones? Bones are living tissue. Weight-bearing physical activity causes new bone tissue to form, and this ...

Low-activity waste envelope definitions for the TWRS Privatization Phase I Request For Proposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patello, G.K.; Lauerhass, L.; Myers, R.L.; Wiemers, K.D.

1996-11-01

Radioactive waste has been stored in large underground storage tanks at the Hanford Site since 1944. Approximately 212 million liters of waste containing approximately 240,000 metric tons of processed chemicals and 177 mega-curies of radionuclides are now stored in 177 tanks. These caustic wastes are in the form of liquids, slurries, saltcakes, and sludge. In 1991, the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Program was established to manage, retrieve, treat, immobilize, and dispose of these wastes in a safe, environmentally sound, and cost-effective manner. The Department of Energy (DOE) has believes that it is feasible to privatize portions of the TWRS Program. Under the privatization strategy embodied in the Request for Proposal (RFP), DOE will purchase services from a contractor-owned, contractor-operated facility under a fixed-price contract. Phase I of the TWRS privatization strategy is a proof-of-concept/commercial demonstration-scale effort. The objectives of Phase I are to demonstrate the technical and business viability of using privatized facilities to treat Hanford tank waste; define and maintain required levels of radiological, nuclear, process, and occupational safety; maintain environmental protection and compliance; and substantially reduce life-cycle costs and time required to treat Hanford tank waste. Three low-activity waste (LAW) envelopes are identified for Phase I of the privatization contract and are representative of the range of Hanford double-shelled tank (DST) waste

Low-activity waste envelope definitions for the TWRS Privatization Phase I Request For Proposal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patello, G.K.; Lauerhass, L.; Myers, R.L.; Wiemers, K.D.

1996-11-01

Radioactive waste has been stored in large underground storage tanks at the Hanford Site since 1944. Approximately 212 million liters of waste containing approximately 240,000 metric tons of processed chemicals and 177 mega-curies of radionuclides are now stored in 177 tanks. These caustic wastes are in the form of liquids, slurries, saltcakes, and sludge. In 1991, the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Program was established to manage, retrieve, treat, immobilize, and dispose of these wastes in a safe, environmentally sound, and cost-effective manner. The Department of Energy (DOE) has believes that it is feasible to privatize portions of the TWRS Program. Under the privatization strategy embodied in the Request for Proposal (RFP), DOE will purchase services from a contractor-owned, contractor-operated facility under a fixed-price contract. Phase I of the TWRS privatization strategy is a proof-of-concept/commercial demonstration-scale effort. The objectives of Phase I are to demonstrate the technical and business viability of using privatized facilities to treat Hanford tank waste; define and maintain required levels of radiological, nuclear, process, and occupational safety; maintain environmental protection and compliance; and substantially reduce life-cycle costs and time required to treat Hanford tank waste. Three low-activity waste (LAW) envelopes are identified for Phase I of the privatization contract and are representative of the range of Hanford double-shelled tank (DST) waste.

Activity measurement and effective dose modelling of natural radionuclides in building material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maringer, F.J.; Baumgartner, A.; Rechberger, F.; Seidel, C.; Stietka, M.

2013-01-01

In this paper the assessment of natural radionuclides' activity concentration in building materials, calibration requirements and related indoor exposure dose models is presented. Particular attention is turned to specific improvements in low-level gamma-ray spectrometry to determine the activity concentration of necessary natural radionuclides in building materials with adequate measurement uncertainties. Different approaches for the modelling of the effective dose indoor due to external radiation resulted from natural radionuclides in building material and results of actual building material assessments are shown. - Highlights: • Dose models for indoor radiation exposure due to natural radionuclides in building materials. • Strategies and methods in radionuclide metrology, activity measurement and dose modelling. • Selection of appropriate parameters in radiation protection standards for building materials. • Scientific-based limitations of indoor exposure due to natural radionuclides in building materials

Areva's privatization uncertainties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jemain, A.

2004-01-01

The French nuclear public group Areva (the fusion of CEA-Industrie, Framatome and Cogema companies) will actively prepare its privatization and stock exchange introduction before the end of the first half of 2005, in order to re-launch its acquisitions and associations policy. However, the advantages of this privatization with a preponderant public share-holding will depend on the intentions of the French government. Short paper. (J.S.)

Governance of private label as a strategic asset: developing a brand valuation model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renato Giovannini

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper aims at identifying which factors should be considered in the building of an economic evaluation model for the private label brand. In fact, some specific characteristics of private label, with respect to industrial brand, make unusable the consolidated models available. The results of the paper are the definition of some specific factors of private label, the assumptions about how these features impact on the traditional economic evaluation models and how these could be included in a model. Because of the complexity of the topic, the hypothesis is to build a model of synthesis, made of two parts: one part for a Financial-Based evaluation of Brand Equity, with the addition of some specific factors and indicators to the traditional formulas, while the other part is for a Consumer-based evaluation of Brand Equity, thanks to an index that summarizes the strength of private label brands from the consumer perspective. The private label economic evaluation has some relevant managerial implications on the retail system, on the vertical supply chain relationships and on the understanding of the strategic nature of this asset.

TRANSPORTATION BOT SCHEMES FOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR FINANCING SCENARIO ANALYSIS

OpenAIRE

WEI, Chien-Hung; CHUNG, Ming-Chih

2002-01-01

Transportation Build-Operate-Transfer financing projects have larger payment risks and failure possibilities than other financing projects, and these factors are essential to financing scenarios. The changes of financing scenarios not only affect private sectors' financing process but the conflict between private sectors and banks. This study broadly reviews relevant factors affecting BOT financing strategies, interviews relevant experts and then uses scenario analysis to design a questionnai...

Case-study of thermo active building systems in Japanese climate

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Li, R.; Yoshidomi, T.; Ooka, R.; Olesen, B.

2015-01-01

Thermo active building systems (TABS) have been applied in office buildings as a promising energy efficient solution in many European countries. The utilization of building thermal mass helps to provide high quality thermal environments with less energy consumption. However, the concept of TABS is

Measurement of radon activity concentration in buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Godet, J.L.; Perrin, M.L.; Pineau, C.; Dechaux, E.

2010-01-01

Radon exposure, along with medical-related exposure, is the leading source of exposure to ionising radiation for the French population. Measurement campaigns are done in the action plan, drawn up by the French nuclear safety authority (ASN), in cooperation with the French directorate for housing, town planning and countryside (DHUP), the French radiation protection and nuclear safety institute (IRSN), the French health monitoring institute (InVS) and the French scientific and technical centre for construction (CSTB). The review of 2005-2008 measurement campaign shows that of the 7356 buildings screened, 84.8% had activity concentration levels below the 400 Bq/m 3 action level. For the other buildings (15.2%), action will be required to reduce human exposure to radon, possibly including building renovation/redevelopment work. In the 1999-2002 measurement campaign,12% of the 13,000 buildings screened had a radon activity concentration level higher than 400 Bq/m 3 . In addition, the ASN and the French general directorate of labour (DGT) are continuing to work on drawing up regulations for occupational risk management. The second national health and environment plan (PNSE 2) was published on 26 June 2009. It follows on from the actions initiated in PNSE 1, a document provided for under the Public Health Act dated 9 August 2004 and under the French 'Grenelle' environmental agreements. On the basis of guidelines laid out in PNSE 2, a radon action plan for 2009-2012 will be drawn up, enabling some of the actions to be continued, particularly in the fields of new building projects and dwellings. (author)

Privatization of YPF and upstream activities in and out of Argentina after the privatization; YPF no min`eika to kokunaigai joryu bumon ni okeru katsudo jokyo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takahashi, E. [Japan National Oil Corp., Tokyo (Japan)

1997-06-01

Reported herein is the process of the privatization of the formerly state-run enterprise YPF, how it has won success, and its activities in and out of Argentina after the privatization. YPF was established in 1922 as the first Government-operated oil corporation in the world. Since inauguration, it had played a leading part in the domestic oil industry and contributed much to the acquisition of foreign currency. Economy aggravated in Argentina in the second half of the 1980s, however, and President Carlos Menem who assumed presidency in 1989 announced energy industry liberalization policies including the privatization of YPF. YPF chronically in the red those days was subjected to a thorough restructuring, which enabled the corporation to run stably in the black. In June, 1993, the corporation issued shares and privatization was achieved with success. Since then, YPF has been holding the position of a leading oil enterprise in Argentina where competition is in work. In 1995, furthermore, YPF acquisitioned Maxus Energy for a full-scale international deployment. 12 figs., 11 tabs.

Bundling the procurement of sports infrastructure projects : How neither public nor private actors really benefit

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Hurk, M.

2016-01-01

Public-private partnerships for infrastructure development are often conceived as puzzling governance tools. A peculiar case in Belgium has been the procurement of multiple similar projects to single private sector partners who design, build, finance and maintain infrastructure for a fixed

TRANSPORTATION BOT SCHEMES FOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR FINANCING SCENARIO ANALYSIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chien-Hung WEI

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Transportation Build-Operate-Transfer financing projects have larger payment risks and failure possibilities than other financing projects, and these factors are essential to financing scenarios. The changes of financing scenarios not only affect private sectors' financing process but the conflict between private sectors and banks. This study broadly reviews relevant factors affecting BOT financing strategies, interviews relevant experts and then uses scenario analysis to design a questionnaire to find out the most important factors affecting BOT financing. The findings of this study are four major factors affecting public and private financing scenarios. In this paper, we also propose some suggestions as possible complements to public and private sector financing strategies.

Photon activation analysis on building materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulze, D.; Heller, W.; Kupsch, H.

1988-01-01

With regard to the planned construction of a new microtron, first investigations on raw materials for the aerated concrete production have been done to clear up the possibilities of photon activation analysis (PAA). Irradiations have been partly carried out on linear accelerators with a self-developed moveable activation equipment. PAA results of qualitative and quantitative elemental analysis are described. The detection of chlorine is important for studying the oversalting processes in buildings. (author)

78 FR 1918 - Public-Private Partnerships Public Meeting and Request for Comment

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-09

... designing or building a project, which is traditional, a private partner in a P3 may be involved in designing, constructing, financing, operating and maintaining the project. By transferring certain risks and... p.m., e.t., at the U.S. Department of Transportation building at 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE...

Strategies for building trust with farmers: the case of Bt maize in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ezezika Obidimma C

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In 1999, South Africa became the first African country to approve commercial production of subsistence genetically modified (GM maize. The introduction of GM crop technology is often met with skepticism by stakeholders including farmers. The involvement of the private sector in this process can further breed mistrust or misperceptions. To examine these issues more closely, the objective of this case study was to understand the role of trust in the public-private partnership (PPP arrangement involved in the development of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt maize in South Africa. Methods We conducted semi-structured, face-to-face interviews to obtain stakeholders’ understanding of trust in general as well as in the context of agricultural biotechnology (agbiotech PPPs. A thematic analysis of the interview transcripts, documents, reports and research articles was conducted to generate insights into the challenges to, and practices for, building trust among the partners and with the public. Results The findings of this study are organized into four main lessons on trust building. First, as the end users of GM technology, farmers must be engaged from the start of the project through field demonstrations and educational activities. Second, an effective technology (i.e., the seed is key to the success of an agbiotech PPP. Third, open communication and full disclosure between private sector companies and government regulatory bodies will build trust and facilitate the regulatory processes. Fourth, enforcing good agronomic practices, including appropriate management of the refuge areas, will serve the interests of both the farmers and the seed companies. Conclusions Trust has proven to be a critical factor determining the success of the Bt maize project in South Africa. Distrust of the private sector and of GM technology were cited as major barriers to building trust. The trust-building practices described in this case study have often

Media Ecology and the Blurring of Private and Public Practices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

de Franco, Chiara

2016-01-01

can produce changes in the social settings where international practices develop. It particular, it argues that the media ecology can affect the articulation of public and private and lead to the emergence of international practices where appropriate and competent behaviour reconstitute the private...... such a group has developed a Transnational Activist Network (TAN) bringing people together through shared private experiences.......This paper aims at posing the basis for a new conceptualization of the impact of ‘old’ and ‘new’ media in international politics by creating a dialogue between the practice theoretical approach in IR (Adler and Pouliot 2011) and the medium theory in media studies (Meyrowitz 1985). Building...

Meeting the public health challenge of protecting private wells: Proceedings and recommendations from an expert panel workshop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fox, Mary A.; Nachman, Keeve E.; Anderson, Breeana; Lam, Juleen

2016-01-01

Private wells serving fewer than 25 people are federally unregulated, and their users may be exposed to naturally occurring agents of concern such as arsenic and radionuclides, as well as anthropogenic contaminants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Clean Water for Health Program works to protect private wells and prevent adverse health outcomes for the roughly 15% of Americans who rely on them. To understand current and emerging challenges to the private drinking water supply, an interdisciplinary expert panel workshop on “Future and Emerging Issues for Private Wells” was organized to inform strategic planning for the Clean Water for Health Program. The panel assessed current conditions of ground water as a source for private wells, identified emerging threats, critical gaps in knowledge, and public health needs, and recommended strategies to guide future activities to ensure the safety of private drinking water wells. These strategies addressed topics of broad interest to the environmental public health community including: development of new methods to support citizen science; addressing contaminant mixtures; expanding capacity for well testing; evaluating treatment technologies; building an evidence base on best practices on well owner outreach and stewardship; and research and data needs. - Highlights: • About 43 million Americans use federally unregulated private wells for drinking water. • Private wells may be contaminated with naturally occurring and man-made chemicals. • Protecting well water requires an “infrastructure for stewardship”. • Recommendations to advance private well protection are offered.

Meeting the public health challenge of protecting private wells: Proceedings and recommendations from an expert panel workshop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fox, Mary A., E-mail: mfox9@jhu.edu [Department of Health Policy and Management, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 North Broadway, Room 407, Baltimore, MD 21205 (United States); Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 North Broadway, Room 429, Baltimore, MD 21205 (United States); Nachman, Keeve E. [Department of Health Policy and Management, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 North Broadway, Room 407, Baltimore, MD 21205 (United States); Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 North Broadway, Room 429, Baltimore, MD 21205 (United States); Center for a Livable Future, Johns Hopkins University, 615 North Wolfe Street, Room W7010, Baltimore, MD 21205 (United States); Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205 (United States); Anderson, Breeana [Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 North Broadway, Room 429, Baltimore, MD 21205 (United States); Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 725 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205 (United States); Lam, Juleen [Department of Health Policy and Management, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 North Broadway, Room 407, Baltimore, MD 21205 (United States); Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 North Broadway, Room 429, Baltimore, MD 21205 (United States); University of California at San Francisco, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Mailstop 0132, 550 16th Street, 7th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94143 (United States); and others

2016-06-01

Private wells serving fewer than 25 people are federally unregulated, and their users may be exposed to naturally occurring agents of concern such as arsenic and radionuclides, as well as anthropogenic contaminants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Clean Water for Health Program works to protect private wells and prevent adverse health outcomes for the roughly 15% of Americans who rely on them. To understand current and emerging challenges to the private drinking water supply, an interdisciplinary expert panel workshop on “Future and Emerging Issues for Private Wells” was organized to inform strategic planning for the Clean Water for Health Program. The panel assessed current conditions of ground water as a source for private wells, identified emerging threats, critical gaps in knowledge, and public health needs, and recommended strategies to guide future activities to ensure the safety of private drinking water wells. These strategies addressed topics of broad interest to the environmental public health community including: development of new methods to support citizen science; addressing contaminant mixtures; expanding capacity for well testing; evaluating treatment technologies; building an evidence base on best practices on well owner outreach and stewardship; and research and data needs. - Highlights: • About 43 million Americans use federally unregulated private wells for drinking water. • Private wells may be contaminated with naturally occurring and man-made chemicals. • Protecting well water requires an “infrastructure for stewardship”. • Recommendations to advance private well protection are offered.

Public-private partnerships to build human capacity in low income countries: findings from the Pfizer program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Connelly Patrick

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The ability of health organizations in developing countries to expand access to quality services depends in large part on organizational and human capacity. Capacity building includes professional development of staff, as well as efforts to create working environments conducive to high levels of performance. The current study evaluated an approach to public-private partnership where corporate volunteers give technical assistance to improve organizational and staff performance. From 2003 to 2005, the Pfizer Global Health Fellows program sent 72 employees to work with organizations in 19 countries. This evaluation was designed to assess program impact. Methods The researchers administered a survey to 60 Fellows and 48 Pfizer Supervisors. In addition, the team conducted over 100 interviews with partner organization staff and other key informants during site visits in Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and India, the five countries where 60% of Fellows were placed. Results Over three-quarters of Fellowships appear to have imparted skills or enhanced operations of NGOs in HIV/AIDS and other health programs. Overall, 79% of Fellows reported meeting all or most technical assistance goals. Partner organization staff reported that the Fellows provided training to clinical and research personnel; strengthened laboratory, pharmacy, financial control, and human resource management systems; and helped expand Partner organization networks. Local staff also reported the Program changed their work habits and attitudes. The evaluation identified problems in defining goals of Fellowships and matching Organizations with Fellows. Capacity building success also appears related to size and sophistication of partner organization. Conclusion Public expectations have grown regarding the role corporations should play in improving health systems in developing countries. Corporate philanthropy programs based on "donations" of personnel can help build

Building regulatory enforcement regimes : Comparative analysis of private sector involvement in the enforcement of public building regulations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van der Heijden, J.J.

2009-01-01

It is often assumed that traditional regulatory regimes centered on governmental action will benefit from greater private sector involvement. And, under the catchy phrase "from government to governance" globally a wide variety of hybrid forms of governance has emerged. However, little empirical

Integrated Design and Approach of Building Maintenance Management in the Built Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md Azree Othuman Mydin

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Building maintenance is such a crucial aspect in the construction industry. The construction industry is characterized as a project-based industry that delivers one of a kind products and services. Thus, building maintenance can guarantee the safety of buildings including human health and property. To some extent, it plays as a guard to supervise the buildings protecting them being suffered collapse and deterioration. The most importantly, preparing for maintenance carried out on buildings is complex and it is related to procurement system dramatically, such as design-and-build, design-build-finance operate, and the private finance initiative and public/private partnerships, all of them need to give much consideration of operational and maintenance needs and costs which are ongoing.. This paper will focus on design and approach of building maintenance management in the construction industry.

Energy consumptions in existing buildings; Les consommations d'energie des batiments existants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nuss, St. [Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts et Industries de Strasbourg, 78 - Saint-Remy-Les-Chevreuse (France)]|[Costic, 78 - Sainte Remy les Chevreuses (France)

2002-05-01

This document presents a sectoral analysis of the energy consumptions in existing French buildings: 1) - residential sector: social buildings, private dwellings; 2) - tertiary sector: office buildings, hotels, commercial buildings, school buildings, hospitals; 3) - industry; 4) - general status. (J.S.)

Public–Private Partnerships for green infrastructures: Tensions and challenges

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J.F.M. Koppenjan (Joop)

2014-01-01

markdownabstractRecently, the OECD has suggested to seek private investment to realize and accelerate the realization of low-carbon, climate-resilient (LCCR) infrastructure. One of the options explored was the use of Design, Build, Finance, Maintain and/or Operate (DBFMO) contracts. Since

Building Public Confidence in Nuclear Activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isaacs, T

2002-01-01

Achieving public acceptance has become a central issue in discussions regarding the future of nuclear power and associated nuclear activities. Effective public communication and public participation are often put forward as the key building blocks in garnering public acceptance. A recent international workshop in Finland provided insights into other features that might also be important to building and sustaining public confidence in nuclear activities. The workshop was held in Finland in close cooperation with Finnish stakeholders. This was most appropriate because of the recent successes in achieving positive decisions at the municipal, governmental, and Parliamentary levels, allowing the Finnish high-level radioactive waste repository program to proceed, including the identification and approval of a proposed candidate repository site. Much of the workshop discussion appropriately focused on the roles of public participation and public communications in building public confidence. It was clear that well constructed and implemented programs of public involvement and communication and a sense of fairness were essential in building the extent of public confidence needed to allow the repository program in Finland to proceed. It was also clear that there were a number of other elements beyond public involvement that contributed substantially to the success in Finland to date. And, in fact, it appeared that these other factors were also necessary to achieving the Finnish public acceptance. In other words, successful public participation and communication were necessary but not sufficient. What else was important? Culture, politics, and history vary from country to country, providing differing contexts for establishing and maintaining public confidence. What works in one country will not necessarily be effective in another. Nonetheless, there appear to be certain elements that might be common to programs that are successful in sustaining public confidence and some of

Building Public Confidence in Nuclear Activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isaacs, T

2002-01-01

Achieving public acceptance has become a central issue in discussions regarding the future of nuclear power and associated nuclear activities. Effective public communication and public participation are often put forward as the key building blocks in garnering public acceptance. A recent international workshop in Finland provided insights into other features that might also be important to building and sustaining public confidence in nuclear activities. The workshop was held in Finland in close cooperation with Finnish stakeholders. This was most appropriate because of the recent successes in achieving positive decisions at the municipal, governmental, and Parliamentary levels, allowing the Finnish high-level radioactive waste repository program to proceed, including the identification and approval of a proposed candidate repository site Much of the workshop discussion appropriately focused on the roles of public participation and public communications in building public confidence. It was clear that well constructed and implemented programs of public involvement and communication and a sense of fairness were essential in building the extent of public confidence needed to allow the repository program in Finland to proceed. It was also clear that there were a number of other elements beyond public involvement that contributed substantially to the success in Finland to date. And, in fact, it appeared that these other factors were also necessary to achieving the Finnish public acceptance. In other words, successful public participation and communication were necessary but not sufficient. What else was important? Culture, politics, and history vary from country to country, providing differing contexts for establishing and maintaining public confidence. What works in one country will not necessarily be effective in another. Nonetheless, there appear to be certain elements that might be common to programs that are successful in sustaining public confidence, and some of

Building, inhabiting and «perceiving» private houses in early medieval Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bianchi, Giovanna

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The first part of the article sums up the evolution of the subject of private houses and homes in Italian historiography, beginning mainly in the 1970s, when scholars began to take an interest in this subject, also thanks to the development of the modern discipline of Medieval Archeology. After identifying current lines of research, the second section analyzes the main kinds of dwellings, their geographical distribution, and their various chronologies. The third section goes on to discuss the issue of how these residential buildings were the product of particular technical skills, analyzing the characteristics of the knowledge of the people who built them, in some cases also attested to in written sources. The fourth section seeks to link specific choices of construction solution to the socio-economic context of the time, trying to establish a connection between the type of buildings that were built, the kind of life their inhabitants led, and the contemporary mentality. The last section is dedicated to a sort of final synthesis, with a brief, further examination of the various issues dealt with in the article as a whole.La primera parte del artículo hace un resumen de la evolución de las casas particulares y viviendas domésticas en la historiografía italiana a partir de los años 70, cuando los estudiosos empezaron a interesarse por el tema y también gracias al desarrollo de la disciplina moderna de arqueología medieval. Tras identificar las actuales líneas de investigación, la segunda parte analiza los principales tipos de vivienda, su distribución geográfica y diversas cronologías. La tercera aborda el concepto de las viviendas residenciales como el resultado de determinadas habilidades técnicas y analiza las características del conocimiento del pueblo que las levantó, corroborando algunos casos con fuentes documentales. La cuarta parte intenta encontrar una relación entre las decisiones tomadas en determinadas soluciones

Economic evaluation of indirect use activities in a private natural heritage reserve

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keila Lima Sanches

2011-06-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to evaluate the economic viability of indirect use activities as developed in a private natural heritage reserve (RPPN. Activities developed in the RPPN include Adventure Tourism and an Ecological Trail. Data were obtained relating to annual number of people visiting the reserve, prices paid to participate in activities, cost of land, maintenance costs and labor costs. Economic criteria used include Net Present Value (VPL and Equivalent Periodic Benefit (BPE. In the 1996-2008 period the number of visitors increased by 6% a year, and the average annual number of visitors to the RPPN was 8,889. It was concluded that indirect use activities in the RPPN are economically viable and can coexist with other direct soil use activities such as eucalyptus cultivation.

Nonlinear damping based semi-active building isolation system

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Carmen; Zhu, Yunpeng; Lang, Zi-Qiang; Billings, Stephen A.; Kohiyama, Masayuki; Wakayama, Shizuka

2018-06-01

Many buildings in Japan currently have a base-isolation system with a low stiffness that is designed to shift the natural frequency of the building below the frequencies of the ground motion due to earthquakes. However, the ground motion observed during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake contained strong long-period waves that lasted for a record length of 3 min. To provide a novel and better solution against the long-period waves while maintaining the performance of the standard isolation range, the exploitation of the characteristics of nonlinear damping is proposed in this paper. This is motivated by previous studies of the authors, which have demonstrated that nonlinear damping can achieve desired performance over both low and high frequency regions and the optimal nonlinear damping force can be realized by closed loop controlled semi-active dampers. Simulation results have shown strong vibration isolation performance on a building model with identified parameters and have indicated that nonlinear damping can achieve low acceleration transmissibilities round the structural natural frequency as well as the higher ground motion frequencies that have been frequently observed during most earthquakes in Japan. In addition, physical building model based laboratory experiments are also conducted, The results demonstrate the advantages of the proposed nonlinear damping technologies over both traditional linear damping and more advanced Linear-Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) feedback control which have been used in practice to address building isolation system design and implementation problems. In comparison with the tuned-mass damper and other active control methods, the proposed solution offers a more pragmatic, low-cost, robust and effective alternative that can be readily installed into the base-isolation system of most buildings.

Your private trips with Carlson Wagonlit Travel

CERN Multimedia

Carlson Wagonlit Travel

2015-01-01

Your Carlson Wagonlit Travel agency at CERN (building 62) also organizes private trips!     Do not hesitate to contact the “Tourism” team, at your disposal from Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Phone: 72763. E-mail: cern@carlsonwagonlit.ch. Since 1 January 2015, everyone working at CERN benefits from lower booking fees.

[Collaboration between public health nurses and the private sector].

Science.gov (United States)

Marutani, Miki; Okada, Yumiko; Hasegawa, Takashi

2016-01-01

We clarified collaborations between public health nurses (PHNs) and the private sector, such as nonprofit organizations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 private sector organizations and 13 PHNs who collaborate with them between December 2012 to October 2013. Interview guides were: overall suicide preventive measurements, details of collaboration between private sector organizations and PHNs, and suicide prevention outcomes/issues. Data from private sector organizations and PHNs were separately analyzed and categories created using qualitative and inductive design. Private sector organizations' and PHNs' categories were compared and separated into core categories by similarities. Six categories were created: 1. establishing a base of mutual understanding; 2. raising public awareness of each aim/characteristic; 3. competently helping high suicidal risk persons detected during each activity; 4. guarding lives and rehabilitating livelihoods after intervention; 5. restoring suicide attempters/bereaved met in each activity; and 6. continuing/expanding activities with reciprocal cohesion/evaluation. PHNs are required to have the following suicide prevention tasks when collaborating with private sector organizations: understanding the private sector civilization, sharing PHN experiences, improving social determinants of health, meeting basic needs, supporting foundation/difficulties each other (Dear editor. Thank you for kind comments. I was going to explain that PHNs and NPOs support each other their foundation of activity and difficulties in their activities. The foundations include knowledge, information, budgets, manpower etc. The difficulties mean like suffering faced with suicide during activities.), and enhancing local governments' flexibilities/ promptness.

Research utilization in the building industry: decision model and preliminary assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Watts, R.L.; Johnson, D.R.; Smith, S.A.; Westergard, E.J.

1985-10-01

The Research Utilization Program was conceived as a far-reaching means for managing the interactions of the private sector and the federal research sector as they deal with energy conservation in buildings. The program emphasizes a private-public partnership in planning a research agenda and in applying the results of ongoing and completed research. The results of this task support the hypothesis that the transfer of R and D results to the buildings industry can be accomplished more efficiently and quickly by a systematic approach to technology transfer. This systematic approach involves targeting decision makers, assessing research and information needs, properly formating information, and then transmitting the information through trusted channels. The purpose of this report is to introduce elements of a market-oriented knowledge base, which would be useful to the Building Systems Division, the Office of Buildings and Community Systems and their associated laboratories in managing a private-public research partnership on a rational systematic basis. This report presents conceptual models and data bases that can be used in formulating a technology transfer strategy and in planning technology transfer programs.

Do Private Labels Build Retailer Brand Equity? An Empirical Approach

OpenAIRE

Xara-Brasil, Duarte; Marreiros, Cristina; Dionísio, Andreia

2015-01-01

This research is focused on retailer’s equity and brand equity, with an application to food retailer’s private labels. The study is supported on existing brand equity studies, namely Aaker, Keller, Yoo & Donthu and Pappu & Quester. The proposed conceptual model was tested through a survey to a sample of consumers, who do most of their food shopping in one of the two main Portuguese retailers. We obtained and validated a measurement and a structural model with appropriate model ...

Life Cycle Cost Optimization of a Bolig+ Zero Energy Building

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marszal, Anna Joanna

. However, before being fully implemented in the national building codesand international standards, the ZEB concept requires a clear understanding and a uniform definition. The ZEB concept is an energy-conservation solution, whose successful adaptation in real life depends significantly on private building...... owners’ approach to it. For thisparticular target group, the cost is often an obstacle when investing money in environmental or climate friendly products. Therefore, this PhD project took theperspective of a future private ZEB owner to investigate the cost-optimal Net ZEB definition applicable...... in the Danish context. The review of the various ZEB approaches indicated a general concept of a Zero Energy Building as a building with significantly reduced energy demand that isbalanced by an equivalent energy generation from renewable sources. And, with this as a general framework, each ZEB definition...

Windows and Building Envelope Research and Development: A Roadmap for Emerging Technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

none,

2014-02-01

This Building Technologies Office (BTO) Research and Development (R&D) Roadmap identifies priority windows and building envelope R&D areas of interest. Cost and performance targets are identified for each key R&D area. The roadmap describes the technical and market challenges to be overcome, R&D activities and milestones, key stakeholders, and potential energy savings that could result if cost and performance targets are met. Methods for improving technology performance and specific strategies for reducing installed costs and mitigating any other market barriers, which would increase the likelihood of mass-market technology adoption, are identified. This roadmap is a useful resource for public and private decision makers evaluating and pursuing high-impact R&D focused on advancing next-generation energy efficient windows and building envelope technologies.

Role of Private Enterprise in Cancer Control in Low to Middle Income Countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nwogu, C. E.

2016-01-01

About 65% of cancer deaths globally occur in low to middle income countries (LMICs) where prioritization and allocation of resources to cancer care are often quite poor. In the absence of governmental focus on this problem, public-private partnerships may be an avenue to provide effective cancer control. Methods. This manuscript highlights the establishment of a non governmental organization (NGO) to stimulate the development of partnerships between oncology professionals, private enterprise, and academic institutions, both locally and internationally. Examples of capacity building, grant support, establishment of collaborative networks, and the development of a facility to provide clinical care are highlighted. Results. Collaborations were established between oncology professionals at academic institutions in the US and Nigeria. Cancer control workshops were conducted in Nigeria with grant support from the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). A monthly tumor board conference was established at LASUTH in Lagos, and further capacity building is underway with grant support from the United States NCI. An outpatient, privately funded oncology clinic in Lagos has been launched. Conclusion. In LMICs, effective partnership between public and private institutions can lead to tangible strides in cancer control. The use of creative healthcare financing models can also support positive change

Activity measurement and effective dose modelling of natural radionuclides in building material.

Science.gov (United States)

Maringer, F J; Baumgartner, A; Rechberger, F; Seidel, C; Stietka, M

2013-11-01

In this paper the assessment of natural radionuclides' activity concentration in building materials, calibration requirements and related indoor exposure dose models is presented. Particular attention is turned to specific improvements in low-level gamma-ray spectrometry to determine the activity concentration of necessary natural radionuclides in building materials with adequate measurement uncertainties. Different approaches for the modelling of the effective dose indoor due to external radiation resulted from natural radionuclides in building material and results of actual building material assessments are shown. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Public-Private Partnerships in Chronic Disease Prevention-Part 3

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

This podcast is the third of a seven part series discussing public health partnerships with the private sector. In this segment, CDC's Elizabeth Majestic and University of North Carolina's Gene Matthews talk about how building credibility on preparedness issues can help develop support for initiatives around chronic disease prevention.

Private Sector Savings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pitonáková Renáta

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The majority of household savings are in the form of bank deposits. It is therefore of interest for credit institutions to tailor their deposit policy for getting finances from non-banking entities and to provide the private sector with the loans that are necessary for investment activities and consumption. This paper deals with the determinants of the saving rate of the private sector of Slovakia. Economic, financial and demographic variables influence savings. Growth of income per capita, private disposable income, elderly dependency ratio, real interest rate and inflation have a positive impact on savings, while increases in public savings indicate a crowding out effect. The inflation rate implies precautionary savings, and dependency ratio savings for bequest. There are also implications for governing institutions deciding on the implementation of appropriate fiscal and monetary operations.

Privatization considerations of environmental remediation of DOE wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zocher, M.A.; Paananen, O.H.; Kost, K.

1997-01-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is in the process of privatizing the application of environmental cleanup technologies to remediate nuclear waste within the DOE complex. These wastes are the legacy of the production of nuclear materials during the cold war era. It is anticipated that the privatization strategy will result in more efficient and less expensive approaches to the cleanup of DOE wastes. Similar privatization initiatives have the potential to achieve increased efficiency and cost savings at sites under the Department of Defense (DOD) and other Federal agencies. The DOE is privatizing a major, complex portion of the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Program at the Hanford nuclear reservation located in eastern Washington State. This effort will involve private companies that will design, permit, construct, operate, and finally deactivate waste treatment facilities that will be owned entirely by the private sector. The DOE will purchase treated waste products on a unit cost basis from the facilities after supplying the vendors with waste from the tank farm at Hanford. The privatization of selected United States and international Government functions involve decisions that are based on accurate and valid cost information. Private firms are beginning to privatize certain corporate activities so that they may concentrate business activities along main product or mission lines. In either the public or private sector, many aspects of cost engineering are utilized to make prioritization a success

Public Private Business Models for Defence Acquisition

Science.gov (United States)

2014-04-30

Initiatives (PFIs), franchising , concessions, Joint Ventures (JVs) and outright privatisation (Grimsey & Lewis, 2004, p. 54); Off-The-Shelf (OTS...Design (D), Finance (F), Buy (B)/Rent (R)/Lease (L), Construct (C) (Build (B)), Develop (D), Own (O), Operate (O), Manage (M), Maintain (M) and Transfer...Logistics Logistics Infrastructure, and Locistics Other affected None None Equipment Eql..ipment OLoOs Finance- Buy - Desig~ - Buy - Private sector

Innovative private micro-hydro power development in Rwanda

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pigaht, Maurice; Plas, Robert J. van der

2009-01-01

Under the 'Private Sector Participation in Micro-Hydro Development Project in Rwanda', four newly registered Rwandan companies are each constructing a micro-hydro electricity plant (100-500 kW) and building a low-voltage distribution grid. These companies financed their plants through their own equity and debt with support from the PSP Hydro project. This support comprised a subsidy of 30-50% of investment costs, technical and business development assistance, project monitoring and financial controlling. The experiences gained so far have important implications for similar future micro-hydro energy sector development projects and this paper puts forward three key messages: (i) institutional arrangements rather than technical quality determine the success of such projects; (ii) truly sustainable rural electrification through micro-hydro development demands a high level of local participation at all levels and throughout all project phases, not just after plant commissioning; and (iii) real impact and sustainability can be obtained through close collaboration of local private and financial sector firms requiring only limited external funds. In short, micro-hydro projects can and will be taken up by local investors as a business if the conditions are right. Applying these messages could result in an accelerated uptake of viable micro-hydro activities in Rwanda, and in the opinion of the authors elsewhere too.

