Local Competition-Based Superpixel Segmentation Algorithm in Remote Sensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiayin Liu

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Remote sensing technologies have been widely applied in urban environments’ monitoring, synthesis and modeling. Incorporating spatial information in perceptually coherent regions, superpixel-based approaches can effectively eliminate the “salt and pepper” phenomenon which is common in pixel-wise approaches. Compared with fixed-size windows, superpixels have adaptive sizes and shapes for different spatial structures. Moreover, superpixel-based algorithms can significantly improve computational efficiency owing to the greatly reduced number of image primitives. Hence, the superpixel algorithm, as a preprocessing technique, is more and more popularly used in remote sensing and many other fields. In this paper, we propose a superpixel segmentation algorithm called Superpixel Segmentation with Local Competition (SSLC, which utilizes a local competition mechanism to construct energy terms and label pixels. The local competition mechanism leads to energy terms locality and relativity, and thus, the proposed algorithm is less sensitive to the diversity of image content and scene layout. Consequently, SSLC could achieve consistent performance in different image regions. In addition, the Probability Density Function (PDF, which is estimated by Kernel Density Estimation (KDE with the Gaussian kernel, is introduced to describe the color distribution of superpixels as a more sophisticated and accurate measure. To reduce computational complexity, a boundary optimization framework is introduced to only handle boundary pixels instead of the whole image. We conduct experiments to benchmark the proposed algorithm with the other state-of-the-art ones on the Berkeley Segmentation Dataset (BSD and remote sensing images. Results demonstrate that the SSLC algorithm yields the best overall performance, while the computation time-efficiency is still competitive.

Competition between global and local online social networks

Science.gov (United States)

Kleineberg, Kaj-Kolja; Boguñá, Marián

2016-04-01

The overwhelming success of online social networks, the key actors in the Web 2.0 cosmos, has reshaped human interactions globally. To help understand the fundamental mechanisms which determine the fate of online social networks at the system level, we describe the digital world as a complex ecosystem of interacting networks. In this paper, we study the impact of heterogeneity in network fitnesses on the competition between an international network, such as Facebook, and local services. The higher fitness of international networks is induced by their ability to attract users from all over the world, which can then establish social interactions without the limitations of local networks. In other words, inter-country social ties lead to increased fitness of the international network. To study the competition between an international network and local ones, we construct a 1:1000 scale model of the digital world, consisting of the 80 countries with the most Internet users. Under certain conditions, this leads to the extinction of local networks; whereas under different conditions, local networks can persist and even dominate completely. In particular, our model suggests that, with the parameters that best reproduce the empirical overtake of Facebook, this overtake could have not taken place with a significant probability.

Competition between global and local online social networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Kleineberg, Kaj-Kolja; Boguñá, Marián

2016-04-27

The overwhelming success of online social networks, the key actors in the Web 2.0 cosmos, has reshaped human interactions globally. To help understand the fundamental mechanisms which determine the fate of online social networks at the system level, we describe the digital world as a complex ecosystem of interacting networks. In this paper, we study the impact of heterogeneity in network fitnesses on the competition between an international network, such as Facebook, and local services. The higher fitness of international networks is induced by their ability to attract users from all over the world, which can then establish social interactions without the limitations of local networks. In other words, inter-country social ties lead to increased fitness of the international network. To study the competition between an international network and local ones, we construct a 1:1000 scale model of the digital world, consisting of the 80 countries with the most Internet users. Under certain conditions, this leads to the extinction of local networks; whereas under different conditions, local networks can persist and even dominate completely. In particular, our model suggests that, with the parameters that best reproduce the empirical overtake of Facebook, this overtake could have not taken place with a significant probability.

Effects of the competition between the exchange and dipolar interactions in the spin-wave spectrum of two-dimensional circularly magnetized nanodots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mamica, S; Krawczyk, M; Lévy, J-C S

2014-01-01

We use a microscopic theory taking into account the dipolar and nearest-neighbour exchange interactions for exploring spin-wave excitations in two-dimensional magnetic dots in the vortex state. Normal modes of different profiles are observed: azimuthal and radial modes, as well as fundamental (quasiuniform) and highly localized modes. We examine the dependence of the frequencies and profiles of these modes on the dipolar-to-exchange interaction ratio and the size of the dot. Special attention is paid to some particular modes, including the lowest mode in the spectrum and the evolution of its profile, and the fundamental mode, the frequency of which proves almost independent of the dipolar-to-exchange interaction ratio. We also provide a selective overview of the experimental, analytical and numerical results from the literature, where different profiles of the lowest mode are reported. We attribute this diversity to the competition between the dipolar and exchange interactions. Finally, we study the hybridization of the modes, show the multi-mode hybridization and explain the selection rules. (paper)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT TAX COMPETITION IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA 1918-1938

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Haas

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The study evaluates tax competition among local governments in Czechoslovakia during the interwar period. Using correlation and regression analysis it proves that (1 local politicians took into account the tax policies of neighbouring jurisdictions when imposing additional tax rates on top of the direct central taxes, (2 there were some regional differences, (3 migration played its role in tax rate setting and (4 the "race-to-the-bottom" did not take place.

Local Road Safety Peer Exchange - Region 9 : An RSPCB Peer Exchange

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-01

This report provides a summary of the proceedings of the Region 9 Local Road Safety Peer : Exchange held in Sacramento, California on September 17 and 18, 2013. The Federal Highway : Administration (FHWA) Office of Safety (HSA) sponsored the peer exc...

Federal employees health program experiences lack of competition in some areas, raising cost concerns for exchange plans.

Science.gov (United States)

McBride, Timothy D; Barker, Abigail R; Pollack, Lisa M; Kemper, Leah M; Mueller, Keith J

2012-06-01

The Affordable Care Act calls for creation of health insurance exchanges designed to provide private health insurance plan choices. The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program is a national model that to some extent resembles the planned exchanges. Both offer plans at the state level but are also overseen by the federal government. We examined the availability of plans and enrollment levels in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program throughout the United States in 2010. We found that although plans were widely available, enrollment was concentrated in plans owned by just a few organizations, typically Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans. Enrollment was more concentrated in rural areas, which may reflect historical patterns of enrollment or lack of provider networks. Average biweekly premiums for an individual were lowest ($58.48) in counties where competition was extremely high, rising to $65.13 where competition was extremely low. To make certain that coverage sold through exchanges is affordable, policy makers may need to pay attention to areas where there is little plan competition and take steps through risk-adjustment policies or other measures to narrow differences in premiums and out-of-pocket expenses for consumers.

Effect of the competition of Cu(II) and Ni(II) on the kinetic and thermodynamic stabilities of Cr(III)-organic ligand complexes using competitive ligand exchange (EDTA).

Science.gov (United States)

Cunha, Graziele da Costa; Goveia, Danielle; Romão, Luciane Pimenta Cruz; de Oliveira, Luciana Camargo

2015-05-01

The effect of competition of Cu(II) and Ni(II) on the kinetic stability of Cr(III) complexed with natural organic matter (NOM) was characterized using EDTA exchange with single-stage tangential-flow ultrafiltration. For a water sample from Serra de Itabaiana, 3% of spiked Cr(III) was exchanged, while for a sample from the Itapanhaú River, 7, 10, 10, and 21% was exchanged in experiments using Cr(III) alone and in combination with Cu(II), Ni(II), or Cu(II) + Ni(II), respectively. Times required to reach exchange equilibrium with EDTA were less than 360 min. The influence of competition from Ni(II) and Cu(II) on the availability of complexed Cr(III) was low, demonstrating preference of the ligand sites for Cr(III). This was correlated with sample humification, as confirmed by EPR and (13)C NMR analyses. Exchange efficiency was in the order Cu > Ni > Cr, and the process could be readily described by first order kinetics, with average rate constants of 0.35-0.37 h(-1). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Towards improved local hybrid functionals by calibration of exchange-energy densities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arbuznikov, Alexei V.; Kaupp, Martin

2014-01-01

A new approach for the calibration of (semi-)local and exact exchange-energy densities in the context of local hybrid functionals is reported. The calibration functions are derived from only the electron density and its spatial derivatives, avoiding spatial derivatives of the exact-exchange energy density or other computationally unfavorable contributions. The calibration functions fulfill the seven more important out of nine known exact constraints. It is shown that calibration improves substantially the definition of a non-dynamical correlation energy term for generalized gradient approximation (GGA)-based local hybrids. Moreover, gauge artifacts in the potential-energy curves of noble-gas dimers may be corrected by calibration. The developed calibration functions are then evaluated for a large range of energy-related properties (atomization energies, reaction barriers, ionization potentials, electron affinities, and total atomic energies) of three sets of local hybrids, using a simple one-parameter local-mixing. The functionals are based on (a) local spin-density approximation (LSDA) or (b) Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) exchange and correlation, and on (c) Becke-88 (B88) exchange and Lee-Yang-Parr (LYP) correlation. While the uncalibrated GGA-based functionals usually provide very poor thermochemical data, calibration allows a dramatic improvement, accompanied by only a small deterioration of reaction barriers. In particular, an optimized BLYP-based local-hybrid functional has been found that is a substantial improvement over the underlying global hybrids, as well as over previously reported LSDA-based local hybrids. It is expected that the present calibration approach will pave the way towards new generations of more accurate hyper-GGA functionals based on a local mixing of exchange-energy densities

Factors Determining Bank Competitive Strategy: An Empirical Study on Local Development Banks (LDBS in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad IRFAN

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Many studies have been investigating determinants of the company's competitive strategy. Nevertheless, there have insufficient studies conducted to investigate the determinants of competitive strategy on banking industry, particularly on Local development banks (LDBS. This study is aimed at filling in the literature. This study surveyed top executives of twenty-six local development banks in Indonesia and employed PLS approach to answer the research questions. The result shows that three groups of variables, i.e., innovation management, company resource management, and adoption of technology influence the development of competitive strategy in local development banks.

Quality competition in local hospital markets: some econometric evidence from the period 1982-1988.

Science.gov (United States)

Chirikos, T N

1992-05-01

This study examines whether American hospitals continued to engage in non-price or quality competition over the recent past as health care markets underwent fundamental structural changes and the economic incentives facing hospital managers were correspondingly altered. It also investigates the degree to which such rivalrous behavior contributes to losses in economic welfare. An econometric model of quality competition is specified that tests, among other things, for the effect of spending by the hospital to enhance the quality of output on annual changes in its share of the local (inpatient) market as well as the effects of competitive conditions in the local market on the annual sum spent on quality enhancement. The model is estimated with panel data on 195 acute care hospitals in the State of Florida for the years 1982-1988. The results suggest that quality competitive behavior continued unabated over this period and that it was stimulated as much by the growth in physician supply and alternative delivery mechanisms as it was by other competing hospitals in the local market. Furthermore, the results show that quality competition yields some inefficiency or waste, but much of it also meets the test of the market.

Exchange rate policy

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Plačkov Slađana

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Small oscillations of exchange rate certainly affect the loss of confidence in the currency (Serbian dinar, CSD and because of the shallow market even the smallest change in the supply and demand leads to a shift in exchange rate and brings uncertainty. Some economists suggest that the course should be linked to inflation and thus ensure predictable and stable exchange rates. Real exchange rate or slightly depressed exchange rate will encourage the competitiveness of exporters and perhaps ensure the development of new production lines which, in terms of overvalued exchange rate, had no economic justification. Fixed exchange rate will bring lower interest rates, lower risk and lower business uncertainty (uncertainty avoidance, but Serbia will also reduce foreign exchange reserves by following this trend. On the other hand, a completely free exchange rate, would lead to a (real fall of Serbian currency, which in a certain period would lead to a significant increase in exports, but the consequences for businessmen and citizens with loans pegged to the euro exchange rate, would be disastrous. We will pay special attention to the depreciation of the exchange rate, as it is generally favorable to the export competitiveness of Serbia and, on the other hand, it leads to an increase in debt servicing costs of the government as well as of the private sector. Oscillations of the dinar exchange rate, appreciation and depreciation, sometimes have disastrous consequences on the economy, investors, imports and exports. In subsequent work, we will observe the movement of the dinar exchange rate in Serbia, in the time interval 2009-2012, in order to strike a balance and maintain economic equilibrium. A movement of foreign currencies against the local currency is controlled in the foreign exchange market, so in case economic interests require, The National Bank of Serbia (NBS, on the basis of arbitrary criteria, can intervene in the market.

A Local Land Use Competition Cellular Automata Model and Its Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Yang

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Cellular automaton (CA is an important method in land use and cover change studies, however, the majority of research focuses on the discovery of macroscopic factors affecting LUCC, which results in ignoring the local effects within the neighborhoods. This paper introduces a Local Land Use Competition Cellular Automata (LLUC-CA model, based on local land use competition, land suitability evaluation, demand analysis of the different land use types, and multi-target land use competition allocation algorithm to simulate land use change at a micro level. The model is applied to simulate land use changes at Jinshitan National Tourist Holiday Resort from 1988 to 2012. The results show that the simulation accuracies were 64.46%, 77.21%, 85.30% and 99.14% for the agricultural land, construction land, forestland and water, respectively. In addition, comparing the simulation results of the LLUC-CA and CA-Markov model with the real land use data, their overall spatial accuracies were found to be 88.74% and 86.82%, respectively. In conclusion, the results from this study indicated that the model was an acceptable method for the simulation of large-scale land use changes, and the approach used here is applicable to analyzing the land use change driven forces and assist in decision-making.

Study of the Bonham series representation of the Born--Oppenheimer exchange amplitude and the derivation of a local exchange potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huo, W.M.

1977-01-01

The convergence and range of applicability of the Bonham series representation of the Born--Oppenheimer exchange amplitude is investigated. Numerical calculations on 1 1 S→2 3 S and 1 1 S→2 3 P of He by electron impact demonstrate that the first three terms of the Bonham series can provide an adequate representation of the Born--Oppenheimer amplitude from high energies down to near threshold. The three-term Bonham series is then used to represent the Hartree--Fock exchange kernel in momentum space, which has been shown by Lassettre to be proportional to the Born--Oppenheimer amplitude. Inverse Fourier transform, plus an additional approximation of replacing the momentum which appears as an expansion parameter in the Bonham series by its averge value, gives us a local exchange potential. If the averge momentum in the Thomas--Fermi model is used, the first term of the local exchange potential is just the electron gas exchange potential. A second term corresponding to a correction for the inhomogeneity in the electron gas density, is also obtained. No adjustable parameter is involved. Exchange energies of He, Be, and Ne calculated using the local exchange potential agree much better with the Hartree--Fock results than the electron gas model

On the Real Exchange Rate as a Measure of Australia’s External Competitiveness

OpenAIRE

Layton, A.P.; McLaren, J.

1991-01-01

The use of a country’s real effective exchange rate as a measure of external competitiveness implicitly assumes that, in the long run, purchasing power parity prevails between the country and its trading partners [Dornbusch (1985)]. A testable definition of long run equilibrium existing among non-stationary time series is provided in the recently developed theory of cointegration [Engle and Granger (1987)]. The paper extends earlier U.S. work in this area by Layton and Stark (1990) by investi...