Promoting personal safety of building service workers: issues and challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shelley I; Skillen, D Lynn

2006-06-01

This exploratory, descriptive study conducted at a large western Canadian university solicited perceptions of personal safety among building service workers who perform night shift work alone. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted at approximately 10:00 p.m. or 7:00 a.m with a convenience sample of night building service workers in private or semi-private locations on the university campus. Transcribed interview data were subjected to inductive content analysis using descriptive, interpretive, and pattern coding (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Results suggest that building service night shift workers are exposed to personal safety hazards in their physical and psychosocial work environments. In addition, culturally and linguistically appropriate delivery of safety training and education about policies and procedures is required for culturally diverse building service workers. Promotion of personal safety in this heterogeneous worker population requires due diligence, assessment, and advocacy.

Life Cycle Cost Optimization of a BOLIG+ Zero Energy Building

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marszal, Anna Joanna

. However, before being fully implemented in the national building codes and international standards, the ZEB concept requires a clear understanding and a uniform definition. The ZEB concept is an energy-conservation solution, whose successful adaptation in real life depends significantly on private...... building owners’ approach to it. For this particular target group, the cost is often an obstacle when investing money in environmental or climate friendly products. Therefore, this PhD project took the perspective of a future private ZEB owner to investigate the cost-optimal Net ZEB definition applicable...... in the Danish context. The review of the various ZEB approaches indicated a general concept of a Zero Energy Building as a building with significantly reduced energy demand that is balanced by an equivalent energy generation from renewable sources. And, with this as a general framework, each ZEB definition...

Investigation of privatization by level crossing approach

Science.gov (United States)

Vahabi, M.; Jafari, G. R.

2009-09-01

Privatization - a political as well as an economic policy - is generally defined as the transfer of a property or the responsibility for it from the public to the private sector. But privatization is not merely the transfer of the ownership and efficiency of the market should be considered. A successful privatization program induces better profitability and efficiency, higher output, more investment, etc. The main method of privatization is through introducing new stocks to the market to motivate competition. However, for a successful privatization the capability of a market for absorbing the new stock should also be considered. Without paying attention to this aspect, privatization through the introduction of new stocks may lead to reduced market efficiency. We study, based on the complexity theory and in particular the concept of Level Crossing, the effect of the stages of the development, activity, risk, and the waiting times for special events on the privatization.

Assessment of Passive vs. Active Strategies for a School Building Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ji Eun Kang

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a simulation study to reduce heating and cooling energy demand of a school building in Seoul Metropolitan Area, Korea. The aim of this study was to estimate the impact of passive vs. active approaches on energy savings in buildings using EnergyPlus simulation. By controlling lighting, the energy saving of the original school building design was found most significant, and increased by 32% when the design was improved. It is noteworthy that energy saving potential of each room varies significantly depending on the rooms’ thermal characteristics and orientation. Thus, the analysis of energy saving should be introduced at the individual space level, not at the whole building level. Additionally, the simulation studies should be involved for rational decision-making. Finally, it was concluded that priority should be given to passive building design strategies, such as building orientation, as well as control and utilization of solar radiation. These passive energy saving strategies are related to urban, architectural design, and engineering issues, and are more beneficial in terms of energy savings than active strategies.

Summary of the activities of the ISAM Confidence Building Working Group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dolinar, G.M.; Batandjieva, B.

2002-01-01

During the early stages of the ISAM project confidence building was a relatively new topic in the radioactive waste disposal literature, but it was beginning to receive some attention. Although almost all safety assessment activities are intended to provide a level of confidence in the results of the assessment, considering the activities from the viewpoint of how they contributed to the decision making of various 'audiences' was relatively new. The ISAM project included the Confidence Building Working Group (CBWG) to examine the topic of Confidence Building and this paper provides a summary of the working group findings. (author)

Building an applied activation analysis centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartosek, J.; Kasparec, I.; Masek, J.

1972-01-01

Requirements are defined and all available background material is reported and discussed for the building up of a centre of applied activation analysis in Czechoslovakia. A detailed analysis of potential users and the centre's envisaged availability is also presented as part of the submitted study. A brief economic analysis is annexed. The study covers the situation up to the end of 1972. (J.K.)

Government stewardship of the for-profit private health sector in Afghanistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Cross, Harry E; Sayedi, Omarzaman; Irani, Laili; Archer, Lauren C; Sears, Kathleen; Sharma, Suneeta

2017-04-01

Since 2003, Afghanistan's largely unregulated for-profit private health sector has grown at a rapid pace. In 2008, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) launched a long-term stewardship initiative to oversee and regulate private providers and align the sector with national health goals. We examine the progress the MoPH has made towards more effective stewardship, consider the challenges and assess the early impacts on for-profit performance. We reviewed publicly available documents, publications and the grey literature to analyse the development, adoption and implementation of strategies, policies and regulations. We carried out a series of key informant/participant interviews, organizational capacity assessments and analyses of hospital standards checklists. Using a literature review of health systems strengthening, we proposed an Afghan-specific definition of six key stewardship functions to assess progress towards MoPH stewardship objectives. The MoPH and its partners have achieved positive results in strengthening its private sector stewardship functions especially in generating actionable intelligence and establishing strategic policy directions, administrative structures and a legal and regulatory framework. Progress has also been made on improving accountability and transparency, building partnerships and applying minimum required standards to private hospitals. Procedural and operational issues still need resolution and the MoPH is establishing mechanisms for resolving them. The MoPH stewardship initiative is notable for its achievements to date under challenging circumstances. Its success is due to the focus on developing a solid policy framework and building institutions and systems aimed at ensuring higher quality private services, and a rational long-term and sustainable role for the private sector. Although the MoPH stewardship initiative is still at an early stage, the evidence suggests that enhanced stewardship functions in the MoPH are leading to a

Harnessing the market: The opportunities and challenges of privatization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-01-01

The decision to privatize comes from a policy determination that the Government no longer needs particular assets or no longer needs to be in control of all the means by which products or services are obtained or delivered. Most broadly defined, privatization substitutes, in whole or in part, private market mechanisms for the traditional Government role as employer, financier, owner, operator, and/or regulator of a product or service. This definition admits a wide variety of actions, from innovative contractual arrangements to outright divestiture of activities or assets. But all of these actions share common objectives: to remove the agency from those activities that are not inherently governmental functions or core business lines; to improve the management of remaining activities; to reduce the costs of doing business; and to shift greater performance and financial risk to the private sector. This report by the Privatization Working Group provides an indepth analysis of the major issues that surround privatization within the Department of Energy (DOE). The report divides privatization initiatives at the DOE into three major types: divestiture of functions, contracting out, and asset transfers. It includes the results of a survey of the entire DOE system that identifies more than 200 potential privatization opportunities. The report also includes 13 case studies that explore actual DOE privatization efforts over the past 2 years. Additionally, it summarizes the key legal authorities that govern each of the three types of privatization opportunities in the DOE. The report makes a series of recommendations and outlines accompanying actions that will help the DOE seize the opportunities presented by privatization and confront its challenges.

Economic evaluation of private power production under uncertainties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weiguo Xing; Wu, F.F. [University of Hong Kong (China). Centre for Electrical Energy Systems

2003-02-01

Private power production is becoming an increasingly important source of electricity generation. In developing countries, build-operate-transfer (BOT) arrangement has emerged as a dominant form of private investment. Pricing private power production at its avoided cost is the breakeven point for the utility in economic evaluation, and uncertainties must be taken into account. In this paper, an approach of calculating the breakeven cost to the utility of a BOT power plant whose contract lasts for 10-25 years is proposed. The proposed approach requires the computation of production costs from long-term generation expansion planning (GEP) under future uncertainties. To facilitate the inclusion of constraints introduced by BOT plants in GEP and uncertainties, a genetic algorithm method is utilized in GEP. The breakeven cost is a useful measure in the economic evaluation of BOT power plants. An example is presented to illustrate the economic evaluation of BOT plants using the concept of breakeven cost.(author)

The development of public and private construction procurement systems in the Malaysian construction industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mastura Jaafar

2012-12-01

Full Text Available As demand on building construction projects rises, various procurement methods have been adapted to suit with unique project requirements. However, poor industry performance and rapid developments within it indicate the need for a research on the procurement systems in the industry. In order to explore the development of procurement systems in Malaysia, a discussion on different economic phases which influence the routes of procurement systems and its evolution in Malaysia's construction industry is initiated. Subsequently, based on a questionnaire survey collected from 73 public and 68 private parties, the significant and dominant role of traditional procurement system used by both the public and private sectors in Malaysia can be confirmed. Further, compared to the public sector, the private sector is observed to be more aggressive in adapting alternative systems such as design and build (D&B and Turnkey. Further elaboration on the research findings is covered in the discussion section.

Private Source Funding for FCS Units

Science.gov (United States)

Winchip, Susan M.

2004-01-01

Financial difficulties have prompted institutions of higher education to explore private sources of funding. In recent years, public institutions have significantly increased their focus on private giving, with several campaigns having more than $1 billion as a goal. Family and consumer sciences (FCS) professionals need to be actively involved in…

22 CFR 216.4 - Private applicants.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

..., projects or activities for which financing from A.I.D. is sought by private applicants, such as PVOs and...) or (d), preliminary proposals for financing submitted by private applicants shall be accompanied by... Environmental Examination. The Threshold Decision shall be made by the Mission Director for the country to which...

Role of Private Enterprise in Cancer Control in Low to Middle Income Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chukwumere E. Nwogu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background. About 65% of cancer deaths globally occur in low to middle income countries (LMICs where prioritization and allocation of resources to cancer care are often quite poor. In the absence of governmental focus on this problem, public-private partnerships may be an avenue to provide effective cancer control. Methods. This manuscript highlights the establishment of a nongovernmental organization (NGO to stimulate the development of partnerships between oncology professionals, private enterprise, and academic institutions, both locally and internationally. Examples of capacity building, grant support, establishment of collaborative networks, and the development of a facility to provide clinical care are highlighted. Results. Collaborations were established between oncology professionals at academic institutions in the US and Nigeria. Cancer control workshops were conducted in Nigeria with grant support from the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC. A monthly tumor board conference was established at LASUTH in Lagos, and further capacity building is underway with grant support from the United States NCI. An outpatient, privately funded oncology clinic in Lagos has been launched. Conclusion. In LMICs, effective partnership between public and private institutions can lead to tangible strides in cancer control. The use of creative healthcare financing models can also support positive change.

Energy savings in CSFR - building sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobsen, F.R.

1993-01-01

The Czechoslovak/Danish project on energy savings in buildings proves that it is possible to save up to 30% of the energy in buildings. 10% can be saved at an investment of 27 bill KCS. The total investment that is needed to save 30% is 140 bill KCS. Further energy savings can be obtained through more energy efficient supply systems. Information dissemination is important for the energy saving programme as are economic incentives. Investments in energy savings should be profitable for the investor, but this is not the case in the Czech and Slovak republics today. Changes are needed. Energy prices are still to low, compared to investment costs. Financial possibilities are not satisfactory for private investors. Price systems are not favourable to investment in energy savings. Training is needed for boiler men and energy consultants. Legislation is essential for the support of the full range of activities in the energy sector. Research and Development activities must back up the development of the sector. Pilot projects can illuminate the savings potential. The production of technical equipment for control and metering and production of insulation materials must be promoted. (AB)

Depot Sales of Goods and Services to Private Parties: Pricing in Partnering Agreements

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Barker, Clark L; Steans, Robert C

2003-01-01

.... Because the effort to build strong public-private partnerships within the Department of Defense is a relatively new phenomenon, there is little enabling policy readily at hand to guide management decisions...

State-private partnership as anobject of corporative managment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chegrintceva Natalia Sergeevna

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Development of effective relations of state-private partnership - an actual problem for Russia. The concept of state-private partnership (SPP, directions of perfection of the account of expenses under book keeping articles non-material actives is specified. The system of private indicators of an estimation of productivity of relations SPPis offered.

Workplace building design and office-based workers' activity: a study of a natural experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Jancey, Jonine M; McGann, Sarah; Creagh, Robyn; Blackford, Krysten D; Howat, Peter; Tye, Marian

2016-02-01

This opportunistic natural study investigated the effects of relocation of office workers from a 30-year-old building to a new purpose-built building. The new building included an attractive central staircase that was easily accessed and negotiated, as well as breakout spaces and a centralised facilities area. The researchers aimed to determine the impact of the purpose-built office building on the office workers' sedentariness and level of physical activity. In 2013, a natural pre-post study was undertaken with office-based workers in their old conventional 1970s building and on relocating to a new purpose-built 'activity permissive' building. Objective movement data was measured using accelerometers. Anthropometric and demographic data was also collected. Forty-two office-based workers significantly decreased their percentage of daily sitting time (T1 = 84.9% to T2=79.7%; pbuilding. Moderate activity significantly declined (T1=3.9% to 3.2%=T2; p=0.038). There was a significant decrease in mean minutes of sitting time (19.62 minutes; pbuilding can influence activity. This opportunistic study on the impact of workplace relocation on office-based workers' activity showed modest positive outcomes in sitting and standing. Evidence is required to inform building design policy and practice that supports physical activity and reduces levels of sedentariness in the workplace. © 2015 The Authors.

Private space exploration: A new way for starting a spacefaring society?

Science.gov (United States)

Genta, Giancarlo

2014-11-01

Since the beginning space was an exclusive domain of public organizations, the role of privates is becoming more and more important, and not only in commercial activities. However, the main international treaties dealing with this subject are still based on the assumption that space activities are mostly reserved to states. In the last decade the idea that the role of privates could include the management of space infrastructures and launch vehicles gained support and now private launch services are a reality. An even wider role of privates is now advocated and private exploration and exploitation missions are discussed. This requires that space activity in general can generate an attractive return and those business models are identified.

Management and maintenance of school buildings in secondary ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The purpose of the study is to investigate the strategies used in terms of managing and maintaining the school buildings in order to achieve the goals of the school system. The population of the study was the entire 665 secondary schools -374 public and 291 private secondary school buildings in Delta State. The sample for ...

Public Capital, Congestion and Private Production in Australia

OpenAIRE

Lei Lei Song

2002-01-01

This paper is an empirical investigation into the impact of public capital on the private sector’s economic activity in Australia. In particular, it is assumed that the contribution of public capital to private factor productivity is subject to congestion. New data sets of capital stocks and private output are constructed for the Australian economy. By estimating flexible functional forms of private sector production functions with congestion in public capital services, the paper shows that p...

Private Training Providers in Australia: Their Characteristics and Training Activities. A National Vocational Education and Training Research and Evaluation Program Report

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Roger; Simons, Michele; McCarthy, Carmel

2006-01-01

This study examines the nature of the training activity of private registered training organisations (RTOs) offered to Australian students in 2003, based on data from a national sample of 330 RTOs. The study also provides estimates of the private sector's overall contribution to the total vocational education and training (VET) effort in Australia…

Alternative energy technologies for private households - diffusion of solar collector systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krusche, H

1979-01-01

The study gives an estimate of the market potential for solar collectors in the Federal Republic of Germany and reports the results of a survey of first generation private users. It shows that these first users of solar collectors have social and personal charactristics similar to innovators in other areas as described in adoption and diffusion research. Compared with the average houseowner, first users of solar collectors tend to be younger, earn more and be better educated; to be professionally involved with building and heating and have some technical training; to be active information seekers and media users; to be socially active and well-integrated; to actively promote further diffusion of solar collectors. The study also shows that solar collectors are used for the purpose of room heating to an unexpectedly high degree; that the level of satisfaction with appliances and service is unexpectedly high and that the social environment of first users shows very little resistance to the introduction of solar collectors. Finally, it is shown that first users are more ecologically conscious than the average houseowner. The majority of first users attributes their decision to adopt solar technology to a lesser degree or at least not more than equally to economic-technical considerations than to ecological considerations. First users are generally fascinated by technically sweet consumption goods and can be characterized as technical optimists in their outlook on the future. Conclusions for social marketing of solar technology for the private household are drawn.

Public investment does not crowd out private supply of environmental goods on private land.

Science.gov (United States)

Duncan, David H; Kyle, Garreth; Morris, William K; Smith, F Patrick

2014-04-01

In landscapes where private land tenure is prevalent, public funds for ecological landscape restoration are sometimes spent subsidising the revegetation of cleared land, and the protection of remnant vegetation from livestock. However, the total area treated may be unclear because such projects are not always recorded, and landholders may undertake similar activities without subsidisation. In the absence of empirical data, in the state of Victoria, Australia, a reporting assumption has been employed that suggests that wholly privately funded sites match publicly subsidised sites on a hectare for hectare basis (a so-called "x2" assumption). Conversely, the "crowding out" theory of investment in public goods such as environmental benefits suggests that public investment may supplant private motivation. Using aerial photography we mapped the extent of revegetation, native vegetation fencing and restoration on 71 representative landholdings in rural south-eastern Australia. We interviewed each landholder and recorded the age and funding model of each site. Contrary to the local "x2" reporting assumption, about 75% of the total area of the 412 sites was from subsidised sites, and that proportion was far higher for the period after 1997. However, rather than displacing unsubsidised activity, our modelling showed that landholders who had recently been subsidised for a project were more likely to have subsequently completed unsubsidised work. This indicates that, at least in terms of medium-term economic impact, the large increase in public subsidies did not diminish privately funded activity, as might be expected according to the theory of crowding out. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The FBI is Leading the Way by Making the Private Sector an Integral Part of the Counterterrorism Homeland Security Enterprise

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-01

This thesis discusses the building of a sustainable business process wherein the private sector is integrated into the homeland security apparatus...As the threat our nation and her allies face continues to evolve, so must our responses. Integrating the private sector into the homeland security...attack. The private sector brings with it a plethora of talents and resources. Because it has not traditionally been seen as a partner the private sector has

EMPLOYEE LOYALTY: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GENDERS AND THE PUBLIC AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Igor Klopotan

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This article presents the results of the research on important parameters of the loyalty of employees in the public and the private sector. The research was conducted in the Republic of Croatia as a part of the research focused on the essential parameters of the loyalty of employees that contribute to building and retaining loyal behaviour. Loyalty and employee satisfaction are the key parameters that influence the success of a company. In addition, loyal and satisfied employees are important in building good relationships with customers, suppliers and all stakeholders involved in business processes of an organization or a company. The purpose of this article is to define whether there is a difference in parameters of the loyalty of employees in the public and the private sector in Croatia, as well as whether there are certain differences based on gender.

Public-Private Partnership in Cultural Heritage Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Angelina JELINČIĆ

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Over the past few decades public-private partnership or PPP has become a new way for delivering and fi nancing public sector projects. It may involve investment in fully economic infrastructure such as highways, railways, airports, seaports, etc. up to the investments in social infrastructure projects, such as schools, hospitals, museums and other signifi cant and historic buildings of public interest. The main objective of this article is to analyze the situation in Croatia, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia concerning the topic of public- private partnership (PPP in order to provide grounds for possible future investments in cultural heritage in these countries. For this purpose, a comparative analysis of legal and institutional frameworks was carried out as well as structured interviews with key stakeholders (public and private sector representatives. Special attention has been paid to the use of PPP projects in the revitalization of cultural heritage. The results of the analysis showed the lack of PPP investments in the cultural sector, and also identifi ed possible obstacles in public sector administrative procedures. The results of the analysis may be further used to stimulate both public authorities to set strategic directions for heritage revitalization plans based on PPP schemes as well as private investors who may seek feasible business models complemented with social responsibility benefits.

Data quality objectives for TWRS privatization Phase 1: Confirm tank T is an appropriate feed source for low-activity waste feed batch X

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Certa, P.J.

1998-01-01

The Phase 1 privatization contracts require that the Project Hanford Management Contract (PHMC) contractors, on behalf of the US Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (RL), deliver the appropriate quantities of the proper composition of feed on schedule to the Privatization contractors (DOE-RL 1996). The type of feed needed, the amount of feed needed, and the overall timing of when feed is to be delivered to the Privatization contractor are specified by the contract. Additional requirements are imposed by the interface control document (ICD) for low-activity waste (LAW) feed (PHMC 1997a). The Tank Waste Remediation System Operation and Utilization Plan (TWRSO/UP) as updated by the Readiness-to-Proceed (RTP) deliverable establishes the baseline operating scenario for the delivery of feed to two Privatization contractors for the first twelve LAW batches. The project master baseline schedule (PMBS) and corresponding logic diagrams that will be used to implement the operating scenario have been developed and are currently being refined. The baseline operating scenario in the TWRSO/UP/RTP specifies which tanks will be used to provide feed for each specific feed batch, the operational activities needed to prepare and deliver each feed batch, and the timing of these activities. This operating scenario has considered such factors as the privatization contracts and ICD requirements, waste composition and chemistry, equipment availability, project schedules and funding, tank farm logistics and the availability of tank space. The PMBS includes activities to reduce programmatic risk

Data quality objectives for TWRS privatization Phase 1: Confirm tank T is an appropriate feed source for low-activity waste feed batch X

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Certa, P.J.

1998-07-02

The Phase 1 privatization contracts require that the Project Hanford Management Contract (PHMC) contractors, on behalf of the US Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (RL), deliver the appropriate quantities of the proper composition of feed on schedule to the Privatization contractors (DOE-RL 1996). The type of feed needed, the amount of feed needed, and the overall timing of when feed is to be delivered to the Privatization contractor are specified by the contract. Additional requirements are imposed by the interface control document (ICD) for low-activity waste (LAW) feed (PHMC 1997a). The Tank Waste Remediation System Operation and Utilization Plan (TWRSO/UP) as updated by the Readiness-to-Proceed (RTP) deliverable establishes the baseline operating scenario for the delivery of feed to two Privatization contractors for the first twelve LAW batches. The project master baseline schedule (PMBS) and corresponding logic diagrams that will be used to implement the operating scenario have been developed and are currently being refined. The baseline operating scenario in the TWRSO/UP/RTP specifies which tanks will be used to provide feed for each specific feed batch, the operational activities needed to prepare and deliver each feed batch, and the timing of these activities. This operating scenario has considered such factors as the privatization contracts and ICD requirements, waste composition and chemistry, equipment availability, project schedules and funding, tank farm logistics and the availability of tank space. The PMBS includes activities to reduce programmatic risk.

Dynamic Analysis of an Office Building due to Vibration from Road Construction Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Chik, T. N. T.; Kamil, M. R. H.; Yusoff, N. A.; Ibrahim, M. H. W.

2018-04-01

Construction activities are widely known as one of the predominant sources of man-made vibrations that able to create nuisance towards any adjacent building, and this includes the road construction operations. Few studies conclude the construction-induced vibration may be harmful directly and indirectly towards the neighbouring building. This lead to the awareness of study the building vibration response of concrete masonry load bearing system and its vibrational performance towards the road construction activities. This study will simulate multi-storey office building of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Bandar Enstek at Negeri Sembilan by using finite element vibration analyses. The excitation of transient loads from ground borne vibrations which triggered by the road construction activities are modelled into the building. The vibration response was recorded during in-situ ambient vibration test by using Laser Doppler Vibrometer (LDV), which specifically performed on four different locations. The finite element simulation process was developed in the commercial FEA software ABAQUS. Then, the experimental data was processed and evaluated in MATLAB ModalV to assess the vibration criteria of the floor in building. As a result, the vibration level of floor in building is fall under VC-E curve which was under the maximum permissible level for office building (VC-ISO). The vibration level on floor is acceptable within the limit that have been referred.

Innovative private micro-hydro power development in Rwanda

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pigaht, Maurice; Van der Plas, Robert J. [MARGE-Netherlands, Brem 68, 7577 EW Oldenzaal (Netherlands)

2009-11-15

Under the 'Private Sector Participation in Micro-Hydro Development Project in Rwanda', four newly registered Rwandan companies are each constructing a micro-hydro electricity plant (100-500 kW) and building a low-voltage distribution grid. These companies financed their plants through their own equity and debt with support from the PSP Hydro project. This support comprised a subsidy of 30-50% of investment costs, technical and business development assistance, project monitoring and financial controlling. The experiences gained so far have important implications for similar future micro-hydro energy sector development projects and this paper puts forward three key messages: (1) institutional arrangements rather than technical quality determine the success of such projects; (2) truly sustainable rural electrification through micro-hydro development demands a high level of local participation at all levels and throughout all project phases, not just after plant commissioning; and (3) real impact and sustainability can be obtained through close collaboration of local private and financial sector firms requiring only limited external funds. In short, micro-hydro projects can and will be taken up by local investors as a business if the conditions are right. Applying these messages could result in an accelerated uptake of viable micro-hydro activities in Rwanda, and in the opinion of the authors elsewhere too. (author)

A financing model to solve financial barriers for implementing green building projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sanghyo; Lee, Baekrae; Kim, Juhyung; Kim, Jaejun

2013-01-01

Along with the growing interest in greenhouse gas reduction, the effect of greenhouse gas energy reduction from implementing green buildings is gaining attention. The government of the Republic of Korea has set green growth as its paradigm for national development, and there is a growing interest in energy saving for green buildings. However, green buildings may have financial barriers that have high initial construction costs and uncertainties about future project value. Under the circumstances, governmental support to attract private funding is necessary to implement green building projects. The objective of this study is to suggest a financing model for facilitating green building projects with a governmental guarantee based on Certified Emission Reduction (CER). In this model, the government provides a guarantee for the increased costs of a green building project in return for CER. And this study presents the validation of the model as well as feasibility for implementing green building project. In addition, the suggested model assumed governmental guarantees for the increased cost, but private guarantees seem to be feasible as well because of the promising value of the guarantee from CER. To do this, certification of Clean Development Mechanisms (CDMs) for green buildings must be obtained.

SWOT analysis & privatization in Croatia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Družić Ivo

2006-01-01

economic consequences of war. On the macro level it took approximately three years to restructure and downsize CPF majority ownership in 2700 companies to majority ownership in just 70 companies. Overall weakness of the restructuring process is concentrated in a painfully slow emergence of sound business activity in market environment. The economic inefficiency of this model is reflected in the substitution of modern entrepreneurial capitalism, which was hoped for with retrograde rent seeking capitalism, typical of early capitalism in its transition from a feudal to an industrial environment two centuries ago. Instead of efficiency and development, it is characterized by the drain of liquid capital through inflated debts, false reserves and falsified claims and the tunneling of constant capital through "soft" loans into tax havens outside the country. Therefore, the solution is not to deal with the consequences, which are evident in various affairs that are treated as individual deviations of the more or less good model of privatization. The problem lies in the model itself.

78 FR 55245 - Activities and Methodology for Assessing Compliance With Building Energy Codes

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-10

...-0036] Activities and Methodology for Assessing Compliance With Building Energy Codes AGENCY: Office of... available to states to evaluate compliance with building energy codes and general approaches towards... building energy codes and general approaches towards compliance. The comment period ended on September 5...

Energy policy for integrating the building environmental performance model of an air conditioned building in a subtropical climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mui, K.W.

2006-01-01

For an air conditioned building, the major electricity consumption is by the heating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. As energy saving strategies may be in conflict with the criteria of indoor air quality and thermal comfort, a concept of the building environmental performance model (BEPM) has been developed to optimize energy consumption in HVAC systems without any deterioration of the indoor air quality and thermal comfort. The BEPM is divided into two main modules: the adaptive comfort temperature (ACT) module and the new demand control ventilation (nDCV) module. This study aims to enhance and prompt the conventional operation of the air side systems by incorporating temperature reset with the adaptive comfort temperature control and the new demand control ventilation system in high rise buildings in Hong Kong. A new example weather year (1991) was established as a reference to compute the energy use of HVAC systems in buildings in order to obtain more representative data for predicting annual energy consumption. A survey of 165 Hong Kong office buildings was conducted and it provided valuable information on the existing HVAC design values in different grades of private commercial buildings in Hong Kong. It was found that the actual measured values of indoor temperature were lower than the design ones. Furthermore, with the new example weather year and the integration of the BEPM into Grade A private office buildings in Hong Kong, the total energy saving of the air conditioning systems was calculated (i.e. a saving of HK$122 million in electrical consumption per year) while the thermal comfort for the occupants was also maintained

Private Governance and the South: Lessons from Global Forest Politics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pattberg, P.H.

2006-01-01

Private governance beyond the state is emerging as a prominent debate in International Relations, focusing on the activities of private non-state actors and the influences of private rules and standards. However, the conceptual framework of governance has until recently been employed predominantly

26 CFR 1.141-5 - Private loan financing test.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Private loan financing test. 1.141-5 Section 1... loan financing test. (a) In general. Bonds of an issue are private activity bonds if more than the... determining whether the private loan financing test is met. In determining whether the proceeds of an issue...

Jurisdictional Competition Between Private and Public Sector Auditors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klarskov Jeppesen, Kim

2012-01-01

This paper explores the apparent paradox that while public sector auditors have become more powerful by claiming performance auditing expertise and linking this to New Public Management reforms, the same reforms have provided an opening for competition between private and public sector auditors....... In Denmark, the competitive relation has led to a jurisdictional dispute between public and private sector auditors in which the former have developed a special qualification for public sector auditors. The paper analyses the development of this qualification using Abbott's (1988) theory of the system...... of professions, thus focusing on how the involved groups have attempted to build networks of support for their competing jurisdictional claims of expertise. The case contributes to knowledge about the potential for development of a distinct public sector auditor identity. The case suggests that to develop...

A game-theoretical model of private power production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xing, W.; Wu, F.F.

2001-01-01

Private power production has sprung up all over the world. The build-operate-transfer (BOT) arrangement has emerged as one of the most important options for private power production, especially in developing countries with rapidly growing demand and financial shortages. Based on oligopoly theory, the paper proposes a Stackelberg game model between a BOT investor and an electric utility whereby they can negotiate a long-term energy contract. Asymmetric pricing schemes are taken into account such that a host utility purchases electricity from a BOT company at its ''avoided cost'', and sells its electricity to end users at its ''average cost''. Our Stackelberg game model is transferred into a two-level optimization problem, and then solved by an iterative algorithm. The game model is demonstrated by an illustrative example. (author)

Get Kids Moving: Simple Activities To Build Gross-Motor Skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Texas Child Care, 2003

2003-01-01

Highlights the importance of activities to build gross motor skills and provides hints for encouraging such activities. Specific areas of activities presented are: (1) running and jumping; (2) music games; (3) action games; (4) races; (5) bed sheets or parachutes; (6) hula hoops; (7) balls; (8) batting; (9) balance; and (10) creative movement. (SD)

Economic motivation of households to undertake private precautionary measures against floods

Science.gov (United States)

Kreibich, H.; Christenberger, S.; Schwarze, R.

2011-02-01

Flood damage is on the increase due to a combination of growing vulnerability and a changing climate. This trend can be mitigated only through significantly improved flood risk management which, alongside the efforts of public authorities, will include improvements in the mitigation measures adopted by private households. Economically "reasonable" efforts to self-insure and self-protect should be expected from households before the government steps in with publicly-funded relief programmes. To gain a deeper understanding of the benefits of households' precautionary measures, telephone interviews with private home owners were conducted in the Elbe and Danube catchments in Germany after the floods of 2002 and again after the floods in 2005 and 2006. Only detached, solid single-family houses were included in this study, which is based on 759 interviews. In addition, market-based cost assessments were solicited based on a "model building". Expert interviews and a literature review - including catalogues and price lists for building materials and household appliances - were used as back-up information for the cost assessments. The comparison of costs and benefits shows that large investments, such as building a sealed cellar, are only economically efficient if the building is flooded very frequently, that is, if it is located in a high flood risk area. In such areas it would be preferable in economic terms not to build a new house at all - or else to build a house without a cellar. Small investments, however, such as oil tank protection, can prevent serious damage at low cost. Such investments are still profitable even if the building is flooded every 50 years or less on average. It could be argued that these low-cost measures should be made mandatory through the enforcement of building codes. Financial incentives built into insurance contracts coupled with limits set on governmental relief programmes would provide an economic motivation for people to invest in

Economic motivation of households to undertake private precautionary measures against floods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Kreibich

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Flood damage is on the increase due to a combination of growing vulnerability and a changing climate. This trend can be mitigated only through significantly improved flood risk management which, alongside the efforts of public authorities, will include improvements in the mitigation measures adopted by private households. Economically "reasonable" efforts to self-insure and self-protect should be expected from households before the government steps in with publicly-funded relief programmes. To gain a deeper understanding of the benefits of households' precautionary measures, telephone interviews with private home owners were conducted in the Elbe and Danube catchments in Germany after the floods of 2002 and again after the floods in 2005 and 2006. Only detached, solid single-family houses were included in this study, which is based on 759 interviews. In addition, market-based cost assessments were solicited based on a "model building". Expert interviews and a literature review – including catalogues and price lists for building materials and household appliances – were used as back-up information for the cost assessments. The comparison of costs and benefits shows that large investments, such as building a sealed cellar, are only economically efficient if the building is flooded very frequently, that is, if it is located in a high flood risk area. In such areas it would be preferable in economic terms not to build a new house at all – or else to build a house without a cellar. Small investments, however, such as oil tank protection, can prevent serious damage at low cost. Such investments are still profitable even if the building is flooded every 50 years or less on average. It could be argued that these low-cost measures should be made mandatory through the enforcement of building codes. Financial incentives built into insurance contracts coupled with limits set on governmental relief programmes would provide an economic motivation for

Evaluation of Active Cooling Systems for Non-Residential Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.A. Othuman Mydin

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Cooling systems are an essential element in many facets of modern society including cars, computers and buildings. Cooling systems are usually divided into two types: passive and active. Passive cooling transfers heat without using any additional energy while active cooling is a type of heat transfer that uses powered devices such as fans or pumps. This paper will focus on one particular type of passive cooling: air-conditioning systems. An air-conditioning system is defined as controlled air movement, temperature, humidity and cleanliness of a building area. Air conditioning consists of cooling and heating. Therefore, the air-conditioning system should be able to add and remove heat from the area. An air-conditioning system is defined as a control or treatment of air in a confined space. The process that occurs is the air-conditioning system absorbs heat and dust while, at the same time, cleaning the air breathed into a closed space. The purpose of air-conditioning is to maintain a comfortable atmosphere for human life and to meet user requirements. In this paper, air-conditioning systems for non-residential buildings will be presented and discussed.

Physical activity and sedentary lifestyle among children from private and public schools in Northern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Thiara Castro de; Silva, Antônio Augusto Moura da; Santos, Cristiane de Jesus Nunes dos; Silva, Josenilde Sousa e; Conceição, Sueli Ismael Oliveira da

2010-12-01

To analyze factors associated with physical activity and the mean time spent in some sedentary activities among school-aged children. A cross-sectional study was carried out in a random sample of 592 schoolchildren aged nine to 16 years in 2005, in São Luís, Northern Brazil. Data were collected by means of a 24-Hour Physical Activity Recall Questionnaire, concerning demographic and socioeconomic variables, physical activities practiced and time spent in certain sedentary activities. Physical activities were classified according to their metabolic equivalents (MET), and a physical activity index was estimated for each child. Sedentary lifestyle was estimated based on time spent watching television, playing videogames and on the computer/internet. Chi square test was used to compare proportions. Linear regression analysis was used to establish associations. Estimates were adjusted for the effect of the sampling design. The mean of the physical activity index was 605.73 MET-min/day (SD = 509.45). School children that were male (coefficient=134.57; 95%CI 50.77; 218.37), from public schools (coefficient.= 94.08; 95%CI 12.54; 175.62 and in the 5th to 7th grade (coefficient.=95.01; 95%CI 8.10;181.92 presented higher indices than females, children from private schools and in the 8th to the 9th grade (p<0.05). On average, students spent 2.66 hours/day in sedentary activities. Time spent in sedentary activities was significantly lower for children aged nine to 11 years (coefficient.= -0.49 hr/day; 95%CI -0.88; -0.10) and in lower socioeconomic classes (coefficient.=-0.87; 95%CI -1.45;-0.30). Domestic chores (59.43%) and walking to school (58.43%) were the most common physical activities. Being female, in private schools and in the 8th to 9th grade were factors associated with lower levels of physical activity. Younger schoolchildren and those from low economic classes spent less time engaged in sedentary activities.