Local density approximation for exchange in excited-state density functional theory

OpenAIRE

Harbola, Manoj K.; Samal, Prasanjit

2004-01-01

Local density approximation for the exchange energy is made for treatment of excited-states in density-functional theory. It is shown that taking care of the state-dependence of the LDA exchange energy functional leads to accurate excitation energies.

The Exchange Rate Adjustment Role in Imperfect Competition: the Case of the Czech Republic

OpenAIRE

Filip Novotný

2008-01-01

One of the approaches to an international trade analysis is the assumption of prevailing imperfect competition where monopolistic firms determine prices of their production on segmented foreign markets. Based on aggregate data of quarterly financial indicators of non-financial enterprises, the hypothesis was tested whether producers based in the Czech Republic absorb nominal exchange rate fluctuations in their profit margins. Estimated results indicate that domestic private firms absorb a sub...

Redox competition mode of scanning electrochemical microscopy (RC-SECM) for visualisation of local catalytic activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Eckhard, Kathrin; Chen, Xingxing; Turcu, Florin; Schuhmann, Wolfgang

2006-12-07

In order to locally analyse catalytic activity on modified surfaces a transient redox competition mode of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) has been developed. In a bi-potentiostatic experiment the SECM tip competes with the sample for the very same analyte. This leads to a current decrease at the SECM tip, if it is positioned in close proximity to an active catalyst site on the surface. Specifically, local catalytic activity of a Pt-catalyst modified sample with respect to the catalytic reduction of molecular oxygen was investigated. At higher local catalytic activity the local 02 partial pressure within the gap between accurately positioned SECM tip and sample is depleted, leading to a noticeable tip current decrease over active sites. A flexible software module has been implemented into the SECM to adapt the competition conditions by proper definition of tip and sample potentials. A potential pulse profile enables the localised electrochemically induced generation of molecular oxygen prior to the competition detection. The current decay curves are recorded over the entire duration of the applied reduction pulse. Hence, a time resolved processing of the acquired current values provides movies of the local oxygen concentration against x,y-position. The SECM redox competition mode was verified with a macroscopic Pt-disk electrode as a test sample to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach. Moreover, highly dispersed electro-deposited spots of gold and platinum on glassy carbon were visualised using the redox competition mode of SECM. Catalyst spots of different nature as well as activity inhomogeneities within one spot caused by local variations in Pt-loading were visualised successfully.

The local exchange network in the information age - The need for new policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fons, J.P. (Ausley, McMullen, McGehee, Carothers and Proctor, Tallahassee, FL (USA))

1990-01-18

This article is an analysis of a conventional belief that the local exchange telephone networks are bottleneck monopolies. It also examines the alleged bases for excluding the local exchange telephone companies from participating directly in existing and developing technologies and markets other than those of a telephone service, or dial-tone. The author concludes that adherence to the current policy in the face of a demand for information age technology and services, and the availability of competing systems, will condemn the local exchange networks to the technological junk heap - and at the same time deprive the public of some of its best opportunities for new and enhanced services.

Corporate social responsibility in a competitive business environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Newman, Carol; Rand, John; Tarp, Finn

efficiency, and reveal that the impact is stronger for firms in non-competitive industries. Moreover, we show that local community focused corporate social responsibility initiatives drive the aggregate effect. This suggests that socially responsible actions by firms are likely to pay-off when stakeholder...... engagement has a localized focus. We provide evidence of reciprocity by showing that employees accept a lower share of additionally generated value added in exchange for working in a company that signals ‘good’ corporate values....

Emulation of Equal Open Access and Competition Creation in the Wireline Telecommunications Local and Last Mile Market Segments

Science.gov (United States)

Van Epps, Daniel L.

2013-01-01

Expanded telecommunications was deemed a serious need for end users. The "Local Market" and "Last Mile" market segments have largely consolidated into "natural utilities". Competition and access problems occur if new providers enter the local market and desire competitive access and service to end users. Local and…

Exchange energy in the local Airy gas approximation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vitos, Levente; Johansson, B.; Kollár, J.

2000-01-01

The Airy gas model of the edge electron gas is used to construct an exchange-energy functional that is an alternative to those obtained in the local-density and generalized-gradient approximations. Test calculations for rare-gas atoms, molecules, solids, and surfaces show that the Airy gas...

Effects of local adaptation and interspecific competition on species' responses to climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Bocedi, Greta; Atkins, Katherine E; Liao, Jishan; Henry, Roslyn C; Travis, Justin M J; Hellmann, Jessica J

2013-09-01

Local adaptation and species interactions have been shown to affect geographic ranges; therefore, we need models of climate impact that include both factors. To identify possible dynamics of species when including these factors, we ran simulations of two competing species using an individual-based, coupled map-lattice model using a linear climatic gradient that varies across latitude and is warmed over time. Reproductive success is governed by an individual's adaptation to local climate as well as its location relative to global constraints. In exploratory experiments varying the strength of adaptation and competition, competition reduces genetic diversity and slows range change, although the two species can coexist in the absence of climate change and shift in the absence of competitors. We also found that one species can drive the other to extinction, sometimes long after climate change ends. Weak selection on local adaptation and poor dispersal ability also caused surfing of cooler-adapted phenotypes from the expanding margin backwards, causing loss of warmer-adapted phenotypes. Finally, geographic ranges can become disjointed, losing centrally-adapted genotypes. These initial results suggest that the interplay between local adaptation and interspecific competition can significantly influence species' responses to climate change, in a way that demands future research. © 2013 New York Academy of Sciences.

Implied and Local Volatility Surfaces for South African Index and Foreign Exchange Options

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonie Kotzé

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Certain exotic options cannot be valued using closed-form solutions or even by numerical methods assuming constant volatility. Many exotics are priced in a local volatility framework. Pricing under local volatility has become a field of extensive research in finance, and various models are proposed in order to overcome the shortcomings of the Black-Scholes model that assumes a constant volatility. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE lists exotic options on its Can-Do platform. Most exotic options listed on the JSE’s derivative exchanges are valued by local volatility models. These models needs a local volatility surface. Dupire derived a mapping from implied volatilities to local volatilities. The JSE uses this mapping in generating the relevant local volatility surfaces and further uses Monte Carlo and Finite Difference methods when pricing exotic options. In this document we discuss various practical issues that influence the successful construction of implied and local volatility surfaces such that pricing engines can be implemented successfully. We focus on arbitrage-free conditions and the choice of calibrating functionals. We illustrate our methodologies by studying the implied and local volatility surfaces of South African equity index and foreign exchange options.

Nonlinear localized excitations in magnets with a weak exchange interaction as a soliton problem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gvozdikova, M.V.; Kovalev, A.S.

1998-01-01

The spin dynamics of soliton-like localized excitations in a discrete ferromagnet chain with an easy axis anisotropy and a weak exchange interaction is studied. The connection of these excitations with longwave magnetic solitons is discussed. The localized excitation frequency dependence on exchange interaction is found for a fixed number of spin deviation. It is shown that this dependence modifies essentially when the exchange interaction becomes comparable with an anisotropy value

Competitive Priorities and Competitive Advantage in Jordanian Manufacturing

OpenAIRE

Awwad, Abdulkareem S.; Al Khattab, Adel A.; Anchor, J.R

2013-01-01

The purpose of this research was to explore and predict the relationship between the competitive priorities (quality, cost, flexibility and delivery) and the competitive advantage of firms in the Jordanian Industrial Sector. A population of 88 Jordanian manufacturing firms, registered on the Amman Stock Exchange, was targeted using a cross-sectional survey employing a questionnaire method of data collection. The results of the data analysis indicate a significant relationship between competit...

Incorporation of metals (Pt-Ni-Ru) in the zeolite ZSM-5 through ion exchange competitive: synthesis and characterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barbosa, A.S.; Rodrigues, M.G.F.

2012-01-01

Zeolites are very important materials due to their high specific surface area. Moreover, they are suitable for use as catalyst support. Noble metals supported on zeolites have been widely used as catalysts in the petrochemical industry. This paper was prepared and characterized, a powder aiming its use in heterogeneous catalysis. Support was used as ZSM-5 and the method of incorporation of the metals (Ru-PtNi) was competitive ion exchange. The materials (ZSM-5 and Pt-Ni-Ru/ZSM-5) were characterized by spectrophotometry Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and nitrogen physisorption (BET method). Based on the results of X-ray diffraction, it is possible to demonstrate the preservation of the structure of zeolite ZSM-5 after the competitive ion Exchange with metals (Ru-Pt-Ni) and calcination. The dispersion of metals on ZSM-5 did not change the textural characteristics of the zeolite. (author)

Market integration of local energy systems: Is local energy management compatible with European regulation for retail competition?

OpenAIRE

Eid, Cherrelle; Bollinger, L. Andrew; Koirala, Binod; Scholten, Daniel; Facchinetti, Emanuele; Lilliestam, Johan; Hakvoort, Rudi

2016-01-01

The growing penetration of distributed energy resources is opening up opportunities for local energy management (LEM) – the coordination of decentralized energy supply, storage, transport, conversion and consumption within a given geographical area. Because European electricity market liberalization concentrates competition at the wholesale level, local energy management at the distribution level is likely to impose new roles and responsibilities on existing and/or new actors. This paper prov...

Local and national laparoscopic skill competitions: residents' opinions and impact on adoption of simulation-based training.

Science.gov (United States)

McCreery, Greig L; El-Beheiry, Mostafa; Schlachta, Christopher M

2017-11-01

Dedicated practice using laparoscopic simulators improves operative performance. Yet, voluntary utilization is minimal. We hypothesized that skill competition between peers, at the local and national level, positively influences residents' use of laparoscopic simulators. A web-based survey evaluated the relationship between Canadian General Surgery residents' use of laparoscopic simulation and participation in competition. Secondary outcomes assessed attitudes regarding simulation training, factors limiting use, and associations between competition level and usage. One hundred ninety (23%) of 826 potential participants responded. Eighty-three percent rated their laparoscopic abilities as novice or intermediate. More than 70% agreed that use of simulation practice improves intra-operative performance, and should be a mandatory component of training. However, 58% employed simulator practice less than once per month, and 18% never used a simulator. Sixty-five percent engaged in simulator training for 5 h or less over the preceding 6 months. Seventy-three percent had participated in laparoscopic skill competition. Of those, 51% agreed that competition was a motivation for simulation practice. No association was found between those with competition experience and simulator use. However, 83% of those who had competed nationally reported >5 h of simulator use in the previous 6 months compared to those with no competition experience (26%), local competition (40%), and local national-qualifying competition (23%) (p simulation-based training, with only the minority of individuals competing at the national level demonstrated significantly higher simulation use. However, simulation training was perceived as a valuable exercise. Lack of time and access to simulators, as opposed to lack of interest, were the most commonly reported to limited use.

Semi-Local DFT Functionals with Exact-Exchange-Like Features: Beyond the AK13

Science.gov (United States)

Armiento, Rickard

The Armiento-Kümmel functional from 2013 (AK13) is a non-empirical semi-local exchange functional on generalized gradient approximation form (GGA) in Kohn-Sham (KS) density functional theory (DFT). Recent works have established that AK13 gives improved electronic-structure exchange features over other semi-local methods, with a qualitatively improved orbital description and band structure. For example, the Kohn-Sham band gap is greatly extended, as it is for exact exchange. This talk outlines recent efforts towards new exchange-correlation functionals based on, and extending, the AK13 design ideas. The aim is to improve the quantitative accuracy, the description of energetics, and to address other issues found with the original formulation. Swedish e-Science Research Centre (SeRC).

Conflict and Fairness in Social Exchange

Science.gov (United States)

Molm, Linda D.; Collett, Jessica L.; Schaefer, David R.

2006-01-01

Inherent to all social exchange relations are elements of both cooperation and competition. We develop and test a theoretical model which proposes that the relative salience of the competitive, conflictual elements of exchange mediate and explain the negative effects of negotiated exchange, as compared with reciprocal exchange, on actors'…

Trade liberalisation, competitiveness and the real exchange rate (RER: An analysis of developments in South Africa during the 1990s

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L Rangasamy

2003-11-01

Full Text Available This paper tests whether tariff liberalisation has lead to increased competitiveness in the South African economy. The 46 sectors of the South African economy are classified as exportable, importable, importable and exportable and non-tradable. The impact of trade liberalisation on domestic prices for importables and exportables is then assessed by making use of real exchange rate calculations. It is concluded that while increased globalisation of production processes in South Africa may have improved the competitiveness of the tradable sector, tariff liberalisation played a minimal role in improving competitiveness in the manufacturing sector.

Speciation of Co(II) and Ni(II) in anaerobic bioreactors measured by competitive ligand exchange - adsorptive stripping voltammetry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jansen, S.; Steffen, F.; Threels, W.F.; Leeuwen, van H.P.

2005-01-01

Competitive ligand exchange-adsorptive stripping voltammetry is applied to speciation analysis of dissolved Ni(II) and Co(II) in an anaerobic bioreactor and similar batch media. Co and Ni speciation in these media can be measured down to concentration levels of ca. 1 nM. Sulfide interference is

Evolution of phenotypic clusters through competition and local adaptation along an environmental gradient.

Science.gov (United States)

Leimar, Olof; Doebeli, Michael; Dieckmann, Ulf

2008-04-01

We have analyzed the evolution of a quantitative trait in populations that are spatially extended along an environmental gradient, with gene flow between nearby locations. In the absence of competition, there is stabilizing selection toward a locally best-adapted trait that changes gradually along the gradient. According to traditional ideas, gradual spatial variation in environmental conditions is expected to lead to gradual variation in the evolved trait. A contrasting possibility is that the trait distribution instead breaks up into discrete clusters. Doebeli and Dieckmann (2003) argued that competition acting locally in trait space and geographical space can promote such clustering. We have investigated this possibility using deterministic population dynamics for asexual populations, analyzing our model numerically and through an analytical approximation. We examined how the evolution of clusters is affected by the shape of competition kernels, by the presence of Allee effects, and by the strength of gene flow along the gradient. For certain parameter ranges clustering was a robust outcome, and for other ranges there was no clustering. Our analysis shows that the shape of competition kernels is important for clustering: the sign structure of the Fourier transform of a competition kernel determines whether the kernel promotes clustering. Also, we found that Allee effects promote clustering, whereas gene flow can have a counteracting influence. In line with earlier findings, we could demonstrate that phenotypic clustering was favored by gradients of intermediate slope.

Ohio’s Research Initiative for Locals Peer Exchange Report, March 8-9, 2017

Science.gov (United States)

2017-10-23

On March 8-9, 2017, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) hosted a peer exchange on behalf of the Ohios Research Initiative for Locals (ORIL) program. Peer exchanges provide an opportunity to foster best practices and evaluate processes wit...

Modelling the transport of carbonic acid anions through anion-exchange membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nikonenko, V.; Lebedev, K.; Manzanares, J.A.; Pourcelly, G.

2003-01-01

Electrodiffusion of carbonate and bicarbonate anions through anion-exchange membranes (AEM) is described on the basis of the Nernst-Planck equations taking into account coupled hydrolysis reactions in the external diffusion boundary layers (DBLs) and internal pore solution. The model supposes local electroneutrality as well as chemical and thermodynamic equilibrium. The transport is considered in three layers being an anion exchange membrane and two adjoining diffusion layers. A mechanism of competitive transport of HCO 3 - and CO 3 2- anions through the membrane which takes into account Donnan exclusion of H + ions is proposed. It is predicted that the pH of the depleting solution decreases and that of the concentrating solution increases during electrodialysis (ED). Eventual deviations from local electroneutrality and local chemical equilibrium are discussed

Local economic development and globalisation : the international competitiveness of certain South African municipalities / Vincent Monti Malebo Mongake

OpenAIRE

Mongake, Monti Malebo Vincent

2004-01-01

In today's global competitive environment, a city or a town more than ever needs a strategy that articulates how its international competitiveness is to be improved. Since 1994, following its first democratic elections, South Africa started processes of significant local government reform, as well as fast integration into the global economy. These processes will place significant challenges in the way of South Africa's local government (municipalities) since they now not only h...

Tourism Cluster Competitiveness and Sustainability: Proposal for a Systemic Model to Measure the Impact of Tourism on Local Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sieglinde Kindl da Cunha

2005-07-01

Full Text Available This article proposes a model to measure tourism cluster impact on local development with a view to assessing tourism cluster interaction, competitiveness and sustainability impacts on the economy, society and the environment. The theoretical basis for this model is founded on cluster concept and typology adapting and integrating the systemic competitiveness and sustainability concepts within economic, social, cultural, environmental and political dimensions. The proposed model shows a holistic, multidisciplinary and multi-sector view of local development brought back through a systemic approach to the concepts of competitiveness, social equity and sustainability. Its results make possible strategic guidance to agents responsible for public sector tourism policies, as well as the strategies for competitiveness, competition, cooperation and sustainability in private companies and institutions.

Dynamical implications of bi-directional resource exchange within a meta-ecosystem.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez, Marisabel Rodriguez; Kopp, Darin; Allen, Daniel; Kang, Yun

2018-05-05

The exchange of resources across ecosystem boundaries can have large impacts on ecosystem structures and functions at local and regional scales. In this article, we develop a simple model to investigate dynamical implications of bi-directional resource exchanges between two local ecosystems in a meta-ecosystem framework. In our model, we assume that (1) Each local ecosystem acts as both a resource donor and recipient, such that one ecosystem donating resources to another results in a cost to the donating system and a benefit to the recipient; and (2) The costs and benefits of the bi-directional resource exchange between two ecosystems are correlated in a nonlinear fashion. Our model could apply to the resource interactions between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems that are supported by the literature. Our theoretical results show that bi-directional resource exchange between two ecosystems can indeed generate complicated dynamical outcomes, including the coupled ecosystems having amensalistic, antagonistic, competitive, or mutualistic interactions, with multiple alternative stable states depending on the relative costs and benefits. In addition, if the relative cost for resource exchange for an ecosystem is decreased or the relative benefit for resource exchange for an ecosystem is increased, the production of that ecosystem would increase; however, depending on the local environment, the production of the other ecosystem may increase or decrease. We expect that our work, by evaluating the potential outcomes of resource exchange theoretically, can facilitate empirical evaluations and advance the understanding of spatial ecosystem ecology where resource exchanges occur in varied ecosystems through a complicated network. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Primary sex ratio adjustment by ant queens in response to local mate competition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

de Menten, Ludivine; Cremer, Sylvia; Heinze, Jürgen

2005-01-01

In the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior, wingless males compete with nestmate males for access to female mating partners, leading to local mate competition (LMC). Queen number varies between colonies, resulting in variation in the strength of LMC. Cremer & Heinze (2002, Proceedings of the Royal Society...

Short range part of the NN interaction: Equivalent local potentials from quark exchange kernels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuk, Y.; Hecht, K.T.

1983-01-01

To focus on the nature of the short range part of the NN interaction, the intrinsically nonlocal interaction among the quark constituents of colorless nucleons is converted to an equivalent local potential using resonating group kernels which can be evaluated in analytic form. The WKB approximation based on the Wigner transform of the nonlocal kernels has been used to construct the equivalent potentials without recourse to the long range part of the NN interaction. The relative importance of the various components of the exchange kernels can be examined: The results indicate the importance of the color magnetic part of the exchange kernel for the repulsive part in the (ST) = (10), (01) channels, in particular since the energy dependence of the effective local potentials seems to be set by this term. Large cancellations of color Coulombic and quark confining contributions, together with the kinetic energy and norm exchange terms, indicate that the exact nature of the equivalent local potential may be sensitive to the details of the parametrization of the underlying quark-quark interaction. The equivalent local potentials show some of the characteristics of the phenomenological short range terms of the Paris potential

Competitive and rivalry behaviors in international business exchanges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Medlin, C. J.; Ellegaard, Chris

In this paper we explore competition as a process between firms; rather than as a background economic variable. We consider past competitor research on structured contexts and socially constructed competition, and develop a research model based on the priority of firm’s line of action: whether pr...

Developing Exchange in Short Local Foods Supply Chains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Per Engelseth

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The supply chain management of foods is commonly associated with modernistic large-scale production. This involves long transport distances of foods to reach consumers. In the case of local foods, supply chains are shorter. Based on a case study of five local foods producer's supply of their products to a common retailer, the supply chain of local foods is modelled conceptually and modes of development are pointed out based on contingency theory and supply chain management literature. Findings reveal that since these chains are transparent, reciprocal interdependency is abundant mainly because human perception creates a sufficient understanding of the operations management issues pertinent within this simple inter-organisational structure. Local foods supply chains are similar to service supply chains. This includes that both are short in nature and associated with bi-directional interaction between the customer and supplier. Developing short supply chains in local foods supply is associated with improving the exchange economy found in short supply chains. This also implies that development of local foods supply is associated with two paths which may be complementary. First, the use of improved intensive technology associated with reciprocal interdependency to develop efficiencies in the bi-directional and somewhat complex interaction. Alternatively local foods suppliers may seek to reduce this form of reciprocal interdependency thereby increasing the impact of pooled interdependencies and enabling using mediating technology involving standardising interaction such as through increased standardised products and packaging as well as automation of information connectivity.

Competition is the basis of the transport mechanism of the NhaB Na+/H+ exchanger from Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miyer Patiño-Ruiz

Full Text Available Na+/H+ exchange is essential for survival of all organisms, having a role in the regulation of the intracellular Na+ concentration, pH and cell volume. Furthermore, Na+/H+ exchangers were shown to be involved in the virulence of the bacterium Yersinia pestis, indicating they might be potential targets for novel antibiotic treatments. The model system for Na+/H+ exchangers is the NhaA transporter from Escherichia coli, EcNhaA. Therefore, the general transport mechanism of NhaA exchangers is currently well characterized. However, much less is known about NhaB exchangers, with only a limited number of studies available. The pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae, which is a major source of nosocomial infection, possesses three electrogenic Na+/H+ exchangers, KpNhaA1, KpNhaA2 and KpNhaB, none of which have been previously investigated. Our aim in this study was to functionally characterize KpNhaB using solid supported membrane-based electrophysiology as the main investigation technique, and thus provide the first electrophysiological investigation of an NhaB Na+/H+ exchanger. We found that NhaB can be described by the same competition-based mechanism that was shown to be valid for electrogenic NhaA and NapA, and for electroneutral NhaP Na+/H+ exchangers. For comparison we also characterized the activity of KpNhaA1 and KpNhaA2 and found that the three exchangers have complementary activity profiles, which is likely a survival advantage for K. pneumoniae when faced with environments of different salinity and pH. This underlines their importance as potential antibiotic drug targets.

Academic performance and personal experience of local, international, and collaborative exchange students enrolled in an Australian pharmacy program.

Science.gov (United States)

Davey, Andrew K; Grant, Gary D; Anoopkumar-Dukie, Shailendra

2013-09-12

To assess the academic performance and experiences of local, international, and collaborative exchange students enrolled in a 4-year Australian bachelor of pharmacy degree program. Survey instruments exploring the demographics, background, and academic and cultural experiences of students during the program were administered in 2005 to students in all 4 years. Additionally, grades from each semester of the program for students (406 local, 70 international, 155 exchange) who graduated between 2002 and 2006 were analyzed retrospectively. The main differences found in the survey responses among the 3 groups were in students' motivations for choosing the degree program and school, with international and collaborative exchange students having put more thought into these decisions than local students. The average grades over the duration of the program were similar in all 3 demographic groups. However, local students slightly outperformed international students, particularly at the start of the year, whereas collaborative exchange students' grades mirrored those of local students during the 2 years prior to leaving their home country of Malaysia but more closely mirrored those of international students in the final 2 years after arriving on campus in Australia. Despite differences in academic backgrounds and culture, international and exchange students can perform well compared to local students in a bachelor of pharmacy program and were actually more satisfied than local students with the overall experience. Studying in a foreign country can negatively influence academic grades to a small extent and this is probably related to adjusting to the new environment.

Communication: Near-locality of exchange and correlation density functionals for 1- and 2-electron systems

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Jianwei; Perdew, John P.; Yang, Zenghui; Peng, Haowei

2016-05-01

The uniform electron gas and the hydrogen atom play fundamental roles in condensed matter physics and quantum chemistry. The former has an infinite number of electrons uniformly distributed over the neutralizing positively charged background, and the latter only one electron bound to the proton. The uniform electron gas was used to derive the local spin density approximation to the exchange-correlation functional that undergirds the development of the Kohn-Sham density functional theory. We show here that the ground-state exchange-correlation energies of the hydrogen atom and many other 1- and 2-electron systems are modeled surprisingly well by a different local spin density approximation (LSDA0). LSDA0 is constructed to satisfy exact constraints but agrees surprisingly well with the exact results for a uniform two-electron density in a finite, curved three-dimensional space. We also apply LSDA0 to excited or noded 1-electron densities, where it works less well. Furthermore, we show that the localization of the exact exchange hole for a 1- or 2-electron ground state can be measured by the ratio of the exact exchange energy to its optimal lower bound.

Communication: Near-locality of exchange and correlation density functionals for 1- and 2-electron systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun, Jianwei; Yang, Zenghui; Peng, Haowei [Department of Physics, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122 (United States); Perdew, John P. [Department of Physics, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122 (United States); Department of Chemistry, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122 (United States)

2016-05-21

The uniform electron gas and the hydrogen atom play fundamental roles in condensed matter physics and quantum chemistry. The former has an infinite number of electrons uniformly distributed over the neutralizing positively charged background, and the latter only one electron bound to the proton. The uniform electron gas was used to derive the local spin density approximation to the exchange-correlation functional that undergirds the development of the Kohn-Sham density functional theory. We show here that the ground-state exchange-correlation energies of the hydrogen atom and many other 1- and 2-electron systems are modeled surprisingly well by a different local spin density approximation (LSDA0). LSDA0 is constructed to satisfy exact constraints but agrees surprisingly well with the exact results for a uniform two-electron density in a finite, curved three-dimensional space. We also apply LSDA0 to excited or noded 1-electron densities, where it works less well. Furthermore, we show that the localization of the exact exchange hole for a 1- or 2-electron ground state can be measured by the ratio of the exact exchange energy to its optimal lower bound.

Communication: Near-locality of exchange and correlation density functionals for 1- and 2-electron systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Jianwei; Yang, Zenghui; Peng, Haowei; Perdew, John P.

2016-01-01

The uniform electron gas and the hydrogen atom play fundamental roles in condensed matter physics and quantum chemistry. The former has an infinite number of electrons uniformly distributed over the neutralizing positively charged background, and the latter only one electron bound to the proton. The uniform electron gas was used to derive the local spin density approximation to the exchange-correlation functional that undergirds the development of the Kohn-Sham density functional theory. We show here that the ground-state exchange-correlation energies of the hydrogen atom and many other 1- and 2-electron systems are modeled surprisingly well by a different local spin density approximation (LSDA0). LSDA0 is constructed to satisfy exact constraints but agrees surprisingly well with the exact results for a uniform two-electron density in a finite, curved three-dimensional space. We also apply LSDA0 to excited or noded 1-electron densities, where it works less well. Furthermore, we show that the localization of the exact exchange hole for a 1- or 2-electron ground state can be measured by the ratio of the exact exchange energy to its optimal lower bound.

Cross-Border Higher Education: Global and Local Tensions within Competition and Economic Development

Science.gov (United States)

Owens, Taya L.; Lane, Jason E.

2014-01-01

In this chapter, the authors explore various types of cross-border higher education, considering equity and quality issues within these developments. With a particular focus on international branch campuses, the authors discuss the ways in which global competition for knowledge and economic development interact with tensions at the local level.

Local differences in parasitism and competition shape defensive investment in a polymorphic eusocial bee.

Science.gov (United States)

Segers, Francisca H I D; von Zuben, Lucas; Grüter, Christoph

2016-02-01

Many colonial animals rely for their defense on a soldier caste. Adaptive colony demography theory predicts that colonies should flexibly adjust the investment in different worker castes depending on the colony needs. For example, colonies should invest more in defensive workers (e.g., soldiers) in dangerous environments. However, evidence for this prediction has been mixed. We combined descriptive and experimental approaches to examine whether defensive investment and worker size are adjusted to local ecology in the only known bee with polymorphic workers, Tetragonisca angustula. Colonies of this species are defended by a morphologically specialized soldier caste. Our study included three populations that differed in the density of food competition and the occurrence of a parasitic robber bee. We found that colonies coexisting with robber bees had on average 43% more soldiers defending the nest entrance, while colonies facing stronger foraging competition had soldiers that were -6-7% smaller. We then experimentally relocated colonies to areas with different levels of competition. When released from intense food competition, body sizes of guards and foragers increased. After introducing chemical robber bee cues at nest entrances, we found both a short-term and a long-term up-regulation of the number of soldiers defending the colony. Active soldier numbers remained high after the experiment for a duration equivalent to 2-3 worker life spans. How information about past parasite threat is stored in the colony is currently unknown. In summary, T. angustula adjusts both the number and the body size of active soldiers to local ecological conditions. Competitor density also affects forager (or minor) size, an important colony trait with potential community ecological consequences. Our study supports adaptive colony demography theory in a eusocial bee and highlights the importance of colony threats and competition as selective forces shaping colony phenotype.

76 FR 41853 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Stock Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-15

... regulatory efforts and competitive pricing pressures. The Exchange proposes to increase both its SRO and DEA... lower total registration fees for off-Exchange traders to respond to competitive pressures. The Exchange... Exchange to respond to competitive pressures by lowering trader fees for all off-Exchange proprietary...