How private are Europe's private forests?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nichiforel, Liviu; Keary, Kevin; Deuffic, Philippe

2018-01-01

Private forests are widespread in Europe providing a range of ecosystem services of significant value to society, and there are calls for novel policies to enhance their provision and to face the challenges of environmental changes. Such policies need to acknowledge the importance of private...... across jurisdictions, we constructed an original Property Rights Index for Forestry encompassing five rights domains (access, withdrawal, management, exclusion and alienation). We documented substantial variation of the private forest owners' rights, and notably to i) make decisions in operational...... management and the formulation of management goals, ii) withdraw timber resources from their forest, and iii) exclude others from the use of forest resources. We identified broad relations between the scope for decision making of private forest owners and jurisdictions' former socio-political background...

Cabo Verde - Private Sector Development

Data.gov (United States)

Millennium Challenge Corporation — The objective of the Private Sector Development Project activities of the 2005-2010 Cabo Verde Compact was to support Cabo Verde's long-term economic transformation...

Private Schools

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — This Private Schools feature dataset is composed of all Private elementary and secondary education features in the United States as defined by the Private School...

The performance of newly privatized firms: The case of Portugal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Vaz Ferreira

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to investigate the pre and post privatization financial, social and operational performance of forty two Portuguese companies in most of sectors of economic activity that experience full or partial privatization through public share offering, direct sale or public contest, for the period from 1989 to 2009. That is, this work investigates, whether or not, the privatization of sate-owned enterprises (SOE’s had caused improvements on the economic and financial health of those privatized companies, as it is suggested by the literature of property rights, public choice and agency theory. First, we document significant improvements on profitability, operating efficiency, capital investment, real output, dividend payout, treasury applications, activity levels and capital structure. Secondly, we experience significant decreases in employment after privatization. Third, we observe that, following privatization, the financial equilibrium (short and long of firms was negatively affected. Lastly, our results are generally robust surviving the partition of the dataset into various sub-samples.

Pharmacia Building Q, Skokie, Illinois

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2002-12-01

This case study was prepared as one in a series for the Laboratories for the 21st Century program, a joint endeavor of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program. The goal of this program is to foster greater energy efficiency in new and retrofit laboratory buildings in both the public and the private sectors. The energy-efficient elements of the laboratory featured in this case study-Pharmacia Corporation's new Building Q in Skokie, Illinois-include sustainable design, light-filled interior spaces for daylighting, energy-efficient fume hoods and other equipment, occupancy sensors to reduce lighting loads, and spectrally selective glazing to allow more light and less heat into the building. Water-saving fixtures are used, as well. Building Q has been certified Gold (the second highest rating) through the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system.

Management and marketing of private basketball clubs for children and juniors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvia GRĂDINARU

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Basketball is in the top of favourite sports. The appearance of private sport clubs on the sports market is caused by the increasingly precarious conditions in state institutions and, at the same time, by the influence of the European Community. We aim at identifying a pattern of activity meant to attract and educated children in the field of basketball through private basketball clubs by making parents aware of the beneficial effects of basketball and of being a member of a sports team. The survey was carried out in 12 private basketball clubs that carry out activities in a consequent manner (in number and in value. Private basketball club managers responded to the questions in our questionnaire showing willingness to cooperate; results show that all private basketball clubs are non-profit organisations and are involved in the competitions organised by the Romanian Federation of Basketball. Private basketball clubs represent half of the affiliated basketball clubs and dominate the competitions reserved to the different age categories, which denotes the efficiency of their activities.

Hydropower projects financing through the public private partnership a future powered by hydro

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oprea, Traian; Teleanu, Mihai; Dobrescu, Dan

2004-01-01

/////In the frame of economy type that characterized Romania before 1990, the infrastructure and public utilities development, from which the hydropower sector is integral part, was ensured from public funds. The power generation belongs to the public services, which make profits on an average or long terms, in the benefit of the society. The demand for these services is increasing because of both economical increasing and the private sector weight in economy increasing. But, the quality increasing of these services needs investments, that is access to the long-term loans. Romanian banks are not prepared for long-run loans, and the international agencies don't have sufficient investment funds for all necessary projects. One of the options is or, could be, the transfer of entirely responsibility for infrastructure in the private sector hands, but this is not feasible in many cases. For this reason the government can choose a middle way realizing a private public partnership for solving the problem of the investment funds. In a general manner, this scenario consists in the fact of appealing to the private sector to finance, build and operate, for a limited period, an infrastructure, power or tourism project, necessary to the development. The impact zone between the public sector interest and private sector interest defined the concept of 'private public partnership' in its multiple alternatives (BOT, BOO, BOOT, ROT, etc.). The first official mentioning of a project in private public development under the name of BOOT 'Build, Own, Operate, Transfer' has been used in Turkey, in 1984, by the prime-minister ever since, Turgut Ozal, as part of a huge development program through the privatization in the power sector, infrastructure and tourism. The 'private public partnership' concept was studied and promoted, beginning with '95 years by the European Community too, with the view of this financing model utilization to the infrastructure projects development. One of the most

Peru action simmering despite privatization delays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-08-07

After months of delays, the sale of Petroleos del Peru SA (Petroperu) was postponed earlier this year until after the elections, which saw Peru`s incumbent President Alberto Fujimori reelected. In June, Fujimori appointed Amado Yataco Minister of Energy and Mines. Yataco, also serving as president of the privatization commission Copri, said a decision on the sale of Petroperu would be made quickly, perhaps by July 28, ahead of this report`s presstime. The uncertain status of Petroperu has not, however, slowed activity in Peru`s petroleum sector. The paper first discusses privatization plans and Petroperu`s budget, then describes exploration and development activities in the supergiant Camisea gas/condensate fields in the central southern jungle. Activities in several smaller fields are briefly described.

Peru action simmering despite privatization delays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1995-01-01

After months of delays, the sale of Petroleos del Peru SA (Petroperu) was postponed earlier this year until after the elections, which saw Peru's incumbent President Alberto Fujimori reelected. In June, Fujimori appointed Amado Yataco Minister of Energy and Mines. Yataco, also serving as president of the privatization commission Copri, said a decision on the sale of Petroperu would be made quickly, perhaps by July 28, ahead of this report's presstime. The uncertain status of Petroperu has not, however, slowed activity in Peru's petroleum sector. The paper first discusses privatization plans and Petroperu's budget, then describes exploration and development activities in the supergiant Camisea gas/condensate fields in the central southern jungle. Activities in several smaller fields are briefly described

Toward Building a Sustainable Retirement System for Private Colleges and Universities in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Satoshi P.

2010-01-01

As retiring personnel of Japan's private higher educational institutions (HEIs) take a large portion of the accumulated retirement funds at their career exit today, their younger colleagues are left with a bleak future with a quickly depleting reserve for their own retirement allowances. The fact that many insolvent organizations are on the verge…

A Financing Model to Solve Financial Barriers for Implementing Green Building Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Baekrae; Kim, Juhyung; Kim, Jaejun

2013-01-01

Along with the growing interest in greenhouse gas reduction, the effect of greenhouse gas energy reduction from implementing green buildings is gaining attention. The government of the Republic of Korea has set green growth as its paradigm for national development, and there is a growing interest in energy saving for green buildings. However, green buildings may have financial barriers that have high initial construction costs and uncertainties about future project value. Under the circumstances, governmental support to attract private funding is necessary to implement green building projects. The objective of this study is to suggest a financing model for facilitating green building projects with a governmental guarantee based on Certified Emission Reduction (CER). In this model, the government provides a guarantee for the increased costs of a green building project in return for CER. And this study presents the validation of the model as well as feasibility for implementing green building project. In addition, the suggested model assumed governmental guarantees for the increased cost, but private guarantees seem to be feasible as well because of the promising value of the guarantee from CER. To do this, certification of Clean Development Mechanisms (CDMs) for green buildings must be obtained. PMID:24376379

Working paper on public steering of privately owned sports facilities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iversen, Evald Bundgård

This short paper discusses how municipalities can steer privately owned sports facilities. Firstly I analyse why steering of privately owned facilities is an interesting subject. Secondly I discuss what the advantages and drawbacks of using different approaches for steering sports facilities are........ Finally I discuss the methodological challenges of measuring activities in sports facilities – and take a closer look at the advantages and drawbacks of using manual and thermal techniques for registering activity.......This short paper discusses how municipalities can steer privately owned sports facilities. Firstly I analyse why steering of privately owned facilities is an interesting subject. Secondly I discuss what the advantages and drawbacks of using different approaches for steering sports facilities are...

ACTIVE SOIL DEPRESSURIZATION (ASD) DEMONSTRATION IN A LARGE BUILDING

Science.gov (United States)

The report gives results of an evaluation of the feasibility of implementing radon resistant construction techniques -- especially active soil depressurization (ASD) -- in new large buildings in Florida. Indoor radon concentrations and radon entry were monitored in a finished bui...

Cyberspace’s Dynamic Duo: Forging a Cybersecurity Public-Private Partnership

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Max Manley

2015-10-01

Full Text Available As of 2015, cyber threats have become more prevalent due to high-profile cases like the Target, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Home Depot, and Sony Entertainment breaches. In order to prevent what former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta characterized as a “Cyber Pearl Harbor,” the US government has to engage the private sector in order to build a solid public-private partnership (PPP for cybersecurity. For there to be a successful cybersecurity PPP between the US government and the private sector, there must be a PPP founded on a model composed of four essential elements: a high level of trust between the public and private entities that corresponds to a mutual belief in the positive gains of both partners; clear baseline guidance imposed from legislation, which should be reinforced with government training and financial incentives; a bottom-up structural approach for efficient operations that allows for more autonomy at lower levels on local needs and resources; and, gaining influential community involvement in the formation of PPPs from all levels of the participating organizations, as well as civil leadership and the general public.

Evidence of active management of private voluntary pension funds in Colombia: a performance analysis using proxy ETFs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edgardo Cayón Fallón

2010-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to find evidence that shows that either active management of private pension funds in Colombia actually adds value to the investors or, on the contrary, investors would achieve better results if they invested in passively managed products such as, for example, an ETF (Exchange Trade Fund. After conducting a review of data available from 30 different private pension funds in Colombia and 30 ETFs that had similar investment goals to these portfolios, our findings reveal that, using common performance indicators, a Colombian investor would have a better ROI by investing in passively managed products (ETFs than in portfolios currently offered by voluntary pension funds in Colombia

Internationally Recommended Best Practices in Transportation Financing Public-Private Partnerships (P3s)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martin, Lawrence; Lawther, Wendell; Hodge, Graeme

2013-01-01

Transportation financing public-private partnerships (P3s) are a common practice in many countries. However, they represent a relatively new approach to transportation infrastructure financing for state and local governments in the United States. In a transportation financing P3 project, a private...... sector partner designs-builds-finances-operates- maintains (DBFOM) a transportation infrastructure asset (road, highway, bridge, tunnel, etc.) with an emphasis on financing. Under this type of arrangement, the private sector partner is primarily responsible for securing all or substantially all...... of the funding necessary to construct new transportation infrastructure and/or rehabilitate existing transportation infrastructure. This study reviews the international experience of national and sub-national governments with transportation financing P3s. The primary purpose of this study is to identify...

Private prisons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimovski Darko

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The author, based on the circumstances that contributed to the creation of private prisons, has explained the historical development of private prisons in the United States and Great Britain. After that, the author has analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the prison run by private companies. Namely, the author has, stating the benefits of private prisons (reduced overcrowding penitencijarnih institution, cheaper accommodation cost per prisoner, provide better services, the possibility of applying a new philosophy in the manner of execution of sentence, with modern Penitentiary program, with the aim of re-socialization and the reduction of recidivism and weaknesses of the private prisons (the question of legitimac, a chronic lack of space in the Penitentiary system is not solved, business-oriented policies of private prisons, less salaries, poor performance of the security service, worst food, weak enforcement of parole, lack of appropriate penitentiary program, wanted to draw attention to the professional public about controversy of the introduction private companies in the management structure of penitentiary institutions . As the Republic of Serbia is, constantly in the last twenty years, faced with the increasing number of inmates, as well as the chronic shortage of money, which affects on the situation in industrial areas of prisons, there are options to give licenses to private companies to manage prisons. Therefore, the author has paid special attention to potential problems of introducing private prisons in the penitentiary system in Serbia.

A game-theoretical model of private power production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xing, W.; Wu, F.F. [University of Hong Kong (China). Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

2001-03-01

Private power production has sprung up all over the world. The build-operate-transfer (BOT) arrangement has emerged as one of the most important options for private power production, especially in developing countries with rapidly growing demand and financial shortages. Based on oligopoly theory, the paper proposes a Stackelberg game model between a BOT investor and an electric utility whereby they can negotiate a long-term energy contract. Asymmetric pricing schemes are taken into account such that a host utility purchases electricity from a BOT company at its ''avoided cost'', and sells its electricity to end users at its ''average cost''. Our Stackelberg game model is transferred into a two-level optimization problem, and then solved by an iterative algorithm. The game model is demonstrated by an illustrative example. (author)

[The contracting process and outsourcing in health: the scenario for dispute between public and private interests].

Science.gov (United States)

Albuquerque, Maria do Socorro Veloso; Morais, Heloísa Maria Mendonça de; Lima, Luci Praciano

2015-06-01

This research analyzed the public-private composition in the municipal health network and aspects of the contracting/outsourcing process for services over the period from 2001 to 2008. The research method used was a case study with documentary research and interviews. The interviewees were former secretaries of health, directors of regulation and district managers. The categories of analysis used were public funds, care networks and public control. The results showed that the contracting was restricted to philanthropic units. With respect to the other private establishments linked to the public care network, non-compliance with programmatic aspects was detected, such as the lack of regulation of bidding processes required for contracting. Management authorities did not actively pursue building up state public services, or the formation of care networks. The contracted establishments conducted their activities without effective external and internal control mechanisms, which are paramount for the proper use of public resources. The authors conclude that the contracting process does not significantly alter the standard of buying and selling of services and indeed does not enhance the empowering process of the role of the public domain.

Opportunities for privatization and alliances in a deregulated marketplace

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Erling, J.M. [KPMG, Toronto, ON (Canada)

1998-09-01

The main implications for municipal electric utilities (MEUs) and businesses in a deregulated, open access energy market include a range of possible alternative business structures, constraints on choices, increased risks, the need to understand objectives, capabilities and capacity for bearing risks. The issue of what business MEUs are in, what services they provide and how those services should be delivered, was hotly debated. It was suggested that with increasing competition, the range of possible business structures and arrangements will widen significantly. The different public-private options available to MEUs are (1) the conventional tender process, (2) contracting out, (3) joint ventures with a private company, (4) franchising, (5) outsourcing of specific functions, (6) operating agreements, (7) lease arrangements, (8) build-operate-transfer options (BOTs), and (9) the full privatization scenario. It was noted that some forms of public-private partnerships are more suited to some businesses than others. Also, different partnership structures can be used in different parts of any business. Objectives for any partnership should include maximizing profitability, minimizing risk and promoting economic development but under competition. The ability to choose objectives will change significantly and the achievement of any of the objectives will be determined by the marketplace. Some guidelines on measuring success and on maximizing market value were offered. Global trends towards more unbundling and price transparency, more outsourcing to the private sector, more competition, less government, regulatory reform and blurring of the boundaries between utility sectors were predicted.

PRIVATE SECTOR IN HEALTH CARE DELIVERY: A REALITY AND A CHALLENGE IN PAKISTAN.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaikh, Babar Tasneem

2015-01-01

Under performance of the public sector health care system in Pakistan has created a room for private sector to grow and become popular in health service delivery, despite its questionable quality, high cost and dubious ethics of medical practice. Private sector is no doubt a reality; and is functioning to plug many weaknesses and gaps in health care delivery to the poor people of Pakistan. Yet, it is largely unregulated and unchecked due to the absence of writ of the state. In spite of its inherent trait of profit making, the private sector has played a significant and innovative role both in preventive and curative service provision. Private sector has demonstrated great deal of responsiveness, hence creating a relation of trust with the consumers of health in Pakistan, majority of who spend out of their pocket to buy 'health'. There is definitely a potential to engage and involve private and non-state entities in the health care system building their capacities and instituting regulatory frameworks, to protect the poor's access to health care system.

The Theory and Evidence Concerning Public-Private Partnerships in Canada and Elsewhere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony Boardman

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The popularity of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs, as a way for governments to get infrastructure built, continues to grow. But while the public is often led to believe that this is because they result in a more efficient use of taxpayer funds and a more streamlined process, this is not necessarily the case. In fact, the clearest advantage that PPPs offers is to politicians, who are able to transfer to private partners the risks of miscalculated construction costs and revenue projections (as with a toll road, for example. For taxpayers, the deals can often work out worse than if the government had simply pursued a fixedprice design-build Public Sector Alternative (PSA arrangement. Even from the very start of the process, there are often a limited number of private consortia equipped to bid on major PPPs, which already leads to the potential for bidders to build in higher profits, and thus, higher costs for taxpayers. Nor are these private consortia oblivious to the risks they assume; they must therefore build into their bid an effective “insurance premium” to account for unforeseen delays and increased costs. The use of private debt to finance construction further inflates prices over a government’s lower cost of capital. To an incumbent government, a key advantage of PPPs is the ability to avoid upfront costs, and let the private consortium arrange financing until the project is complete, allowing politicians to take the credit for new infrastructure while passing future maintenance and operating costs off onto future politicians, taxpayers and/or users. This, however, only provides both the incentive and bookkeeping artifice — since costs are incurred off the government’s current balance sheet — for governments to build more infrastructure than might otherwise be justified. Advocates of PPP would argue that one clear benefit PPPs do offer the public is an impressive record of bringing in projects on time and on budget. It is true

Real options methodology in public-private partnership projects valuation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rakić Biljana

2014-01-01

Full Text Available PPP offers numerous benefits to both public and private partners in delivery of infrastructure projects. However this partnership also involves great risks which have to be adequately managed and mitigated. Private partners are especially sensitive to revenue risk, since they are mostly interested in the financial viability of the project. Thus they often expect public partners to provide some kind of risk-sharing mechanism in the form of Minimum Revenue Guarantees or abandonment options. The objective of this paper is to investigate whether the real option of abandoning the project increases its value. Therefore the binominal option pricing model and risk-neutral probability approach have been implemented to price the European and American abandonment options for the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT toll road investment. The obtained results suggest that the project value with the American abandonment option is greater than with the European abandonment option, hence implying that American options offer greater flexibility and are more valuable for private partners. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179066 and III 42006

Aspects of Private Labels Development in the Segment of Organic Food in Czech Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga Kutnohorska

2010-03-01

Full Text Available The article deals with various aspects of the private labels building. It primarily focuses on organic food market in the Czech Republic, but on this market it illustrates the general trends, both in brand building, as well as in the importance of a brand in purchasing decisions. Organic food market is specific as there is high importance of product attributes, which are based on customer's confidence. Many of the important criteria for the decision to purchase (the way of cultivation and processing of food, freshness, taste, etc. are not possible to be objectively assessed before buying. A brand name plays a large role in the confidence based attributes. Consumers perceive it as a certain guarantee of the expected quality. In the field of organic food there are still not strong brands but there is the space and the need to differentiate organic from conventional foods, in particular. A suitable option could be the retail chain private labels, which are already partially developed as far as for consumers subconscious expectations are concerned. The final part of the article provides an overview of the current offer of organic food private labels in the Czech Republic.  

Predictive Optimal Control of Active and Passive Building Thermal Storage Inventory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gregor P. Henze; Moncef Krarti

2005-09-30

Cooling of commercial buildings contributes significantly to the peak demand placed on an electrical utility grid. Time-of-use electricity rates encourage shifting of electrical loads to off-peak periods at night and weekends. Buildings can respond to these pricing signals by shifting cooling-related thermal loads either by precooling the building's massive structure or the use of active thermal energy storage systems such as ice storage. While these two thermal batteries have been engaged separately in the past, this project investigated the merits of harnessing both storage media concurrently in the context of predictive optimal control. To pursue the analysis, modeling, and simulation research of Phase 1, two separate simulation environments were developed. Based on the new dynamic building simulation program EnergyPlus, a utility rate module, two thermal energy storage models were added. Also, a sequential optimization approach to the cost minimization problem using direct search, gradient-based, and dynamic programming methods was incorporated. The objective function was the total utility bill including the cost of reheat and a time-of-use electricity rate either with or without demand charges. An alternative simulation environment based on TRNSYS and Matlab was developed to allow for comparison and cross-validation with EnergyPlus. The initial evaluation of the theoretical potential of the combined optimal control assumed perfect weather prediction and match between the building model and the actual building counterpart. The analysis showed that the combined utilization leads to cost savings that is significantly greater than either storage but less than the sum of the individual savings. The findings reveal that the cooling-related on-peak electrical demand of commercial buildings can be considerably reduced. A subsequent analysis of the impact of forecasting uncertainty in the required short-term weather forecasts determined that it takes only very

Applied research and development private sector accomplishments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beskid, N.J.; Devgun, J.S.; Erickson, M.D.; Zielke, M.M.

1992-01-01

This report describes the fiscal year 1990 procurement of contracts with the private sector and the current status of applied research and development conducted for DOE's Office of Technology Development (OTD). This report documents the procurement actions, discusses lessons learned from this activity, and disseminates the results of the procurement to interested parties in DOE and in the private sector

Contradictions of Designing with Building Information Modelling - A Case Study with an Activity Theory Perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gade, Peter; Gade, Anne Nørkjær; Otrel-Cass, Kathrin

2018-01-01

Building information modelling (BIM) offers a great potential for increasing efficiency in the building industry. However, this potential remains largely unfulfilled; substantiating the need for a sound understanding of the existing practices involved in the building design process, to implement...... BIM efficiently. The aim of this article is to discuss the unfolding activity of a building design process and the role of BIM as a mediating tool. A case study was carried out to investigate contradictions related to the use of BIM in an inter-organizational design process of a naval rescue station...... in Denmark. Aspects of the design activity and the development of practices during the project were explored through the lens of Activity Theory. We were able to examine how BIM-mediated the production of the building design, how BIM use evolved. The article presents and discusses four main contradictions...

'Going private': a qualitative comparison of medical specialists' job satisfaction in the public and private sectors of South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Ashmore, John

2013-01-03

There is a highly inequitable distribution of health workers between public and private sectors in South Africa, partly due to within-country migration trends. This article elaborates what South African medical specialists find satisfying about working in the public and private sectors, at present, and how to better incentivize retention in the public sector. Seventy-four qualitative interviews were conducted - among specialists and key informants - based in one public and one private urban hospital in South Africa. Interviews were coded to determine common job satisfaction factors, both financial and non-financial in nature. This served as background to a broader study on the impacts of specialist 'dual practice', that is, moonlighting. All qualitative specialist respondents were engaged in dual practice, generally working in both public and private sectors. Respondents were thus able to compare what was satisfying about these sectors, having experience of both. Results demonstrate that although there are strong financial incentives for specialists to migrate from the public to the private sector, public work can be attractive in some ways. For example, the public hospital sector generally provides more of a team environment, more academic opportunities, and greater opportunities to feel 'needed' and 'relevant'. However, public specialists suffer under poor resource availability, lack of trust for the Department of Health, and poor perceived career opportunities. These non-financial issues of public sector dissatisfaction appeared just as important, if not more important, than wage disparities. The results are useful for understanding both what brings specialists to migrate to the private sector, and what keeps some working in the public sector. Policy recommendations center around boosting public sector resources and building trust of the public sector through including health workers more in decision-making, inter alia. These interventions may be more cost

Privatizing government operations - a systems approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duffy, M.A.; Sailor, W.C.; Schmieman, E.A.; Baker, L. Jr.

1996-01-01

The Hanford Area is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reservation in Southeastern Washington, where the primary mission for nearly fifty years was production of nuclear weapons materials. It is now the nation's largest superfund site and its sole mission is environmental remediation of the mixed wastes generated during plutonium production. A large fraction of these wastes are stored in 177 underground tanks and are the subject of the DOE's Tank Waste Remediation system (TWRS) Program. Since its inception the TWRS Program has been managed by a Maintenance and Operations (M ampersand O) contractor. The DOE is now considering the privatization of a portion of this program and has recently issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking new, qualified, private vendors. Successful bidders will be expected to build waste processing facilities with their own financial resources and to recover their costs by charging fixed prices for the various products delivered to the DOE. Because the TWRS Program is such a large, complex, and expensive undertaking, the privatization initiative will be conducted in two phases: a small proof-of-concept phase, followed by full-scale production. The key to a successful demonstration is establishing the right set of requirements to be satisfied by the private vendors. These requirements must be consistent with the existing requirements set developed over the past three years by the M ampersand O contractor. This paper presents the results of a systems engineering effort that was conducted in support of the RFP preparation and had to be coordinated with an ongoing program. Much of the effort was focused on the specification of new proof-of-concept requirements that are directly traceable to corresponding requirements in the M ampersand O's RDD-100 reg-sign database. A new functions and requirements database was created for this first privatization phase using CORE reg-sign, a systems engineering support tool, produced by Vitech Corporation

Public Supervision over Private Relationships : Towards European Supervision Private Law?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cherednychenko, O.O.

2014-01-01

The rise of public supervision over private relationships in many areas of private law has led to the development of what, in the author’s view, could be called ‘European supervision private law’. This emerging body of law forms part of European regulatory private law and is made up of

Implementation of RNTCP in a private medical college: five years' experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Arora, Vijay; Jaiswal, Ashish K; Gupta, Sonisha; Gupta, Mohan B; Jain, Vidhushi; Ghanchi, Firoz

2012-07-01

Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) recognizes the need for involvement of all sectors, public and private, to create an epidemiological impact on Tuberculosis control. The private health sector in the country is an important source of care, even with the availability of public health services and Directly Observed Treatment Strategy (DOTS). The data regarding Private-Private mix in our country is lacking. To evaluate the contribution of {private health sector (Private Medical Colleges and Private practioners (PP)} in TB case-detection, diagnosis and treatment outcomes in Delhi NCR, Ghaziabad, India. We analyzed the TB registers from May 2006-Dec 2010 from our institution and recruited the patients in our study, irrespective of the source. We strengthened the referral by promoting educational intra and inter departmental activities and awareness programme with more stress on retrieval action by contact tracing and counselling. We made a list of PP in our drainage area and regularly met them and tried to understand the barriers in referring cases to DOTS centre. During the study, we tried to maintain the flow of information working as a single window information system. We regularly passed on the information of follow up of patients to private practioners referred to us by them to generate confidence in them. During the study, no incentive was offered to any patient. Various indicators and data were collected annually and analyzed statistically. Retrospective, Descriptive Analysis. There was a substantial increase of 116.3% in the total patients referred from all sources to Santosh Hospital. The proportion of extra-pulmonary cases was 29.1% to 34.4% of all total cases from the year 2006 to 2010. During subsequent years, we found a significant increase in referral from Private Practioners that was the result of our activities performed in private set up. It was 12.5%, 21.2%, 30.8%, 27.3%, and 29% during 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 respectively

Managing Debt and Capital Investments: A Toolbox for Private Colleges and Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Townsley, Michael K.

2008-01-01

All private colleges and universities make strategic capital investments and consider the use of debt to fund those investments. From the commonplace purchase of photocopiers to the construction of new academic buildings or dormitories, investment decisions that yield long-term financial benefits must follow on the heels of careful analysis. To…

Private and Non-Private Disc Herniation Patients: Do they Differ?

Science.gov (United States)

Gregebo, Birgitta; Dai, Deliang; Schillberg, Birgitta; Baehr, Martin; Nyström, Bo; Taube, Adam

2014-01-01

In the 2006 yearly report from the Swedish National Register for Lumbar Spine Surgery it was claimed that international studies show obvious differences between private and non-private patients with regard to results from back surgery. Therefore our aim was to reveal such possible differences by comparing the two categories of patients at a private clinic. The material comprises 1184 patients operated on for lumbar disc herniation during the period of 1987 to 2007. Basic pre-operative data were obtained from the medical records and follow-up was performed by a questionnaire around 5 years post-operatively. Small but statistically significant differences between private and non-private patients were seen pre-operatively regarding the proportions of a/ men and women in the samples, b/ those with physically demanding jobs, c/ those on sick leave and d/ those with lumbar pain. Over the years the admitted private patients had a decreasing mean duration of symptoms which was not seen in the non-private patients. No apparent differences (n.s.) were seen between the two categories of patients pre-operatively regarding age, presence and level of leg pain or the proportion who smoked. Post-operative improvement in leg and lumbar pain was very similar in private and non-private patients as was satisfaction with the results and the proportion of patients returning to work. Despite small pre-operative differences concerning some variables and a significant difference in symptom duration between private and non-private disc herniation patients, the final clinical results were very similar.

Disease surveillance and private sector in the metropolitans: A troublesome collaboration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayat Ahmadi

2013-01-01

Conclusions: Independent interventions will have little chance of success and sustainability. Different intervention programs should consider legal issues, attitude and knowledge of physicians in the private sector, and building a simple reporting process for physicians. Intervention programs in which the reporting process offers incentives for all stakeholders can help improving and sustaining the disease reporting system.

The Use of Private Security by the United Kingdom and the Subsequent Impacts on Operational Planning

Science.gov (United States)

2014-05-22

and 2011 in Iraq, this study tests the documented increase of the private contractors through the lens of microeconomics principles of supply-demand...this study tests the documented increased use of the private contractors through the lens of the economic principles of supply-demand theory. Demand...framework of microeconomics and the market interactions within a monopsony to explain the use of PMCs in Iraq by the British and seeks to build empirical

26 CFR 1.103(n)-4T - Elective carryforward of unused private activity bond limit (temporary).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... bond limit (temporary). 1.103(n)-4T Section 1.103(n)-4T Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE... Excluded from Gross Income § 1.103(n)-4T Elective carryforward of unused private activity bond limit... carryforward for any one or more projects described in A-5 of this § 1.103(n)-4T (carryforward projects). Q-2...

Exploring the Client–AEC Interface in Building Lifecycle Integration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John M. Kamara

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The creation and management of buildings over their lifecycle involves the cooperation of many organizations, which broadly fall into a client domain and AEC (architecture, engineering, construction domain. While this mix of expertise is essential, the ineffective management of the boundaries between these organizations can undermine building lifecycle performance. This paper explores client–AEC interactions at the project development and handover stages, with a view to discovering insights into client–AEC interface management for effective building lifecycle integration (BLI. The concept of boundary objects provided the theoretical framework to discuss findings from two case studies on the project development phase of a private finance initiative project, and the asset development process in a repeat client organization. The findings suggest that there are different emphases in boundary crossing activities at different stages, with boundary roles that relate to decision-making and authority to commit resources being more relevant at the project development stage, whereas the need to explain meanings appear to be more relevant at the handover stage. AEC professionals in client organizations play a crucial role in bridging knowledge boundaries about buildings, but this professional/functional strand to BLI needs to be effectively managed alongside the organizational boundaries, since the authority to resource BLI efforts resides within organizations.

Thermo Active Building Systems(TABS) - Performance in practice and possibilities for optimization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kolarik, Jakub

The project “Thermo Active Building Systems (TABS) – Performance in practice and possibilities for optimization” was carried out at DTU Byg in the period form 1.9.2012 until 31.12.2014. The aim of the project was to conduct field measurements in modern office buildings equipped with TABS systems...

Leveraging energy efficiency to finance public-private social housing projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Copiello, Sergio

2016-01-01

The Italian housing model relies on a high rate of privately owned houses. In comparison, few dwellings are built and managed by the public sector. The social housing stock has been built mainly during some post-second world war decades; instead, since the early nineties, it underwent a privatization process. Such a model is inefficient and iniquitous in the long run. Therefore, after being disregarded for several years, social housing has gone back to be among the main agenda items. Nonetheless, due to the lack of public grants, new funding sources are required. The government now fosters an increasing involvement of private finance through Public-Private Partnership schemes. A first outcome can be found in some pioneering experiences. Their comparative analysis allows bringing out worthwhile findings, which are useful to steer housing policies. Moderate to low yields entail the need to involve new kinds of private entities, particularly those adopting a venture philanthropy approach. Meanwhile, building energy performance measures are a crucial driver of feasibility. They allow the tenants to be willing to pay agreed rents somehow higher than both social rents of protected tenancies and fair rents of regulated tenancies. - Highlights: •In Italy, the provision of affordable dwellings was disregarded for years. •Recently, instead, social housing has come back to be among the main agenda items. •Latest regulations try to tie together social housing and Public-Private Partnership. •Social tenants may be asked to pay more than in protected and regulated tenancies. •Energy-efficient measures allow keeping the tenants neutral about the rent increase.

Private power in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daniel, Martin

1999-10-01

Contains Executive Summary and Chapters on: Introduction; Political and economic background; Energy supply; The Chinese electricity sector; Private power in China; Issues for private investors; Fuel choice in private projects; Private investors in China; Listed Chinese generators; Private power prospects; Implemented private generation projects; Planned private Generation Projects; Plants owned by listed Chinese generators. (Author)

Community Resilience: Workshops on Private Sector and Property Owner Requirements for Recovery and Restoration from a Diasaster

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Judd, Kathleen S.; Stein, Steven L.; Lesperance, Ann M.

2008-12-22

This report summarizes the results of a proejct sponsored by DTRA to 1) Assess the readiness of private-sector businesses, building owners, and service providers to restore property and recover operations in the aftermath of a wide-area dispersal of anthrax; and 2) Understand what private property owners and businesses "want and need" from federal, state, and local government to support recovery and restoration from such an incident.

Loads from Compressive Strain Caused by Mining Activity Illustrated with the Example of Two Buildings in Silesia

Science.gov (United States)

Kadela, Marta; Chomacki, Leszek

2017-10-01

The soil’s load on retention walls or underground elements of engineering structures consists of three basic types of pressure: active pressure (p a ), passive pressure (p b ) and at-rest pressure (p 0 ). In undisturbed areas without any mining, due to lack of activity in the soil, specific forces from the soil are stable and unchanging throughout the structure’s life. Mining activity performed at a certain depth activates the soil. Displacements take place in the surface layer of the rock mass, which begins to act on the structure embedded in it, significantly changing the original stress distribution. Deformation of the subgrade, mainly horizontal strains, becomes a source of significant additional actions in the contact zone between the structure and the soil, constituting an additional load for the structure. In order to monitor the mining influence in the form of compressive load on building walls, an observation line was set up in front of two buildings located in Silesia (in Mysłowice). In 2013, some mining activity took place directly under those buildings, with expected horizontal strains of εx = -5.8 mm/m. The measurement results discussed in this paper showed that, as predicted, the buildings were subjected only to horizontal compressive strains with the values parallel to the analysed wall being less than -4.0 ‰ for first building and -1.5‰ for second building, and values perpendicular to the analysed wall being less than -6.0‰ for first building and -4.0‰ for second building (the only exception was the measurement in line 8-13, where εx = -17.04‰ for first building and -4.57‰ for second building). The horizontal displacement indicate that the impact of mining activity was greater on first building. This is also confirmed by inspections of the damage.