77 FR 58198 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-19

... Change Related to Fees Applicable to the Exchange's Competitive Liquidity Provider Program. September 13... Competitive Liquidity Providers (``CLPs'') to enhance liquidity on the Exchange in Exchange- listed securities (``Competitive Liquidity Provider Program'' or ``CLP Program'').\\6\\ The Exchange subsequently adopted financial...

Effects of competition and life history stage on the expression of local adaptation in two native bunchgrasses

Science.gov (United States)

Rice Kevin J.; Knapp Eric E.

2008-01-01

Concerns about the use of genetically appropriate material in restoration often focus on questions of local adaptation. Many reciprocal transplant studies have demonstrated local adaptation in native plant species, but very few have examined how interspecific competition affects the expression of adaptive variation. Our study examined...

Tuning of PID Controllers for Quadcopter System using Cultural Exchange Imperialist Competitive Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nizar Hadi Abbas

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Quadrotors are coming up as an attractive platform for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV research, due to the simplicity of their structure and maintenance, their ability to hover, and their vertical take-off and landing (VTOL capability. With the vast advancements in small-size sensors, actuators, and processors, researchers are now focusing on developing mini UAV’s to be used in both research and commercial applications. This work presents a detailed mathematical nonlinear dynamic model of the quadrotor which is formulated using the Newton-Euler method. Although the quadrotor is a 6 DOF under-actuated system, the derived rotational subsystem is fully actuated, while the translational subsystem is under-actuated. The derivation of the mathematical model was followed by the development of the controller to control the altitude, attitude, heading and position of the quadrotor in space, which is, based on the linear Proportional-Derivative- Integral (PID controller; thus, a simplified version of the model is obtained. The gains of the controllers will be tuned using optimization techniques to improve the system's dynamic response. The standard Imperialist Competitive Algorithm (ICA was applied to tune the PID parameters and then it was compared to Cultural Exchange Imperialist Competitive algorithm (CEICA tuning, and the results show improvement in the proposed algorithm. The objective function results were enhanced by (23.91% in the CEICA compared with ICA.

Local Culture and Rules as Competitive Strategic Predictor and the Impact on Real Estate Industry Performance in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dewa Putu Selawa

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Resources and operational environment of a company are known to have important role in its competitive strategic formulation. These three variables also found influencing business performance. However, little is known about the influence of an understanding toward local culture and rules where a company operated on competitive strategic formulation and the impact on business performance. This research is aimed to find out about the influence of an understanding and implementation of Tri Hita Karana as one of intangible strategic resources and the influence of local rules either in form of regional regulation or customary rules on competitive strategic formulation of real estate company operated in Indonesia, whcih is in Bali Province.In order to harmonize company with its environment through three dimensions based on Hindu philosophy (parahyangan as the manifestation of God dimension, pawongan as the manifestation of humanity dimension and palemahan as the manifestation of natural environment dimension, it is proven that understanding and implementation of Tri Hita Kirana have the highest influence from seven strategic resources formulation of a company. In addition, local rules also proven to significantly influence environmental dynamic faced by real estate companies operated in Bali. The research verified that resources owned by and environmental dynamics of a company have significant influence on competitive strategic that further influence business performance measured using Balance Score Card method.

The contribution of competitive intelligence to the development of local productive settlements: case Jaú-SP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wanda A. M. Hoffmann

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The current economical context has been provoking the largest exhibition of the Brazilian companies to the international competition, imposing challenges and opportunities. The Brazilian small and medium enterprises, SME’s, they are the most vulnerable given the shortage of resources and production costs, among other aspects. The local productive settlements or clusters are important manners of organization of the production of SMEs. Those production manners are considered vital in the employment generation and income to the country. The characteristics of those settlements that measure your dynamics and growth are important themes of research in several areas and countries, for the economical and social importance, thoroughly spread the last years for researchers and entities. The present study approaches the contribution of the competitive intelligence for the clusters improvements. In that context the dynamics of local productive settlements and your technological difficulties and of administration they are identified focalizing the segment of foot-wears and leathers of Jaú in the State of São Paulo. Several aspects are approached in relation to dynamics of that local productive settlement, through your comparative analysis with international settlements, especially Italian. Indicating signs of a typical strategy of industrial clusters, shown by the synergy obtained by the interactivity of change of information intra-cluster and the effort in increasing your competitive capacity.

Characteristics of competitive uptake between Microcystin-LR and natural organic matter (NOM) fractions using strongly basic anion exchange resins.

Science.gov (United States)

Dixit, Fuhar; Barbeau, Benoit; Mohseni, Madjid

2018-03-29

Microcystins are the most commonly occurring cyanotoxins, and have been extensively studied across the globe. In the present study, a strongly basic anion exchange resin was employed to investigate the removal of Microcystin-LR (MCLR), one of the most toxic microcystin variants. Factors influencing the uptake behavior included the MCLR and resin concentrations, resin dosage, and natural organic matter (NOM) characteristics, specifically, the charge density and molecular weight distribution of source water NOM. Equivalent background concentration (EBC) was employed to evaluate the competitive uptake between NOM and MCLR. The experimental data were compared with different mathematical and physical models and pore diffusion was determined as the rate-limiting step. The resin dose/solute concentration ratio played a key role in the MCLR uptake process and MCLR removal was attributed primarily to electrostatic attractions. Charge density and molecular weight distribution of the background NOM fractions played a major role in MCLR removal at lower resin dosages (200 mg/L ∼ 1 mL/L and below), where a competitive uptake was observed due to the limited exchange sites. Further, evidences of pore blockage and site reduction were also observed in the presence of humics and larger molecular weight organic fractions, where a four-fold reduction in the MCLR uptake was observed. Comparable results were obtained for laboratory studies on synthetic laboratory water and surface water under similar conditions. Given their excellent performance and low cost, anion exchange resins are expected to present promising potentials for applications involving the removal of removal of algal toxins and NOM from surface waters. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hospital staffing and local pay: an investigation into the impact of local variations in the competitiveness of nurses' pay on the staffing of hospitals in France.

Science.gov (United States)

Combes, Jean-Baptiste; Delattre, Eric; Elliott, Bob; Skåtun, Diane

2015-09-01

Spatial wage theory suggests that employers in different regions may offer different pay rates to reflect local amenities and cost of living. Higher wages may be required to compensate for a less pleasant environment or a higher cost of living. If wages in a competing sector within an area are less flexible and therefore less competitive this may lead to an inability to employ staff. This paper considers the market for nursing staff in France where there is general regulation of wages and public hospitals compete for staff with the private hospital and non-hospital sectors. We consider two types of nursing staff, registered and assistant nurses and first establish the degree of spatial variation in the competitiveness of pay of nurses in public hospitals. We then consider whether these spatial variations are associated with variation in the employment of nursing staff. We find that despite regulation of pay in the public and private sector, there are substantial local variations in the competitiveness of nurses' pay. We find evidence that the spatial variations in the competitiveness of pay are associated with relative numbers of assistant nurses but not registered nurses. While we find the influence of the competitiveness of pay is small, it suggests that nonpay conditions may be an important factor in adjusting the labour market as might be expected in such a regulated market.

Importance of the correlation contribution for local hybrid functionals: range separation and self-interaction corrections.

Science.gov (United States)

Arbuznikov, Alexei V; Kaupp, Martin

2012-01-07

Local hybrid functionals with their position-dependent exact-exchange admixture are a conceptually simple and promising extension of the concept of a hybrid functional. Local hybrids based on a simple mixing of the local spin density approximation (LSDA) with exact exchange have been shown to be successful for thermochemistry, reaction barriers, and a range of other properties. So far, the combination of this generation of local hybrids with an LSDA correlation functional has been found to give the most favorable results for atomization energies, for a range of local mixing functions (LMFs) governing the exact-exchange admixture. Here, we show that the choice of correlation functional to be used with local hybrid exchange crucially influences the parameterization also of the exchange part as well as the overall performance. A novel ansatz for the correlation part of local hybrids is suggested based on (i) range-separation of LSDA correlation into short-range (SR) and long-range (LR) parts, and (ii) partial or full elimination of the one-electron self-correlation from the SR part. It is shown that such modified correlation functionals allow overall larger exact exchange admixture in thermochemically competitive local hybrids than before. This results in improvements for reaction barriers and for other properties crucially influenced by self-interaction errors, as demonstrated by a number of examples. Based on the range-separation approach, a fresh view on the breakdown of the correlation energy into dynamical and non-dynamical parts is suggested.

77 FR 11608 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-27

... Change Adopting Rebates for the Competitive Liquidity Provider Program February 21, 2012. Pursuant to... makers registered with the Exchange as Competitive Liquidity Providers (``CLPs'') to enhance liquidity on the Exchange in securities listed on the Exchange (the ``Competitive Liquidity Provider Program'' or...

Adaptive Strategies in the Iterated Exchange Problem

Science.gov (United States)

Baraov, Arthur

2011-03-01

We argue for clear separation of the exchange problem from the exchange paradox to avoid confusion about the subject matter of these two distinct problems. The exchange problem in its current format belongs to the domain of optimal decision making—it doesn't make any sense as a game of competition. But it takes just a tiny modification in the statement of the problem to breathe new life into it and make it a practicable and meaningful game of competition. In this paper, we offer an explanation for paradoxical priors and discuss adaptive strategies for both the house and the player in the restated exchange problem.

78 FR 11243 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Notice of Filing and...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-15

... competitive pricing structure designed to incent market participants to direct their order flow to the Exchange, and the Exchange believes that such structure will help the Exchange remain competitive with... highly-competitive market in which market participants can readily direct order flow to competing venues...

78 FR 50463 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Y-Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-19

... filing are intended to attract order flow to the Exchange by continuing to offer competitive pricing... competitive pricing, which, in turn, will benefit Members of the Exchange. B. Self-Regulatory Organization's... necessarily competitive. The Exchange also believes that its pricing for displayed orders is appropriately...

47 CFR 61.45 - Adjustments to the PCI for Local Exchange Carriers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Adjustments to the PCI for Local Exchange... CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) TARIFFS General Rules for Dominant Carriers § 61.45 Adjustments to the PCI... adjustments to the PCI for each basket as part of the annual price cap tariff filing, and shall maintain...

Co-opetition - local utilities between competition and co-opetition; Co-opetition - Stadtwerke zwischen Wettbewerb und Kooperation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reichel, O.; Haller, S. [Horvath und Partners, Duesseldorf (Germany). Competence Center Utilities

2008-05-05

Competition and co-operation - two issues constituting a natural area of conflict especially for local utility companies facing the challenges of liberalization. Where competition seems to be the direct result of the politically driven process towards open energy markets, co-operation is a possible strategic answer for utilities that are not capable to compete successfully in individual stages of their value chain. The consequences are clear: Utilities have to align their strategies and their internal cultural settings with a basically conflicting approach: To compete via co-operation. (orig.)

75 FR 10332 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change by BATS Exchange, Inc. to...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-05

... competitive pressures on Exchange data products and the Exchange's compelling need to attract order flow imposes significant competitive pressure on the Exchange to act equitably, fairly, and reasonably in... subject to significant competitive forces and the proposed fees represent responses to that competition...

The Committee System for Competitive Bids in Local Government

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P Bolton

2009-07-01

Full Text Available When a municipality contracts for goods or services, it must make use of competitive bidding / a public call for tenders for contracts over R200 000 as well as for long term contracts. A competitive bidding process generally consists of different stages, for example, compiling bid specifications, advertising the bid, the receipt and evaluation of bids, and the award and implementation of the contract. The Municipal Supply Chain Management Regulations require a municipality’s Supply Chain Management Policy to provide for a committee system to oversee the different stages. Such committee system must, moreover, consist of at least a bid specification committee, a bid evaluation committee and a bid adjudication committee. Until recently, little attention has been given by the courts to the roles and composition of the different committees in the committee system. It is only after government, and in particular, municipalities have begun to implement the committee system in their procurement processes that it is evident that problems are arising. In recent months, the courts have increasingly had to deal with issues pertaining to the implementation of the committee system.In this article, the relevant legislative provisions on the committee system for competitive bids in local government are discussed. The functions of each committee are explained and all the cases that have thus far involved the implementation of the committee system are critically analysed. Much attention is given to the cases since they serve as a warning to municipalities to uphold and comply with the rules relating to the roles and composition of the different committees. The cases illustrate how important it is for municipalities to ensure that the different committees are properly constituted and that decisions at meetings are properly taken. They also highlight the importance of the supervisory role of the municipal manager over the different committees. In light of the

78 FR 10228 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Notice of Filing and...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-13

... be excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent... the Exchange. The Exchange also notes that it operates in a highly-competitive market in which market... structure will help the Exchange remain competitive with those fees and rebates assessed by other venues. C...

Observability and Estimation of Distributed Space Systems via Local Information-Exchange Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Fathpour, Nanaz; Hadaegh, Fred Y.; Mesbahi, Mehran; Rahmani, Amirreza

2011-01-01

Spacecraft formation flying involves the coordination of states among multiple spacecraft through relative sensing, inter-spacecraft communication, and control. Most existing formation-flying estimation algorithms can only be supported via highly centralized, all-to-all, static relative sensing. New algorithms are proposed that are scalable, modular, and robust to variations in the topology and link characteristics of the formation exchange network. These distributed algorithms rely on a local information exchange network, relaxing the assumptions on existing algorithms. Distributed space systems rely on a signal transmission network among multiple spacecraft for their operation. Control and coordination among multiple spacecraft in a formation is facilitated via a network of relative sensing and interspacecraft communications. Guidance, navigation, and control rely on the sensing network. This network becomes more complex the more spacecraft are added, or as mission requirements become more complex. The observability of a formation state was observed by a set of local observations from a particular node in the formation. Formation observability can be parameterized in terms of the matrices appearing in the formation dynamics and observation matrices. An agreement protocol was used as a mechanism for observing formation states from local measurements. An agreement protocol is essentially an unforced dynamic system whose trajectory is governed by the interconnection geometry and initial condition of each node, with a goal of reaching a common value of interest. The observability of the interconnected system depends on the geometry of the network, as well as the position of the observer relative to the topology. For the first time, critical GN&C (guidance, navigation, and control estimation) subsystems are synthesized by bringing the contribution of the spacecraft information-exchange network to the forefront of algorithmic analysis and design. The result is a

Voice over IP in the Local Exchange: A Case Study

OpenAIRE

Weiss, Martin B. H.; Kim, Hak-Ju

2001-01-01

There have been a small number of cost studies of Voice over IP (VoIP) in the academic literature. Generally, they have been for abstract networks, have not been focused on the public switched telephone network, or they have not included the operating costs. This paper presents the operating cost portion of our ongoing research project comparing circuit-switched and IP network costs for an existing local exchange carrier. We have found that (1) The operating cost differential between IP and c...

Entangling two transportable neutral atoms via local spin exchange.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaufman, A M; Lester, B J; Foss-Feig, M; Wall, M L; Rey, A M; Regal, C A

2015-11-12

To advance quantum information science, physical systems are sought that meet the stringent requirements for creating and preserving quantum entanglement. In atomic physics, robust two-qubit entanglement is typically achieved by strong, long-range interactions in the form of either Coulomb interactions between ions or dipolar interactions between Rydberg atoms. Although such interactions allow fast quantum gates, the interacting atoms must overcome the associated coupling to the environment and cross-talk among qubits. Local interactions, such as those requiring substantial wavefunction overlap, can alleviate these detrimental effects; however, such interactions present a new challenge: to distribute entanglement, qubits must be transported, merged for interaction, and then isolated for storage and subsequent operations. Here we show how, using a mobile optical tweezer, it is possible to prepare and locally entangle two ultracold neutral atoms, and then separate them while preserving their entanglement. Ground-state neutral atom experiments have measured dynamics consistent with spin entanglement, and have detected entanglement with macroscopic observables; we are now able to demonstrate position-resolved two-particle coherence via application of a local gradient and parity measurements. This new entanglement-verification protocol could be applied to arbitrary spin-entangled states of spatially separated atoms. The local entangling operation is achieved via spin-exchange interactions, and quantum tunnelling is used to combine and separate atoms. These techniques provide a framework for dynamically entangling remote qubits via local operations within a large-scale quantum register.

Strategies to enhance price and quality competition in health care: lessons learned from tracking local markets.

Science.gov (United States)

Lesser, Cara S; Ginsburg, Paul B

2006-06-01

Drawing on observations from tracking changes in local health care markets over the past ten years, this article critiques two Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice recommendations to enhance price and quality competition. First, we take issue with the notion that consumers, acting independently, will drive greater competition in health care markets. Rather we suggest an important role remains for trusted agents who can analyze inherently complex price and quality information and negotiate on consumers' behalf. With aggregated information identifying providers who deliver cost-effective care, consumers would be better positioned to respond to financial incentives about where to seek care and thereby drive more meaningful competition among providers to reduce costs and improve quality. Second, we take issue with the FTC/DOJ recommendation to provide more direct subsidies to prevent distortions in competition. In the current political environment, it is not practical to provide direct subsidies for all of the unfunded care that exists in health care markets today; instead, some interference with competition may be necessary to protect cross subsidies. Barriers can be reduced, though, by revising pricing policies that have resulted in marked disparities in the relative profitability of different services.

Cluster-based global firms' use of local capabilities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Poul Houman; Bøllingtoft, Anne

2011-01-01

Purpose – Despite growing interest in clusters role for the global competitiveness of firms, there has been little research into how globalization affects cluster-based firms’ (CBFs) use of local knowledge resources and the combination of local and global knowledge used. Using the cluster......’s knowledge base as a mediating variable, the purpose of this paper is to examine how globalization affected the studied firms’ use of local cluster-based knowledge, integration of local and global knowledge, and networking capabilities. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative case studies of nine firms...... in three clusters strongly affected by increasing global division of labour. Findings – The paper suggests that globalization has affected how firms use local resources and combine local and global knowledge. Unexpectedly, clustered firms with explicit procedures and established global fora for exchanging...

Operating revenue changes in a demutualized stock exchange

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Hesham Abdel-Hafez

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Stock exchanges were traditionally run as cooperative venues. The globalization, the development of technology, and the increase of competition among stock exchanges forced these venues to change their structure and adopt a new one-demutualization- that can be a lifeline in facing these environmental changes in regards to stock exchanges. This new trend enables the exchange to expand their activities and supply the market with new products and services, therefore enhancing the value of the exchange itself. The main sources of revenue for traditional exchanges have been listing fees, transaction fees, membership fees and the sale of information services such as market data, quotations, and trade data. Due to the environmental changes the stock exchanges' services are now executed electronically, and in turn, this has led to an increase in the competition among exchanges. Furthermore, this increased competition has led to the re-adjustment of the regulation structure which gradually erodes the sources of revenues provided by the conventional stock exchanges. The paper divided the research plan into two sections: the first section is to highlight the concept of demutualization process; the phases of demutualization, the factors that push the stock exchanges to demutualize and the benefits of demutualization. The second section was based on statistical comparative analysis of the stock exchanges' revenues prior and after demutualization. The researcher used the regression analysis tool on seven demutualized stock exchanges during the period from 1997-2012. The paper aims to prove that demutualization has a positive effect on the revenues of the stock exchange, thus it enhances the value of the exchange.

The Committee System For Competitive Bids In Local ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

When a municipality contracts for goods or services, it must make use of competitive bidding / a public call for tenders for contracts over R200 000 as well as for long term contracts. A competitive bidding process generally consists of different stages, for example, compiling bid specifications, advertising the bid, the receipt ...

78 FR 4946 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Y-Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-23

... intended to attract order flow to the Exchange by continuing to offer competitive pricing while also... to offer competitive pricing, which, in turn, will benefit Members of the Exchange. Further, the... orders that remove liquidity from the Exchange. The Exchange proposes to introduce a tiered pricing...

Quantum fluctuations in the competition among spin glass, antiferromagnetism and local pairing superconductivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magalhaes, S.G.; Zimmer, F.M.; Kipper, C.J.; Calegari, E.J.

2007-01-01

The competition among spin glass (SG), antiferromagnetism (AF) and local pairing superconductivity (PAIR) is studied in a two-sublattice fermionic Ising SG model with a local BCS pairing interaction in the presence of a transverse magnetic field Γ. The spins in different sublattices interact with Gaussian random couplings with an antiferromagnetic mean. The problem is formulated in a Grassmann path integral formalism. The static ansatz and the replica symmetry are used to obtain the half-filling thermodynamic potential. The results are shown in phase diagrams that exhibit a complex transition line separating the PAIR phase from the others. This line is second order at high temperature which ends in a tricritical point. The presence of Γ affects deeply the transition lines

Struggling to decide : Competition in group decision-making

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Wilde, T.R.W.

2017-01-01

In this dissertation, it is examined how cooperation and competition affect the way groups exchange and process information, and how this – in turn – affects groups’ decision-making quality. Answering this question is important because competition is ubiquitous in group interactions and such

What Do We Know About Namibia’s Competitiveness?

OpenAIRE

Ken Miyajima

2007-01-01

This paper evaluates Namibia's competitiveness using several traditional indicators; it concludes that, while the real effective exchange rate (REER) is in equilibrium at present?suggesting no imminent need for concern?the country may wish to improve its competitiveness by increasing educational attainment, reducing the skills mismatch, and diversifying its exports. Moreover, although Namibia scores relatively well on survey-based major indicators of structural competitiveness, the business e...

Sorsogon State College’s Performance and Management Excellence: Inputs to globally competitive yet locally responsive educational tourism

OpenAIRE

Vivien L. Chua

2017-01-01

Educational tourism clearly situates the new role of Sorsogon State College (SSC) for world-class education while in support to the locally sustainable tourism development of the province and beyond. This paper was able to assess SSC’s capacities to manage globally competitive and locally responsive educational tourism. A mix method of research was used in examining the SSC’s educational tourism through an inventory of academic performance and quality management excellence for ...

Mutual and asynchronous anticipation and action in sports as globally competitive and locally coordinative dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Fujii, Keisuke; Isaka, Tadao; Kouzaki, Motoki; Yamamoto, Yuji

2015-11-01

Humans interact by changing their actions, perceiving other’s actions and executing solutions in conflicting situations. Using oscillator models, nonlinear dynamics have been considered for describing these complex human movements as an emergence of self-organisation. However, these frameworks cannot explain the hierarchical structures of complex behaviours between conflicting inter-agent and adapting intra-agent systems, especially in sport competitions wherein mutually quick decision making and execution are required. Here we adopt a hybrid multiscale approach to model an attack-and-defend game during which both players predict the opponent’s movement and move with a delay. From both simulated and measured data, one synchronous outcome between two-agent (i.e. successful defence) can be described as one attractor. In contrast, the other coordination-breaking outcome (i.e. successful attack) cannot be explained using gradient dynamics because the asymmetric interaction cannot always assume a conserved physical quantity. Instead, we provide the asymmetric and asynchronous hierarchical dynamical models to discuss two-agent competition. Our framework suggests that possessing information about an opponent and oneself in local-coordinative and global-competitive scale enables us to gain a deeper understanding of sports competitions. We anticipate developments in the scientific fields of complex movement adapting to such uncontrolled environments.

Host plant quality mediates competition between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Knegt, B.; Jansa, J.; Franken, O.; Engelmoer, D.J.P.; Werner, G.D.A.; Bücking, H.; Kiers, E.T.

2016-01-01

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi exchange soil nutrients for carbon from plant hosts. Empirical works suggests that hosts may selectively provide resources to different fungal species, ultimately affecting fungal competition. However, fungal competition may also be mediated by colonization strategies of

The Effect of Competitive Advantage and Human Advantage on Industrial Competitive Strategy (Case Study: Smis in Gorontalo Province)

OpenAIRE

Lasalewo, Trifandi; Masruroh, Nur Aini; Subagyo; Hartono, Budi; Yuniarto, Hari Agung

2016-01-01

Small and Medium Industries (SMIs) have a strategic role in the Indonesian economy, as they earn 61.9 percent of the foreign exchange which goes to make up the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, and nationally they are able to absorb 97 percent of the workforce. The Global Competitiveness Report also notes that SMIs serve as the business units that affect every nation’s competitiveness. Considering this strategic role, the selection of a competitive strategy for these SMIs is absolutely necessa...

How Readers and Advertisers Benefit from Local Newspaper Competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Everett, Shu-Ling Chen; Everett, Stephen E.

1989-01-01

Explores relations among three competitive schemes with respect to newspapers' price structures, including advertising rates and prices to consumers. Finds that readers get some benefit from greater competition, but that advertisers do not. (MM)

US producers in a competitive market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beck, M.

1987-01-01

The current (1986) situation in the world-wide uranium market is explained and the competitiveness of United States producers is considered in this context. Historical export contracts by US producers are examined to evaluate how sales quantities by region have changed. The influence of inflation and exchange rates on production costs are considered. The threat of US protectionism is discussed. Despite the contraction of the US uranium industry in recent years a number of US producers have remained competitive. Factors which could increase US competitiveness are listed. (U.K.)

75 FR 29381 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing of...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-25

... compelling need to attract order flow, imposed significant competitive pressure on that exchange's need to... competitive pressures on the ISE Order Feed and ISE's compelling need to attract order flow impose significant competitive pressure on the Exchange to act equitably, fairly, and reasonably in setting its fees. B. Self...

Export competitiveness of pakistani horticultural products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akhtar, W.; Akmal, N.; Shah, H.; Tahir, A.; Niazi, M.A.

2013-01-01

This paper examines Pakistan's competitiveness in export of selected horticulture commodities by employing set of revealed comparative advantage (RCA) and revealed competitive advantage indices with respect to global trade. Results demonstrate that Pakistan has comparative and competitive advantage over the period under analysis and indicates a transition from comparative and competitive disadvantage to comparative and competitive advantage during the period under analysis. Tangerines, mandarins, clem have maintained relatively higher revealed comparative advantage as compared to other categories for the whole period under analysis. Onion export has revealed comparative advantage with some fluctuations over time. The research indicates that Pakistan's comparative and competitive advantages have been increasing in all the selected commodities during period under analysis which indicates the potential of horticulture exports for foreign exchange earnings. There is need to strengthen comparative and competitive advantage in horticulture sector by policy support and facilitating role by all stakeholders. (author)

Local Scaling Properties and Market Turning Points at Prague Stock Exchange

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Krištoufek, Ladislav

2010-01-01

Roč. 41, č. 6 (2010), s. 1001-1014 ISSN 0587-4254 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA402/09/0965; GA ČR GD402/09/H045 Grant - others:GA UK(CZ) 118310 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : scaling * Hurst exponent * extreme events Subject RIV: AH - Economics Impact factor: 0.671, year: 2010 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2010/E/kristoufek-local scaling properties and market turning points at prague stock exchange.pdf

Marketing mix and competitiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anđelković Slobodan

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Competitiveness cannot simply be viewed as a country's ability to export or generate trade surpluses, since these can be brought about at least temporarily by means of artificially lowering the exchange rate and/or compressing domestic expenditures, as has been done in recent years by many DC that have tried to adjust to diminished resource availability. Authors standpoint is that international competitiveness requires creating comparative advantage where it does not exist, and requires action on several levels including an emerging consensus on the importance of macroeconomic policy, role and accountability of the government as well as the imperative of developing and internalizing technology body of knowledge for achieving competitiveness. Particular attention is given to the role and impact of marketing instruments marketing mix.

76 FR 47283 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-04

... excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market... maker/taker spread is competitive with other market centers maker/taker spreads (BATS BZX Exchange, $0... Exchange also notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in which market participants can...

78 FR 21651 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Y-Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-11

... intended to attract order flow to the Exchange by continuing to offer competitive pricing while also... additional capital to its operations and to continue to offer competitive pricing, which, in turn, will... necessarily competitive. The Exchange also believes that its pricing for displayed orders is appropriately...

75 FR 55386 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-10

... levels at a particular venue to be excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing... and other persons using its facilities. The Exchange notes that it operates in a highly competitive... Exchange believes the fees and credits remain competitive with those charged by other venues and therefore...

76 FR 7620 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-10

... levels at a particular venue to be excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing... increased rate, effective January 3, 2011. The Exchange notes that it operates in a highly competitive.... The Exchange believes the fees and credits remain competitive with those charged by other venues and...

Competitive intelligence: An instrument to enhance South Africa’s competitiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wilma Viviers

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The case for Competitive Intelligence (CI as an instrument that can enhance the competitiveness of South African companies and South Africa as a country is strong. Various global competitive rankings measurements have indicated over a number of years the areas in which competitiveness is lacking. Moreover, these rankings have indicated that South Africa has failed to improve its position year on year. The fact that the world is becoming increasingly competitive for South African entities is undisputed. Coupled with a fluctuating exchange rate and the country’s geographical proximity, this poses unique challenges facing South African managers who have to deal with various regulations and legislative matters. In order to create and sustain an effective knowledge economy and to enhance global competitiveness, South Africa however has to put appropriate strategies/measures in place to stimulate, encourage and grow knowledge practices. Competitive Intelligence (CI as a means of making more sense of the competitive business environment and to identify opportunities and risks in time to act upon can be effectively used as a means to enhance competitiveness. Valuable lessons from successful CI practices in the business sector and government can be learnt from elsewhere in the world. CI should be investigated and adapted for South Africa’s business environment. It is therefore the aim of this article to first attempt to describe the role of CI in enhancing competitiveness, specifically in South Africa and secondly, to stimulate thought on how to secure momentum in enhancing CI as an academic field by developing relevant CI courses as well as demonstrating the value of CI to companies in South Africa through research and collaboration between academics and the private and public sectors.

77 FR 68185 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Stock Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-15

... importance and expense of the Exchange's regulatory efforts and competitive pricing pressures and to ensure... Exchange participates in a highly competitive market in which regulatory costs are continually increasing...