Privatization and Education

Science.gov (United States)

Dash, Neena

2009-01-01

This paper highlights emerging trends, programmes and policies in privatization of education in Western countries. These trends are educational vouchers, choice of private schools, private school liberalization, private contracting of specific services, tuition tax credits and deductions for parents ,subsidies and assistance grants to private…

Public-Private Partnerships in Chronic Disease Prevention-Part 3

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2009-04-06

This podcast is the third of a seven part series discussing public health partnerships with the private sector. In this segment, CDC's Elizabeth Majestic and University of North Carolina's Gene Matthews talk about how building credibility on preparedness issues can help develop support for initiatives around chronic disease prevention.  Created: 4/6/2009 by National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP).   Date Released: 4/6/2009.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATE SUPPORT FORMS PROJECTS IN INDUSTRIAL BUILDING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. M. Meilanov

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Aim. The topicality of the research is stipulated by the objective necessity of the organizational and economic mechanism improvement of the state support projects of the industrial building. The aim of the research is the development of conceptual provisions and methodological foundations of financial projects creating conditions for economic growth of Russia based on the construction and putting into effect industrial objects.Methods. In the course of the research the system, subject-functional and structural approaches were implemented to solve the problems set widening the scope of the complex approach to assessment of the current operating mechanism of the state financial support of the projects and financial volume; to criteria stipulation of the most effective projects contest selection: to the search of the investment resources accumulation instrument into industrial building.Results. It is stipulated that state investment policy in industrial building mechanism oriented to define rational investment volumes and their branch, reproductive, technological and territorial structure; option of the building branch development priority; increase of the investment projects efficiency realization. The dynamics of the state support in the form of subsidies and budget investments into creation of the industrial building objects is analytically summarized. It is determined that the peculiarity of the modern state support projects of industrial building is transition from budget allocations distribution between branches and regions to selective and partial financing of specific investment projects on competitive basis. Some tactics of state and private partnership attracting private capital without losing strategic state control under systems and objects are defined. As an effective form of the industrial building support projects it is proposed to use a concession model form: projecting - building- financing- ownership - exploitation

Private and Public Schooling in Ghana: A Census and Comparative Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Tooley, James; Dixon, Pauline; Amuah, Isaac

2007-07-01

A census and survey of schools in the district of Ga, Ghana, explored the nature and extent of private education, and compared inputs to public and private schooling. Three quarters of all schools found were private, with almost as many unregistered private as government schools. Several important differences between registered and unregistered private schools were noted, including age, fee levels charged, teacher salaries and class size. A range of inputs, such as teacher activity, availability of desks, chairs, libraries, toilets and drinking water, were used to compare inputs to government, unregistered and registered private schools. Some conclusions are explored about the potential role for the private sector in helping meet "education for all" targets.

Golden Years or Retirement Fears? Private Pension Inequality Among Canada's Immigrants.

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis, Josh; Lightman, Naomi

2017-06-01

Currently, many immigrants are disqualified from Canada's public pension scheme because of residency requirements. In addition, decades of low income and labour market exclusion prohibit many Canadian immigrants from building adequate private pension savings throughout their working life. Together, these factors present serious concerns for immigrant seniors' economic well-being. Using Canadian census data spanning a twenty-year period (1991-2011), we find that income from personal savings plans and investments has declined sharply for both native-born and immigrant Canadians, with recent immigrant cohorts faring worst. However, since 1991, native-born and immigrant men living in Canada for 40-plus years had major gains in private employer pensions (Registered Pension Plans; [RPPs]). Yet RPP income for all other immigrant cohorts remained stable or declined during these decades. Thus, the data demonstrate a worrisome growing private savings gap between native-born men and all others in Canada, with newer immigrants and women faring worst.

Privat boligudlejning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Hans Skifter

2008-01-01

for private udlejningsboligers pris, økonomi og kvalitet. Det økonomiske afkast af investering i private udlejningsejendomme har været højt i de sidste 10 år, men fortrinsvist pga. værdistigninger. For tiden er disse gået i stå, hvilket gør den økonomiske fremtid for den private udlejningssektor mindre...

Processing of Building Binder Materials to Increase their Activation

Science.gov (United States)

Fediuk, R. S.; Garmashov, I. S.; Kuzmin, D. E.; Stoyushko, N. Yu; Gladkova, N. A.

2018-01-01

The paper deals modern physical methods of activation of building powder materials. During mechanical activation a composite binder active molecules cement minerals occur in the destruction of the molecular defects in the areas of packaging and breaking metastable phase decompensation intermolecular forces. The process is accompanied by a change in the kinetics of hardening of Portland cement. Activated concrete has a number of features that are used as design characteristics of structures and are due to the structure of the activated binder and its contacts with concrete aggregates. These features also have a significant impact on the nature of the destruction of concrete under load, changing the boundaries of its microcracks and durability.

Production of building elements based on alkali-activated red clay brick waste

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Andres Robayo-Salazar

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes the feasibility of reusing a red clay brick waste (RCBW in order to produce building elements such as blocks, pavers and tiles, by using the technique of alkaline activation. The production of these building elements was based on the design of a hybrid mortar with 48.61 MPa of compressive strength, at 28 curing days at room temperature (25 °C. The hybrid mortar was synthesized by adding 10% by weight of Portland cement (OPC to the RCBW, Red Clay Brick Waste. As alkaline activators were used commercial industrial grade sodium hydroxide (NaOH and sodium silicate (Na2SiO3. Building elements were physically and mechanically characterized, according to Colombian Technical Standards (NTC. This technology process is presented as an alternative for the reuse of RCBW and its contribution to the environmental sustainability.

Public private partnership as a last resort for traditional public procurement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bojović Viktorija

2006-01-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses recent changes in the way public services are delivered A marked increase in the cooperation between the public and private sector in the realization of complex projects, mostly concerning development of infrastructure, is the main characteristic of present-day developing economies. The creation of new, innovative agreements is driven by the limitation of public funds and an ever-growing demand for an increase in the quality of public services. Looking upon the western economies experience alternatives to the traditional public sector procurement are identified in the public/private partnership. The public/private partnership can be seen as one component in the rearrangement of the public sector with a management culture that focuses on the citizen or customer. Also included in this are accountability for results, investigation of a wide variety of alternative service delivery mechanisms, and competition between public and private bodies for contracts to deliver services consistent with cost recovery and the achievement of value for money. The partnership can be realized through an array of models and in this paper priority is given to the DBFO (design-build-finance-operate model, due to its importance in implementation. The DBFO model is considered to be a synonym for the public/private partnership, as it is the most suitable for complex projects and gains the most benefits.

Private Water Projects

OpenAIRE

Izaguirre, Ada Karina; Hunt, Catherine

2005-01-01

Drawing on the World Bank's Private Participation in Infrastructure Project Database, this Note reviews developments in the water and sewerage sector of developing countries in 2004 and changes in private participation in the sector since 2001. Data for 2004 show that total investment in water and sewerage projects with private participation amounted to nearly US$2 billion. Recent private ...

South African Private Security Contractors Active in Armed Conflicts ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Not only is this legislation completely unique, but it appears wholly at odds with international opinion. In this article we place private security contractors (PSCs) under the microscope of international law, exploring the role they play in armed conflicts, and the status afforded them by international humanitarian law (IHL).

Neutron activation analysis of some building materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salagean, M.; Pantelica, A.; Georgescu, I.I.; Muntean, M.I.

1999-01-01

Over the past decade, indoor air quality has become a growing environmental problem. A careful selection of building materials concerning the acceptance of chemical and radioactive emissions is one of the ways to ensure high indoor air quality. Nowadays, it is a tendency to obtain new building materials having good isolation properties and low density by using the cheap and practically inexhaustible solid waste products like furnace slag, fly coal ash and phosphogypsum, without combustion. The Romanian furnace slag containing generally, above 45 % CaO can be used alone or mixed with fly ash to obtain some binder materials with mechanical resistance comparable to the Portland cement. Different additives such as CaO+Na 2 SO 4 or CaCl 2 +Na 2 SO 4 are used as activating admixtures. Concentrations of As, Au, Ba, Br, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Lu, Mo, Na, Nd, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sr, Ta, Tb, Th, U, Yb, W and Zn in seven Romanian building materials were determined by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) method at WWR-S Reactor of IFIN-HH, Bucharest. Raw material used in the cement production (∼75 % limestone, ∼25 % clay), cement samples from three different factories, furnace slag, phosphogypsum, and a type of brick compacted from furnace slag, fly coal ash, phosphogypsum, lime and cement have been analyzed. The fly coal ashes from five Romanian coal-fired power plants, resulting by the combustion of the xyloide brown coals, lignite and bituminous-subbituminous coals were previously analyzed. It was found that the content of the toxic microelements like As, Co, Cr, Th, U, Zn in the ceramic blocks is especially due to the slag and fly ash, the main components. This content depends on the particular sources of mineral raw materials. The presence of U, Th and K in slag is mainly correlated with the limestone and dolomite as used in the metallurgical process. (authors)

Commercial Buildings Partnerships - Overview of Higher education projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parrish, Kristen [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Robinson, Alastair [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Regnier, Cindy [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2013-02-01

The Commercial Building Partnership (CBP), a public/private, cost-shared program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), paired selected commercial building owners and operators with representatives of DOE, its national laboratories, and private-sector technical experts. These teams explored energy-saving measures across building systems – including some considered too costly or technologically challenging – and used advanced energy modeling to achieve peak whole-building performance. Modeling results were then included in new construction or retrofit designs to achieve significant energy reductions. CBP design goals aimed to achieve 50 percent energy savings compared to ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2004 for new construction, while retrofits are designed to consume at least 30 percent less energy than either Standard 90.1-2004 or current consumption. After construction and commissioning of the project, laboratory staff continued to work with partners to collect and analyze data for verification of the actual energy reduction. CBP projects represent diverse building types in commercial real estate, including lodging, grocery, retail, higher education, office, and warehouse/storage facilities. Partners also commit to replicating low-energy technologies and strategies from their CBP projects throughout their building portfolios. As a result of CBP projects, five sector overviews (Lodging, Food Sales, General Merchandise, Higher Education, Offices) were created to capture successful strategies and recommended energy efficiency measures that could broadly be applied across these sectors. These overviews are supplemented with individual case studies providing specific details on the decision criteria, modeling results, and lessons learned on specific projects. Sector overviews and CBP case studies will also be updated to reflect verified data and replication strategies as they become available.

Success for energy efficient renovation of dwellings—Learning from private homeowners

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Risholt, Birgit; Berker, Thomas

2013-01-01

Large scale energy efficient renovation of buildings is one of the most important tools to realize the society's need of a more sustainable building stock. Most Norwegians own their own homes. Therefore private homeowners are a focus group for the government urging to accelerate the dwelling energy efficiency rates. Success factors were identified in the in-depth study of the decision process of eleven homeowners. Large differences in energy use due to the building's condition and the occupants' behavior was encountered in the sample. Only homeowners who were conscious consumers and did not trust expert advice or that had special knowledge due to their professions succeeded in realizing energy efficiency by renovation. Lack of knowledge, bad advice from craftsmen or priority to work that they can do themselves stopped other homeowners from implementing energy efficiency. Increased knowledge on all the gains from energy efficiency, the availability of attractive products and services as well as easy access to reliable advice on the better renovation solutions have a large potential to get more homeowners to make energy efficient choices in the process of renovation. Coordination of more of policy strategies including specific information and incentives are needed to facilitate this. - Highlights: • Private homeowners are a key group to increase the dwelling energy efficiency rates. • The annual energy use varies from 103 kW h/m 2 to 240 kW h/m 2 in similar dwellings. • Homeowners that are conscious consumers or have knowledge succeed in saving energy. • Access to relevant and reliable advice can get homeowners to realize energy savings. • Craftsmen could be mediators between available products and the specific building

Can Building Design Impact Physical Activity? A Natural Experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Eyler, Amy A; Hipp, Aaron; Valko, Cheryl Ann; Ramadas, Ramya; Zwald, Marissa

2018-05-01

Workplace design can impact workday physical activity (PA) and sedentary time. The purpose of this study was to evaluate PA behavior among university employees before and after moving into a new building. A pre-post, experimental versus control group study design was used. PA data were collected using surveys and accelerometers from university faculty and staff. Accelerometry was used to compare those moving into the new building (MOVERS) and those remaining in existing buildings (NONMOVERS) and from a control group (CONTROLS). Survey results showed increased self-reported PA for MOVERS and NONMOVERS. All 3 groups significantly increased in objectively collected daily energy expenditure and steps per day. The greatest steps per day increase was in CONTROLS (29.8%) compared with MOVERS (27.5%) and NONMOVERS (15.9%), but there were no significant differences between groups at pretest or posttest. Self-reported and objectively measured PA increased from pretest to posttest in all groups; thus, the increase cannot be attributed to the new building. Confounding factors may include contamination bias due to proximity of control site to experimental site and introduction of a university PA tracking contest during postdata collection. Methodology and results can inform future studies on best design practices for increasing PA.

Public-private partnerships as a strategy against HIV/AIDS in South Africa: the influence of historical legacies.

Science.gov (United States)

Brunne, Viviane

2009-09-01

In the face of the extreme challenges posed by the South African HIV/AIDS epidemic, collaboration between public and private partners is often called for in an attempt to mobilise additional resources and generate synergies. This paper shows that the ability to successfully use public-private partnerships to address complex challenges, such as an HIV/AIDS epidemic, is influenced by the fabric of society, one important aspect being historical legacies. The first part of the article shows how South Africa's apartheid past affects the ability of public and private partners to collaborate in a response to HIV and AIDS today. It also takes into account how reconciliation and nation-building policies in the immediate post-transformation period have affected the ability to form and sustain partnerships concerning HIV/AIDS issues. The second part of the article analyses more recent developments regarding the information that these hold as to the feasibility of public-private partnerships and whether these continue to be affected by the legacies of the past. Two events with symbolic political value in South Africa, namely the 2010 FIFA World Cup soccer event and the recent changes in government, are systematically examined on the basis of three analytical queries, regarding: the impact of the event on nation-building and transcending cleavages in society; the event's impact on the ability to form public-private partnerships in general; and the role of HIV/AIDS in connection with the event. Conclusions are drawn a propos the influence of historic factors on the ability of South African society to effectively use public-private partnerships in the response to HIV and AIDS, and the continued dynamics and likely future directions of these partnerships.

Natural Radioactivity in some building materials from Spain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miro, C. [Universidad de Extremadura (UEX), 10071-Caceres (Spain); Madruga, M.J.; Reis, M. [Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Campus Tecnologico e Nuclear, 2695-066 Bobadela LRS (Portugal)

2014-07-01

Studies of natural radiation are of great importance because it is the main source of exposure of human kind. Building materials is one of the sources which cause direct radiation exposure because of their radium, thorium and potassium content. The aim of this work is to measure gamma activity due to {sup 40}K, {sup 226}Ra and {sup 232}Th in samples of commonly used as a building materials in Spain. Cement, gypsum, plaster, marble, slates, granite and wood had been analysed. These materials are used for private and public building. Radium equivalent activities (Ra{sub eq}) and various hazard indices were also calculated to assess the radiation hazard. Results were also compared with the data available in the literature for other countries of the world. Cement, gypsum and plaster samples were collected from hardware stores. Marble, slates and granite samples were taken from different quarries. And the wood samples were taken from eucalyptus trees from forest. Activity concentrations {sup 40}K-, {sup 226}Ra- and {sup 232}Th-activity was determined by gamma spectrometry using a HPGe coaxial detector. The results show that the range of average values of the activity concentrations due to {sup 40}K, {sup 226}Ra and {sup 232}Th were found between 37 and 1340 Bq/kg, 0.007 and 104 Bq/kg, and <0.005 and 75 Bq/kg, respectively. Maxima values were obtained in granite. Radium equivalent activities range from 3.7 Bq/kg to 283 Bq/kg, calculated in wood and granite, respectively. Therefore all the samples showed Raeq activities within the limit, 370 Bq/kg, set by UNSCEAR. Values of external hazard index for all samples under investigation are below the unity, while the internal hazard index for granite exhibits a value around the unity. Acknowledgements to the financial support of the Junta de Extremadura (project PRI09A092 and FEDER-group GRU09053). (authors)

The Japan Power Demonstration Reactor (JPDR) dismantling activities. Dismantling of the reactor enclosure and the auxiliary buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seiki, Yoshihiro; Kubo, Takashi.

1996-01-01

As the final stage of the JPDR decommissioning program, after the major components were removed from each building of JPDR, the dismantling activities proceeded to the decontamination of contaminated concrete surface and the final radiation survey of buildings. These activities were conducted to verify the developed techniques and the detailed procedures for decontamination, and to allow unrestricted use of the JPDR buildings. Following the decontamination of buildings, the dismantling of each building was started. Before dismantling the buildings, the radiation control designations were changed. The buildings that contaminated embedded pipes were changed from first-class radiation controlled areas to second-class radiation controlled areas. On the other hand, the buildings that had no contaminated pipes were changed to uncontrolled areas. A first-class radiation controlled area allows the use of unsealed sources ; thus, radioactive contamination may exist. A second-class radiation controlled area is one where only sealed sources are allowed. Significant quantities of data and experience were obtained during these activities. The practical procedures for decontamination, the final survey of radioactivity, and the dismantling work of buildings were described in this report. (author)

Photovoltaics for Buildings: Key Issues in Pursuit of Market Readiness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheila, J.; Hayter, P.E.

1998-01-01

The photovoltaic (PV) industry is rapidly beginning to recognize the market potential of the buildings sector. New PV-for-buildings products have recently become commercially available, and numerous products that are under development will be introduced within the next 5 years. To ensure that these new products will be adopted and used in common building practices, the PV industry should recognize and address important buildings industry issues. These issues include building codes and standards, after-market servicing, education, and warranties and insurance policies. Photovoltaic systems are also still very expensive. The simplest method for increasing their value for a building is to decrease the building's electrical loads through energy efficiency and conservation. Meeting these goals can only be accomplished through partnerships with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), private industry, and public institutions

Bounds on the sample complexity for private learning and private data release

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kasiviswanathan, Shiva [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Beime, Amos [BEN-GURION UNIV.; Nissim, Kobbi [BEN-GURION UNIV.

2009-01-01

Learning is a task that generalizes many of the analyses that are applied to collections of data, and in particular, collections of sensitive individual information. Hence, it is natural to ask what can be learned while preserving individual privacy. [Kasiviswanathan, Lee, Nissim, Raskhodnikova, and Smith; FOCS 2008] initiated such a discussion. They formalized the notion of private learning, as a combination of PAC learning and differential privacy, and investigated what concept classes can be learned privately. Somewhat surprisingly, they showed that, ignoring time complexity, every PAC learning task could be performed privately with polynomially many samples, and in many natural cases this could even be done in polynomial time. While these results seem to equate non-private and private learning, there is still a significant gap: the sample complexity of (non-private) PAC learning is crisply characterized in terms of the VC-dimension of the concept class, whereas this relationship is lost in the constructions of private learners, which exhibit, generally, a higher sample complexity. Looking into this gap, we examine several private learning tasks and give tight bounds on their sample complexity. In particular, we show strong separations between sample complexities of proper and improper private learners (such separation does not exist for non-private learners), and between sample complexities of efficient and inefficient proper private learners. Our results show that VC-dimension is not the right measure for characterizing the sample complexity of proper private learning. We also examine the task of private data release (as initiated by [Blum, Ligett, and Roth; STOC 2008]), and give new lower bounds on the sample complexity. Our results show that the logarithmic dependence on size of the instance space is essential for private data release.

Behaviorism, private events, and the molar view of behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Baum, William M

2011-01-01

Viewing the science of behavior (behavior analysis) to be a natural science, radical behaviorism rejects any form of dualism, including subjective-objective or inner-outer dualism. Yet radical behaviorists often claim that treating private events as covert behavior and internal stimuli is necessary and important to behavior analysis. To the contrary, this paper argues that, compared with the rejection of dualism, private events constitute a trivial idea and are irrelevant to accounts of behavior. Viewed in the framework of evolutionary theory or for any practical purpose, behavior is commerce with the environment. By its very nature, behavior is extended in time. The temptation to posit private events arises when an activity is viewed in too small a time frame, obscuring what the activity does. When activities are viewed in an appropriately extended time frame, private events become irrelevant to the account. This insight provides the answer to many philosophical questions about thinking, sensing, and feeling. Confusion about private events arises in large part from failure to appreciate fully the radical implications of replacing mentalistic ideas about language with the concept of verbal behavior. Like other operant behavior, verbal behavior involves no agent and no hidden causes; like all natural events, it is caused by other natural events. In a science of behavior grounded in evolutionary theory, the same set of principles applies to verbal and nonverbal behavior and to human and nonhuman organisms.

Behaviorism, Private Events, and the Molar View of Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Baum, William M

2011-01-01

Viewing the science of behavior (behavior analysis) to be a natural science, radical behaviorism rejects any form of dualism, including subjective–objective or inner–outer dualism. Yet radical behaviorists often claim that treating private events as covert behavior and internal stimuli is necessary and important to behavior analysis. To the contrary, this paper argues that, compared with the rejection of dualism, private events constitute a trivial idea and are irrelevant to accounts of behavior. Viewed in the framework of evolutionary theory or for any practical purpose, behavior is commerce with the environment. By its very nature, behavior is extended in time. The temptation to posit private events arises when an activity is viewed in too small a time frame, obscuring what the activity does. When activities are viewed in an appropriately extended time frame, private events become irrelevant to the account. This insight provides the answer to many philosophical questions about thinking, sensing, and feeling. Confusion about private events arises in large part from failure to appreciate fully the radical implications of replacing mentalistic ideas about language with the concept of verbal behavior. Like other operant behavior, verbal behavior involves no agent and no hidden causes; like all natural events, it is caused by other natural events. In a science of behavior grounded in evolutionary theory, the same set of principles applies to verbal and nonverbal behavior and to human and nonhuman organisms. PMID:22532740

Private health care in Nigeria: walking the tightrope.

Science.gov (United States)

Ogunbekun, I; Ogunbekun, A; Orobaton, N

1999-06-01

The persistently low quality and inadequacy of health services provided in public facilities has made the private sector an unavoidable choice for consumers of health care in Nigeria. Ineffective state regulation, however, has meant little control over the clinical activities of private sector providers while the price of medical services has, in recent years, grown faster than the average rate of inflation. Reforms that are targeted at reorganizing the private sector, with a view to enhancing efficiency in the supply of services, are urgently required if costs are to be contained and consumers assured of good value for money.

Building Applications, Opportunities and Challenges of Active Shading Systems: A State-of-the-Art Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joud Al Dakheel

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Active shading systems in buildings have emerged as a high performing shading solution that selectively and optimally controls daylight and heat gains. Active shading systems are increasingly used in buildings, due to their ability to mainly improve the building environment, reduce energy consumption and in some cases generate energy. They may be categorized into three classes: smart glazing, kinetic shading and integrated renewable energy shading. This paper reviews the current status of the different types in terms of design principle and working mechanism of the systems, performance, control strategies and building applications. Challenges, limitations and future opportunities of the systems are then discussed. The review highlights that despite its high initial cost, the electrochromic (EC glazing is the most applied smart glazing due to the extensive use of glass in buildings under all climatic conditions. In terms of external shadings, the rotating shading type is the predominantly used one in buildings due to its low initial cost. Algae façades and folding shading systems are still emerging types, with high initial and maintenance costs and requiring specialist installers. The algae façade systems and PV integrated shading systems are a promising solution due to their dual benefits of providing shading and generating electricity. Active shading systems were found to save 12 to 50% of the building cooling electricity consumption.

Private Labels

OpenAIRE

Kolmačková, Zuzana

2013-01-01

This Bachelor Thesis titled Private labels deals with distribution strategy based on the introduction of private labels especially in retail chains. At the beginning it is focused on the general concept of private label offered by retailers, where is mentioned basic characteristics, history and structuring of distribution brands. Subsequently this thesis informs readers about the introduction of new special distribution brands, which focus primarily on the new consumption habits of customers....

Whole Building Cost and Performance Measurement: Data Collection Protocol Revision 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fowler, Kimberly M.; Spees, Kathleen L.; Kora, Angela R.; Rauch, Emily M.; Hathaway, John E.; Solana, Amy E.

2009-03-27

This protocol was written for the Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) to be used by the public as a tool for assessing building cost and performance measurement. The primary audiences are sustainable design professionals, asset owners, building managers, and research professionals within the Federal sector. The protocol was developed based on the need for measured performance and cost data on sustainable design projects. Historically there has not been a significant driver in the public or private sector to quantify whole building performance in comparable terms. The deployment of sustainable design into the building sector has initiated many questions on the performance and operational cost of these buildings.

Role of cooperation activities for capacity building of Romanian Regulatory Authority (CNCAN)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biro, L.; Ciurea-Ercau, C.

2010-01-01

With a slow but active nuclear development program of sector since 1980, Romanian regulatory authority had to permanently adapt to the changes in national and international environment in order ensure continuously increase of capacity building and effectiveness, commensurate with the growing nuclear sector. Limited human resources available at the national level put the Romanian Regulatory Authority in the position of building the Technical Support Organization as part of its on organization. International cooperation played an important role in capacity building of Romanian regulatory body and providing necessary assistance in performing regulatory activities or support in development of regulatory framework. Fellowships and technical visits, workshops and training courses provided through IAEA TC at national or regional level, technical assistance provided by European Commission (EC) through PHARE Projects, all provided valuable contribution in assuring training of regulatory staff and development of proper regulatory framework in Romania. Therefore, Romanian Regulatory Authority is putting a strong accent on strengthening and promoting international cooperation through IAEA Technical Cooperation Programme, Molls between regulatory bodies, as one of the key elements in supporting capacity building of regulatory authorities in countries having small or embarking on nuclear power program. Building networks between training centers and research facilities and establishments of regional training centers represent one of the future viable options in preserving knowledge in nuclear field. (author)

Contribution of Mining Activities and Development in Africa: Private ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Reports. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and development in Africa : redefining the roles and responsibilities of public and private actors in the mining sector. Download PDF. Reports. Des caravanes juridiques à la relecture du Code minier : capitalisation des expériences en matière de développement des capacités ...

Investigation on Adaptive Re-use of Heritage Building in George Town, Penang

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marhamah Abdul Hadi

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Adaptive re-use of heritage buildings in George Town has gained attention from their owners. Their owners either private owners or government, want to adapt their respective buildings to new usage for instance to become a gallery, museum, restaurant, boutique hotel and many more. Every heritage building that is being adapted to paper main objective is to identify the changes made in terms of structure, space and material when adapting the heritage buildings to a new usage specifically into a gallery. Two heritage buildings are chosen as case studies for this paper which are Rumah Teh Bunga and Fort Cornwallis; both buildings located in Penang, Malaysia. The changes made to these two buildings were analyzed using the guidelines provided which are Guideline for Conservation areas and Heritage Buildings and National Heritage Acts 2005. Both buildings will be analyzed using National Heritage Acts, while only Fort Cornwallis will be analyzed using Guideline for Conservation areas and Heritage Buildings. Adaptation of these two heritage buildings requires changes in structure, space and material. The changes in Rumah Teh Bunga focuses more on materials and space while changes in Fort Cornwallis emphasize more to space and addition of other structures. Analysis on the changes are made by using the guideline provided, most of the changes made to both of these heritage buildings comply the rules and regulations stated in the guideline. It was found from the data that some of the reasons on why the owner change Rumah Teh Bunga to gallery are because of its complicated procedure that involves in privatization of this building to other owner and the need to promote the heritage significance of this building to the public. As for Fort Cornwallis, the adaptation is more on strengthening its value as a fort and becoming a tourist attraction.

Refurbishment of Social housing: a survey of the building stock owned by ATC Torino

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Levra Levron

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The Italian public housing building stock is considerable, although quantitatively less than that of other European countries,. The public policies adopted in the last decades have pushed the supply of housing by the private sector and supported the sale of the assets by the public housing authorities. Those buildings are often degraded and obsolete. Nevertheless, the issue of redevelopment of this part of the residential building stock is a central focus, also because of its important social role, especially in the current period of crisis. One of the recurring factors in the Italian case is the low quality of this building stock due to the lack of an organic maintenance activity. The paper reports the first results of a research carried out by the Department of Architecture and Design in cooperation with a social housing public authority, the Regional Agency for the Central Piedmont House (ATC. The goal of the research was the development of methodologies for estimating and analysis of maintenance requirements. Moreover, the study suggests and develops a forecasting tool for the planning of maintenance operations and redevelopment of the large building estates.

Economic Public Private Partnerships for Development

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Thomas C.; Kistler, Walter P.; Citron, Bob

2008-01-01

Space transportation has evolved to entrepreneurs offering affordable transportation services to LEO. Society expects space tourism to produce low costs quickly, but entrepreneurs need the larger commercial transportation markets to raise the private money to build the orbital vehicles. Early heavy cargo is the logistics model of remote bases on Earth and is likely to be similar for off planet remote bases. Public Private Partnerships (PPP), (Norment, 2006) and other alliances with governments offer new transportation markets and combines private funding with government markets to accelerate the movement of mankind into space, (Kistler, 2004a). Entrepreneurs bring change like a multitude of innovation, changes to the traditional aerospace industry status quo, commercial market forces and the lowering of the cost of transportation to orbit. Within PPPs, government stretches space budgets, increases vehicle innovation without cost and gains cost advantages of larger markets. Examples of PPPs show some opportunity for change in space commerce is possible, (Stainback, 2000 and Spekman, 2000). Some of the items entrepreneurs bring include innovation in hardware, a maturing of the normal market forces such as the pressures from buyers and sellers rather than those from government planners or from regulation. Launch costs are high, society wants orbital hotels and current/future markets are not emerging because of high transportation costs. The paper proposes a new approach with examples, because mankind has taken a long time to transition from expendable launch vehicles to newer more affordable launch innovation and may require the introduction of new innovative approaches.

Risk management for buildings -- Has the time come?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berry, D.L.; Hunter, R.L.

1997-08-01

There are both incentives and challenges for applying formal risk management processes to buildings and other structures, including bridges, highways, dams, stadiums, shopping centers, and private dwellings. Based on an assessment of several issues, the authors conclude that for certain types of buildings and structures the time has come for the use of a formal risk-management approach, including probabilistic risk assessment methods, to help identify dominant risks to public health, safety, and security and to help manage these risks in a cost-effective manner.

76 FR 71329 - Request for Information Regarding Private Education Loans and Private Educational Lenders

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-17

... Regarding Private Education Loans and Private Educational Lenders AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial... Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, to prepare a Report on Private Education Loans and Private... Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, to prepare a Report on Private Education Loans and Private...

System building in the Kenyan electrification regime: The case of private solar mini-grid development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Mathilde Brix; Nygaard, Ivan

2018-01-01

acceptance of the niche technology by constructing a shared world view between niche and regime actors. Interestingly, niche actors also engage in normative work to establish positive normative associations with the private-sector model, like equity and social justice. The research concludes...

International Science Olympiad participants' experiences and perceptions on private education

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Kyeong jin; Ryu, Chun-Ryol; Choi, Jinsu

2016-04-01

The International Science Olympiad is an international intellectual olympic in which students, aging under 20 and who have not entered university, compete using their creative problem solving skills in the field of science. Many nations participate in the Olympiad with great interest, for this competition is a global youth science contest which is also used to measure national basic science levels. However in Korea, benefits for Olympiad participants were reduced because issues were risen that the Olympiad could intensify private education. This resulted in a continuous decrease in the number of applicants, bringing national competitiveness deterioration to concern. Therefore in this study, we identified the problems by analyzing the actual conditions of Olympiad participants' private education, and sought support plans to activate Olympiad participation. For this use, we conducted a survey of 367 summer school and winter school acceptees in 9 branches. 68.9% of the students were preparing for the Olympiad by private education, and the highest percentage answered that their private education expenses were an average of 3~5 million won. Olympiad preparation took up 30~50% of all private education, showing that private education greatly influences the preparing processes for the Olympiad. Meanwhile the participants perceived that in order to reduce Olympiad-related private education, the following should be implemented priority: supply of free high-quality on-line education materials, and easy access to Olympiad related information. It was also suggested that the most effective and needed education methods were school olympiad preparation classes, on-line education expansion, and special lectures and mentoring from olympiad-experienced senior representatives. Additionally, as methods to activate Olympiad participation, it was thought that award records should be allowed to be used in college applications by enabling award records into student records and special

Evaluation of self-esteem in nursing teachers at public and private universities.

Science.gov (United States)

Terra, Fábio de Souza; Marziale, Maria Helena Palucci; Robazzi, Maria Lúcia do Carmo Cruz

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the self-esteem of Nursing faculty in public and private universities and compare the measures presented by two groups of teachers. This descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted with 71 teachers from two universities (public and private) from a municipality in the south of the State of Minas Gerais. After pilot testing and validation, A questionnaire and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were used. It was found that most teachers had high self-esteem, with no significant difference between the two groups. When the continuous scores on this scale were analyzed, there was a significant difference between universities, showing that the private university teachers had lower self-esteem scores. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale showed high value for coefficient alpha. It was concluded that self-esteem was high predominantly in the studied teachers, but those from the private university had lower scores. These data may help institutions to reflect on the issue and invest in building healthy environments, with the worker/teacher of Nursing as the protagonist, which represents advancement in the knowledge of the subject in the field of Nursing.

Innovating for ‘active ageing’ in a public–private innovation partnership: Creating doable problems and alignment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lassen, Aske Juul; Bønnelycke, Julie; Otto, Lene

2015-01-01

By focusing on different constructions of the elderly and how these definitions are aligned within a Danish public–private innovation partnership called No Age, the article examines how various understandings of ‘the elderly’, ‘active ageing’ and ‘health’ clash and entangle in innovation work...... the innovation process rather than decided at the beginning. This has implications for the role of ethnographers as providers of user-insights in health-related innovation projects....

Neutron activation of building materials used in the reactor shield

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hernandez, A.T.; Perez, G.; D'Alessandro, K.

1993-01-01

Cuban concretes and their main components (mineral aggregates and cement) were investigated through long-lived activation products induced by neutrons from a reactor. The multielemental content in the materials studied was obtained by neutron activation analysis in an IBR-2 reactor and gamma activation analysis in an MT-25 microtron from Join Institute of Nuclear Research of Dubna. After irradiation of building materials for 30 years by a neutron flow of unitary density, induced radioactivity was calculated according to experimental data. The comparative evaluation of different concretes aggregates and two types of cement related to the activation properties is discussed

Public, private and personal: qualitative research on policymakers' opinions on smokefree interventions to protect children in 'private' spaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Rouch, Gareth; Thomson, George; Wilson, Nick; Hudson, Sheena; Edwards, Richard; Gifford, Heather; Lanumata, Tolotea

2010-12-31

Governments use law to constrain aspects of private activities for purposes of protecting health and social wellbeing. Policymakers have a range of perceptions and beliefs about what is public or private. An understanding of the possible drivers of policymaker decisions about where government can or should intervene for health is important, as one way to better guide appropriate policy formation. Our aim was to identify obstacles to, and opportunities for, government smokefree regulation of private and public spaces to protect children. In particular, to seek policymaker opinions on the regulation of smoking in homes, cars and public parks and playgrounds in a country with incomplete smokefree laws (New Zealand). Case study, using structured interviews to ask policymakers (62 politicians and senior officials) about their opinions on new smokefree legislation for public and private places. Supplementary data was obtained from the Factiva media database, on the views of New Zealand local authority councillors about policies for smokefree outdoor public places. Overall, interviewees thought that government regulation of smoking in private places was impractical and unwise. However, there were some differences on what was defined as 'private', particularly for cars. Even in public parks, smoking was seen by some as a 'personal' decision, and unlikely to be amenable to regulation. Most participants believed that educative, supportive and community-based measures were better and more practical means of reducing smoking in private places, compared to regulation. The constrained view of the role of regulation of smoking in public and private domains may be in keeping with current political discourse in New Zealand and similar Anglo-American countries. Policy and advocacy options to promote additional smokefree measures include providing a better voice for childrens' views, increasing information to policymakers about the harms to children from secondhand smoke and the

A Global Review of Public Private Partnerships Trends and Challenges for Social Infrastructure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oktavianus Adrianto

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In developing countries, the government which has limited budget for public infrastructure development should choose which infrastructure should be developed. Most countries decided to build more economic infrastructure than social infrastructure because former have direct economic impact for society. The involvement of private sector in public infrastructure financing has been accomplished for decades in the form of Public Private Partnership (PPP. However, the implementation is also more often for economic infrastructure, but some countries have started to implement PPP for social infrastructure (education, healthcare, care of the elderly, etc. when they think to add human capital and improve quality of life. This study attempts to review a set of public private partnership implementation models relevant for social infrastructure development in some countries. Moreover, this study also more explores to the challenges and issues in different areas of social infrastructure. The outcome is to show a trend public-private partnership for social infrastructure in some successful projects from different countries. The challenges and issues about implementation public-private partnership for social infrastructure also be a part of the results from this study. Finally, the study has a valuable input for implementation of PPP on social infrastructure in Indonesia.