Suppression of the invasive plant mile-a-minute (Mikania micrantha) by local crop sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) by means of higher growth rate and competition for soil nutrients.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Shicai; Xu, Gaofeng; Clements, David Roy; Jin, Guimei; Chen, Aidong; Zhang, Fudou; Kato-Noguchi, Hisashi

2015-01-28

There are a variety of ways of increasing crop diversity to increase agricultural sustainability and in turn having a positive influence on nearby natural ecosystems. Competitive crops may provide potent management tools against invasive plants. To elucidate the competitive mechanisms between a sweet potato crop (Ipomoea batatas) and an invasive plant, mile-a-minute (Mikania micrantha), field experiments were carried out in Longchuan County of Yunnan Province, Southwest China, utilizing a de Wit replacement series. The trial incorporated seven ratios of sweet potato and mile-a-minute plants in 25 m(2) plots. In monoculture, the total biomass, biomass of adventitious root, leafstalk length, and leaf area of sweet potato were all higher than those of mile-a-minute, and in mixed culture the plant height, branch, leaf, stem node, adventitious root, flowering and biomass of mile-a-minute were suppressed significantly (P competition was less than interspecific competition. The competitive balance index of sweet potato demonstrated a higher competitive ability than mile-a-minute. Except pH, other soil nutrient contents of initial soil (CK) were significantly higher than those of seven treatments. The concentrations of soil organic matter, total N, total K, available N, available P, available K, exchange Ca, exchange Mg, available Mn, and available B were significantly greater (P competition of sweet potato in the mixture. Evidently sweet potato has a competitive advantage in terms of plant growth characteristics and greater absorption of soil nutrients. Thus, planting sweet potato is a promising technique for reducing infestations of mile-a-minute, providing weed management benefits and economic returns from harvest of sweet potatoes. This study also shows the potential value of replacement control methods which may apply to other crop-weed systems or invaded natural ecosystems.

Solar wind/local interstellar medium interaction including charge exchange with neural hydrogen

Science.gov (United States)

Pauls, H. Louis; Zank, Gary P.

1995-01-01

We present results from a hydrodynamic model of the interaction of the solar wind with the local interstellar medium (LISM), self-consistently taking into account the effects of charge exchange between the plasma component and the interstellar neutrals. The simulation is fully time dependent, and is carried out in two or three dimensions, depending on whether the helio-latitudinal dependence of the solar wind speed and number density (both giving rise to three dimensional effects) are included. As a first approximation it is assumed that the neutral component of the flow can be described by a single, isotropic fluid. Clearly, this is not the actual situation, since charge exchange with the supersonic solar wind plasma in the region of the nose results in a 'second' neutral fluid propagating in the opposite direction as that of the LISM neutrals.

76 FR 70204 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-10

... levels at a particular venue to be excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing... transparency to its fee schedule for Members. The Exchange also notes that it operates in a highly competitive... Members. The Exchange believes the fees and credits remain competitive with those charged by other venues...

77 FR 2581 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-18

... particular venue to be excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed..._marketplace_fees_12_1_2011.pdf The Exchange also notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in.... The Exchange believes the fees and credits remain competitive with those charged by other venues and...

Origins of altruism diversity I: The diverse ecological roles of altruistic strategies and their evolutionary responses to local competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Dyken, J David; Wade, Michael J

2012-08-01

Nature abounds with a rich variety of altruistic strategies, including public resource enhancement, resource provisioning, communal foraging, alarm calling, and nest defense. Yet, despite their vastly different ecological roles, current theory typically treats diverse altruistic traits as being favored under the same general conditions. Here, we introduce greater ecological realism into social evolution theory and find evidence of at least four distinct modes of altruism. Contrary to existing theory, we find that altruistic traits contributing to "resource-enhancement" (e.g., siderophore production, provisioning, agriculture) and "resource-efficiency" (e.g., pack hunting, communication) are most strongly favored when there is strong local competition. These resource-based modes of helping are "K-strategies" that increase a social group's growth yield, and should characterize species with scarce resources and/or high local crowding caused by low mortality, high fecundity, and/or mortality occurring late in the process of resource-acquisition. The opposite conditions, namely weak local competition (abundant resource, low crowding), favor survival (e.g., nest defense) and fecundity (e.g., nurse workers) altruism, which are "r-strategies" that increase a social group's growth rate. We find that survival altruism is uniquely favored by a novel evolutionary force that we call "sunk cost selection." Sunk cost selection favors helping that prevents resources from being wasted on individuals destined to die before reproduction. Our results contribute to explaining the observed natural diversity of altruistic strategies, reveal the necessary connection between the evolution and the ecology of sociality, and correct the widespread but inaccurate view that local competition uniformly impedes the evolution of altruism. © 2012 The Author(s). Evolution© 2012 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Boundaries between Fair and Harmful Tax Competition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paweł Szwajdler

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to show boundaries between fair and harmful tax competition. The author analyses OECD’s reports and literature related to the tax competition. In the beginning, the author presents the notion of tax competition and its division into fair and unfair tax competition. Differences between tax heaven and preferential tax regime are also discussed. In the summary, the author highlights that boundaries between fair and harmful tax competition are not obvious, but there are well-known guidelines, which let distinguish above-mentioned issues. The author considers that there are real tax burden, effective exchange of tax information and transparency in the fair tax regime. The author states that taxpayer can do justified tax planning in such tax system.

ENVIRONMENTAL BENCHMARKING FOR LOCAL AUTHORITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marinela GHEREŞ

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper is an attempt to clarify and present the many definitions ofbenchmarking. It also attempts to explain the basic steps of benchmarking, toshow how this tool can be applied by local authorities as well as to discuss itspotential benefits and limitations. It is our strong belief that if cities useindicators and progressively introduce targets to improve management andrelated urban life quality, and to measure progress towards more sustainabledevelopment, we will also create a new type of competition among cities andfoster innovation. This is seen to be important because local authorities’actions play a vital role in responding to the challenges of enhancing thestate of the environment not only in policy-making, but also in the provision ofservices and in the planning process. Local communities therefore need tobe aware of their own sustainability performance levels and should be able toengage in exchange of best practices to respond effectively to the ecoeconomicalchallenges of the century.

Creating an Economically Enabling and Competitive Business ...

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

Arabic language]. Documents. Strengthening the role of the Palestine securities exchange in attracting foreign investment [Arabic language]. Documents. Impact of infrastructure costs on the competitiveness of the Palestinian industrial sector ...

Exchanging environmental information and decision making: developing the local Pilot Environmental Virtual Observatory with stakeholder communities

Science.gov (United States)

Mackay, E.; Beven, K.; Brewer, P.; M, Haygarth, P.; Macklin, M.; Marshall, K.; Quinn, P.; Stutter, M.; Thomas, N.; Wilkinson, M.

2012-04-01

Public participation in the development of flood risk management and river basin management plans are explicit components of both the Water Framework and Floods Directives. At the local level, involving communities in land and water management has been found to (i) aid better environmental decision making, (ii) enhance social, economic and environmental benefits, and (iii) increase a sense of ownership. Facilitating the access and exchange of information on the local environment is an important part of this new approach to the land and water management process, which also includes local community stakeholders in decisions about the design and content of the information provided. As part of the Natural Environment Research Council's pilot Environment Virtual Observatory (EVO), the Local Level group are engaging with local community stakeholders in three different catchments in the UK (the rivers Eden, Tarland and Dyfi) to start the process of developing prototype visualisation tools to address the specific land and water management issues identified in each area. Through this local collaboration, we will provide novel visualisation tools through which to communicate complex catchment science outcomes and bring together different sources of environmental data in ways that better meet end-user needs as well as facilitate a far broader participatory approach in environmental decision making. The Local Landscape Visualisation Tools are being evolved iteratively during the project to reflect the needs, interests and capabilities of a wide range of stakeholders. The tools will use the latest concepts and technologies to communicate with and provide opportunities for the provision and exchange of information between the public, government agencies and scientists. This local toolkit will reside within a wider EVO platform that will include national datasets, models and state of the art cloud computer systems. As such, local stakeholder groups are assisting the EVO

Energy exchange and transition to localization in the asymmetric Fermi-Pasta-Ulam oscillatory chain

Science.gov (United States)

Smirnov, Valeri V.; Shepelev, Denis S.; Manevitch, Leonid I.

2013-01-01

A finite (periodic) FPU chain is chosen as a convenient model for investigating the energy exchange phenomenon in nonlinear oscillatory systems. As we have recently shown, this phenomenon may occur as a consequence of the resonant interaction between high-frequency nonlinear normal modes. This interaction determines both the complete energy exchange between different parts of the chain and the transition to energy localization in an excited group of particles. In the paper, we demonstrate that this mechanism can exist in realistic (asymmetric) models of atomic or molecular oscillatory chains. Also, we study the resonant interaction of conjugated nonlinear normal modes and prove a possibility of linearization of the equations of motion. The theoretical constructions developed in this paper are based on the concepts of "effective particles" and Limiting Phase Trajectories. In particular, an analytical description of energy exchange between the "effective particles" in the terms of non-smooth functions is presented. The analytical results are confirmed with numerical simulations.

Competition in a Social Structure

Science.gov (United States)

Legara, Erika Fille; Longjas, Anthony; Batac, Rene

Complex adaptive agents develop strategies in the presence of competition. In modern human societies, there is an inherent sense of locality when describing inter-agent dynamics because of its network structure. One then wonders whether the traditional advertising schemes that are globally publicized and target random individuals are as effective in attracting a larger portion of the population as those that take advantage of local neighborhoods, such as "word-of-mouth" marketing schemes. Here, we demonstrate using a differential equation model that schemes targeting local cliques within the network are more successful at gaining a larger share of the population than those that target users randomly at a global scale (e.g., television commercials, print ads, etc.). This suggests that success in the competition is dependent not only on the number of individuals in the population but also on how they are connected in the network. We further show that the model is general in nature by considering examples of competition dynamics, particularly those of business competition and language death.

Local antiferromagnetic exchange and collaborative Fermi surface as key ingredients of high temperature superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Jiangping; Ding, Hong

2012-01-01

Cuprates, ferropnictides and ferrochalcogenides are three classes of unconventional high temperature superconductors, who share similar phase diagrams in which superconductivity develops after a magnetic order is suppressed, suggesting a strong interplay between superconductivity and magnetism, although the exact picture of this interplay remains elusive. Here we show that there is a direct bridge connecting antiferromagnetic exchange interactions determined in the parent compounds of these materials to the superconducting gap functions observed in the corresponding superconducting materials: in all high temperature superconductors, the Fermi surface topology matches the form factor of the pairing symmetry favored by local magnetic exchange interactions. We suggest that this match offers a principle guide to search for new high temperature superconductors. PMID:22536479

Dynamical contribution to the heat conductivity in stochastic energy exchanges of locally confined gases

Science.gov (United States)

Gaspard, Pierre; Gilbert, Thomas

2017-04-01

We present a systematic computation of the heat conductivity of the Markov jump process modeling the energy exchanges in an array of locally confined hard spheres at the conduction threshold. Based on a variational formula (Sasada 2016 (arXiv:1611.08866)), explicit upper bounds on the conductivity are derived, which exhibit a rapid power-law convergence towards an asymptotic value. We thereby conclude that the ratio of the heat conductivity to the energy exchange frequency deviates from its static contribution by a small negative correction, its dynamic contribution, evaluated to be -0.000 373 in dimensionless units. This prediction is corroborated by kinetic Monte Carlo simulations which were substantially improved compared to earlier results.

Local study of flow and low Reynolds thermal-hydraulic performance of a corrugated plane duct: application to plate heat exchangers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hugonnot, Patrick

1989-01-01

This research thesis addresses the local study of a flow in a corrugated plane duct by using experimental and numerical approaches on the one hand, and the experimental determination of thermal-hydraulic performance at low Reynolds number of different plate heat exchanger ducts on the other hand. Experimental visualisations of the local flow allowed regime transitions in 2D and 3D geometries to be determined. As far as the 2D duct is concerned, a wave profile optimisation is proposed, and the numerical study performed by using the TRIO software is in good agreement with experimental results. The optimised duct configuration can thus be envisaged for an industrial development. The determination of the friction coefficient and of the global heat exchange coefficient of different corrugated ducts allows plate exchangers to be sized on a wide range of Reynolds numbers. The respective influences of natural convection and of fluid thermal dependency on heat exchange have been studied [fr

Contracting out local road and park services: Economic effects and their strategic, contractual, and competitive conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindholst, Andrej Christian; Petersen, Ole Helby; Houlberg, Kurt

2018-01-01

such as markets, contracts, municipal strategies and contracting history influence these outcomes. Drawing on original survey data from Danish municipalities, we find that competitive tendering has on average reduced costs. Further analysis shows that savings are not associated with lower quality, thus indicating......The economic rationale for contracting out local services is increasingly contested by empirical research. This article aims to contribute to this literature, first by scrutinising the economic effects of contracting out in local road and park services and, second, by exploring how characteristics...... realise larger savings, whereas the characteristics of markets and contracts do not seem to explain variations in cost savings....

Hydrogen Exchange Differences between Chemoreceptor Signaling Complexes Localize to Functionally Important Subdomains

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

The goal of understanding mechanisms of transmembrane signaling, one of many key life processes mediated by membrane proteins, has motivated numerous studies of bacterial chemotaxis receptors. Ligand binding to the receptor causes a piston motion of an α helix in the periplasmic and transmembrane domains, but it is unclear how the signal is then propagated through the cytoplasmic domain to control the activity of the associated kinase CheA. Recent proposals suggest that signaling in the cytoplasmic domain involves opposing changes in dynamics in different subdomains. However, it has been difficult to measure dynamics within the functional system, consisting of extended arrays of receptor complexes with two other proteins, CheA and CheW. We have combined hydrogen exchange mass spectrometry with vesicle template assembly of functional complexes of the receptor cytoplasmic domain to reveal that there are significant signaling-associated changes in exchange, and these changes localize to key regions of the receptor involved in the excitation and adaptation responses. The methylation subdomain exhibits complex changes that include slower hydrogen exchange in complexes in a kinase-activating state, which may be partially consistent with proposals that this subdomain is stabilized in this state. The signaling subdomain exhibits significant protection from hydrogen exchange in complexes in a kinase-activating state, suggesting a tighter and/or larger interaction interface with CheA and CheW in this state. These first measurements of the stability of protein subdomains within functional signaling complexes demonstrate the promise of this approach for measuring functionally important protein dynamics within the various physiologically relevant states of multiprotein complexes. PMID:25420045

Local industry in global networks : changing competitiveness, corporate strategies and pathways of development in Singapore and Malaysia's garment industry

OpenAIRE

Smakman, Floortje

2004-01-01

The garment industry in Singapore and Malaysia has been incorporated into global production networks and commodity chains - driven by large US and European garment companies - since the 1960s and 1970s respectively. The industry was an intricate part of the export led industrialisation strategies adopted by both countries. However, since incorporation, changing competitiveness due to both international, regional end local pressures, has meant local garment firms have had to implement a range ...

Design of shell-and-tube heat exchangers when the fouling depends on local temperature and velocity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Butterworth, D. [HTFS, Hyprotech, Didcot (United Kingdom)

2002-07-01

Shell-and-tube heat exchangers are normally designed on the basis of a uniform and constant fouling resistance that is specified in advance by the exchanger user. The design process is then one of determining the best exchanger that will achieve the thermal duty within the specified pressure drop constraints. It has been shown in previous papers [Designing shell-and-tube heat exchangers with velocity-dependant fouling, 34th US national Heat Transfer Conference, 20-22 August 2000, Pittsburg, PA; Designing shell-and-tube heat exchangers with velocity-dependant fouling, 2nd Int. Conf. on Petroleum and Gas Phase Behavior and Fouling, 27-31 August 2000, Copenhagen] that this approach can be extended to the design of exchangers where the design fouling resistance depends on velocity. The current paper briefly reviews the main findings of the previous papers and goes on to treat the case where the fouling depends also on the local temperatures. The Ebert-Panchal [Analysis of Exxon crude-oil, slip-stream coking data, Engineering Foundation Conference on Fouling Mitigation of Heat Exchangers, 18-23 June 1995, California] form of fouling rate equation is used to evaluate this fouling dependence. When allowing for temperature effects, it becomes difficult to divorce the design from the way the exchanger will be operated up to the point when the design fouling is achieved. However, rational ways of separating the design from the operation are proposed. (author)

Competitive Outcomes and Endogenous Coalition Formation in an n-Person Game

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sun, N.; Trockel, W.; Yang, Z.F.

2004-01-01

In this paper we study competitive outcomes and endogenous coalition formation in a cooperative n-person transferable utility (TU) game from the viewpoint of general equilibrium theory.For any given game, we construct a competitive exchange coalition production economy corresponding to the game.

Regional Competitiveness and Its Implications for Development

OpenAIRE

Daryono Soebagyo; Triyono Triyono; Yuli Tri Cahyono

2015-01-01

This study was conducted to identify regional competitiveness in some areas of Central Java. Regional competitiveness became one of the issues in regional development policy since the enactment of local autonomy.Measurement of regional competitiveness has been mostly done through ranking as a benchmark the competitiveness of the region. Mapping regional competitiveness in Indonesia has been made to all counties and cities, which shows the competitiveness ranking of each region. Competitivenes...

Challenges to Participation in the Sharing Economy: The Case of Local Online Peer-to-Peer Exchange in a Single Parents’ Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Airi Lampinen

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This paper depicts an initiative to deploy an online peer-to-peer exchange system for a community network of single parents – a group of people in need of goods, services, and social support in their local neighborhoods. We apply participant observation and semi-structured interviews to uncover key issues that can hinder the emergence of sharing practices in local community networks of this type. Our study illustrates how pressures related to single parenthood can impede opportunities to engage in peer-to-peer exchange, even when community members view the social and material benefits of participation as desirable and necessary. This complicates the prevalent narrative that local peer-to-peer exchange systems are an accessible and convenient alternative to traditional markets. Moreover, we discuss our collaboration with the community as well as the developers of the sharing platform, highlighting the challenges of user-centered design in the sharing economy.

Cardiac pre-competiton screening in Swiss athletes. Current situation in competitive athletes and short-time assessment of an exemplary local screening program.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmied, Christian; Notz, Sara; Cribari, Marco; Gähwiler, Roman; Keller, Dagmar I; Lüscher, Thomas F

2012-05-31

In Switzerland, screening concepts for the prevention of sports-associated sudden cardiac death are still insufficiently established in the large group of competitive athletes who are not integrated in an Olympic- or other high-level squad. The aim of the present study was to objectively determine the current situation in this particular group of athletes concerning cardiac pre-competition screening and define specific features of an "ideal" Swiss screening concept. Based on these data, the feasibility and validity was tested by the implementation of an exemplary local screening programme. A standardised questionnaire was completed by 1,047 competitive athletes of different ages and gender. The individual, sports-specific profile of an athlete and furthermore, the personal attitude towards and the vision of a "perfect" cardiac screening were assessed. Based on the results, an exemplary local screening programme for competitive athletes was implemented at the "Academic Sports Association Zurich" (ASVZ) in Zurich, Switzerland and evaluated 1 year after its introduction. Only 9% of the 1,047 interviewed competitive athletes (aged 13 to 64 years; median age 22 years, SD = 5.87) had previously undergone a cardiac screening. Only 47% of the interviewed competitive athletes expressed their interest to undergo a cardiac screening at all. Male and older athletes showed a significantly higher acceptance rate for the screening programme than women and younger athletes. All athletes accepted to bear the expenses for the baseline screening programme, adapted to international standards (minimal accepted fee of 60 Swiss Francs). Almost half of the athletes (49.2%) preferred easy accessibility to a sports cardiologist (max. distance of 10 kilometres). The exemplary local screening programme proved to be feasible and successful. However, only 30% of the 102 screened individuals were female and most of the athletes (80%) who made use of the screening had a specific concern or

47 CFR 61.26 - Tariffing of competitive interstate switched exchange access services.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... switched exchange access services that prices those services above the higher of: (1) The rate charged for... equivalent of the ILEC interstate exchange access services typically associated with following rate elements... switched exchange access services shall mean the composite, per-minute rate for these services, including...

75 FR 63227 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-14

... be excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent... a competitive position with regards to other away market centers. Secondly, the Exchange proposes to... measured on a monthly basis. The Exchange believes that the above pricing is appropriate since higher...

Strategy development for improving competitiveness of a Chinese local convenience store Case of Suguo Co., Ltd

OpenAIRE

Wang, Xiang; Ju, Wei

2014-01-01

The topic of the thesis is improving the competitiveness of the case company. We will regard Suguo as the case compamy. We focused on a Chinese local convenience store, and compared it in four perspectives with an international convenience store which has already entered the Chinese market successfully. The four perspectives are market perspective, customer perspective, management perspective, and decorative style perspective. In addition, we created a strategic map on the basis of the consum...

76 FR 12778 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing and...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-08

... FX Options only. See ISE Rule 2213. \\8\\ A FXCMM is a competitive market maker selected by the... rule change will further the Exchange's goal of promoting trading of its FX options through competitive pricing. 2. Statutory Basis The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with the...

78 FR 58354 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Notice of Filing and...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-23

... AA classes based on several factors, including competitive forces and trading volume.\\3\\ The Exchange... electronically in additional Hybrid option classes. The Exchange believes this may result in more competitive pricing in IWM and other Hybrid option classes, which will promote just and equitable principles of trade...

78 FR 10651 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-14

... excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market... it accounts for the pricing changes on BATS BYX. In addition, the proposal allows the Exchange to... Exchange also notes that it operates in a highly-competitive market in which market participants can...

Performance Competition in Local Media Markets

OpenAIRE

Revelli Federico

2008-01-01

This paper investigates the impact of tax and public service performance on English local government popularity by using data on local property taxes, service performance ratings and local election results after the introduction of a system of evaluation of local government performance (Comprehensive Performance Assessment). The evidence emerging from estimation of a reelection equation offers a somewhat more rounded portrait of the voter than the conventional fiscal conservative icon, by hig...

Effective exchange potentials for electronically inelastic scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwenke, D.W.; Staszewska, G.; Truhlar, D.G.

1983-01-01

We propose new methods for solving the electron scattering close coupling equations employing equivalent local exchange potentials in place of the continuum-multiconfiguration-Hartree--Fock-type exchange kernels. The local exchange potentials are Hermitian. They have the correct symmetry for any symmetries of excited electronic states included in the close coupling expansion, and they have the same limit at very high energy as previously employed exchange potentials. Comparison of numerical calculations employing the new exchange potentials with the results obtained with the standard nonlocal exchange kernels shows that the new exchange potentials are more accurate than the local exchange approximations previously available for electronically inelastic scattering. We anticipate that the new approximations will be most useful for intermediate-energy electronically inelastic electron--molecule scattering

47 CFR 20.20 - Conditions applicable to provision of CMRS service by incumbent Local Exchange Carriers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... affiliated incumbent LEC, and use its affiliated incumbent LEC's marketing and other services, subject to paragraphs (a)(3) and (c) of this section. (c) Joint marketing. Joint marketing of local exchange and... and made available for public inspection upon request at the principle place of business of the...

Restoring international competitiveness in Croatia: The role of fiscal and monetary policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ćorić Tomislav

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Croatia has joined the European Union as a country with several substantial structural problems, of which the most important is weak competitiveness. Although competitiveness can be viewed from the ‘institutional’ perspective, which includes World Development Indicators (WDI and Doing Business reports, in this paper the authors focus on the more standard view of competitiveness based on unit labour costs (ULC and real effective exchange rate (REER. As a small, open and highly dollarized/euroised economy that has to coordinate its economic policy with the EU policy framework, Croatia has limited space for increasing international competitiveness using monetary policy measures aimed at (nominal devaluation of the national currency. Therefore economic policy stakeholders should focus on decreasing unit labour costs and real effective exchange rate mainly through the process of internal devaluation, which is based on adequate fiscal policy measures. In this paper the authors analyse the role of monetary and fiscal policy in the deteriorating real effective exchange rate and unit labour costs since 2000, and their current capabilities and restrictions in restoring international competitiveness. The Structural VAR model (SVAR is used to estimate the effects of foreign (banking capital, credit growth, and current public expenditure on REER and ULC. The preliminary hypothesis of the paper is that monetary policy should continue to support bank lending activities and the role of fiscal policy is to achieve an internal devaluation, which will increase the competitiveness of the Croatian economy. Restoring international competitiveness is necessary due to its impact on net exports and consequently the economic recovery of the national economy, which has faced recession conditions for five years in a row. Also, restoring competitiveness is one of the most important preconditions for the success of a small country joining the single European market.

77 FR 23294 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Order Approving a Proposed Rule Change To...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-18

... for unfair competitive advantage.\\16\\ Although the Commission continues to be concerned about... potential conflicts of interest and unfair competitive advantage. In particular, the Commission believes... firm is affiliated with an exchange to which it is routing orders, the Exchange previously implemented...

Exploring Business Strategy in Health Information Exchange Organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Langabeer, James R; Champagne, Tiffany

2016-01-01

Unlike consumer goods industries, healthcare has been slow to implement technolo gies that support exchange of data in patients' health records. This results in avoid able medication errors, avoidable hospital readmissions, unnecessary duplicate testing, and other inefficient or wasteful practices. Community-based regional health information exchange (HIE) organizations have evolved in response to federal aims to encourage interoperability, yet little is known about their strategic approach. We use the lens of institutional and strategic management theories to empirically explore the differences in business strategies deployed in HIEs that are, to date, financially sustainable versus those that are not. We developed a 20-question survey targeted to CEOs to assess HIE business strategies. Our sample consisted of 60 community-based exchanges distributed throughout the United States, and we achieved a 58% response rate. Questions centered on competitive strategy and financial sustainability. We relied on logistic regression methods to explore relationships between variables. Our regression identified characteristics common to sustainable organizations. We defined sustainability as revenues exceeding operational costs. Seventeen of the 35 organizations (49%) defined themselves as currently sustainable. Focus and cost leadership strategies were significantly associated with sustainability. Growth strate gies, which were much more common than other strategies, were not associated with sustainability. We saw little evidence of a differentiation strategy (i.e., the basis of competition whereby the attributes of a product or service are unmatched by rivals). Most CEOs had a relatively optimistic outlook, with 60% stating they were confident of surviving over the next 5 years; however, nearly 9% of the organizations were in some phase of divestiture or exit from the market. HIEs are evolving differently based on local leadership decisions, yet their strategic approach is

Adaptive rival penalized competitive learning and combined linear predictor model for financial forecast and investment.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheung, Y M; Leung, W M; Xu, L

1997-01-01

We propose a prediction model called Rival Penalized Competitive Learning (RPCL) and Combined Linear Predictor method (CLP), which involves a set of local linear predictors such that a prediction is made by the combination of some activated predictors through a gating network (Xu et al., 1994). Furthermore, we present its improved variant named Adaptive RPCL-CLP that includes an adaptive learning mechanism as well as a data pre-and-post processing scheme. We compare them with some existing models by demonstrating their performance on two real-world financial time series--a China stock price and an exchange-rate series of US Dollar (USD) versus Deutschmark (DEM). Experiments have shown that Adaptive RPCL-CLP not only outperforms the other approaches with the smallest prediction error and training costs, but also brings in considerable high profits in the trading simulation of foreign exchange market.

Comparison of local exchange potentials for electron--N2 scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rumble, J.R. Jr.; Truhlar, D.G.

1980-01-01

We consider vibrationally and electronically elastic electron scattering by N 2 at 2--30 eV impact energy. We consider static, static-exchange, and static--exchange-plus-polarization potentials, Cade--Sales--Wahl and INDO/1s wave functions, and semiclassical exchange and Hara free-electron--gas exchange potentials. We show that the semiclassical exchange approximation is too attractive at low energy for N 2 . We show quantitatively by consideration of partial and total integral cross sections how the effects of approximations to exchange become smaller as the incident energy is increased until these differences are about 8% for the total integral cross section at 30 eV

Finding synergy between local competitiveness and global sustainability to provide a future to nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Den Durpel, Luc; Yacout, Abdellatif; Wade, Dave

2008-01-01

The world's future energy needs will require a mix of energy conversion technologies matched to the local energy market needs while also responding to both local and global socio-political concerns, e.g. energy security, environmental impact, safety and non-proliferation. There is growing recognition worldwide that nuclear energy should not only be part of the solution but maybe as well play a larger share in future's energy supply. The sustainability of future nuclear energy systems is hereby important and a variety of studies have already shown that sustainability of nuclear energy from a resource perspective is achievable via the nuclear fuel cycle though where economic sustainability is essentially defined by the nuclear power plants. The main challenge in deploying sustainable nuclear energy systems will be to find synergies between this local competitiveness of nuclear power plants and the global resource sustainability defined via the nuclear fuel cycle. Both may go hand-in-hand in the long-term but may need government guidance in starting the transition towards such future sustainable nuclear energy systems. (authors)

76 FR 13254 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-10

... levels at a particular venue to be excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing... under'' pricing model). The Exchange believes that the new tier rate of $0.00005 per share for Members... (0.9% of TCV in average daily volume). The Exchange notes that it operates in a highly competitive...

The Skill-Biased Effects of Exchange Rate Fluctuations

OpenAIRE

Boris Kaiser; Michael Siegenthaler

2015-01-01

This paper examines the linkages between real exchange rate movements and firms' skill demand. Real exchange rate movements may affect unskilled workers differently than skilled workers because of skill-specific adjustment costs, or because exchange rates lead to changes in relative factor prices and firms' competition intensity. Using panel data on Swiss manufacturers, we find that an appreciation increases high-skilled and reduces low-skilled employment in most firms, while total employment...