Project management methodology in the public and private sector: The case of an emerging market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Azamat Oinarov

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Application of project management methodologies in different countries is varied. The preference of a particular methodology largely depends on the specific features of a project management system in use. The aim of the paper is to draw the attention of project-involved readers to the need to develop, not a guide, but a specific project management methodology for projects in the public-private sector. The objective pursued by the paper is to provide useful recommendations for improving the existing methodologies on project management in the public-private sector. Kazakhstan’s experience in implementing project management methodologies in its public sector is sporadic while its private sector uses of modern methodologies build on external investor proven practices. At the background of the low exposure of the public sector to the best of project management methodologies, the paper reviews existing international project management methodologies and develops useful recommendations on the methodology, most suitable for a developing country’s public-private sector, on Kazakhstan’s example.

Designing Graduate-Level Plant Breeding Curriculum: A Delphi Study of Private Sector Stakeholder Opinions

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Jane K.; Repinski, Shelby L.; Hayes, Kathryn N.; Bliss, Frederick A.; Trexler, Cary J.

2011-01-01

A broad-based survey using the Delphi method was conducted to garner current information from private sector stakeholders and build consensus opinions supporting key ideas for enhancing plant breeder education and training. This study asked respondents to suggest and rate topics and content they deemed most important to plant breeding graduate…

Private Equity Waves

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J.T.J. Smit (Han); W.A. van den Berg (Ward)

2006-01-01

textabstractThis study presents a dynamic model for the private equity market in which information revelation and uncertainty rationally explain the cyclical pattern of investment flows into private equity. The net benefit of private equity over public equity is i) uncertain and ii) agents have

Engaging the private sector to strengthen NCD prevention and control

OpenAIRE

Allen, Luke; Bloomfield, Ashley

2016-01-01

All around the world private enterprises influence health through the sale of both harmful and health-promoting commodities, as well as lobbying and marketing activities. As globalisation further strengthens the role of the private sector as a major driver of the non-communicable disease (NCD) pandemic, engaging with the private sector to prevent and control these conditions has become increasingly important. In recognition of this fact, the 2011 UN High-Level Political Declaration on NCDs2 c...

Insurability and mitigation of flood losses in private households in Germany.

Science.gov (United States)

Thieken, Annegret H; Petrow, Theresia; Kreibich, Heidi; Merz, Bruno

2006-04-01

In Germany, flood insurance is provided by private insurers as a supplement to building or contents insurance. This article presents the results of a survey of insurance companies with regard to eligibility conditions for flood insurance changes after August 2002, when a severe flood caused 1.8 billion euro of insured losses in the Elbe and the Danube catchment areas, and the general role of insurance in flood risk management in Germany. Besides insurance coverage, governmental funding and public donations played an important role in loss compensation after the August 2002 flood. Therefore, this article also analyzes flood loss compensation, risk awareness, and mitigation in insured and uninsured private households. Insured households received loss compensation earlier. They also showed slightly better risk awareness and mitigation strategies. Appropriate incentives should be combined with flood insurance in order to strengthen future private flood loss mitigation. However, there is some evidence that the surveyed insurance companies do little to encourage precautionary measures. To overcome this problem, flood hazards and mitigation strategies should be better communicated to both insurance companies and property owners.

Public-Private Partnership as Incentive Institution of Entrepreneurship

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena S. Averkieva

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The interaction system of national public and private sectors institutions is becoming increasingly important in the conditions that characterize the current stage of economic development (such as globalization and post-industrialization trends, geopolitical threats, transformation of production and financial processes. Instability and the dependence of national economies from external environment factors, exposure to systemic crises increase the vulnerability of national business and require the state institutions’ activation in order to support and promote national business initiatives. In these circumstances, one of the most adequate to modern realities forms of entrepreneurial activity stimulation is the public-private partnership model, which proved to be highly effective, both in foreign countries and in Russia. The author reveals potential of public-private partnership as an institution to stimulate entrepreneurial activity by analyzing features of its organizational and management mechanism in the Russian Federation. The practical aspects of the introduction of the public-private partnership model are studied on the example of the Rostov region. The author shows that the implemented programs to encourage entrepreneurship through PPP projects have a positive effect, but at the same time remain a number of problems in the development of the business sector in Russia. The improving ways of the interaction mechanism between government and business at the regional level are identified based on the assessing results of the PPP level in Russia as a whole and in separate regions, implemented by the Association "Center for PPP development".

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS APPLIED TO BRAZILIAN PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Átila de Melo Lira

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Initially focused on for-profit companies the Balance Scorecard (BSC has been adopted by many organizations with different objectives, such as higher education institutions (HEIs. However, it is not clear if the adoption of the BSC model is appropriate, or yet is hard to perceive how HEIs have modified and implemented this tool for evaluating educational institutions, public or privates, in Brazil. This study aims to fill the gap existent in the context of using the BSC in organizations. We intend to demonstrate how these organizations use performance indicators to measure their primary activities. A quantitative and exploratory study was developed from the analysis of performance indicators found in the web sites to Brazilian universities. A total of 91 Brazilian private universities evaluation process were reviewed. Even with a considerable amount of private HEIs there are few that have performance indicators guided by numerical and statistical data covering its main activities which is a concern for their managers in terms of managerial control.

Life Cycle Cost optimization of a BOLIG+ Zero Energy Building

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marszal, A.J.

2011-12-15

Buildings consume approximately 40% of the world's primary energy use. Considering the total energy consumption throughout the whole life cycle of a building, the energy performance and supply is an important issue in the context of climate change, scarcity of energy resources and reduction of global energy consumption. An energy consuming as well as producing building, labelled as the Zero Energy Building (ZEB) concept, is seen as one of the solutions that could change the picture of energy consumption in the building sector, and thus contribute to the reduction of the global energy use. However, before being fully implemented in the national building codes and international standards, the ZEB concept requires a clear understanding and a uniform definition. The ZEB concept is an energy-conservation solution, whose successful adaptation in real life depends significantly on private building owners' approach to it. For this particular target group, the cost is often an obstacle when investing money in environmental or climate friendly products. Therefore, this PhD project took the perspective of a future private ZEB owner to investigate the cost-optimal Net ZEB definition applicable in the Danish context. The review of the various ZEB approaches indicated a general concept of a Zero Energy Building as a building with significantly reduced energy demand that is balanced by an equivalent energy generation from renewable sources. And, with this as a general framework, each ZEB definition should further specify: (1) the connection or the lack of it to the energy infrastructure, (2) the unit of the balance, (3) the period of the balance, (4) the types of energy use included in the balance, (5) the minimum energy performance requirements (6) the renewable energy supply options, and if applicable (7) the requirements of the building-grid interaction. Moreover, the study revealed that the future ZEB definitions applied in Denmark should mostly be focused on grid

'Where is the public health sector?' Public and private sector healthcare provision in Madhya Pradesh, India.

Science.gov (United States)

De Costa, Ayesha; Diwan, Vinod

2007-12-01

This paper aims to empirically demonstrate the size and composition of the private health care sector in one of India's largest provinces, Madhya Pradesh. It is based on a field survey of all health care providers in Madhya Pradesh (60.4 million in 52,117 villages and 394 towns). Seventy-five percent of the population is rural and 37% live below poverty line. This survey was done as part of the development of a health management information system. The distribution of health care providers in the province with regard to sector of work (public/private), rural-urban location, qualification, commercial orientation and institutional set-up are described. Of the 24,807 qualified doctors mapped in the survey, 18,757 (75.6%) work in the private sector. Fifteen thousand one hundred forty-two (80%) of these private physicians work in urban areas. The 72.1% (67793) of all qualified paramedical staff work in the private sector, mostly in rural areas. The paper empirically demonstrates the dominant heterogeneous private health sector and the overall the disparity in healthcare provision in rural and urban areas. It argues for a new role for the public health sector, one of constructive oversight over the entire health sector (public and private) balanced with direct provision of services where necessary. It emphasizes the need to build strong public private partnerships to ensure equitable access to healthcare for all.

Thermo-active building systems and sound absorbers: Thermal comfort under real operation conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Köhler, Benjamin; Rage, Nils; Chigot, Pierre

2018-01-01

Radiant systems are established today and have a high ecological potential in buildings while ensuring thermal comfort. Free-hanging sound absorbers are commonly used for room acoustic control, but can reduce the heat exchange when suspended under an active slab. The aim of this study...... is to evaluate the impact on thermal comfort of horizontal and vertical free-hanging porous sound absorbers placed in rooms of a building cooled by Thermo-Active Building System (TABS), under real operation conditions. A design comparing five different ceiling coverage ratios and two room types has been...... implemented during three measurement periods. A clear correlation between increase of ceiling coverage ratio and reduction of thermal comfort could not be derived systematically for each measurement period and room type, contrarily to what was expected from literature. In the first two monitoring periods...

Value Focused Thinking for Nation Building in Afghanistan: A Regional Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-01

whereas, for problems like nation building, this ranking is one of the most difficult aspects; it may consume a large amount of time and discussions...modern buildings have sprouted up alongside private TV channels, shopping malls, and Chinese, Thai, and Italian restaurants . Many young, urban Afghans...Organizational Behaviour and Human Decison Processes , 80, pp. 213-227. Locke, J. (1773). Two Treatises of Government. Boston. Luis Peral, A. J. (2011

Privatization in economic theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Drakić Maja

2007-01-01

Full Text Available In reality privatization has never occurred according to the handbook rules of ordinary market transactions. Not even in advanced market economies can privatization transactions be described by the Walrasian or Arrowian, or Leontiefian equilibrium models, or by the equilibrium models of the game theory. In these economies transactions of privatization take place in a fairly organic way – which means that those are driven by the dominance of private property rights and in a market economy. But despite this fact Western privatization also some peculiar features as compared to ordinary company takeovers, since the state as the seller may pursue non – economic goals. Changes in the dominant form of property change positions and status of many individuals and groups in the society. That’s why privatization can even less be explained by ordinary market mechanisms in transition countries where privatizing state-owned property have happened in a mass scale and where markets and private property rights weren't established at the time process of privatization began. In this paper I’ll discuss and analyze the phenomenon of privatization in context of different economic theories arguing that empirical results go in favor of the public choice theory (Buchanan, 1978, theory of "economic constitution" (Brennan and Buchanan 1985, (Buchanan and Tullock, 1989, and theory of "collective action" (Olson, 1982. These theories argues that transition from one economic system into another, for example transition from collectivistic, socialistic system into capitalism and free market economy with dominant private property, will not happen through isolated changes of only few economic institutions, no matter how deep that changes would be. In other words privatization can not give results if it's not followed by comprehensive change of economic system because privatized companied wouldn't be able to operate in old environment.

Effects of Free-Hanging Horizontal Sound Absorbers on the Cooling Performance of Thermally Activated Building Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lacarte, Luis Marcos Domínguez; Rage, Nils; Kazanci, Ongun Berk

2017-01-01

Thermally Activated Building Systems (TABS) have proven to be an energy-efficient solution to provide buildings with an optimal indoor thermal environment. This solution uses the structure of the building to store heat, reduce the peak loads, and decrease the primary energy demand. TABS require t...

Outsourcing in private healthcare organisations: a Greek perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Moschuris, Socrates J; Kondylis, Michael N

2007-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to present a study carried out to investigate the extent of outsourcing, the decision-making process, the impact of outsourcing, and the future trend of outsourcing in private healthcare organisations in Greece. A survey instrument was designed and mailed to a random sample of 100 private healthcare organisations in Greece. A total of 25 usable questionnaires were received, representing a response rate of 25 percent. The survey instrument focused on the extent to which private healthcare organisations outsource services, the decision-making process for choosing an external service provider, the impact of outsourcing, and the future trend of outsourcing. Private healthcare organisations in Greece outsource a variety of activities. Cost savings, customisation, and customer satisfaction are the main factors affecting the outsourcing decision. The cooperation with a contract service provider has led to an improvement in customer satisfaction and to a cost reduction. Most users are highly satisfied with the performance of these companies and believe that there will be a future increase in the usage of these services. The paper provides a framework regarding outsourcing in private healthcare organisations. This research fills the gap in the area of outsourcing in private healthcare organisations in Greece.

[On the role of the state-private partnership in public health].

Science.gov (United States)

Nechaev, V S; Nisan, B A

2012-01-01

The article deals with the issues of study of state-private partnership in the framework of development of strategic measures of regulation of this area in public health. It is demonstrated that the regulation of state-private partnership has to combine the dynamism inherent in entrepreneurship and the public stability needed for normal public health functioning. The control functions of state authorities in the area of public health policy developed into concept of "supervision" which obligates the state to manage the health system guided by norms of ethics and financial expediency. The regulation as a main tool of "supervision" in the state-private partnership has to meet the same two requirements. The activation of entrepreneur activity in public health by no means is caused by increase of privatization in this sector. Under these conditions, the implementation of market mechanisms in public health system make is more effective and efficient.

Privatization Framework: Political Economy Perspective

OpenAIRE

Bastian, Indra

2009-01-01

Privatization has been recognized as a worldwide phenomenon. In this pa-per, a political economy approach is developed to analyze privatization. The ap-proach assumes that political economy and privatization overlap in people’s need. So, the framework of political economy in privatization is based on the ‘need’ phi-losophy. Government and private sectors are contrasted in this respect, leading to a conclusion on privatization as a method to manage the economy. Keywords: privatization, politic...

Private Roads

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhoef, Erik T.

2007-01-01

This paper studies the efficiency impacts of private toll roads in initially untolled networks. The analysis allows for capacity and toll choice by private operators, and endogenizes entry and therewith the degree of competition, distinguishing and allowing for both parallel and serial competition.

Policies to Spur Energy Access. Executive Summary; Volume 1, Engaging the Private Sector in Expanding Access to Electricity; Volume 2, Case Studies to Public-Private Models to Finance Decentralized Electricity Access

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walters, Terri [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Rai, Neha [International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London (England); Esterly, Sean [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Cox, Sadie [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Reber, Tim [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Muzammil, Maliha [Univ. of Oxford (United Kingdom); Mahmood, Tasfiq [International Center for Climate Change and Development, Baridhara (Bangladesh); Kaur, Nanki [International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London (England); Tesfaye, Lidya [Echnoserve Consulting (Ethiopia); Mamuye, Simret [Echnoserve Consulting (Ethiopia); Knuckles, James [Univ. of London (England). Cass Business School; Morris, Ellen [Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States); de Been, Merijn [Delft Univ. of Technology (Netherlands); Steinbach, Dave [International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London (England); Acharya, Sunil [Digo Bikas Inst. (Nepal); Chhetri, Raju Pandit [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Bhushal, Ramesh [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2015-09-01

Government policy is one of the most important factors in engaging the private sector in providing universal access to electricity. In particular, the private sector is well positioned to provide decentralized electricity products and services. While policy uncertainty and regulatory barriers can keep enterprises and investors from engaging in the market, targeted policies can create opportunities to leverage private investment and skills to expand electricity access. However, creating a sustainable market requires policies beyond traditional electricity regulation. The report reviews the range of policy issues that impact the development and expansion of a market for decentralized electricity services from establishing an enabling policy environment to catalyzing finance, building human capacity, and integrating energy access with development programs. The case studies in this report show that robust policy frameworks--addressing a wide range of market issues--can lead to rapid transformation in energy access. The report highlights examples of these policies in action Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Mali, Mexico, and Nepal.

Research and application of active hollow core slabs in building systems for utilizing low energy sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Xinhua; Yu, Jinghua; Wang, Shengwei; Wang, Jinbo

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A review on the development and modeling of active hollow core slab is presented. • The applications and performance evaluation of the slab in building are reviewed. • Finite element or finite difference method is often used in multidimensional model. • Performance evaluations of building using active slabs for ventilation are limited. • More works on the active hollow core slab are worthwhile. - Abstract: The society and the building professionals have paid much concern in recent years on building energy efficiency and the development and applications of low energy technologies for buildings/green buildings allowing the elimination, or at least reduction of dependence on electricity or fossil fuel while maintaining acceptable indoor environment. Utilizations of favorable diurnal temperature difference and ground thermal source for air conditioning are among these low energy technologies. Utilization of the hollow cores in the prefabricated slab for ventilation and the mass of the slab for thermal storage is widely used in building systems in Europe by exploiting the low energy source of the ambient air. These hollow core slabs aim at enlarging the heat transfer surface between the slab mass and the air in the core, which permits substantial heat flows even for relatively small temperature differences. This, in turn, allows the use of low energy cooling or heating sources, such as the ground, outside air or recovered process heat. In this paper, we present a comprehensive review of the research and application of active hollow core slabs in building systems for utilizing low energy sources. The principle and development of active hollow core slabs in building systems for leveling the indoor temperature fluctuation by ventilation air passing the cores are described. Calculation models of the active hollow core concrete slab as well as the practical applications and performance evaluation of the slab applied in building systems for air

Perancangan Small Private Space Pada Interior Public Space Di Perpustakaan Universitas Kristen Petra Surabaya

OpenAIRE

Lucky Basuki, Holiman Chandra Yusita Kusumarini

2013-01-01

Lifestyle of modern people use some time to move out of residence (public space) makes the most of the private activities can not be fulfilled. It is an idea and the idea of creating a space that can meet the needs of the private in public spaces with small dimensions. Private space in the design of the library is housed in Petra Christian University Surabaya as space scope of small private space (minimal private space dimension). The creation of small private space in the interior of the lib...

Private regulation in EU better regulation : Past performance and future promises

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verbruggen, Paul

The promotion of private regulation is frequently part of better regulation programmes. Also the Better Regulation programme of the European Union (EU) initiated in 2002 advocated forms of private regulation as important means to improve EU law-making activities. However, for various reasons the

Modelling future private car energy demand in Ireland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daly, Hannah E.; Ó Gallachóir, Brian P.

2011-01-01

Targeted measures influencing vehicle technology are increasingly a tool of energy policy makers within the EU as a means of meeting energy efficiency, renewable energy, climate change and energy security goals. This paper develops the modelling capacity for analysing and evaluating such legislation, with a focus on private car energy demand. We populate a baseline car stock and car activity model for Ireland to 2025 using historical car stock data. The model takes account of the lifetime survival profile of different car types, the trends in vehicle activity over the fleet and the fuel price and income elasticities of new car sales and total fleet activity. The impacts of many policy alternatives may only be simulated by such a bottom-up approach, which can aid policy development and evaluation. The level of detail achieved provides specific insights into the technological drivers of energy consumption, thus aiding planning for meeting climate targets. This paper focuses on the methodology and baseline scenario. Baseline results for Ireland forecast a decline in private car energy demand growth (0.2%, compared with 4% in the period 2000–2008), caused by the relative growth in fleet efficiency compared with activity. - Highlights: ► Bottom-up private car energy forecasting model developed. ► The demographic and technological distribution of vehicle activity is a key veriable. ► Irish car energy demand growth predicted to slow steadily. ► Change in vehicle taxation forecast to save 10% energy.

The role of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Cross Border Cooperation (CBC) as strategic practice in the EU Policies and cooperation tools for 2014-2020

OpenAIRE

Lussi, Manoela

2014-01-01

2012/2013 There is an increasingly widespread acknowledgement among all active actors in the development co-operation sector that the Public Private Partnership (PPP) can be a new important tool, not only to build important infrastructure (public works) but also to provide services to the citizens at central and local level as well as to have a strategic value in the Cross-Border Co-operation (CBC) in the next future. The European Commission defines PPPs in a rather broad and general wa...

Private patients in NHS hospitals: comparison of two sources of information.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, B T; Pearson, J

1999-03-01

The use of National Health Service (NHS) hospitals to treat private patients is debatable on the grounds of equity of access. Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) annual reports are the only routine source of information on the scale of this activity. The accuracy of the information is doubted. This enquiry tested the completeness of HES data against information obtained directly from private patient unit managers. Managers of the 71 pay bed units in NHS hospitals in England were asked to supply from local registers and accounts the numbers of in-patients and day cases admitted in 1995-1996. Their reports were matched with the numbers of first consultant episodes for private in-patients and day cases shown for those hospitals in the HES data file for that year. Of the 71 units 62 responded; 53 of these gave usable data. The 53 included, and 18 excluded from the comparison, matched on median and range of bed numbers. Managers identified 16 per cent more total admissions than did HES, 62,572 against 54,131; 13 per cent more in-patient admissions, 39,776 against 35,319; and 21 per cent more day cases, 22,796 against 18,812. More total admissions were reported by managers of 38 pay bed units than were recorded in HES, fewer by 12, and equal numbers by three. Similar sized discrepancies were noted for in-patient admissions and day cases. Reasons for the under-reporting of private patients in HES included the use of separate patient administration systems for private patients with a failure to feed data to HES, and the omission of some provider units altogether by a minority of trusts from the returns made to the Department of Health. Overall, HES underestimates the amount of private patient activity reported directly by NHS hospitals. No method of validating private patient data is currently available. An amendment to an existing statistical return would provide a check on numbers. Central guidance on the inclusion of private patient activity in data transmitted by

Explicações: modos de regulação de uma atividade globalizada Private tutoring: ways of regulation of a globalized activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

António Neto-Mendes

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Neste artigo analisamos os modos de regulação de uma atividade - as explicações - que é hoje um caso de sucesso em todo o mundo como oferta educativa privada e que podemos mesmo considerar paralela à do modelo escolar. Num primeiro momento, procedemos à caracterização das políticas de regulação em escala global: a situação nos países que ignoram a atividade das explicações; o caso dos países que escolheram a via da proibição, total ou parcial; o caso dos países que reconheceram a atividade e até formularam políticas educacionais que encontraram nas explicações um aliado para a melhoria dos resultados escolares. Abordaremos depois a situação em Portugal, país onde a atividade existe desde há muito, mas que conhece na atualidade um vigor novo e maior visibilidade social. Quanto às políticas de regulação das explicações em Portugal, podemos falar de uma regulação burocrática sem grande eco na prática dos profissionais, dos estudantes e das famílias. Terminaremos com algumas reflexões sobre a necessidade de se dar dimensão pública à discussão sobre a atividade das explicações, tantas e tão sérias são as suas repercussões sociais e políticas, nomeadamente em matéria de democratização do acesso e do sucesso escolares, questão nuclear que está no cerne da preocupação com a equidade no seio das políticas públicas.In this text we analyze the ways of regulation of private tutoring, an activity that is at present a success story as a private educational product with an widespread use across the world that we can even see as parallel to that of the school model. Firstly, we will characterize the regulation policies that are in place worldwide: i the situation of the countries that ignore the activity of private tutoring; ii the case of the countries that have chosen to prohibit private tutoring, totally or partially; iii the case of the countries that have recognized the activity and that have

The political economy of healthcare reform in China: negotiating public and private.

Science.gov (United States)

Daemmrich, Arthur

2013-01-01

China's healthcare system is experiencing significant growth from expanded government-backed insurance, greater public-sector spending on hospitals, and the introduction of private insurance and for-profit clinics. An incremental reform process has sought to develop market incentives for medical innovation and liberalize physician compensation and hospital finance while continuing to keep basic care affordable to a large population that pays for many components of care out-of-pocket. Additional changes presently under consideration by policymakers are likely to further restructure insurance and the delivery of care and will alter competitive dynamics in major healthcare industries, notably pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and diagnostic testing. This article describes the institutional history of China's healthcare system and identifies dilemmas emerging as the country negotiates divisions between public and private in healthcare. Building on this analysis, the article considers opportunities for public-private partnerships and greater systems integration to reconcile otherwise incommensurable approaches to rewarding innovation and improving access. The article concludes with observations on the public function of health insurance and its significance to further development of China's healthcare system.

[Private health insurance in Brazil: approaches to public/private patterns in healthcare].

Science.gov (United States)

Sestelo, José Antonio de Freitas; Souza, Luis Eugenio Portela Fernandes de; Bahia, Lígia

2013-05-01

This article draws on a previous review of 270 articles on private health plans published from 2000 to 2010 and selects 17 that specifically address the issue of the relationship between the public and private healthcare sectors. Content analysis considered the studies' concepts and terms, related theoretical elements, and predominant lines of argument. A reading of the argumentative strategies detected the existence of a critical view of the modus operandi in the public/private relationship based on Social Medicine and the theoretical tenets of the Brazilian Health Reform Movement. The study also identified contributions based on neoliberal business approaches that focus strictly on economic issues to discuss private health insurance. Understanding the public/private link in healthcare obviously requires the development of a solid empirical base, analyzed with adequate theoretical assumptions due to the inherent degree of complexity in the public/private healthcare interface.

PRINSIP PROPORSIONALITAS DAN GOVERNANCE TERHADAP ALOKASI DAN TRANSFER RISIKO DALAM SKEMA KERJASAMA PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (PPP

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yuniarti yuniarti

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The high level of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI is also supported by the availability of infrastructure to the remote area where the investment will be implemented. However, with limited funds from both APBN and APBD, infrastructure development can not be fully done by the government. Therefore, the government will cooperate with the investor (private in the implementation of infrastructure development known as public private partnership. The main problem in implementing PPP is the allocation of risk to PPP projects. The different bargaining positions between the government and the private sector resulted in the fact that most of them impose risks on private parties (private. Implementation of PPP is closely related to the emergence of various risks including and not limited to regulatory risks, force majeure, etc. If there is no risk allocation arrangement proportionally based on governance principles, it weakens the pattern of PPP cooperation in Indonesia. PPP as one form of risk sharing in infrastructure investment should not release the role and government support to private parties / investors. Even in practice, PPP implementation in Indonesia only relies on BOT (Build Operate and Transfer scheme which is expected to minimize government support in project implementation. This will ultimately lead to project failure.

Location and optimization analysis of capillary tube network embedded in active tuning building wall

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niu, Fuxin; Yu, Yuebin

2016-01-01

In this study, a building wall with a thermal tuning function is further investigated. This design turns the building wall from a passive thermal system to an active system. A capillary tube network is installed inside the wall to manipulate the thermodynamics and realize more flexibility and potentials of the wall. This novel building wall structure performs efficiently in terms of building load reduction and supplementary heating and cooling, and the structure is convenient for applying low grade or natural energy with a wider temperature range. The capillary tube network's location inside the wall greatly impacts the thermal and energy performance of the building wall. The effects of three locations including external, middle and internal side are analyzed. The results indicate that the internal wall surface temperature can be neutralized from the ambient environment when the embedded tubes are fed with thermal water. The wall can work with a wide range of water temperature and the optimal location of the tube network is relatively constant in different modes. Power benefit with the wall changes from 2 W to 39 W when the outdoor air temperature changes, higher in summer than in winter. - Highlights: • A building wall with a tuning function is proposed using a capillary pipe network. • Low-grade thermal water can be used to actively manipulate the thermal mass. • Location of the capillary network is investigated to maximize the performance. • The innovation can potentially lower down the grade of energy use in buildings.

Capacity building for sustainable aquaculture and fisheries development in Myanmar

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Steins, N.A.; Bosma, R.H.; Taal, K.; Bolman, B.C.; Bink, E.; Dop, van H.; Dekker, A.; Numan, J.; Spek, van der G.; Pijl, van der W.

2015-01-01

This report presents the results of a Dutch public-private capacity building (Knowledge to Knowledge or K2K) mission for fostering sustainable aquaculture and fisheries development in Myanmar. The objectives of the K2K mission were to: 1) analyse Myanmar’s aquaculture and fisheries knowledge

Building energy efficiency labeling programme in Singapore

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Siew Eang; Rajagopalan, Priyadarsini

2008-01-01

The use of electricity in buildings constitutes around 16% of Singapore's energy demand. In view of the fact that Singapore is an urban city with no rural base, which depends heavily on air-conditioning to cool its buildings all year round, the survival as a nation depends on its ability to excel economically. To incorporate energy efficiency measures is one of the key missions to ensure that the economy is sustainable. The recently launched building energy efficiency labelling programme is such an initiative. Buildings whose energy performance are among the nation's top 25% and maintain a healthy and productive indoor environment as well as uphold a minimum performance for different systems can qualify to attain the Energy Smart Office Label. Detailed methodologies of the labelling process as well as the performance standards are elaborated. The main strengths of this system namely a rigorous benchmarking database and an independent audit conducted by a private accredited Energy Service Company (ESCO) are highlighted. A few buildings were awarded the Energy Smart Office Label during the launching of the programme conducted in December 2005. The labeling of other types of buildings like hotels, schools, hospitals, etc. is ongoing

Integrating Environmental Science and the Economy: Innovative Partnerships between the Private Sector and Research Infrastructures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abad Chabbi

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The present paper is a preliminary analysis of the funding, organizational culture, environmental, and innovation challenges that are currently faced by Environmental Research Infrastructures (ERI and private enterprises working together. We contend there is a strong case for building creative collaboration models across these sectors that also require to new management tools to effectively generate economically-driven solutions to the global society at large in the face of climate change. To that end, public/private stakeholders that are likely to partner to address climate change also face new frontiers in how they will structurally and organizationally work together. We explore these issues around changing political, scientific, commercial environments; partnerships models; barriers in bridging these communities; and the role of formal project management processes. There is no one solution to fit all conditions that can bring together a specific public/private enterprise that incorporates a research infrastructure. However, we have provided two examples of collaborative models of public/private enterprises to highlight how these issues can be addressed, and to foster future dynamic and creative solutions to this problem.

Private political archives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Waldemar Chorążyczewski

2010-12-01

Full Text Available "Private political archives" are understood by me as all acts collected intently by a private person. These acts are connected with the person's participation in political life and gathered in order to be used in public activity as the source of argumentation and information about factors and mechanisms of political processes. Private political archives of the first half of the XVI century were mainly created by royal servants, often with reference to their job duties. These duties could inspire to collect political acts for private purposes. During the reign of Sigismund Augustus, archives of gentry activists were developed to small extent and they mainly focused on parliamentary life. Private political archives were created outside the executionist movement, namely in the community gathered around the royal court. After 1572, Crown and Lithuanian magnates greatly influenced the creation of political archives. Archives of lesser gentry, scarce and poor, did not disappear completely. However, they became difficult for identification. Therefore, developmental process concerned exclusively documentary "treasure troves" created by magnates. They had the financial means and possibilities to create truly valuable political archives. The same as in the previous period the dynamisms of executionist movement was reflected in political archival documentation, now the creation of patronage system and clientele, or traditionally understood magnate oligarchy, (depending on the point of view corresponded best to archives development. The heritage of previous generations was the treasure trove of patterns and solutions. However, this trove was used selectively, on one hand giving up patterns and rights that were uncomfortable, and, on the other, giving the value of precedence to unexpected acts that gained more importance or even new content in changed political conditions. The application of interpretation principle raised interest in old acts and patterns

Public and Private Sector IT Governance: Identifying Contextual Differences

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John Campbell

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper highlights systemic contextual differences and the unique IT Governance issues that might arise in public and private sector organizations. Public sector organizations constitute a significant component of economic activity in most countries. Like their private sector counterparts, many public sector agencies are struggling to cope with reduced or inadequate IT budgets and are continuously looking for ways to extract maximum value from IT resources. While both sectors face similar managerial-level IT issues and challenges, we argue that there are systemic differences between private and public sector organizations suggesting that a one size fits all approach to IT Governance may not apply.

Management, entrepreneurship and private service orientation : a framework for undergraduate veterinary education

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ban, van den A.W.; Sasidhar, P.V.K.

2006-01-01

The changing nature of livestock outreach service delivery, manpower requirements and opportunities in the private sector provide both push and pull dynamics for veterinary graduates to engage in managerial, entrepreneurial, public and private service activities. The veterinary schools should

Examining Effects of Virtual Machine Settings on Voice over Internet Protocol in a Private Cloud Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Yuan

2011-01-01

The virtualization of computing resources, as represented by the sustained growth of cloud computing, continues to thrive. Information Technology departments are building their private clouds due to the perception of significant cost savings by managing all physical computing resources from a single point and assigning them to applications or…

The underpricing of Brazilian IPOs and the adjustment to public and private information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ricardo R.G. Avelino

2013-03-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the underwriters' treatment of information throughout the IPO pricing process based on a sample of Brazilian companies that went public between 2004 and 2011. There is evidence that the offer price partially incorporates the information contained into the Bovespa index during the book-building period, reacting symmetrically to upward and downward movements. The first-day return, as a result, is predictable on the basis of this information. Positive private information disclosed during the book-building period is also partially incorporated into the offer price. Issues priced above the midpoint of the initial price range are associated with higher initial returns.

Public and Private Sector IT Governance: Identifying Contextual Differences

OpenAIRE

John Campbell; Craig McDonald; Tsholofelo Sethibe

2010-01-01

This paper highlights systemic contextual differences and the unique IT Governance issues that might arise in public and private sector organizations. Public sector organizations constitute a significant component of economic activity in most countries. Like their private sector counterparts, many public sector agencies are struggling to cope with reduced or inadequate IT budgets and are continuously looking for ways to extract maximum value from IT resources. While both sectors face similar ...

Overview of dual process behavioural models and their implications on decision-making of private dwellers regarding deep energy renovation

OpenAIRE

Taranu, Victoria; Verbeeck, Griet

2016-01-01

Understanding both rational and heuristic thinking is important for explaining proenvironmental behaviour. Theoretical findings regarding dual process models can be useful to explain and influence decisions of private owners in the context of energy renovation. The existing building stock has a big potential in contributing to the reduction of energy consumption. Even though surveys show that dwellers acknowledge the importance of energy efficient buildings and the technologies to achieve ...

Setting up virtual private network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Hongmei; Zhang Chengjun

2003-01-01

Setting up virtual private network for business enterprise provides a low cost network foundation, increases enterprise's network function and enlarges its private scope. The text introduces virtual private network's principal, privileges and protocols that use in virtual private network. At last, this paper introduces several setting up virtual private network's technologies which based on LAN

Setting up virtual private network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Hongmei; Zhang Chengjun

2003-01-01

Setting up virtual private network for business enterprise provides a low cost network foundation, increases enterprise network function and enlarges its private scope. This text introduces virtual private network principal, privileges and protocols applied in virtual private network. At last, this paper introduces several setting up virtual private network technologies which is based on LAN

Where Does My Private Data Go?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khajuria, Samant; Sørensen, Lene Tolstrup

2015-01-01

Privacy has become a leading concern for manyusers using online services of any kind: social media activities, health care or shopping. As a consequence, targeted services offer information visualizations of private data for users on a browser or app level. This paper focuses on comparing existing...

Generating private co-investments in area-based urban regeneration: Lessons from Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jesper Ole; Larsen, Jacob Norvig; Storgaard, Kresten

a factor 5 times higher than the public investments in the areas, in terms of urban regeneration subsidies. Private investments, however, might cover different property investment strategies: ‘Passive management’, ‘active management’ and ‘development’. We suggest that for the urban regeneration areas......In recent years, public-private collaboration as well as private co-investments has been intensely promoted in Danish area-based urban regeneration policy and programmes. The paper will discuss to which extent these ambitions have been full-filled, and what has actually attracted private...... investments to the urban regeneration areas. The paper is based on evaluations of the Danish area-based regeneration programmes, as well as research on private investments in selected urban regeneration areas. Our research shows that area-based urban regeneration in average generates private investments...

Building Maintenance. Reading and Language Activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Kessman, William A.

The student manual has been designed primarily for beginning students in a high school level vocational program in building maintenance. A workbook for special needs students, the document does not cover all areas of custodial training but has been written for the purpose of refining the basic skills of reading comprehension, vocabulary building,…

Adaptive semi-active control of buildings under seismic solicitations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roberti, V.; Jezequel, L.

1993-01-01

This paper describes an adaptive semi-active control method whereby nonlinear distributed systems are identified by their dynamical response. Approximate procedures are proposed which take into account the nonlinear behavior of the dynamic system considered. It is shown that only slight knowledge of nonlinearities is needed to apply feedback and feedforward control laws. The method is implemented to a simple example of a building with three degrees of freedom and the numerical results are analyzed

KONTRAK BUILD OPERATE TRANSFER SEBAGAI PERJANJIAN KEBIJAKAN PEMERINTAH DENGAN PIHAK SWASTA

OpenAIRE

Lalu Hadi Adha

2011-01-01

BOT (Build Operate Transfer) as a form of agreement held by the government policy with private parties is a legal act by the agency or the State   administration officials who make public policy as the object of the agreement. Although inherent in him as a body or public official, the government in implementing the contractual relationship with another party (private) legal act is not governed by public law, but based on the laws and regulations of civil law (privaat recht), as the case of le...

Private Sector Investment in Pakistani Agriculture: The Role of Infrastructural Investment

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

private sector will be expected to play the major role in providing capital to the agricultural sector, with the government’s remaining involvement being largely one of furnishing basic infrastructure. The critical question of course is how willing is the private sector to commit capital to agricultural activities in this new policy environment? Has the private sector responded in the past to the increases in profitability provided by an expansion in infrastructure? If so, what types of infrastructure are most conducive in

Challenge of Private Rehabilitation Centers and Welfare Organization (Behzisti

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roghiye Akbari

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Studying the situation of providing services for people with disability are very important and in current situation which is dominate on system providing rehabilitation services in Iran, private rehabilitation centers can be the best and the most important focus for this study. Methods: This research performed by qualitative method and with phenomenology type, and purposeful sampling did as purposeful and based on similar samples. The samples of this study consisted of 14 managers of private rehabilitation centers who had especial experiences about the theme of research and providing rehabilitation services. The method of executing research was base on deep and open semi-structured interview that use from method focus group discussion which is a type of semi-structure interview for collecting data from samples. Results: Collected data were analyzed by written analyze method and used from suggested Van Manen suggestion method. Managers of private rehabilitation centers meet different problems and confront with different situations in their centers. General problem which appear as a frame of problems related to private politic, especial problems related to private rehabilitation centers activities, and intra/extra communication. Discussion: The delivery of services to private sector does not mean depriving the responsibility from Welfare Organization and its rehabilitation deputy. The organization should issue establishment license for private rehabilitation centers and administer it.

Do Catalan private hospitals enjoy financial health?

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Judit Creixans Tenas

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The present study reflects the economic and financial analysis of  private hospitals with non-charitable character in Catalonia 2008-2013. The private health sector is considered to be a service activity that develops an important social role. The study positions these analysed centers in the Catalan and Spanish health sector and presents the main economic and financial indicators to diagnose the situation of these companies during the period indicated by analysing short and long-term results and analysis of changes in equity and cash flows of the wineries. Design/methodology/approach: The data used comes from the statements of the Catalan hospital centers in the period 2008-2013 and in particular, it contains a sample of 94 Catalan private hospitals, that mostly are considered large-level accounting (according to the General Accounting Plan. The economic and financial  analysis has carried out using descriptive statistics and analysis results and conclusions have been reached. Findings: The study noted that enables private hospitals in this period have a healthy economic and financial status, although it should improve the management of assets. Most sales are concentrated with a small number of hospitals and, regarding the evolution of the results, produces two distinct stages, the first period of decrease (2008-2010 and the second period of growth and recovery from 2011.. Research limitations/implications: It would be desirable to perform the same study by the Spanish private hospitals in order to compare the economic and financial analysis of the Catalan private sector with the Spanish private sector. Practical implications: It allows us to assess the projection of this sector in recent years in Catalonia in order to take the appropriate economic decisions in this regard. Social implications: The results show the changes that have occurred over the years in the economic crisis of the period analysed. Originality / value: For

Public-private mix for DOTS implementation: what makes it work?

Science.gov (United States)

Lönnroth, Knut; Uplekar, Mukund; Arora, Vijay K; Juvekar, Sanjay; Lan, Nguyen T N; Mwaniki, David; Pathania, Vikram

2004-08-01

To compare processes and outcomes of four public-private mix (PPM) projects on DOTS implementation for tuberculosis (TB) control in New Delhi, India; Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam; Nairobi, Kenya; and Pune, India. Cross-project analysis of secondary data from separate project evaluations was used. Differences among PPM project sites in impact on TB control (change in case detection, treatment outcomes and equity in access) were correlated with differences in chosen intervention strategies and structural conditions. The analysis suggests that an effective intervention package should include the following provider-side components: (1) orienting private providers (PPs) and the staff of the national TB programme (NTP); (2) improving the referral and information system through simple practical tools; (3) the NTP adequately supervising and monitoring PPs; and (4) the NTP providing free anti-TB drugs to patients treated in the private sector. Getting such an intervention package to work requires that the NTP be strongly committed to supporting, supervising and evaluating PPM projects. Further, using a local nongovernmental organization or a medical association as an intermediary may facilitate collaboration. Investing time and effort to ensure that sufficient dialogue takes place among all stakeholders is important to help build trust and achieve a high level of agreement.

Public - private interdependence: An effective tool in water supply services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Elena Iosif

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The paper aims to study the impact of certain determinants on the choice of local authorities to use public - private interdependence for the provision of water supply services, based on the Spanish and Romanian local experiences. Being aware of their impact, the authorities could place a particular focus on the determinants that lead to local development. Several studies reveal that public – private interdependence is a powerful tool for building local development (Melo & do Carmo, 2008; Dessi & Floris, 2009 and states are interested in finding out ways to obtain it. The complex methodology of the paper was designed in accordance with the particularities of each country studied. Gathering the data for Romania implied conducting several interviews, and for Spain survey, exploratory analysis and semi-structured interviews were applied. The determinants’ influence was tested through logit or linear probability model. The analysis validates that population, density of population, indirect taxes, affiliation of the city representative to a certain political party is influencing the option of local public authorities. The paper brings recommendations on promoting public - private interdependence in water supply services. The paper is mainly valuable for the parallel that is made between Spain and Romania in water supply services and it brings progress in comparative country cases.

Indoor environmental quality differences between office types in LEED-certified buildings in the US

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Young S. [School of Planning, Design, and Construction, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823 (United States); Guerin, Denise A. [College of Design, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, MN 55108 (United States)

2010-05-15

The study compared IAQ, thermal quality, and lighting quality between 5 different office types in LEED-certified buildings in relation to employees' environmental satisfaction and their job performance. This was to provide workplaces where workers in each specific office environment could be provided with appropriate office settings regarding these IEQ criteria when organizations comply with LEED standards. The five types of office included private enclosed, private shared, open-plan with high cubicle over 5', open-plan with low cubicle lower than 5', and open-plan with no partitions (bullpen) offices. The study found IAQ enhanced workers' job performance in enclosed private offices more than both high cubicles and low cubicles. All four office types had higher satisfaction with the amount of light and visual comfort of light as well as more enhancement with job performance due to lighting quality than high cubicles. There was no difference in thermal quality between the five office types. IAQ and lighting quality were not different between enclosed private, enclosed shared, and bullpen office types, either. The study findings suggest a careful workplace design considering the height of partitions in LEED-certified buildings to improve employee's environmental satisfaction and job performance. (author)

Building a castle on sand: effects of mass privatization on capital market creation in transition economies

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Fungáčová, Zuzana

-, č. 256 (2005), s. 1-51 ISSN 1211-3298 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA402/05/1014 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70850503 Keywords : mass privatization * emerging capital markets Subject RIV: AH - Economics http://www.cerge-ei.cz/pdf/wp/Wp256.pdf

Private Water Districts

Data.gov (United States)

California Natural Resource Agency — Private Water District boundaries are areas where private contracts provide water to the district in California. This database is designed as a regions polygon...

Building doctoral ecologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bengtsen, Søren Smedegaard

2018-01-01

heavily from the support from informal and extra-curricular researcher communities and non-formal support systems even beyond the institution in the private and societal lifeworlds. The chapter describes and analyses such forms of organizational and existential darkness within doctoral education...... and professionalization of doctoral education, with Graduate schools increasing in size and organizational complexity. Paradoxically, we see in contemporary research into doctoral students’ learning experiences that the students do not favour the formalized support systems and supervision, but on the contrary draw most......, and discusses how institutions and doctoral programmes could use such sprawling spaces for learning to build doctoral ecologies and to strengthening existentially based pedagogies within doctoral education....

Private protected areas in Australia: current status and future directions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James A. Fitzsimons

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Despite the recognised importance of private land for biodiversity conservation, there has been little research into systems of private protected areas at a country-wide level. Here I look at definitions, legislation, ownership, management approaches and effectiveness, distribution and incentives provided to private protected areas in Australia. The term ‘private protected areas’, although increasingly used, still suffers from a lack of a clear and concise definition in Australia. Australian states and territories have legislation enabling the application of conservation covenants over private land; covenants being the primary mechanism to secure conservation intent on the title of the land in perpetuity. If considering all ‘in perpetuity’ conservation covenants under a dedicated program to be private protected areas and land owned by non-government organisations and managed for the purpose of biodiversity conservation, there were approximately 5,000 terrestrial properties that could be considered private protected areas in Australia covering 8,913,000 ha as at September 2013. This comprises almost 4,900 conservation covenants covering over 4,450,000 ha and approximately 140 properties owned by private land trusts covering approximately 4,594,120 ha. Most conservation covenanting programs now seek to complement the comprehensiveness, adequacy and representativeness of the public reserve system, either stating so explicitly or by aiming to protect the highest priority ecosystems on private land. There are a range of incentives offered for private land conservation and requirements of owners of private protected areas to report on their activities vary in Australia. However, there are a number of key policy challenges that need to be addressed if private protected areas are to achieve their full potential in Australia, including managing broad-scale ecosystem processes, protection and tenure reform, improved financial incentives, and

Considering a Private Residential Treatment Program for a Troubled Teen? Questions for Parents and Guardians to Ask

Science.gov (United States)

Federal Trade Commission, 2008

2008-01-01

Private residential treatment programs for young people offer a range of services, including drug and alcohol treatment, confidence building, military-style discipline, and psychological counseling for a variety of addiction, behavioral, and emotional problems. Many of these programs are intended to provide a less-restrictive alternative to…

Genetic Counsellors and Private Practice: Professional Turbulence and Common Values.

Science.gov (United States)

Collis, Sarah; Gaff, Clara; Wake, Samantha; McEwen, Alison

2017-12-27

Genetic counsellors face tensions between past and future identities: between established values and goals, and a broadening scope of settings and activities. This study examines the advent of genetic counsellors in private practice in Australia and New Zealand from the perspectives of the small numbers working in this sector and those who have only worked in public practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 genetic counsellors who had experience in private practice, and 14 genetic counsellors without private sector experience. Results demonstrated that circumstantial and personal factors can mitigate the challenges experienced and the amount of support desired by those who had established a private practice, and those who were employed by private companies. Notably, most participants with private sector experience perceived themselves to be viewed negatively by other genetic counsellors. Most participants without private sector experience expressed concern that the challenges they believed genetic counsellors face in private practice may impact service quality, but wished to address such concerns by providing appropriate support. Together, our results reinforce that participants in private and public sectors are strong advocates for peer support, multidisciplinary team work, and professional development. These core values, and seeking understanding of different circumstances and support needs, will enable genetic counsellors in different sectors to move forward together. Our results suggest supports that may be acted upon by members of the profession, professional groups, and training programs, in Australia, New Zealand, and overseas.

Community electricity for sustainable livelihoods through public-private partnership (Ethiopia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Uganda)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2003-07-01

In the past, public-private partnerships have been developed in all four countries involved in the project with varying levels of success. There are clear lessons to be learned from these approaches, and much potential to develop models which build on their success factors. Models that will be developed within the course of this research will address the inequalities and social exclusion within existing public-private partnership models in order to broaden access to electricity services. Fieldwork will be carried out in communities, using a sustainable livelihoods approach to assess existing approaches and develop the most promising models through a series of pilot projects in each country. The objective of this work was to define and test models for public-private partnerships to deliver electricity services to rural and under-served urban communities, to enable the provision of electricity for communal and domestic access. (author)

Importance of sale in brand building private health care institutions in the Republic of Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jović Željko

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Successful development of private health institutions largely depends on the proper organization of the sales process and forecast the challenges that these institutions face in the market that has just begun. Defining the shape and segment sales process is a priority task for management of private health care system , because it is from them depends to what extent and how the specific health brand positioning in the market. This paper will try that, according to past experience, the basic guidelines for that prediction and to identify the role of sales in the level of achieving customer satisfaction and loyalty. Lacking the scientific literature dealing with this problem in our country will be partly compensated by the experience of international experts who have dealt with the same or similar issues . Also, by analyzing the results of empirical research that had previously been conducted in several medical institutions and companies in Belgrade will present attitudes , evaluations and expectations of patients on the one hand and the competent management structure of companies that organize health care of its employees as defined benefit, on the other hand.

USDOE applied R ampersand D private sector initiatives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lien, S.C.T.

1990-01-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) has recently consolidated its Environmental Restoration and Waste Management activities. Within that new organization, DOE has committed to conduct Research, Development, Demonstration, Testing, and Evaluation (RDDT ampersand E) activities within the Office of Technology Development (OTD) to reduce cost, reduce risk, and otherwise improve the technologies to meet its cleanup goals. Currently available technology is not adequate to assess environmental contamination, take permanent remedial action, and to eliminate or minimize the environmental impact of future operations. To focus private sector capabilities on the high-priority needs of DOE, a series of competitive solicitations will be issued starting in FY 1990. This paper describes the range and scope of the DOE initiatives for private sector involvement in Applied R ampersand D. 2 tabs

Legal significance of the private security sector in Kosovo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fidair Berisha

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Privatization of the security sector is considered a new phenomenon in the post communist society. The security system has been under a total monopol of the state institutions. Therefore, even the legal adjustment of this system is considered that only state institutions are entitled for provision of the security services, by excluding participation of civic organizations from this activity. Beside this, state enterprises have been obliged to establish its safet structures for property protection and involved employers in enterprises. Immediately after the conflictual period the privatization of the security sector was rapidly increased, including various parts of society. In Kosovo immediately after the conflictual period there was legal gaps, which means that the private security sector has not been adjusted and as a result of this has been uncontrolled and without supervision. Therefore in 2000 the UNMIK administration has undertaken measures and has carried out the first act which has regulated this sector in Kosova. The draft law has undergone significant changes starting from the title. Saying in more common manner, “Draft law for private security” is amended in the LAW no. 04/L-004.2001 for private security services, and this amendment of the private security sector is based in the above mentioned law.

Effects of acoustic ceiling units on the cooling performance of thermally activated building systems (TABS)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lacarte, Luis Marcos Domínguez; Rage, Niels; Kazanci, Ongun Berk

2017-01-01

Europe, with a building stock responsible for about 40% of the total energy use, needs to reduce the primary energy use in buildings in order to meet the 2020 energy targets of the European Union. High temperature cooling and low temperature heating systems, and as an example, Thermally Activated...

Evaluation of 241-AZ tank farm supporting phase 1 privatization waste feed delivery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

CARLSON, A.B.

1998-11-19

This evaluation is one in a series of evaluations determining the process needs and assessing the adequacy of existing and planned equipment in meeting those needs at various double-shell tank farms in support of Phase 1 privatization. A number of tank-to-tank transfers and waste preparation activities are needed to process and feed waste to the private contractor in support of Phase 1 privatization. The scope of this evaluation is limited to process needs associated with 241-AZ tank farm during the Phase 1 privatization.

Evaluation of 241-AZ tank farm supporting phase 1 privatization waste feed delivery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

CARLSON, A.B.

1998-01-01

This evaluation is one in a series of evaluations determining the process needs and assessing the adequacy of existing and planned equipment in meeting those needs at various double-shell tank farms in support of Phase 1 privatization. A number of tank-to-tank transfers and waste preparation activities are needed to process and feed waste to the private contractor in support of Phase 1 privatization. The scope of this evaluation is limited to process needs associated with 241-AZ tank farm during the Phase 1 privatization

20 CFR 641.670 - May an eligible individual be enrolled simultaneously in section 502(e) private sector training...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... simultaneously in section 502(e) private sector training activities operated by one grantee and a community... EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM Private Sector Training Projects Under Section 502(e) of the OAA § 641.670 May an eligible individual be enrolled simultaneously in section 502(e) private sector training activities operated by one...

HRM in private and public organizations in Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Berber Nemanja

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Human resource management (HRM is a management concept which obtains many practices and activities. Although there is a substantial literature on HRM in the private sector, the practice of HRM in the public sector is still scarce. In the private sector, HRM is found as a factor for gaining competitive advantage, especially if HR practices are implemented in the way of high-performing working practice (HPWP. In the public sector, HRM is seen as paternalistic management, with the standardization of employment practices, collective bargaining and working practices that emphasize equal opportunities for employees. The goal of this research is to explore the characteristics and differences between HRM practice in organizations from the private and public sector. The subject of the research is HRM practice (staffing, training and development, compensation and benefits, and industrial relation and communication in the private and public organizations in the Republic of Serbia. The methodology of the paper includes exploration of the available literature on the theme and statistical analysis of the differences between HR practices in organizations from the private and public sector. The research is based on the HR data gathered in the second CRANET research round in Serbia, performed in 2015.

Harmonized biosafety regulations are key to trust building in regional agbiotech partnerships: the case of the Bt cotton project in East Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ezezika Obidimma C

2012-11-01

information; and transparency encourages accountability and fosters trust building. Third, direct stakeholder engagement and awareness creation builds trust between project partners and the community. A concern raised by the interviewees was the absence of a regulatory framework in Tanzania, which deterred active private sector participation in the project.

Customer perceived service quality, satisfaction and loyalty in Indian private healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Kondasani, Rama Koteswara Rao; Panda, Rajeev Kumar

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to analyse how perceived service quality and customer satisfaction lead to loyalty towards healthcare service providers. In total, 475 hospital patients participated in a questionnaire survey in five Indian private hospitals. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis, regression and correlation statistics were employed to analyse customer perceived service quality and how it leads to loyalty towards service providers. Results indicate that the service seeker-service provider relationship, quality of facilities and the interaction with supporting staff have a positive effect on customer perception. Findings help healthcare managers to formulate effective strategies to ensure a better quality of services to the customers. This study helps healthcare managers to build customer loyalty towards healthcare services, thereby attracting and gaining more customers. This paper will help healthcare managers and service providers to analyse customer perceptions and their loyalty towards Indian private healthcare services.

IFC Jobs Study : Assessing Private Sector Contributions to Job Creation and Poverty Reduction

OpenAIRE

International Finance Corporation

2013-01-01

This report is the result of an open-source study to assess the direct and indirect effects of private sector activity on job creation. The report examines how and under what conditions the private sector can best contribute to job creation and poverty reduction. The private sector, which provides some 90 percent of jobs in developing countries, must be at the core of any response to this ...

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP IN THE CONTEXT OF EVOLUTION OF PUBLIC CONSCIOUSNESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrey E. Berezin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to study the evolution of social consciousness in the Russian Federation, determining the relationship of the change of paradigm of economic development and the evolution of society, with the development of the Institute for public-private partnership (PPP. The result of this research is to identify the prospects of building in Russia a socially oriented economy, the definition of performance indicators of state economic policy, which promotes the use of PPPs

An analysis of public private partnership in emerging economies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lukamba Muhiya Tshombe

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This article examines the significance of Public Private Partnership (PPP in emerging economies. The major focus of the paper is the African continent. The article briefly discusses the origin and implementation PPPs in different continents across the globe. A qualitative research paradigm is adopted to analyse public private partnerships in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA. Qualitative research is exploratory and is frequently used to investigate a subject area in which there is limited information. This method of investigation sheds light on the different PPP projects. A case study strategy adopted in this study was used create understanding of the different process emanating from the implementation of PPPs in Africa continent. A comprehensive understanding of PPP implementation in SSA is essential. PPPs should be considered in sectors where there is a need to improve infrastructure and service delivery. Every government should have legislation in place as well as a regulatory framework on PPPs to facilitate local and foreign investors to implement new projects. The absence of a legal and regulatory framework on PPPs hinders close collaboration between the public and private sector in certain countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Anecdotal evidence from interviews with public officials indicates the need for government to focus on a specific project where it (government perceives a need for a private company to participate. This article argues that the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT project is an excellent model for governments in SSA where there is a deficit infrastructure, required to provide improved service delivery. Most BOT projects require sizeable financial investment. Most governments prefer to use BOT to construct specific infrastructure such as new electricity power plants, toll roads, prisons, dams and water plants. Experience has revealed that BOT agreements tend to reduce market and credit risk for the private sector because in most instances

Do Private Firms Outperform SOE Firms after Going Public in China Given their Different Governance Characteristics?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shenghui Tong

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This study examines the characteristics of board structure that affect Chinese public firm’s financial performance. Using a sample of 871 firms with 699 observations of previously private firms and 1,914 observations of previously state-owned enterprise (SOE firms, we investigate the differences in corporate governance between publicly listed firms that used to be pure private firms before going public and listed firms that used to be SOEs before their initial public offerings (IPOs. Our main finding is that previously private firms outperform previously SOE firms in China after IPOs. In the wake of becoming listed firms, previously SOE firms might be faced with difficulties adjusting to professional business practices to build and extend competitive advantages. In addition, favorable policies and assistance from the government to the SOE firms might have triggered complacency, especially in early years after getting listed. On the other hand, professional savvy and acumen, combined with efficiency and favorable business climate created by the government have probably led the previously private firms to improve their values stronger and faster.

Book-tax conformity in Polish private companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Białek-Jaworska

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to identify whether financial income differs significantly from the tax base in Poland and what determines these differences between accounting and taxable results in Polish private entities that are not listed on the stock exchange. In this paper, besides examining the level of book-tax conformity in Poland, we investigate the determinants of book-tax differences in the one-book and twobook accounting systems, with deferred income tax. We use the single factor ANOVA variance analysis, robust fixed effects estimator and the fixed effects linear model with an AR(1 disturbance estimator for panel data of 26,657 private limited liability and non-public joint-stock companies for the period of 2003–2014 (177,667 firm-year observations. The originality of this paper results from the deep quantita-tive analysis of the determinants of book-tax conformity on a novel dataset of Polish private firms. We confirm a strong significant influence of tax law on the shape of the one-book accounting system in Poland. Larger enterprises show fewer book-tax differences. Book-tax conformity is lower in private companies that incur financial losses and in private companies conducting the one-book accounting system. Family-owned companies have higher mean and median book-tax conformity than businessgroups members, due to higher demand for information from their accounts to support stewardship func-tions and to monitor the activities of the management board in the business groups.

Some controversy about law on private security

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stajić Ljubomir

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The Republic of Serbia is one of the last countries that legally regulate the private security sector, which is a new conceptual system of the national security system. Since the law is expected to solve many issues and dilemmas, and bring order to the area, which by some accounts is a very profitable branch of economy. Expectations were that by the end to regulate issues such as: 1 the need for institutionalization of partnership between the public and private sectors for mutual benefit, 2 the need of expressing mutual interest to establish the desired condition of security in the entire society and 3 the need to define the mechanisms and authority to achieve mentioned above. Based on this, legal framework of private security should explicitly provide: 1 a new role of the private sector, 2 communication and data exchange between the public and private sector, 3 mandatory notification about prepared or committed criminal acts on which there is information, 4 cooperation in the tasks of necessarily protected facilities, 4 cooperation in crisis situations including natural disasters, traffic accidents, strikes, sabotage, terrorist attacks, etc., 5 cooperate in the selection and training of staff and 6 cooperation in planning activities and project design of security. This paper presents a critical review of some theoretical and professional controversies in the solutions provided by law, for the purpose of answering whether it is achieving the purpose of passing of such a legal act.

Management, Entrepreneurship and Private Service Orientation: A Framework for Undergraduate Veterinary Education

Science.gov (United States)

Sasidhar, P. V. K.; Van Den Ban, Anne W.

2006-01-01

The changing nature of livestock outreach service delivery, manpower requirements and opportunities in the private sector provide both push and pull dynamics for veterinary graduates to engage in managerial, entrepreneurial, public and private service activities. The veterinary schools should support this transition by integrating Managerial,…

Privatizing Environmental Resources: The Need for Supervision of Clean Development Mechanism Contracts?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klijn, A.; Gupta, J.; Nijboer, A.

2009-01-01

This article argues that a current trend in global sustainable development governance is actively to engage the private sector in participating in the process of implementing global and national policy goals. This trend is based on the notion that the private sector has the ideas, technologies and

Fayette County Better Buildings Initiative

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Capella, Arthur [County of Fayette, Uniontown, PA (United States)

2015-03-04

The Fayette County Better Buildings Initiative represented a comprehensive and collaborative approach to promoting and implementing energy efficiency improvements. The initiative was designed to focus on implementing energy efficiency improvements in residential units, while simultaneously supporting general marketing of the benefits of implementing energy efficiency measures. The ultimate goal of Fayette County’s Better Buildings Initiative was to implement a total of 1,067 residential energy efficiency retrofits with a minimum 15% estimated energy efficiency savings per unit. Program partners included: United States Department of Energy, Allegheny Power, and Private Industry Council of Westmoreland-Fayette, Fayette County Redevelopment Authority, and various local partners. The program was open to any Fayette County residents who own their home and meet the prequalifying conditions. The level of assistance offered depended upon household income and commitment to undergo a BPI – Certified Audit and implement energy efficiency measures, which aimed to result in at least a 15% reduction in energy usage. The initiative was designed to focus on implementing energy efficiency improvements in residential units, while simultaneously supporting general marketing of the benefits of implementing energy efficiency measures. Additionally, the program had components that involved recruitment and training for employment of persons in the energy sector (green jobs), as well as marketing and implementation of a commercial or community facilities component. The residential component of Fayette County’s Better Buildings Initiative involved a comprehensive approach, providing assistance to low- moderate- and market-rate homeowners. The initiative will also coordinate activities with local utility providers to further incentivize energy efficiency improvements among qualifying homeowners. The commercial component of Fayette County’s Better Building Initiative involved grants

The use of portable equipment for the activity concentration index determination of building materials: method validation and survey of building materials on the Belgian market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stals, M.; Verhoeven, S.; Bruggeman, M.; Pellens, V.; Schroeyers, W.; Schreurs, S.

2014-01-01

The Euratom BSS requires that in the near future (2015) the building materials for application in dwellings or buildings such as offices or workshops are screened for NORM nuclides. The screening tool is the activity concentration index (ACI). Therefore it is expected that a large number of building materials will be screened for NORM and thus require ACI determination. Nowadays, the proposed standard for determination of building material ACI is a laboratory analyses technique with high purity germanium spectrometry and 21 days equilibrium delay. In this paper, the B-NORM method for determination of building material ACI is assessed as a faster method that can be performed on-site, alternative to the aforementioned standard method. The B-NORM method utilizes a LaBr 3 (Ce) scintillation probe to obtain the spectral data. Commercially available software was applied to comprehensively take into account the factors determining the counting efficiency. The ACI was determined by interpreting the gamma spectrum from 226 Ra and its progeny; 232 Th progeny and 40 K. In order to assess the accuracy of the B-NORM method, a large selection of samples was analyzed by a certified laboratory and the results were compared with the B-NORM results. The results obtained with the B-NORM method were in good correlation with the results obtained by the certified laboratory, indicating that the B-NORM method is an appropriate screening method to assess building material ACI. The B-NORM method was applied to analyze more than 120 building materials on the Belgian market. No building materials that exceed the proposed reference level of 1 mSv/year were encountered. -- Highlights: • Many building materials will have to be tested for NORM activity concentrations. • An on-site NORM analysis method has been developed and validated. • Over 120 building materials on the Belgian market have been analyzed with this method. • The Euratom BSS reference level of 1 mSv/year excess dose will

Private duty home care: what it means to real people across the nation.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-01

Private duty home care is growing rapidly to accommodate the needs of more and more seniors, disabled persons, and those with chronic conditions as these populations themselves are fast expanding and projected to continue to do so in the coming years and decades. The services that private duty/privately paid home care providers deliver each day to individuals across the United States can be absolutely essential to allowing them to remain in their own homes and communities leading as active and healthy lives as possible and continuing to contribute in the work force and to society as they are able. Requirements vary from state to state, and while most private duty agencies provide nonmedical companionship, homemaker, and personal care services--often described as assistance with activities of daily living--some incorporate licensed medical care as well.

Private Tutoring: Evidence from India

OpenAIRE

Azam, Mehtabul

2015-01-01

Drawing on the nationally representative "Participation and Expenditure in Education" surveys, we document the incidence and cost of private tutoring at different stages of schooling over the last two decades in India. As private tutoring involve two decisions: a) whether to take private tuition or not, and b) how much to spend on private tutoring conditional on positive decision in (a), we analyze the determinants of the two decisions separately using a Hurdle model. We find that private tut...

Private expenditure and the role of private health insurance in Greece: status quo and future trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Siskou, Olga; Kaitelidou, Daphne; Economou, Charalampos; Kostagiolas, Peter; Liaropoulos, Lycourgos

2009-10-01

The health care system in Greece is financed in almost equal proportions by public and private sources. Private expenditure, consists mostly of out-of-pocket and under-the-table payments. Such payments strongly suggest dissatisfaction with the public system, due to under financing during the last 25 years. This gap has been filled rapidly by the private sector. From this point of view, one might suggest that the flourishing development of private provision may lead in turn to a corresponding growth in private health insurance (PHI). This paper aims to examine the role of PHI in Greece, to identify the factors influencing its development, and to make some suggestions about future policies and trends. In the decade of 1985-1995 PHI show increasing activity, reflecting the intention of some citizens to seek health insurance solutions in the form of supplementary cover in order to ensure faster access, better quality of services, and increased consumer choice. The benefits include programs covering hospital expenses, cash benefits, outpatient care expenses, disability income insurance, as well as limited managed care programs. However, despite recent interest, PHI coverage remains low in Greece compared to other EU countries. Economic, social and cultural factors such as low average household income, high unemployment, obligatory and full coverage by social insurance, lead to reluctance to pay for second-tier insurance. Instead, there is a preference to pay a doctor or hospital directly even in the form of under-the-table payments (which are remarkably high in Greece), when the need arises. There are also factors endogenous to the PHI industry, related to market policies, low organisational capacity, cream skimming, and the absence of insurance products meeting consumer requirements, which explain the relatively low state of development of PHI in Greece.

Building an Understanding of Functions: A Series of Activities for Pre-Calculus

Science.gov (United States)

Carducci, Olivia M.

2008-01-01

Building block toys can be used to illustrate various concepts connected with functions including graphs and rates of change of linear and exponential functions, piecewise functions, and composition of functions. Five brief activities suitable for a pre-calculus course are described.

Effect of the Building Act 2011 on compliance costs in Western Australia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth Bazen

2014-06-01

Full Text Available  The Building Act 2011 commenced in Western Australia on 2 April 2012. It introduced private certification for design and construction compliance, and reduced fees and timeframes for local governments to issue permits. This research project assessed the effect of the Act on the time and cost of building approvals in WA, using an internet-based, self-completion survey to obtain feedback from people on their experience of the new building approvals process.   This research compared the cost of approval for 16 building projects under the new and old approvals processes. The research concluded that the new approvals process appears to be cost-neutral for the building industry as a whole. However, the cost of approval for the 11 building projects studied valued up to $1 million, particularly alterations to existing buildings, is an average of 4.0 times greater under the new approvals process.

Perceptions of Field Instructors: What Skills are Critically Important inManaged Care and Privatized Environments?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael N. Kane

2000-12-01

Full Text Available There is an increasing demand for social work practitioners to work in managed care and privatized environments. In an attempt to build social work curriculum and identify important competencies needed in contemporary service environments, researchers investigated South Florida field instructors’ (N=79 perceptions of necessary knowledge and skill to work in environments affected by privatization and managed care. This study’s findings indicate that field instructors (98% identified documentation as the most critically important skill for any social work position. Additionally, respondents identified intervention evaluation (95%, time focused and needs-based assessments strategies (94%, and evaluation of progress through outcome measures (94% as other critically important skills for current and future practitioners.

Rural electrification through private models: the case of solar-powered mini-grid development in Kenya: Exploring the hybrid nature of private business models and the interplay between new players and existing structures in the Kenyan rural electrification regime

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Mathilde Brix

2017-01-01

-effective alternative to traditional fossil fuel-based solutions like diesel generators in off-grid areas in many countries. This has made rural electrification through mini-grids an interesting area for private-sector firms looking to do mission-driven business in the growing African economies. This, in combination......, advocacy and other forms of institutional work, other actors are following a strategy of increasing cohesion within the niche by building partnerships and generating knowledge and learning. This shows how niches build and grow not only through niche-internal processes, but also through purposeful actor...

The Energy Audit Activity Focused on the Lighting Systems in Historical Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giacomo Salvadori

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The energy audit for a building is a procedure designed mainly to obtain adequate knowledge of the energy consumption profile, identify, and quantify opportunities for energy savings by a cost-benefit analysis and report, clearly and comprehensively, about the obtained results. If the audit is referred to a building with a significant historical and artistic value, a compatibility evaluation of the energy saving interventions with the architectural features should also be developed. In this paper, analysing the case study of a historical building used as public offices in Pisa (Italy, the authors describe how it is possible to conduct an energy audit activity (especially dedicated to the lighting system and they show how, for this type of buildings, it is possible to obtain significant energy savings with a refurbishment of the lighting system. A total number of seven interventions on indoor and outdoor lighting sub-systems were analysed in the paper. They are characterised by absolute compatibility with the historical and artistic value of the building and they show short payback times, variable between 4 and 34 months, allowing a reduction of the electrical energy consumption for the artificial indoor and outdoor lighting variable from 1.1 MWh/year to 39.0 MWh/year. The followed methodology and the evaluation results described in the paper, although based on a case study, can be extended to numerous historical buildings used as public offices, a recurring situation in the centres of Italian historical cities.

Private actors, global health and learning the lessons of history.

Science.gov (United States)

Youde, Jeremy

2016-01-01

Private business and philanthropic organizations have played a prominent role in the response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and the support of global health governance more broadly. While this involvement may appear to be novel or unprecedented, this article argues that this active role for private actors and philanthropies actually mirrors the historical experience of cross-border health governance in the first half of the twentieth century. By examining the experiences, roles and criticisms of the Rockefeller Foundation's International Health Division and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, it is possible to identify potential opportunities for better cooperation between public and private actors in global health governance.

Public-Private Partnerships and Sustainable Regional Innovation Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lehmann, Martin; Christensen, Per; Johnson, Bjørn

-private partnerships. The role of universities if and when actively participating in ‘life outside the ivory tower’ is addressed. These partnerships are also discussed in a regional context. With point of departure in innovation theory, we combine ‘sustainable development’ with the Regional System of Innovation...... approach to propose a new concept – Sustainable Regional Innovation System – in which regional initiatives such as Public-Private(-Academic) Partnerships play an integrated role, not least in the context of ‘learning and innovation for sustainable development’. Two cases are presented to underline...... be playing in public-private partnerships for sustainable development, and the links and benefits this may provide towards universities fulfilling their first (science) and second (education) missions. In this paper, the first part is dedicated to the discussion and clarification of the concept of public...

Project Management in Development Aid Industry – Public vs. Private

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simović Dragana

2015-02-01

Full Text Available This article examines the relationship between the type of a development aid implementing organisation (public or private and the quality of project management in development aid. The author begins with main public administration considerations - how public aid administration is different from private and furthermore, how particular sectoral characteristics of organisations influence the quality of the management process. The article combines empirical findings on the differences between the public and private sector with a complex setting of development aid and main success factors in development aid activity, in order to determine whether for-profit or public companies are more likely to achieve better project management processes. The article identifies some indices that favorise private companies, and outlines further necessary steps that should be taken in order to broaden the argumentation and confirm or reject this assertion

The implications of future building scenarios for long-term building energy research and development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Flynn, W.T.

1986-12-01

This report presents a discussion of alternative future scenarios of the building environment to the year 2010 and assesses the implications these scenarios present for long-term building energy R and D. The scenarios and energy R and D implications derived from them are intended to serve as the basis from which a strategic plan can be developed for the management of R and D programs conducted by the Office of Buildings and Community Systems, US Department of Energy. The scenarios and analysis presented here have relevance not only for government R and D programs; on the contrary, it is hoped that the results of this effort will be of interest and useful to researchers in both private and public sector organizations that deal with building energy R and D. Making R and D decisions today based on an analysis that attempts to delineate the nexus of events 25 years in the future are clearly decisions made in the face of uncertainty. Yet, the effective management of R and D programs requires a future-directed understanding of markets, technological developments, and environmental factors, as well as their interactions. The analysis presented in this report is designed to serve that need. Although the probability of any particular scenario actually occurring is uncertain, the scenarios to be presented are sufficiently robust to set bounds within which to examine the interaction of forces that will shape the future building environment.

Architectural design and physical activity: an observational study of staircase and elevator use in different buildings.

Science.gov (United States)

Bassett, David R; Browning, Ray; Conger, Scott A; Wolff, Dana L; Flynn, Jennifer I

2013-05-01

The indoor built environment has the potential to influence levels of physical activity. However, the extent to which architectural design in commercial buildings can influence the percentage of people choosing to use the stairs versus elevators is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine if buildings with centrally located, accessible, and aesthetically pleasing staircases result in a greater percentage of people taking the stairs. Direct observations of stair and elevator use were conducted in 3 buildings on a university campus. One of the buildings had a bank of 4 centrally located elevators and a fire escape stairwell behind a steel door. The other 2 buildings had centrally located staircases and out-of-the-way elevators. The percentage of people who ascended the stairs was 8.1% in the elevator-centric building, compared with 72.8% and 81.1% in the 2 stair-centric buildings (P building, compared with 89.5% and 93.7% in the stair-centric buildings (P buildings are constructed with centrally located, accessible, and aesthetically pleasing staircases, a greater percentage of people will choose to take the stairs.

Managing a tier-2 computer centre with a private cloud infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagnasco, Stefano; Berzano, Dario; Brunetti, Riccardo; Lusso, Stefano; Vallero, Sara

2014-01-01

In a typical scientific computing centre, several applications coexist and share a single physical infrastructure. An underlying Private Cloud infrastructure eases the management and maintenance of such heterogeneous applications (such as multipurpose or application-specific batch farms, Grid sites, interactive data analysis facilities and others), allowing dynamic allocation resources to any application. Furthermore, the maintenance of large deployments of complex and rapidly evolving middleware and application software is eased by the use of virtual images and contextualization techniques. Such infrastructures are being deployed in some large centres (see e.g. the CERN Agile Infrastructure project), but with several open-source tools reaching maturity this is becoming viable also for smaller sites. In this contribution we describe the Private Cloud infrastructure at the INFN-Torino Computer Centre, that hosts a full-fledged WLCG Tier-2 centre, an Interactive Analysis Facility for the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC and several smaller scientific computing applications. The private cloud building blocks include the OpenNebula software stack, the GlusterFS filesystem and the OpenWRT Linux distribution (used for network virtualization); a future integration into a federated higher-level infrastructure is made possible by exposing commonly used APIs like EC2 and OCCI

Environmental assessment in support of proposed voluntary energy conservation standard for new residential buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hadley, D.L.; Parker, G.B.; Callaway, J.W.; Marsh, S.J.; Roop, J.M.; Taylor, Z.T.

1989-06-01

The objective of this environmental assessment (EA) is to identify the potential environmental impacts that could result from the proposed voluntary residential standard (VOLRES) on private sector construction of new residential buildings. 49 refs., 15 tabs.

Household utilization and expenditure on private and public health services in Vietnam.

Science.gov (United States)

Ha, Nguyen Thi Hong; Berman, Peter; Larsen, Ulla

2002-03-01

The private provision of health services in Vietnam was legalized in 1989 as one of the country's means to mobilize resources and improve efficiency in the health system. Ten years after its legalization, the private sector has widely expanded its activities and become an important provider of health services for the Vietnamese people. However, little is known about its contribution to the overall objectives of the health system in Vietnam. This paper assesses the role of the private health care provider by examining utilization patterns and financial burden for households of private, as compared with public, services. We found that the private sector provided 60% of all outpatient contacts in Vietnam. There was no difference by education, sex or place of residence in the use of private ambulatory health care. Although there was evidence suggesting that rich people use private care more than the poor, this finding was not consistent across all income groups. The private sector served young children in particular. Also, people in households with several sick members at the same time relied more on private than public care, while those with severe illnesses tended to use less private care than public. The financial burden for households from private health care services was roughly a half of that imposed by the public providers. Expenditure on drugs accounted for a substantial percentage of household expenditure in general and health care expenditure in particular. These findings call for a prompt recognition of the private sector as a key player in Vietnam's health system. Health system policies should mobilize positive private sector contributions to health system goals where possible and reduce the negative effects of private provision development.

Integrating multiple scientific computing needs via a Private Cloud infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagnasco, S; Berzano, D; Brunetti, R; Lusso, S; Vallero, S

2014-01-01

In a typical scientific computing centre, diverse applications coexist and share a single physical infrastructure. An underlying Private Cloud facility eases the management and maintenance of heterogeneous use cases such as multipurpose or application-specific batch farms, Grid sites catering to different communities, parallel interactive data analysis facilities and others. It allows to dynamically and efficiently allocate resources to any application and to tailor the virtual machines according to the applications' requirements. Furthermore, the maintenance of large deployments of complex and rapidly evolving middleware and application software is eased by the use of virtual images and contextualization techniques; for example, rolling updates can be performed easily and minimizing the downtime. In this contribution we describe the Private Cloud infrastructure at the INFN-Torino Computer Centre, that hosts a full-fledged WLCG Tier-2 site and a dynamically expandable PROOF-based Interactive Analysis Facility for the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC and several smaller scientific computing applications. The Private Cloud building blocks include the OpenNebula software stack, the GlusterFS filesystem (used in two different configurations for worker- and service-class hypervisors) and the OpenWRT Linux distribution (used for network virtualization). A future integration into a federated higher-level infrastructure is made possible by exposing commonly used APIs like EC2 and by using mainstream contextualization tools like CloudInit.

Know the Risks: Transporting Students in Private Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Mahoney, Dan

2011-01-01

Scheduling off-campus extracurricular activities is not the issue, but how to get students there can present a problem. The transportation of students by staff in their private cars for extracurricular activities is common and occurs chiefly as a matter of convenience or cost saving. But it is not without risks. In general, the best solution for…

Firm-Level Perspectives on Public Sector Engagement with Private Healthcare Providers: Survey Evidence from Ghana and Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Sood, Neeraj; Burger, Nicholas; Yoong, Joanne; Kopf, Dan; Spreng, Connor

2011-01-01

Background Health systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are in urgent need of improvement. The private health sector is a major provider of care in the region and it will remain a significant actor in the future. Any efforts by SSA governments to improve health systems performance therefore has to account for the private health sector. Regional and international actors increasingly recognize importance of effectively engaging with the private health sector, and initiatives to improve engagement are underway in several countries. However, there is little systematic analysis of private health providers' view and experience with engagement. Methodology/Principal Findings In this study we surveyed private health facilities in Kenya and Ghana to understand the extent to which and how governments interact and engage with these facilities. The results suggest that government engagement with private health facilities is quite limited. The primary focus of this engagement is “command-and-control” type regulations to improve the quality of care. There is little attention paid to building the capacity of health care businesses through either technical or financial assistance. The vast majority of these facilities also receive no government assistance in meeting public health and social goals. Finally, government engagement with private pharmacies is often neglected and clinics receive a disproportionate share of government assistance. Conclusions/Significance Overall, our findings suggest that there may be considerable untapped potential for greater engagement with private health facilities—particularly pharmacies. Improving engagement will likely help governments with limited resources to better take advantage of the private sector capacity to meet access and equity objectives and to accelerate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. PMID:22132092

Firm-level perspectives on public sector engagement with private healthcare providers: survey evidence from Ghana and Kenya.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neeraj Sood

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Health systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA are in urgent need of improvement. The private health sector is a major provider of care in the region and it will remain a significant actor in the future. Any efforts by SSA governments to improve health systems performance therefore has to account for the private health sector. Regional and international actors increasingly recognize importance of effectively engaging with the private health sector, and initiatives to improve engagement are underway in several countries. However, there is little systematic analysis of private health providers' view and experience with engagement. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study we surveyed private health facilities in Kenya and Ghana to understand the extent to which and how governments interact and engage with these facilities. The results suggest that government engagement with private health facilities is quite limited. The primary focus of this engagement is "command-and-control" type regulations to improve the quality of care. There is little attention paid to building the capacity of health care businesses through either technical or financial assistance. The vast majority of these facilities also receive no government assistance in meeting public health and social goals. Finally, government engagement with private pharmacies is often neglected and clinics receive a disproportionate share of government assistance. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Overall, our findings suggest that there may be considerable untapped potential for greater engagement with private health facilities--particularly pharmacies. Improving engagement will likely help governments with limited resources to better take advantage of the private sector capacity to meet access and equity objectives and to accelerate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

High-performance commercial building systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Selkowitz, Stephen

2003-10-01

This report summarizes key technical accomplishments resulting from the three year PIER-funded R&D program, ''High Performance Commercial Building Systems'' (HPCBS). The program targets the commercial building sector in California, an end-use sector that accounts for about one-third of all California electricity consumption and an even larger fraction of peak demand, at a cost of over $10B/year. Commercial buildings also have a major impact on occupant health, comfort and productivity. Building design and operations practices that influence energy use are deeply engrained in a fragmented, risk-averse industry that is slow to change. Although California's aggressive standards efforts have resulted in new buildings designed to use less energy than those constructed 20 years ago, the actual savings realized are still well below technical and economic potentials. The broad goal of this program is to develop and deploy a set of energy-saving technologies, strategies, and techniques, and improve processes for designing, commissioning, and operating commercial buildings, while improving health, comfort, and performance of occupants, all in a manner consistent with sound economic investment practices. Results are to be broadly applicable to the commercial sector for different building sizes and types, e.g. offices and schools, for different classes of ownership, both public and private, and for owner-occupied as well as speculative buildings. The program aims to facilitate significant electricity use savings in the California commercial sector by 2015, while assuring that these savings are affordable and promote high quality indoor environments. The five linked technical program elements contain 14 projects with 41 distinct R&D tasks. Collectively they form a comprehensive Research, Development, and Demonstration (RD&D) program with the potential to capture large savings in the commercial building sector, providing significant economic benefits to

Budget savings through the responsible use of energy in Navy privatized housing communities

OpenAIRE

Sachinski, Jeffrey M.; Cook, Rudolph W.; Matteson, Beth M.

2014-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited In 1996, Congress authorized the Military Housing Privatization Initiative, which led to the increase in basic allowance for housing (BAH) for active duty members to achieve zero out of pocket housing expenses while living in military privatized housing. Privatized housing residents are not fully incentivized to conserve energy. Average energy costs, taken over like sized groups, are used as a baseline to justify the amount paid to the...

Early Bronze Age Houses in Upper Mesopotamia: Evidence of Dwellings or Private Enterprises?

OpenAIRE

Mas, Juliette

2014-01-01

This paper deals with the research I carried out on domestic architecture and private economy during Early Bronze Age in Upper-Mesopotamia. Archaeological records, as well as textual evidence, has been used to try to define private households activities and their relationships with official institutions. Households were the main source of production, distribution and consumption during the Early Bronze Age. As it seems that these private economic entities produced goods and crafts in their ow...

Thermo Active Building Systems Using Building Mass To Heat and Cool

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olesen, Bjarne W.

2012-01-01

Using the thermal storage capacity of the concrete slabs between each floor in multistory buildings to heat or cool is a trend that began in the early 1990s in Switzerland.1,2 Pipes carrying water for heating and cooling are embedded in the center of the concrete slab. In central Europe (Germany,......, Austria, Netherlands, etc.), this type of system has been installed in a significant number of new office buildings since the late 1990s. The trend is spreading to other parts of the world (the rest of Europe, North America and Asia)....

Public Private Partnerships: A possible alternative for delivery of infrastructure projects in Africa

OpenAIRE

Salim Bwanali; Pantaleo Rwelamila

2017-01-01

It is estimated that Africa needs $93 billion annually until 2020 in order to bridge its infrastructure deficit. It is through significant investment in infrastructure development that economic growth and poverty alleviation can be enhanced. However central to all construction projects is an effective and sustainable procurement system. There is a notable shift by some African governments to turn to the private sector to design, build, finance and operate infrastructure facilities previously ...

California commercial building energy benchmarking

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kinney, Satkartar; Piette, Mary Ann

2003-07-01

Building energy benchmarking is the comparison of whole-building energy use relative to a set of similar buildings. It provides a useful starting point for individual energy audits and for targeting buildings for energy-saving measures in multiple-site audits. Benchmarking is of interest and practical use to a number of groups. Energy service companies and performance contractors communicate energy savings potential with ''typical'' and ''best-practice'' benchmarks while control companies and utilities can provide direct tracking of energy use and combine data from multiple buildings. Benchmarking is also useful in the design stage of a new building or retrofit to determine if a design is relatively efficient. Energy managers and building owners have an ongoing interest in comparing energy performance to others. Large corporations, schools, and government agencies with numerous facilities also use benchmarking methods to compare their buildings to each other. The primary goal of Task 2.1.1 Web-based Benchmarking was the development of a web-based benchmarking tool, dubbed Cal-Arch, for benchmarking energy use in California commercial buildings. While there were several other benchmarking tools available to California consumers prior to the development of Cal-Arch, there were none that were based solely on California data. Most available benchmarking information, including the Energy Star performance rating, were developed using DOE's Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS), which does not provide state-level data. Each database and tool has advantages as well as limitations, such as the number of buildings and the coverage by type, climate regions and end uses. There is considerable commercial interest in benchmarking because it provides an inexpensive method of screening buildings for tune-ups and retrofits. However, private companies who collect and manage consumption data are concerned that the

Community Capacity Building for Physical Activity Promotion among Older Adults-A Literature Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Ubert, Tobias; Forberger, Sarah; Gansefort, Dirk; Zeeb, Hajo; Brand, Tilman

2017-09-13

Community-based interventions to promote physical activity (PA) among older adults are of high interest in health promotion since they promise to be effective strategies to reach this population group. Community capacity building, that is, the local promotion of knowledge, skills, commitment, structures, and leadership, is among the recommended core strategies. However, little guidance is provided on how to achieve a high degree of community capacity. This study aims to identify practical strategies to enhance community capacities for PA promotion among older adults (50 years or older) and to evaluate their success. A literature review was conducted using scientific databases (PsycInfo and Web of Sciences) and grey literature (national and international project databases), and 14 studies (16 articles) were identified. Five groups of capacity building strategies emerged from the literature: (1) building community coalitions and networks, (2) training of professionals, (3) training of laypersons, (4) strengthening competence and awareness in the target population, and (5) allocation of financial resources. All studies used more than one strategy. Coalition building and strengthening competence and awareness were most frequently used. Feasibility and acceptability of the capacity building strategies were demonstrated. However, intervention effects on PA behavior and other relevant outcomes were inconsistent. The one study that systematically compared different capacity building approaches did not find any evidence for beneficial effects of intensified capacity building. More rigorous research evaluating the efficacy of specific strategies to enhance community capacities for PA promotion is needed.

Fundamental Parallel Algorithms for Private-Cache Chip Multiprocessors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arge, Lars Allan; Goodrich, Michael T.; Nelson, Michael

2008-01-01

about the way cores are interconnected, for we assume that all inter-processor communication occurs through the memory hierarchy. We study several fundamental problems, including prefix sums, selection, and sorting, which often form the building blocks of other parallel algorithms. Indeed, we present...... two sorting algorithms, a distribution sort and a mergesort. Our algorithms are asymptotically optimal in terms of parallel cache accesses and space complexity under reasonable assumptions about the relationships between the number of processors, the size of memory, and the size of cache blocks....... In addition, we study sorting lower bounds in a computational model, which we call the parallel external-memory (PEM) model, that formalizes the essential properties of our algorithms for private-cache CMPs....

The Role of Private Information in Short-term Fluctuations of Won/Dollar Exchange Rates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haesik Park

1999-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we have examined the short-run movement of the won/dollar exchange rate using information obtained from the inter-bank market in Korea. First, we constructed the hourly measure of excess demand for dollar and used it as a proxy for the trading pattern of market participants. To construct this time series, we relied on the bid and ask won/dollar exchange rates collected on the two-minute interval. We then estimated the structural VAR model consisting of the actually observed won/dollar exchange rate and the proxied trading pattern of market participants to see if private information, as opposed to public information, is relevant for explaining the hourly movement of the won/dollar exchange rate. Private information is found to account for more 30% of hourly variations of the won/dollar exchange rate. Next, we constructed the trading pattern of market participants on a daily basis using the same data set employed to build the hourly measure. We then examined whether private information is useful for predicting the daily won/dollar exchange rate movement. We found that the forecast model using both private and public information reduces out-of-sample forecast errors of an alternative model relying only on public information by 20~25%. Also, the out-of-sample forecast of the model using both private and public information is found to be more accurate than the random walk model.

Building the base: two active living projects that inspired community participation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamamoto, Mark H; Derauf, David D; Yoshimura, Sheryl R

2009-12-01

Kalihi Valley is a densely populated, low-income community (28,958 residents in approximately 6 square miles) with insufficient sidewalks, bike lanes, and public green space to support regular physical activity for its residents. Kokua Kalihi Valley (KKV), a community health center formed in 1972, sought to improve Kalihi Valley's built environment based on its history of community- and partnership-based preventive health initiatives that have focused on the social determinants of health. Kokua Kalihi Valley used a flexible partnership model and a focus on direct community action to develop an unused 100-acre state park (the Kalihi Valley Nature Park) and establish a bicycle repair and recycling program that mobilized thousands of community volunteers, attracted widespread media coverage, and established a number of innovative programs for active living. Kokua Kalihi Valley and its partners also contributed to the successful passage of a city charter amendment to prioritize Honolulu as a bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly city. This initiative was successful in reclaiming a substantial amount of land for active living and in stimulating both public governmental support and widespread private community involvement in programs and activities. Projects that engaged community members in activities with tangible accomplishment were shown to be most successful. This initiative showed that community health centers may be uniquely positioned to provide leadership and assume responsibility for cross-sectoral active-living health projects.

Exploring the cost and value of private versus shared bedrooms in nursing homes.

Science.gov (United States)

Calkins, Margaret; Cassella, Christine

2007-04-01

There is debate about the relative merits and costs of private versus shared bedrooms in nursing homes, particularly in light of the current efforts at creating both cost-efficient and person-centered care facilities. The purpose of this project was to explore the extent to which there is evidence-based information that supports the merits of three different bedroom configurations: traditional shared, enhanced shared, and private. We developed a framework of four broad domains that were related to the different bedroom configurations: psychosocial, clinical, operational, and construction or building factors. Within each dimension, we identified individual factors through the literature, interviews, and focus groups, with the goal of determining the breadth, depth, and quality of evidence supporting the benefits of one configuration over another. The vast majority of factors identified in this study, regardless of whether there was solid empirical data, information from the focus groups, or other anecdotal evidence, indicated better outcomes associated with private rooms over shared rooms in nursing homes. Cost estimates suggest that construction cost (plus debt service) differences range from roughly $20,506 per bed for a traditional shared room to $36,515 for a private one, and that such differences are recouped in less than 2 years if beds are occupied, and in less than 3 months if a shared bed remains unoccupied at average private-pay room costs. Despite limited empirical evidence in some areas, this project provides the foundation for an evidence-based life-cycle costing perspective regarding the relative merits of different bedroom configurations.

Integrating an Interprofessional Education Model at a Private University

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Ramona Ann; Gottlieb, Helmut; Dominguez, Daniel G.; Sanchez-Diaz, Patricia C.; Jones, Mary Elaine

2015-01-01

In 2012, a private University in South Texas sought to prepare eight cohorts of 25 nursing, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, and health care administration students with an interprofessional education activity as a model for collaborative learning. The two semester interprofessional activity used a blended model (Blackboard Learn®,…

Energy consumption during the building life cycle – influence of investment activities and operations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vytlačil Dalibor

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The paper describes the dynamic model of maintenance and investments of a building structure and HVAC systems. The aim of the research is finding the time dependent curve for energy consumption and also the cash flow that depends on the investments to energy saving arrangements and operations. The solution is based on the system dynamics method. The method makes possible to interconnect technical and economic parts of the problem. The main parameter in the model is the energy consumption in the building per floor square meter and year. This parameter is influenced by a deterioration of the building structure and the components of the active elements. The investments realized with the aim to decrease the energy consumption is another influence. The example of the computer simulation of the building parameters during the life cycle is presented in the paper.

Assets of geothermal energy for buildings: heating, cooling and domestic hot water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-01-01

This publication first proposes a brief overview on the status, context and perspectives of geothermal energy in France by evoking the great number of heat pumps installed during the last decades and the choice made by public and private clients for this source of heating and cooling. While indicating how geothermal energy intervenes during a building project, this publication outlines that this energy is discrete and renewable, and that its technology is proven. Some examples are then evoked: use of geothermal energy for a public building in Saint-Malo, for estate projects near Paris, for a shopping centre in Roissy, and for office buildings

Assessment of radiation maps during activated divertor moving in the ITER building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ying Dongchuan; Zeng Qin; Qiu Yuefeng; Dang Tongqiang; Wu Yican; Loughlin, Michael

2011-01-01

As the main interface components between plasma and vacuum vessel, the divertor is foreseen to be removed to the hot cell for refurbishment during the 20 years of ITER operation. During this process, the activated divertor will cause a large increase of radiation in the ITER building. 3D analysis has been performed to assess the radiation maps throughout the ITER building for assisting the shielding design for personnel and sensitive equipment. The activation of the divertor has been determined by coupled neutron transport and inventory calculations, radiation maps have been obtained from gamma transport calculations. The neutron and gamma transport calculations have been performed by MCNP5 code with FENDL2.1library. The inventory calculations have been performed by FISPACT2007 code with EAF-2007 library. The results of these 3D decay gamma radiation maps are presented by pictures in this paper, including the biological dose maps and maps of heat deposition in electronic equipment.

Improvisational Theater Games: Performatory Team-Building Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Ingalls, Joan S.

2018-01-01

This article describes five improvisational theater games for building "teams" in the classroom and on the sports field. Particular attention is given to understanding how teams must challenge the hyper-individuality of modern culture. Improvisational theater games for team building are designed to help participants find a balance…

From the Private to the Public to the Private?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjær, Poul F.

2018-01-01

A central assumption in much contemporary scholarship is that a central shift has taken place over the course of the last four decades: a shift from a world largely centered on public authority to a world that is increasingly dominated by private authority. The central expression of this shift...... is seen to be a concurring move from public to private law and thus from legislation to contract as the central legal instrument structuring economic as well as other social processes. While developments in this direction can certainly be observed, this article provides a more nuanced perspective....... Outlining a long-term historical perspective, this article reconstructs the manifold and volatile dynamic between institutionalized forms of public and private authority. It does soon the basis of the argument that, in the course of this evolutionary process, the very function and meaning of both public...

Radiation Build-Up In Shielding Of Low Activity High Energia Gamma Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Helfi-Yuliati; Mukhlis-Akhadi

2003-01-01

Research to observe radiation build-up factor (b) in aluminium (Al), iron (Fe) and lead (Pb) for shielding of gamma radiation of high energy from 137 cs (E γ : 662 keV) source and 60 Co (E γ : 1332 keV) of low activity sources has been carried out. Al with Z =13 represent metal of low atomic number, Fe with Z =26 represent metal of medium atomic number, and Pb with Z = 82 represent metal of high atomic number. Low activity source in this research is source which if its dose rate decrease to 3 % of its initial dose rate became safe for the workers. Research was conducted by counting of radiation intensity behind shielding with its thickness vary from 1 to 5 times of half value thickness (HVT). NaI(TI) detector which connected to multi channel analyzer (MCA) was used for the counting. Calculation result show that all of b value are close to 1 (b ∼ 1) for all kinds of metals. No radiation build-up factor is required in estimating the shielding thickness from several kinds of metals for low activity of high energy gamma source. (author)

Serial private infrastructures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Berg, V.A.C.

2013-01-01

This paper investigates private supply of two congestible infrastructures that are serial, where the consumer has to use both in order to consume. Four market structures are analysed: a monopoly and 3 duopolies that differ in how firms interact. It is well known that private supply leads too high

Prevalence of overweight and underweight in public and private schools in the Seychelles.

Science.gov (United States)

Bovet, Pascal; Chiolero, Arnaud; Madeleine, George; Paccaud, Fred

2010-05-03

We compared the prevalence of body weight categories between public and private schools in the Seychelles, a rapidly developing small island state in the African region. In 2004-2006, weight and height were measured and self-reported information on physical activity collected in children of three selected grades in all schools in the country. Overweight, obesity and thinness were defined according to standard criteria. Based on 8 462 students (377 in private schools), the prevalence of overweight (including obesity) was markedly higher in private than public schools (boys: 37% [95% CI: 31-44] vs. 15% [14-16]; girls: 33% [26-41] vs. 20% [19-22]). The prevalence of thinness grade 1 was lower in private than public schools (boys: 9% [5-13] vs. 20% [19-21]; girls: 13% [8-18] vs. 19% [18-20]). Students in private schools reported more physical activity at leisure time while students in public schools reported larger weekly walking time. Our findings suggest that school type may be a useful indicator for assessing the association between socio-economic status and overweight in children, and that overweight affects wealthy children more often than others in developing countries.

Method for a component-based economic optimisation in design of whole building renovation versus demolishing and rebuilding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Morelli, Martin; Harrestrup, Maria; Svendsen, Svend

2014-01-01

investing in retrofit measures and buying renewable energy. The overall cost of the renovation considers the market value of the property, the investment in the renovation, the operational and maintenance costs. A multi-family building is used as an example to clearly illustrate the application...... of the method from macroeconomic and private financial perspectives. Conclusion: The example shows that the investment cost and future market value of the building are the dominant factors in deciding whether to renovate an existing building or to demolish it and thereafter erect a new building. Additionally...

PROBLEMS OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP IN UKRAINE AND WAYS OF SOLVING THEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maksim Levochkin

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The article reveals the essence and role of public-private partnership (PPP. It is established that a public and private partnership is a powerful and promising tool of social and economic development at both the regional and local levels, as well as a means of raising funds to projects. The legal regulation of public and private partnership in Ukraine and its shortcomings are determined. It was found that the legislation contains a lot of controversial issues related to: communication problems between the partners; legislative and regulatory issues; financing problems. The number of the PPP projects in Ukraine is presented by sectors and investment in projects of public-private partnership is shown. It was determined that during 1992-2012, 58 PPP projects have been implemented in Ukraine, or 7.03% of the total number of implemented projects. The structure of PPP projects implemented in Ukraine is shown, where the lion’s share is taken by the energy sector (71%, telecommunications (24%, transport (2%, water supply and drainage (3%. The problems that hinder the development of public and private partnership in Ukraine were identified, namely the shortage of highly qualified specialists who are able to develop public-private partnership in the future – both on the part of business, and country; shortage of projects of public-private partnership as well as appropriate banking requirements to them; disinclination of business for stimulating the development of public-private partnership, since the number of private operators is negligible in a very few sectors; inability of public authorities to maintain partner relationships and the implementation of PPP projects; shortcomings of the legislative framework (such as concession and mismatch of enforcement activity; little activity of the regions in showing initiative to develop and implement PPP projects; inability to attract investment in long-term PPP projects, etc. The ways of improving the

Applied building physics

CERN Document Server

Hens, Hugo S L C

2012-01-01

The energy crises of the 1970s, persisting moisture problems, complaints about sick buildings, thermal, visual and olfactory discomfort, and the move towards more sustainability in building construction have pushed Building Physics to the forefront of building innovation. The societal pressure to diminish energy consumption in buildings without impairing usability acted as a trigger to activate the whole notion of performance based design and construction. As with all engineering sciences, Building Physics is oriented towards application, which is why, after a first book on fundamentals this s

Private standards and labour productivity in the food sector in Viet Nam

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trifkovic, Neda

standards affect labour productivity of small and medium firms from the food sector in Viet Nam. The results based on a 3-year panel show that the application of private standards improves labour productivity. These gains primarily occur to firms operating above a threshold labour-intensity level. Firms......A rising number of firms from developing countries have adopted voluntary private standards in the last decade. This has become an area of active research, especially in terms of the impact of private standards on trade, organizational performance, and employee outcomes. This paper analyses how...

Assessment in the Private Studio Setting: Supporting Student Learning, Providing Effective Instruction, and Building Faculty-Student Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Laubenthal, Jennifer

2018-01-01

A significant amount of literature exists about how to design and implement an effective assessment process for students in a music program, specifically in the classroom setting. This article suggests a framework for incorporating individualized assessment in the private-lesson setting based on effective classroom assessment practices. Many…

Regulating the for-profit private health sector: lessons from East and Southern Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Doherty, Jane E

2015-03-01

International evidence shows that, if poorly regulated, the private health sector may lead to distortions in the type, quantity, distribution, quality and price of health services, as well as anti-competitive behaviour. This article provides an overview of legislation governing the for-profit private health sector in East and Southern Africa. It identifies major implementation problems and suggests strategies Ministries of Health could adopt to regulate the private sector more effectively and in line with key public health objectives. This qualitative study was based on a document review of existing legislation in the region, and seven semi-structured interviews with individuals selected purposively on the basis of their experience in policymaking and legislation. Legislation was categorized according to its objectives and the level at which it operates. A thematic content analysis was conducted on interview transcripts. Most legislation focuses on controlling the entry of health professionals and organizations into the market. Most countries have not developed adequate legislation around behaviour following entry. Generally the type and quality of services provided by private practitioners and facilities are not well-regulated or monitored. Even where there is specific health insurance regulation, provisions seldom address open enrolment, community rating and comprehensive benefit packages (except in South Africa). There is minimal control of prices. Several countries are updating and improving legislation although, in most cases, this is without the benefit of an overarching policy on the private sector, or reference to wider public health objectives. Policymakers in the East and Southern African region need to embark on a programme of action to strengthen regulatory frameworks and instruments in relation to private health care provision and insurance. They should not underestimate the power of the private health sector to undermine efforts for increased

The Face of Private Tutoring in Russia: Evidence from Online Marketing by Private Tutors

Science.gov (United States)

Kozar, Olga

2013-01-01

Private tutoring is a common and worldwide phenomenon. However, there is a dearth of up-to-date research on private tutoring compared with that on institutional one-to-one teaching, which could be explained by challenges associated with data collection. This article proposes using publicly available online advertisements of private tutors as a…

State-private partnership: aspects of application in the agricultural sphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. R. Zakirova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The relevance of the study is determined by the importance of using the mechanism of public-private partnership in the agro-industrial complex, which allows, under conditions of mutual benefit for the state and business, to expand the resource base and channel untapped resources to sustainable agricultural development. The aim of the article is to study theoretical approaches and substantiate practical recommendations aimed at improving the mechanism of public-private partnership in the Russian agro-industrial complex. In preparing the article, general scientific methods of research were used: analysis and synthesis, generalization, comparison, classification. Results. The mechanism of public-private partnership in modern conditions is investigated, its definitions and essence are analyzed, its importance as an effective form of realization of investment activity is defined. The benefits of implementing public-private partnership projects for the state, business and the whole economy are systematized. Key risks for participants of public-private partnership are highlighted. The foreign experience of realization of joint projects of the state and business is analyzed. Features of public-private partnership in Russia are considered, tendencies of its development are determined. It is established that the agro-industrial complex as a sphere of application of public-private partnership needs special attention, since it is responsible for life support and ensures food security of the country. The program-targeted approach is analyzed, which is implemented in the form of the State Program for the Development of Agriculture and Regulation of Agricultural Products, Raw Materials and Foodstuffs of the Russian Federation. The government benefits from investing in the development of the agro-industrial complex are determined. The directions of methodical work in the sphere of the implementation of public-private projects are singled out. It is concluded

From Social to Private Ownership

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gregoric, Aleksandra; Masten, Arjana Brezigar; Zajc, Katarina

2011-01-01

of the multiple blockholder structures that these firms were assigned at privatization. We observe significant path dependence: patterns of ownership and control are in part determined by the persistence of the initial privatization owners (state funds, privatization investment funds, employees, and managers...

Private Sector-led Urban Development Projects. Management, Partnerships and Effects in the Netherlands and the UK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erwin Heurkens

2012-09-01

development projects, and our view of management as any type of direct influencing, results in constructing a conceptual public-private urban management model (see Figure SUM.1. This model is based on both theoretical concepts and empirical reflection. In this research, the management of project processes by public and private actors contains applying both management activities and instruments. Project management (Wijnen et al., 2004 includes development stage-oriented initiating, designing, planning, and operating activities. Process management (Teisman, 2003 includes interaction-oriented negotiating, decision-making, and communicating activities. Management tools consist of legal-oriented shaping, regulating, stimulating, and capacity building planning tools (Adams et al., 2004. And management resources consist of crucial necessities (Burie, 1978 for realizing urban projects like land, capital and knowledge. In essence, all these management measures can be applied by public and private actors to influence (private sector-led urban development projects. These management measures can be used by actors to reach project effects. In this research, project effects are perceived as judgment criteria for indicating the success of the management of private sector-led urban development projects. They consist of cooperation effectiveness, process efficiency, and spatial quality. Effectiveness involves the degree to which objectives are achieved and problems are resolved. Ef ficiency is the degree to which the process is considered as efficiently realizing projects within time and budget. Finally, spatial quality is the degree to which the project contributes to responding to user, experience and future values of involved actors (Hooijmeijer et al., 2001. Such process and product effects are a crucial addition to understand the results of private sector-led urban development projects. Comparative case study research using a lesson-drawing method This research systematically analyzes

Green roofs and the LEED green building rating system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kula, R. [Sustainable Solutions Inc., Wagoner, OK (United States)

2005-07-01

The sustainable building industry is becoming increasingly aware of the host of public and private benefits that green roofs can provide in built environments. In dense urban environments, green roofs function to reduce stormwater runoff, urban heat island effects, and particulate matter (PM) pollution. The emerging green roof industry is now poised to support the efforts of green building networks in North America. This paper discussed the general benefits of green roofs, and their recognition within the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. A case study of Mountain Equipment Co-op's Winnipeg site was presented. The building's green roof was directly responsible for earning 5 credits and contributing to the achievement of an additional 2 credits under the LEEDS certification process. Credits were earned for reduced site disturbance; landscape design to reduce heat islands; and water efficiency. The green roof at the site provided the vast majority of the building's cooling needs through an evaporative cooling trough. A photovoltaic pump was used to feed the building's irrigation system, as well as to pump ground water through cooling valances. It was concluded that the rise of sustainable building practices and the LEED Green Building Rating System will revolutionize the way new buildings are constructed.

Implementation of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV programme through private hospitals of Delhi--policy implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, A K; Garg, C R; Joshi, B C; Rawat, N; Dabla, V; Gupta, A

2015-01-01

In India, programme for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV is primarily implemented through public health system. State AIDS Control Societies (SACSs) encourage private hospitals to set up integrated counselling and testing centres (ICTCs). However, private hospitals of Delhi did not set up ICTCs. Consequently, there is no information on PMTCT interventions in private hospitals of Delhi. This study was undertaken by Delhi SACS during March 2013 through September 2013 to assess status of implementation of PMTCT programme in various private hospitals of Delhi to assist programme managers in framing national policy to facilitate uniform implementation of National PMTCT guidelines. Out of total 575 private hospitals registered with Government of Delhi, 336 (58.4%) catering to pregnant women were identified. About 100 private hospitals with facility of antenatal care, vaginal/caesarean delivery and postnatal care and minimum 10 indoor beds were selected for study. Study sample comprised of large corporate hospitals (≥100 beds; n = 29), medium-sized hospitals (25 to women tested, 52 (0.14%) were detected HIV-positive. However, against National Policy, HIV testing was done without pre/post-test counselling/or consent of women, no PMTCT protocol existed, delivery of HIV-positive women was not undertaken and no efforts were made to link HIV-positive women to antiretroviral treatment. Major intervention observed was medical termination of pregnancy, which indicates lack of awareness in private hospitals about available interventions under national programme. The role of private hospitals in management of HIV in pregnant women must be recognized and mainstreamed in HIV control efforts. There is an urgent need for capacity building of private health care providers to improve standards of practice. National AIDS Control Organization may consider establishing linkages or adopting model developed by some countries with generalized epidemic for delivering

Factors Influencing the Private Involvement in Urban Rail Public-Private Partnership Projects in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yongjian Ke

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Private investors have been encouraged to participate in the development and operation of urban rail projects in China through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs, given the fact that subnational governments are suffering from urgent development demands and severe fiscal pressure. However, there is no formal assessment to determine the private involvement in a PPP project. This problem is particularly critical in the sector of urban rail, in which the huge investment cannot rely on the private sector alone. This study hence aimed to uncover and identify the influencing factors. Multiple research methods, including content analysis, case study and focus group discussion were adopted to achieve the research purpose. Seven types of influencing factors were identified, including project financial model, government fiscal commitment, risk allocation, public accountability, efficiency considerations, policy and regulations, and organisational marketing strategies. The findings add to the current knowledge base by uncovering the drivers behind private involvement in a PPP project. They are also beneficial for industry practitioners as a basis/checklist to determine the private involvement.

Commercial building energy use in six cities in Southern China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Peng; Huang, Joe; Shen, Pengyuan; Ma, Xiaowen; Gao, Xuefei; Xu, Qiaolin; Jiang, Han; Xiang, Yong

2013-01-01

With China’s continuing economic growth, the percentage of government offices and large commercial buildings has increased tremendously; thus, the impact of their energy usage has grown drastically. In this survey, a database with more than 400 buildings was created and analyzed. We researched energy consumption by region, building type, building size and vintage, and we determined the total energy use and performed end use breakdowns of typical buildings in six cities in southern China. The statistical analysis shows that, on average, the annual building electricity use ranged from 50 to 100 kW h/m 2 for office buildings, 120 to 250 kW h/m 2 for shopping malls and hotels, and below 40 kW h/m 2 for education facilities. Building size has no direct correlation with building energy intensity. Although modern commercial buildings built in the 1990s and 2000s did not use more energy on average than buildings built previously, the highest electricity intensive modern buildings used much more energy than those built prior to 1990. Commercial buildings in China used less energy than buildings in equivalent weather locations in the US and about the same amount of energy as buildings in India. However, commercial buildings in China provide comparatively less thermal comfort than buildings in comparable US climates. - Highlights: ► The worst modern buildings use more energy than the worst old buildings. ► Government office buildings did not use more energy than private office buildings. ► Commercial buildings in China use less energy than buildings in the US. ► Modern commercial buildings don't use more energy than old buildings.

Does Society Win or Lose as a Result of Privatization? The Case of Water Sector Privatization in Colombia

OpenAIRE

Mauricio Olivera; Felipe Barrera

2007-01-01

This paper studies the effects of water sector privatization on consumers’ welfare in 46 municipalities in Colombia. First, the privatization process is described. Second, the paper evaluates the impact of privatization on access, price, and quality of water as well as health outcomes using differences-in-differences methodology with variation across time (before and after privatization) and between treatment and control groups (privatized and non-privatized municipalities) and controlling fo...

Activities of the Federal Government, Laender and municipalities and fields of activity relating to building modernisation; Aktivitaeten des Bundes, der Laender und der Kommunen und Handlungsfelder zur Gebaeudesanierung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hanke, Thomas; Schuele, Ralf; Pietzner, Katja [Wuppertal Institut fuer Klima, Umwelt, Energie GmbH, Wuppertal (Germany)

2007-12-15

The present report inquires into how the programmes and activities undertaken by the German Federal Government and the Lnder to increase the potential for building modernisation should be designed so that municipalities, including those with poor financial means, can utilise and create incentives and also take on a role as local multiplicator for building modernisation to improve energy efficiency. The goal is to maximise synergy effects between building modernisation programmes of the Federation and Laender and activities at the municipal level. The second part of the report explains the legal framework for promotion by the Federation and Laender which has been set up on the basis of European and global goals for climate protection and in particular building modernisation. The third part clarifies the importance and significance of building modernisation for climate protection and pinpoints general impediments affecting the area of building modernisation. The last part of the report offers suggestions to municipalities for setting up, designing and supplementing building modernisation programmes dedicated to improving energy efficiency.

New Digital Marketing Actors: Private Shopping Clubs and Their Advertising Practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nazlım Tüzel Uraltaş

2014-12-01

In the first part of the study the concept of digital marketing and its historical background will be explained. In the second part online shopping behavior, online shopping training activities in Turkey and private shopping clubs will be examined.  The last part of the study will deal with the advertising practices of private shopping clubs. The study is essentially a literature review; thus, the resources are mostly secondary in nature.

The human factor as a cause of failures in building structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vondráčková Terezie

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Human error can be defined as any unintentional or inadequate decision, taken at any level in the hierarchy of an organization, which is, or was inappropriate in a given situation. Human errors can occur in all human activities across an organization - at a managerial, conceptual or technical level – in connection with mistakes in the construction project itself, mistakes made by the investor, mistakes made by those using the building, mistakes in supplier relations, mistakes in the maintenance of the structure, and others. The factors that can affect the reliability of those people making the decisions that lead to the mistakes include the quality of their education, their experience with stress, or lack thereof, as well as issues such as workload, fatigue, workplace ergonomics, working hours, social climate and private matters.

Nest building and posture changes and activity budget of gilts housed in pens and crates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Inger Lise; Vasdal, Guro; Pedersen, Lene Juul

2014-01-01

was born until 8 h after the birth of the first piglet. There was no significant effect of the sows breeding value on any of the sow behaviours. Sows housed in pens spent significantly more time nest building than crated sows from 4 to 12 h prepartum (P ...The aim of the present work was to study nest building, posture changes and the overall activity budget of gilts in pens vs. crates. Twenty-three HB gilts (high piglet survival day 5) and 21 LB gilts (low piglet survival day 5) were video recorded from day 110 in pregnancy to four days after...... farrowing in either a farrowing pen or farrowing crate. The gilts were provided with 2 kg of chopped straw daily from day 113 of pregnancy until farrowing in both environments. Nest building and other activity measures of the sows were analysed using continuous sampling the last 12 h before the first piglet...

Privatization and the globalization of energy markets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-10-01

This report reviews recent global efforts to privatize energy resources and outlines the opportunities and challenges privatization has presented to U.S. and foreign multinational energy companies. The group of energy companies studied in this report includes the major U.S. petroleum companies and many foreign companies. The foreign companies reviewed include state-run energy enterprises, recently privatized energy enterprises, and foreign multinationals that have been privately held. The privatization of non-petroleum energy industries, such as electricity generation and transmission, natural gas transmission, and coal mining, are also discussed. Overseas investments made by electric companies, natural gas companies, and coal companies are included. The report is organized into six chapters: (1) economics of privatization; (2) petroleum privatization efforts among non-U.S. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nations; (3) petroleum privatization efforts in Latin America; (4) privatization in socialist and former socialist regimes; (5) privatization efforts in global electric power generation, transmission, and distribution industries; and (6) privatization and globalization of world coal.

PRIVATE AND PUBLIC ENTERPRISE: FLETCHER CONSTRUCTION AND THE BUILDING OF NEW ZEALAND

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Astrid Baker

2002-01-01

Full Text Available This paper shows how a New Zealand company, Fletcher Construction, created wealth in partnership with the state. The first Labour government was elected in 1935 with a firm commitment to full employment and a broad social security system. Because Labour’s determination to get things done through local industry coincided with James Fletcher’s, and then his son’s, drive for company expansion and profits. Fletchers’ design or construction of roads, wharves, saw-mills, flour mills, pulp mills, paper mills, factories, railway stations, university buildings, hospitals, department stores, office blocks, houses, and ownership and management of stone quarries, brickworks and forests, left a mark in almost every town and city in the country. Many projects required building methods and materials new to New Zealand, the innovative use of traditional materials, large-scale plant, specialist, skilled staff and technical know-how from United States and British construction and engineering firms. In this way Fletcher projects drew together many different suppliers, equipment makers, skilled tradesmen and financiers. As a provider of employment in construction and manufacturing, with easy access to established business and political leaders and a powerful influence on policy making, the company became a potent force in New Zealand’s full employment welfare state.

Private Sector in Indian Healthcare Delivery: Consumer Perspective and Government Policies to promote private Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Utkarsh Shah, Ragini Mohanty

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This research paper attempts to collate literature from various sources, in an attempt to answer three pertinent questions related to healthcare in India. Firstly, what is it meant by ‘private sector’ in healthcare delivery system of India, secondly how has the private sector evolved over the decades and what has been the role of the government in propelling the growth. Finally, the paper tries to highlight some of the factors that have promoted the growth of private sector in India with specific reference to quality of medical care. The paper explicitly indicates that the deficiencies in the public health delivery system of India, was the key to growth of private infrastructure in healthcare.The shift of hospital industry for ‘welfare orientation’ to ‘business orientation’ was marked by the advent of corporate hospitals, supported by various policy level initiatives made by the government. Today, there are over 20 international healthcare brands in India with several corporate hospitals.However, a large section of the ‘private healthcare delivery segment’ is scattered and quality of medical care continues to remain a matter of concern. This paper tracks the various government initiatives to promote private investment in healthcare and attempts to explore the reasons for preference of the private sector. Surprisingly, in contrast to contemporary belief, quality of medical care doesn’t seem to be the leading cause for preference of the private sector. Except for a few select corporate and trust hospitals, quality of medical care in private sector seems to be poor and at times compromised.

A fruitful partnership with the private sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ouellet, D.

1993-01-01

Hydro-Quebec's successful partnership with the private sector, in particular with the consulting engineering profession, was highlighted, as an indication of the unprecedented economic activity generated by the public utility throughout its fifty year existence, and most noticeably since the 1960s, when the 'Quiet Revolution' of the Lesage government set the tone for favoring Quebec consulting firms. The Corporation's rapid growth also stimulated the development of the province's private engineering sector, and served as the incentive for electrical equipment manufacturers, and the source of new skills and enterprises emerging from environmental concerns. Special mention was made of the economic advances made by native peoples through their involvement in land clearing, excavation, construction, and provision and transportation of supplies to remote construction sites

[Audit of general hospitals and private surgical clinics in Israel].

Science.gov (United States)

Freund, Ruth; Dor, Michael; Lotan, Yoram; Haver, Eitan

2007-12-01

Supervision and inspection of medical facilities are among the responsibilities of the Ministry of Health (MOH) anchored in the "Public Health Act 1940". In order to implement the law, the General Medical Division of the MOH began the process of auditing hospitals and private surgical clinics prior to considering the reissue of their license. The audit aimed to implement the law, activate supervision on general hospitals and private surgical clinics, provide feed-back to the audited institution and upgrade quality assurance, regulate medical activities according to the activities elaborated in the license and recommend the license renewal. Prior to the audits, 20 areas of activity were chosen for inspection. For each activity a check list was developed as a tool for inspection. Each area was inspected during a 4-5 hour visit by a MOH expert, accompanied by the local service manager in the institution under inspection. A comprehensive report, summarizing the findings was sent to the medical institute, requesting correction in those areas where improvements were needed. Recommendation for license renewal was sent to the Director of Licensing Division Ministry of Health. Between June 2003 and July 2006, 91 structured audits took place. A total of 47 general hospitals and 24 private surgical clinics were visited at least once. Most general hospitals were found abiding, functioning according to the required standards and eligible for license renewal. Licenses of institutions that complied with the standards determined by the audit teams, were renewed. Two private hospitals in central Israel, that were given an overall poor evaluation, were issued with a temporary license and subsequently re-audited 4 times over the next two years. Generally, the standards in private surgical clinics were lower than those found in general public hospitals. In one clinic the license was not renewed, and in another an order was issued to cease surgical procedures requiring general

Enhancing the Macedonian Health System through Implementation of the Public-Private Partnership Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dr.Sc. Iskra Belazelkoska Borizovska

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The research involves determination of the extent to which the public-private partnership model can contribute to the improvement and enhancement of the healthcare services in Macedonia. To achieve this purpose, the research embraces comprehension of the common advantages and disadvantages of this model, encompassed with a case study of the public-private partnership in the specialized-consultative health protection for the health activity-dialysis, together with other efforts to ensure high quality health protection. It also reflects the attitudes of the public authorities and private sector entities regarding the significance of the public-private partnership model, consideration of the advantages and disadvantages before entering public-private partnerships and the ways public-private partnerships affect the employees and employments. The study outlines planned and realised efforts to implement this model to ensure better and more efficient healthcare system. Generally, the results from the survey and the outlined case study present this model as good solution for many healthcare challenges, since public-private partnerships offer different services to the citizens that neither the public nor the private sector could separately achieve. The public-private partnership model leads to new employment opportunities according to the opinion of the public authorities, while the private sector entities consider that public-private partnerships increase the responsibility of the employees in such partnership in comparison to the public sector. The outlined case study is an example of successful public-private partnership model in the field of healthcare and can serve as motivation for further implementation of this model to ensure better, enhanced and modern health system.

Domestic climate regimes and incentives for private sector involvement in joint implementation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-12-31

This report analyses how effective incentive structures can be put in place for private sector involvement in pilot projects (AIJ, Activities Implemented Jointly) and, in due time, joint implementation (JI). Due to the short time record of AIJ/JI experience, lessons are drawn from other related policy areas: studies of public/private interface in environmental- and climate policy in the Netherlands, USA, Norway and Costa Rica. The report concludes with status and prospects for private sector incentives in the pilot phase and then provides lessons and proposals for such incentives in a more mature and ambitious JI regime with crediting. 22 refs.

Measurement in Sustainable Building

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hale, Lara

2018-01-01

Measurement is a necessary aspect of planning and constructing buildings. However, recent attempts to integrate the social dimension of sustainable building into building design and specifications demand measurement of non-technical qualities, such as well-being. The Active House Alliance, in lieu...... and continued provision of sustainable buildings to market demand....

Building for the future: The Eurotheum at Frankfurt, Main - an office and domestic building for cosmopolites; Gebaeudetechnische Konzepte der Zukunft: Buero- und Wohnhochhaus fuer Kosmopoliten - Das Eurotheum in Frankfurt am Main

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pielke, O.E. [Brendel Ingenieure AG, Frankfurt am Main (Germany)

2002-09-01

The 'Eurotheum' building in Frankfurt is the first high-rise building in Germany that houses both offices and private apartments. It received the 'Immobilien Award 1999 - Cimmit' for industrial buildings by Immobilien-Zeitung and the Institute for International Research of Projektentwicklungsgesellschaft Koellmann AG. [German] Das Eurotheum im Spannungsfeld der Frankfurter Buerohochhaeuser beruht auf einem voellig neuen Konzept: Es verbindet als erstes Hochaus in Deutschland die Funktionen 'Arbeiten' und 'Wohnen'. Fuer das bislang einmalige Konzept des Frankfurter Eurotheums verlieh die Immobilien-Zeitung und das Institute for International Research der Projektentwicklungsgesellschaft Koellmann AG den Immobilien Award 1999 - Cimmit in der Kategorie Gewerbeimmobilien. (orig.)

Inequity in ecosystem service delivery: Socioeconomic gaps in the public-private conservation network

Science.gov (United States)

Villamagna, Amy M.; Mogollón, Beatriz; Angermeier, Paul L.

2017-01-01

private conservation lands included beneficiaries of significantly greater household income than benefit zones of other types of conservation areas. Our analysis of ES flows revealed significant socioeconomic gaps in how the current public-private conservation network benefits the public. These gaps warrant consideration in regional conservation plans and suggest that private conservation initiatives may be best suited for responding to the equity challenge. Enhancing the ecosystem benefits and the equity of benefit delivery from private conservation networks could build public and political support for long-term conservation strategies and ultimately enhance conservation efficacy.

State Government, Its Relationship to Private Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Cronin, Joseph M.; Kenyon, Regan

1982-01-01

In examining the state's role in private education, this article discusses court cases bearing on state services to private schools, state regulation of different types of private schools, collaborative efforts between public and private schools, and emerging state attitudes toward private education. (Author/WD)

A local initiative for energy efficiency improvements in motor driven systems in public and private companies - case studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tamm, G. [Behoerde fuer Stadtentwicklung und Umwelt, Hamburg (Germany)

2005-07-01

In the free and hanseatic town Hamburg reduction potentials in public buildings are developed systematically in the context of the energy management by standardised efficiency programs. The City has had special means ready for financing energy saving measures for many years, because the investments amortize themselves by the operation cost reduction. Examples of efficient electrical motor systems in public buildings: ventilation facilities and air conditioning, heating pumps energy saving program. The city of Hamburg also offers a promotional program ''enterprises for resource protection'' for private investors from the Hamburg economy. With this program voluntary investment measures are initiated in private enterprises by financial subsidies to conserving resources. Examples of efficient electrical motor driven systems in enterprises: mill: speed controlled exhauster drives, spice mill: speed controlled mill drives, printer: efficient ventilation techniques at a paper exhaust system, wastewater treatment: adjustable fans for pressure aerators, hazardous waste incineration plant: optimisation of the SO{sub 2}-gas scrubbing system by mass flow controlled pumps. With these programs efforts to climate protection can be realised more economically. (orig.)

Simulation Study of Active Ceilings with Phase Change Material in Office Buildings for Different National Building Regulations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Farhan, Hajan; Stefansen, Casper; Bourdakis, Eleftherios

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to examine the performance of phase change material (PCM) in active ceilings for an office room under different Danish building regulations for both heating and cooling purposes. A model of a two-person office room was simulated with the only heating and cooling source...... being radiant ceiling panels containing PCM. The target was to reduce energy use for the simulation models and still meet the recommended criteria of Category II for the European Standard EN 15251:2007 namely, 23°C – 26°C (73.4°F – 78.8°F) during summer and between 20°C – 24°C (68.0°F – 73.4°F) during...... winter. The office model was simulated for a whole year and analyzed for three Danish building regulations BR10 (2010), BR15 (2015) and BR20 (2020). The results show that the indoor environment was within the desired Category II, according to EN 15251 for the whole occupancy period. The predicted...

Special report: Turkish privatisation; Government encourages private generation projects and the sale of TEK distribution functions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anon.

1991-01-25

A brief report is given for the Turkish energy plans for the period 1990-94 concentrating particularly on electricity supply. One of the options to be considered is the privatization of electricity generation and the selling off of distribution companies. The concept of ''build, operate and transfer'' methods of franchising, financing, constructing and operating new generation plant is discussed. (UK).

Technical - Economic Research for Passive Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Miniotaite, Ruta

2017-10-01

A newly constructed passive house must save 80 % of heat resources; otherwise it is not a passive house. The heating energy demand of a passive building is less than 15 kWh/m2 per year. However, a passive house is something more than just an energy-saving house. This concept involves sustainable, high-quality, valuable, healthy and durable construction. Features of a passive house: high insulation of envelope components, high-quality windows, good tightness of the building, regenerative ventilation system and elimination of thermal bridges. The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) 61 requires all new public buildings to become near-zero energy buildings by 2019 and will be extended to all new buildings by 2021. This concept involves sustainable, high-quality, valuable, healthy and durable construction. Foundation, walls and roofs are the most essential elements of a house. The type of foundation for a private house is selected considering many factors. The article examines technological and structural solutions for passive buildings foundation, walls and roofs. The technical-economic comparison of the main structures of a passive house revealed that it is cheaper to install an adequately designed concrete slab foundation than to build strip or pile foundation and the floor separately. Timber stud walls are the cheapest wall option for a passive house and 45-51% cheaper compared to other options. The comparison of roofs and ceilings showed that insulation of the ceiling is 25% more efficient than insulation of the roof. The comparison of the main envelope elements efficiency by multiple-criteria evaluation methods showed that it is economically feasible to install concrete slab on ground foundation, stud walls with sheet cladding and a pitched roof with insulated ceiling.

Energy intelligent buildings based on user activity : A survey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nguyen, Tuan Anh; Aiello, Marco

Occupant presence and behaviour in buildings has been shown to have large impact on heating, cooling and ventilation demand, energy consumption of lighting and appliances, and building controls. Energy-unaware behaviour can add one-third to a building's designed energy performance. Consequently,

34 CFR 200.10 - Applicability of a State's academic assessments to private schools and private school students.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... assessments to private schools and private school students. (a) Nothing in § 200.1 or § 200.2 requires a... 34 Education 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Applicability of a State's academic assessments to private schools and private school students. 200.10 Section 200.10 Education Regulations of the Offices of...

Maximising the social value of constructed assets: public-private-innovation at work

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bonke, Sten; Olsen, Ib Steen

2013-01-01

The paper presents a new industrial innovation arena in line with present Danish and international efforts towards public private partnerships with generic rules for cooperation and integration of research in innovation processes. The method supports the more traditional way of innovation through...... the initiative to new processes or products may originate from one, or several, or from a network of actors. Integrators are actors who undertake a brokering role and promote comprehensive solutions to be used in specific building processes. There is a crucial need for a shift in research and knowledge to a more...

EFFECTS OF PRIVATIZATION TO IMPROVE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE AND EFFICIENCY OF STATE ENTERPRISES IN IRAN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hossein Akbari Radzhabali

2016-04-01

Full Text Available In accordance with Article 44 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Iranian economy is made up of three separate parts: state, cooperative and private. The public sector includes all major industries, mines, roads, rails and more. The cooperative sector includes cooperatives operating in the field of production and distribution. The private sector includes companies and private producers, industry, construction and other services and commercial activities in which the public sector and to co-operate. As a result, the private sector plays a very important role. The impact of privatization through economic analysis and statistical surveys. (The difference between before and after privatization. This study evaluated the effectiveness of privatization through the financial performance of companies privatized between 1999 to 2008 were tested. To achieve this, the number of 13 companies were selected that were privatized between 2007 and 2014. Then, about four dependent variables were studied. Privatization, as well as the independent variable were calculated. These studies were examined on the basis of a statistical method used to test hypotheses and annual financial statements. The results showed that privatization is the combined effect on the performance of the companies surveyed. The privatization program will also have a positive impact on the company’s financial performance, such as the EVA, operating cash flow and return on equity and return on investment does not affect the speed.

Research of private label development in Croatia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Horvat

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Private labels have been present on the market since 19th century but their intensive market growth began in the last thirty years after retailers realized what their potential could be in the fight against ever-growing competition. Their market growth has not been distributed equally thought the world so Europe became the region with the highest private label market share, which exceeds 40% on some markets. Although the private label market share in Croatia is considerably smaller, it has also increased steadily over the last decade since private labels were introduced on the market. This paper presents the findings of a research conducted for the purpose of identifying trends in private label development on the Croatian market. The research was conducted through in-depth interviews with private label managers in retail companies in Croatia, and with the managers responsible for private label production in manufacturing companies. The research identified three expected trends of private label development in Croatia and these are: an increase in private label quality, the maintenance of a price gap between private labels and manufacturers’ brands and a further increase in the private label market share.

Simulated performance of the Thermo Active Building System (TABS) with respect to the provided thermal comfort and primary energy use

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kolarik, Jakub; Olesen, Bjarne W.; Toftum, Jørn

2009-01-01

The central module of an office building conditioned by a Thermo Active Building System (TABS) coupled with constant volume ventilation was evaluated by means of dynamic computer simulations. Additionally, the same building model was simulated with a conventional all air VAV ventilation system fo...

Birecik: a role model for private companies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Holzmann, P. [Corporate Communications, Frankfurt am Main (Germany)

2001-04-01

The Birecik hydroelectric power project in Turkey is highlighted as a good example of the effectiveness of a private sector company in planning, financing and constructing a hydro power plant on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis. Birecik AS has built the 672 MW plant and dam on the River Euphrates near the border with Syria as part of a Turkish government plan to develop southeast Anatolia. The dam, which was built on schedule and within budget, has embankments on the left and right hand sides and a gravity dam in the centre containing the power house, intake and spillway. The power house contains six Francis turbines, three of which are already operational. The plant's specifications and other vital statistics are summarised in a table. Its location is shown in a map of Turkey.

Public Sector Unions and Privatization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Foged, Søren Kjær; Aaskoven, Lasse

2016-01-01

Privatization varies considerably among local governments. One of the oft-listed explanations is the ability of public employees to block privatization. However, many studies on the influence of public employees on privatization do not use very precise measures of the influence of public employees...... Danish municipalities in 2012, we are able to measure the strength of the public eldercare union as well as the number of the public eldercare workers relative to the number of local voters. We find that the increased union strength measured in terms of union density at the municipal level leads...... to substantially and significantly less privatization through the voucher market. By comparison, the estimated relationship between the relative number of public workers and privatization does not reach statistical significance. Features of the voucher market and qualitative evidence suggest that the union...

Private pensions for Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bovenberg, L.; van Ewijk, C.

2011-01-01

Private pensions can enhance international and intergenerational risk-sharing and create a deeper European capital market, which allows for better diversification of country-specific risks and facilitates economic growth. Private funding of pensions creates a more integrated European capital market

Healthscape role towards customer satisfaction in private healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Sahoo, Debajani; Ghosh, Tathagata

2016-07-11

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify the motives that enforce consumers to find out the major determinants that frame healthscape in private healthcare service that leads to their satisfaction in a developing country like India. Design/methodology/approach - The generic motive dimensions are identified using an exploratory factor analysis. Next the reliability and validity of the factors are established followed by regression analysis using SPSS 20.0 s/w. Findings - This paper identifies six healthscape motives in the private healthcare sector named as service personnel conduct and cleanliness, service delivery and facilities, ambience, location and look, appealing decoration, and upgraded safety service, out of which only service delivery, ambience, location, and decorations contribute the most to build customer satisfaction as per their significance value. Research limitations/implications - The various dimensions of healthcare motives should be viewed as the levers of improving hospitals' service quality in the minds of its present and future customers. This finding can offer valuable insight to the forthcoming as well as existing developer who are planning to have their healthcare service presence in India. Practical implications - This study suggests some important strategic guidelines for service positioning and market segmentation of healthcare services as per customer requirements. In the recent past, availing services from hospitals were purely utilitarian in nature. Customers were more inclined to get proper and timely services and cared more about the service quality of the healthcare service provider. Originality/value - This paper is among the few works done on understanding private healthcare service delivery process in India and customer satisfaction level from those Hospitals. This study addresses the gap by identifying a set of dimensions that are relevant to customers for a unique healthcare experience.

Financing schemes increasing energy efficiency and renewable energy use in public and private buildings. Comparative study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-03-01

resources to financial engineering and creation of innovative financing schemes that will help them keep the money spent on energy near home. They strive for sustainable, long-term financing solutions capable to generate large-scale investments. Indeed, financing energy transition will require strong technical, financial, legal and coordination skills and expertise in local authorities. Many different players at all levels of governance have already tested and implemented successful innovative financing schemes. However, the existing and emerging financing solutions remain isolated and not well known. Energy Cities - the European association of local authorities in energy transition - aims at strengthening the skills of local authorities in this field and facilitating the exchange of their experiences so that successful schemes can be more easily replicated all over the EU and beyond. Thus, Energy Cities identified 9 existing local, regional and national financing schemes aiming at increasing energy efficiency and renewable energy use in public and private buildings, which are usually the biggest energy consumer at local level. They are presented in this study. The financing schemes have been selected with the aim to present a myriad of different solutions that are implemented to address the same problem: - Local investment funds (Almada in Portugal, Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Region Centre in France). - Local public and semi-public companies (Ile de France and Rhone-Alpes Regions in France). - Revolving funds linked to grants and soft-loan schemes (Lithuania, Estonia, Brussels-Capital Region, Delft in the Netherlands)

Public – Private Partnership – a New Way to Attract Investments

OpenAIRE

Karlavičius, Linas Vytautas

2006-01-01

In recent years a marked increase in cooperation between public and private sectors is seen for the development a wide range of economic activities. Such Public – Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements were driven by the limitations in public funds to cover investment needs and also to increase the quality and efficiency of public services. Different aspects of PPP implementation are treated in the article. Considering risk, there are substantiated conditions for possibility to apply the prin...

Private sector in public health care systems

OpenAIRE

Matějusová, Lenka

2008-01-01

This master thesis is trying to describe the situation of private sector in public health care systems. As a private sector we understand patients, private health insurance companies and private health care providers. The focus is placed on private health care providers, especially in ambulatory treatment. At first there is a definition of health as a main determinant of a health care systems, definition of public and private sectors in health care systems and the difficulties at the market o...

Variation of radon exhalation on building materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Fudong; Liu Senlin; Wang Chunhong; Pan Ziqiang; Zhang Yonggui; Ji Dong

2009-01-01

The 19 samples from different building material factories were collected for four kinds of building materials. The activity concentration and radon exhalation of building materials were measured. The radon exhalations of building materials are not obviously different if the component is same and the processes of building materials are similar. However, the radon exhalations of same kind of building material are greatly different if the components are different and the processes of building material are varied even if the activity concentrations of building material are similar. (authors)

A comparison of private and public sector intensive care unit infrastructure in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahomed, S; Sturm, A W; Moodley, P

2017-11-27

Intensive care units (ICUs) are designed to care for patients who are often at increased risk of acquiring healthcare-associated infections. The structure of ICUs should be optimally designed to facilitate the care of these critically ill patients, and minimise their risk of infection. National regulations (R158) were developed to govern the building and registration of private hospitals, and until recently equivalent regulations were not available for public hospitals. To assess and compare the compliance of ICUs in the private and public sectors with the R158 regulations. A cross-sectional study design was used to assess the infrastructure of 25 private sector and 6 public sector ICUs in eThekwini Health District, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. We used the R158 checklist, which was developed by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health Private Licensing Unit and Infection Prevention and Control Unit. The aspects covered in the R158 checklist were categorised into the design, general safety and patient services of the ICUs. Most of the ICUs in both sectors met the general safety requirements. There were varying levels of compliance with the design criteria. Only 7 (28.0%) and 1 (16.7%) of the private and public ICUs, respectively, had sufficient space around the beds. Twenty-two private ICUs (88.0%) and 4 public ICUs (66.7%) had isolation rooms, but only some of these isolation rooms (15 private and 2 public) had appropriate mechanical ventilation. None of the ICUs had clinical hand-wash basins in the nurse stations and dirty utility rooms. The majority of the ICUs had the required number of oxygen and electric outlets at the bedside. None of the public ICUs met the light intensity requirement over the bed area. Adequate spacing in ICUs is an issue in many cases. Interventions need to be put in place to ensure that ICUs meet the relevant design standards. There is an urgent need to revise the R158 regulations to reflect current best practices, particularly

Public Private Partnerships: A possible alternative for delivery of infrastructure projects in Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salim Bwanali

2017-12-01

Full Text Available It is estimated that Africa needs $93 billion annually until 2020 in order to bridge its infrastructure deficit. It is through significant investment in infrastructure development that economic growth and poverty alleviation can be enhanced. However central to all construction projects is an effective and sustainable procurement system. There is a notable shift by some African governments to turn to the private sector to design, build, finance and operate infrastructure facilities previously provided by the public sector in the form of Public Private Partnerships (PPP’s. As an innovative financing model, PPPs present an opportunity to governments to improve service delivery. Accordingly, this paper focuses on assessing international best practices as to how some developing nations tap into the resources of the private sector in implementing their infrastructure projects. The study is a result of critical review, synthesis and contextualization of relevant academic literature, conference and journal publications. A thorough document review method was employed to assess how some developing countries have institutionalized PPP as part of their development strategy. The paper will be of significant value to senior government officials as understanding the concept and dynamics of PPP will result in accelerated and effective service delivery.

A Decision-Making Model to Attract Private Sector Investors into BOT and BOO Water and Sanitation Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elnaz Abbaszadeh

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Economic development in any country depends on a multitude of factors, among which infrastructure construction projects constitute a major part. Included in this category are large-scale water supply and sanitation schemes that are commonly state-owned and require large allocations from the public funds. Article 214 of the 5th National Development Plan of the Islamic Republic of Iran mandates the Government to employ such public-private partnership tools as BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer and BOO (Build-Own-Operate as the means towards attracting private sector participation to ensure enhanced the efficiency and effectiveness of infrastructure projects. It is the objective of the present study to survey and identify the challenges facing such schemes based on the assessment of the contractual criteria and conditions commonly practiced in water and sanitation projects. The results are expected to lead to the development of a decision-making model that will encourage the private sector’s decision-makers to invest in these projects. Information was collected in two stages. The first stage involved a review of model contracts and interviews with water and sanitation experts. The data thus obtained was subjected to analysis using the SPSS software, which yielded 14 indices as the major components of the public-private partnership contracts used in the industry. In a second stage, the indices were tabulated and prepared in the form of a questionnaire which was presented to experts who were asked to assign weight scores of 1 to 10 to each of the indices. Ranking and scoring was accomplished using the TOPSIS method. Finally, the Pareto diagram was used to select the 10 more important indices which were further divided into two major and minor categories of indices. A model was then developed for scoring by the private sector investment advisors to help them in their decision-making process regarding BOD and BOO water and sanitation projects. The model

Public and Private Intelligence: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruth Delaforce

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Intelligence is often regarded as information that is special or different, which must be safely kept. When sought, collected or used by the private sector, as opposed to public agencies, concerns are raised on the purpose and propriety of such an activity. However, in an historical context, intelligence collection or sharing between public and private interests for the purpose of national security was not unusual, particularly during the Cold War. Case studies from this era indicate that overlapping concerns were economic success combined with political strategy. Glimpses of these shared interests between the state and business can also be identified in the immediate post-Cold War era, and the aftermath of terrorist attacks in 2001. Perhaps the greatest contemporary change is not that “private” and “public” intelligence is shared between business and state, but the extent of such an enterprise. Further issues related to this change are: state dominance in the public-private relationship; potential fragmentation in the intelligence process; gaps in the historical record; and implications for future generations of intelligence professionals.

Prosecutor's Office Role In The Process Of Ensuring Balance Between Private And Public Interests In The Conditions Of The Economic Activity Freedom

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Nadezhda D. But

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Present article is devoted to the problem of prosecutor participation in the process of ensuring the balance of private and public interests during the supervision over laws on free economic activity execution. Authors noted the existence of need for the formation of the registers of subjects of small and medium business which aren't created so far. According to the authors, for more effective control over the balance of private and public interests the anti-corruption legislation of the Russian Federation, including the Federal Law of July 26, 2006 No. 135-FZ "On the competition protection" should be brought into accord with the international precepts of law and standards. Authors pay special attention to the questions of supervision, including reasons for the fact that during the supervision over the performance of laws in the conditions of the economic activity freedom in sight of prosecutors should be not dispositive, but imperative (regulatory and guarding legal norms. In the sphere of the prosecutor's law-enforcement activity in the conditions of economic activity freedom it is expedient to allocate such activity of prosecutors into the independent supervising subsector as it covers not only economic, but also other spheres of public life (state construction, social questions and many other. In the course of research authors analyze various regulations, opinions of scientists and practice of law application. In the conclusion authors explains opinion that questions listed in the present article need more accurate legislative regulation and realization in the law-enforcement practice.

SETTING OF TASK OF OPTIMIZATION OF THE ACTIVITY OF A MACHINE-BUILDING CLUSTER COMPANY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. V. Romanenko

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The work is dedicated to the development of methodological approaches to the management of machine-building enterprise on the basis of cost reduction, optimization of the portfolio of orders and capacity utilization in the process of operational management. Evaluation of economic efficiency of such economic entities of the real sector of the economy is determined, including the timing of orders, which depend on the issues of building a production facility, maintenance of fixed assets and maintain them at a given level. Formulated key components of economic-mathematical model of industrial activity and is defined as the optimization criterion. As proposed formula accumulating profits due to production capacity and technology to produce products current direct variable costs, the amount of property tax and expenses appearing as a result of manifestations of variance when performing replacement of production tasks for a single period of time. The main component of the optimization of the production activity of the enterprise on the basis of this criterion is the vector of direct variable costs. It depends on the number of types of products in the current portfolio of orders, production schedules production, the normative time for the release of a particular product available Fund time efficient production positions, the current valuation for certain groups of technological operations and the current priority of operations for the degree of readiness performed internal orders. Modeling of industrial activity based on the proposed provisions would allow the enterprises of machine-building cluster, active innovation, improve the efficient use of available production resources by optimizing current operations at the high uncertainty of the magnitude of the demand planning and carrying out maintenance and routine repairs.