Marriage exchanges, seed exchanges, and the dynamics of manioc diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Delêtre, Marc; McKey, Doyle B; Hodkinson, Trevor R

2011-11-08

The conservation of crop genetic resources requires understanding the different variables-cultural, social, and economic-that impinge on crop diversity. In small-scale farming systems, seed exchanges represent a key mechanism in the dynamics of crop genetic diversity, and analyzing the rules that structure social networks of seed exchange between farmer communities can help decipher patterns of crop genetic diversity. Using a combination of ethnobotanical and molecular genetic approaches, we investigated the relationships between regional patterns of manioc genetic diversity in Gabon and local networks of seed exchange. Spatially explicit Bayesian clustering methods showed that geographical discontinuities of manioc genetic diversity mirror major ethnolinguistic boundaries, with a southern matrilineal domain characterized by high levels of varietal diversity and a northern patrilineal domain characterized by low varietal diversity. Borrowing concepts from anthropology--kinship, bridewealth, and filiation--we analyzed the relationships between marriage exchanges and seed exchange networks in patrilineal and matrilineal societies. We demonstrate that, by defining marriage prohibitions, kinship systems structure social networks of exchange between farmer communities and influence the movement of seeds in metapopulations, shaping crop diversity at local and regional levels.

76 FR 82011 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change To...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-29

... financial incentives, the Exchange is rewarding aggressive liquidity providers in the market. The Exchange... intends to file a proposal to adopt the financial incentives for the Competitive Liquidity Provider... seeking to provide incentives for quoting and to add competition to the existing group of liquidity...

78 FR 50476 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Designation of a Longer Period for...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-19

... on Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 1 Thereto, To Amend the Competitive Liquidity... Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Act'' or ``Exchange Act'') \\1\\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\\2\\ a proposed rule change to establish the Competitive Liquidity [[Page 50477

A CONSISTENT ESTIMATE FOR THE IMPACT OF SINGAPORE'S EXCHANGE RATE ON COMPETITIVENESS

OpenAIRE

JANG PING THIA

2010-01-01

Services form a larger part of the Singapore economy. However, it is difficult to analyze the exchange rate impact on services due to the lack of price data. Regression of output or export on exchange rate, while highly intuitive, is likely to suffer from the endogeneity problem since Singapore's exchange rate is used as a counter-cyclical policy tool. This results in inconsistent estimates. I propose a novel approach to overcome these limitations by using Hong Kong as a control for Singapore...

Effects of interest and exchange rate policies on Brazilian exports

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cláudia Maria Sonaglio

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In heterodox literature, the industrial sector is considered strategic for economic development. Consequently, reducing the contribution of this sector in the production of the country before it has reached the stage of economic maturity, affects the productive dynamics and slow technical progress. The appreciation of the real exchange rate is seen as one of the factors responsible for the reduction of the external competitiveness of Brazilian manufactures, and this exchange rate valuation may be occurring due to the differences between domestic and international interest rates. Given this context, the aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of changes in the monetary and exchange rate policy and in the composition of the total exports on the performance of the Brazilian economy using a structuralist model. The results reinforce the importance of the manufacturing sector to economic growth, especially in a competitive exchange rate environment.

Revising the Local Bubble Model due to Solar Wind Charge Exchange X-ray Emission

Science.gov (United States)

Shelton, Robin L.

2009-03-01

The hot Local Bubble surrounding the solar neighborhood has been primarily studied through observations of its soft X-ray emission. The measurements were obtained by attributing all of the observed local soft X-rays to the bubble. However, mounting evidence shows that the heliosphere also produces diffuse X-rays. The source is solar wind ions that have received an electron from another atom. The presence of this alternate explanation for locally produced diffuse X-rays calls into question the existence and character of the Local Bubble. This article addresses these questions. It reviews the literature on solar wind charge exchange (SWCX) X-ray production, finding that SWCX accounts for roughly half of the observed local 1/4 keV X-rays found at low latitudes. This article also makes predictions for the heliospheric O VI column density and intensity, finding them to be smaller than the observational error bars. Evidence for the continued belief that the Local Bubble contains hot gas includes the remaining local 1/4 keV intensity, the observed local O VI column density, and the need to fill the local region with some sort of plasma. If the true Local Bubble is half as bright as previously thought, then its electron density and thermal pressure are 1/sqrt{2} as great as previously thought, and its energy requirements and emission measure are 1/2 as great as previously thought. These adjustments can be accommodated easily, and, in fact, bring the Local Bubble’s pressure more in line with that of the adjacent material. Suggestions for future work are made.

USD and Euro: competitive advantages of reserve currencies and leadership tussle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gordyachkova O. V.

2017-02-01

Full Text Available the article describes the factors, affecting exchange rate, competitive advantages of USD and Euro as reserve currencies, the steps of fight of USD and Euro for the status of the “main” world's reserve currency. It was concluded that the main factor, affecting exchange rate, is a political impact.

The Estimation of the Equilibrium Real Exchange Rate for Romania

OpenAIRE

Bogdan Andrei Dumitrescu; Vasile Dedu

2009-01-01

This paper aims to estimate the equilibrium real exchange rate for Romania, respectively the real exchange rate consistent with the macroeconomic balance, which is achieved when the economy is operating at full employment and low inflation (internal balance) and has a current account that is sustainable (external balance). This equilibrium real exchange rate is very important for an economy because deviations of the real exchange rate from its equilibrium value can affect the competitiveness ...

COMPETITION AS MARKET MECHANISM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Ya. Kazhuro

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The essence of a competition as an objective law for development of the commodities production based on private ownership of the means of production and commodity exchange has been revealed in the paper. The paper presents an economic basis of market economy (private ownership which generates a corresponding production objective. Such purpose is a maximization of profit and a minimization of market subject expenses. Therefore, a struggle for the most favourable conditions on commodity production and sales is inevitable in such situation. The struggle is considered in the community with developed market economy as a competition.The competition is regarded not as an exogenic factor exerting its influence on market economic system from the outside, but as an objective phenomenon which is inherent to management market system in itself. Such treatment is substantiated by economic disintegration of individual commodity producers. Being an important engine of market economy, the competition does not establish its laws, and its role is to be an executive of data which are internally inherent in commodity production laws and firstly it concerns a profit maximization law which defines a purpose and guiding motif of economic entities in the given economy.The competition plays a contradictory role under conditions of market economy. On the one hand, it makes manufacturers constantly to aspire to expense reduction for the sake of profit increase. This has resulted in labour productivity increase, production cost decrease and a company receives an opportunity to reduce retail price for its products. Consequently, the competition acts as a potential factor for lowering of prices while increasing production efficiency. On the other hand, sellers have more freedom in price fixing under conditions of imperfect competition as they sell their products under the conditions of a monopolistic competition or an oligopoly. This is the main weakest point of the market

Innovation and strategic competitiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jović Mile B.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Paper discussed relationships of innovation to achieving strategic competitiveness in today globalized economic environment. Special attention is devoted to the nature of competitive advantages on global industries as well national level. Competitive advantage is a firm's ability to transform inputs into goods and services at a profit on a sustained basis, better than competitors. Comparative advantage resides in the factor endowments and created endowments of particular regions. Beside the traditional endowment approach (land, natural resources, labor and the size of the local population it is emphasized the importance of created one such as skilled labor, the technology and knowledge base, government support and culture. Creating corporate or country competitiveness roadmap there are no substantial difference - innovative as well strategic approach is essential.

Competitive intransitivity promotes species coexistence.

Science.gov (United States)

Laird, Robert A; Schamp, Brandon S

2006-08-01

Using a spatially explicit cellular automaton model with local competition, we investigate the potential for varied levels of competitive intransitivity (i.e., nonhierarchical competition) to promote species coexistence. As predicted, on average, increased levels of intransitivity result in more sustained coexistence within simulated communities, although the outcome of competition also becomes increasingly unpredictable. Interestingly, even a moderate degree of intransitivity within a community can promote coexistence, in terms of both the length of time until the first competitive exclusion and the number of species remaining in the community after 500 simulated generations. These results suggest that modest levels of intransitivity in nature, such as those that are thought to be characteristic of plant communities, can contribute to coexistence and, therefore, community-scale biodiversity. We explore a potential connection between competitive intransitivity and neutral theory, whereby competitive intransitivity may represent an important mechanism for "ecological equivalence."

47 CFR 69.106 - Local switching.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... foreign services that use local exchange switching facilities. (c) If end users of an interstate or... local exchange carriers shall establish rate elements for local switching as follows: (1) Price cap... use local exchange switching facilities for the provision of interstate or foreign services. The...

Exchange functional by a range-separated exchange hole

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toyoda, Masayuki; Ozaki, Taisuke

2011-01-01

An approximation to the exchange-hole density is proposed for the evaluation of the exact exchange energy in electronic structure calculations within the density-functional theory and the Kohn-Sham scheme. Based on the localized nature of density matrix, the exchange hole is divided into the short-range (SR) and long-range (LR) parts by using an adequate filter function, where the LR part is deduced by matching of moments with the exactly calculated SR counterpart, ensuring the correct asymptotic -1/r behavior of the exchange potential. With this division, the time-consuming integration is truncated at a certain interaction range, largely reducing the computation cost. The total energies, exchange energies, exchange potentials, and eigenvalues of the highest-occupied orbitals are calculated for the noble-gas atoms. The close agreement of the results with the exact values suggests the validity of the approximation.

Sport competitions in Antique Chersoneses.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moutiev A.V.

2011-12-01

Full Text Available It is examined the content of physical education in Chersoneses in the ancient period. It is shown the participation of citizens in the Chersoneses competitions at various levels. Stressed the importance of physical culture, sports, sports training, organizing and conducting athletic competitions. Show the direction of physical education of youth, training for local and Panhellenic competitions, military service. The role of the teacher of gymnastics in physical education students in public schools. It is noted that the study involved in Chersoneses pedagogical methods and techniques. It is established that the citizens of Chersoneses actively participated in Panhellenic competitions and they became the victors.

New inorganic (an)ion exchangers with a higher affinity for arsenate and a competitive removal capacity towards fluoride, bromate, bromide, selenate, selenite, arsenite and borate

KAUST Repository

Chubar, Natalia

2011-12-01

Highly selective materials and effective technologies are needed to meet the increasingly stronger drinking water standards for targeted ionic species. Inorganic ion exchangers based on individual and mixed-metal hydrous oxides (or mixed adsorbents that contain inorganic ion exchangers in their composition) are adsorptive materials that are capable of lowering the concentrations of anionic contaminants, such as H 2AsO 4 -, H 3AsO 3, F -, Br -, BrO 3 -, HSeO 4 -, HSeO 3 - and H 3BO 3, to 10 μg/L or less. To achieve a higher selectivity towards arsenate, a new ion exchanger based on Mg-Al hydrous oxides was developed by a novel, cost-effective and environmentally friendly synthesis method via a non-traditional (alkoxide-free) sol-gel approach. The exceptional adsorptive capacity of the Mg-Al hydrous oxides towards H 2AsO 4 - (up to 200 mg[As]/gdw) is due to the high affinity of this sorbent towards arsenate (steep equilibrium isotherms) and its fast adsorption kinetics. Because of the mesoporous (as determined by N 2 adsorption and SEM) and layered (as determined by XRD and FTIR) structure of the ion-exchange material as well as the abundance of anion exchange sites (as determined by XPS and potentiometric titration) on its surface the material demonstrated very competitive (or very high) removal capacity towards other targeted anions, including fluoride, bromide, bromate, selenate, selenite, and borate. © 2011 IWA Publishing.

Competition and enhancement effect in coremoval of atenolol and copper by an easily regenerative magnetic cation exchange resin.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Qimeng; Wang, Zheng; Li, Qiang; Shuang, Chendong; Zhou, Qing; Li, Aimin; Gao, Canzhu

2017-07-01

This paper aimed to investigate the removal of combined Cu 2+ and atenolol (ATL) in aqueous solution by using a newly synthesized magnetic cation exchange resin (MCER) as the adsorbent. The MCER exhibited efficient removal performance in sole, binary, pre-loading and saline systems. The adsorption kinetics of Cu 2+ and ATL fitted both pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second order model, while better described by pseudo-second order model in binary system. In mixed Cu 2+ and ATL solution, the adsorption of ATL was suppressed due to direct competition of carboxylic groups, while Cu 2+ adsorption was enhanced because of the formation of surface complexes. This increasing in heterogeneity was demonstrated by adsorption isotherms, which were more suitable for Freundlich model in binary system, while better described by Langmuir model in sole system. As proved by FTIR and XPS spectra, both amino and hydroxyl groups of ATL could form complexes with Cu 2+ . Decomplexing-bridging interaction was elucidated as the leading mechanism in coremoval of Cu 2+ and ATL, which involved [Cu-ATL] decomplexing and newly created Cu- or ATL sites for additional bridging. For saline system, the resulting competition and enhancement effects in mixed solution were amplified with the addition of co-existing cations. Moreover, the MCER could be effectively regenerated by 0.01 M HCl solution and maintain high stability over 5 adsorption-desorption cycles, which render it great potential for practical applications. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

77 FR 37082 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing and...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-20

... its market share in these products. The Exchange believes this proposed rule change will also serve to... differentiation that exists today at other option exchanges. The Exchange believes it remains an attractive venue... for similar trading strategies. The Exchange operates in a highly competitive market in which market...

76 FR 7608 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-10

... particular venue to be excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed... more competitive than these. The Exchange also notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in... the fees and credits remain competitive with those charged by other venues and therefore continue to...

Double Taxation, Tax Credits and the Information Exchange Puzzle

OpenAIRE

Wolfgang Eggert

2003-01-01

This paper analyzes the choice of taxes and international information exchange by governments in a capital tax competition model. We explain situations where countries can choose tax rates on tax savings income and exchange information about the domestic savings of foreigners, implying that the decentralized equilibrium is efficient. However, we also identify situations with adverse welfare properties in which information exchange is compatible with zero taxes on capital income. The model hel...

78 FR 11255 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Y-Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-15

... execution of a Retail Order that removes displayed liquidity free of charge. With this in mind, the Exchange... Exchange operates or controls. The Exchange notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in which...

Sorsogon State College’s Performance and Management Excellence: Inputs to globally competitive yet locally responsive educational tourism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vivien L. Chua

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Educational tourism clearly situates the new role of Sorsogon State College (SSC for world-class education while in support to the locally sustainable tourism development of the province and beyond. This paper was able to assess SSC’s capacities to manage globally competitive and locally responsive educational tourism. A mix method of research was used in examining the SSC’s educational tourism through an inventory of academic performance and quality management excellence for global competitiveness. Results revealed that to attract more educational tourists, SSC is expected to perform effectively and efficiently in a modern research world through the complementation of instruction-research and extension mandates that is contributory to the sustainable development goals. The over-all educational management of SSC is central to leadership including the key aspects of its governance system (personnel behaviour, fulfilment of the societal responsibilities and community support. Further enhancements on the organizational performance of SSC are needed on the following : operations, workforce and clientele support. The College has to strengthen its internationalization policies on the faculty and students inter-country mobility and productivity of its graduates that would address the future educational tourism demands. Further, it has to invest on modern learning resources and support services facilities and equipment to be utilized for instruction, research, extension and administrative workspaces. Thus, closes the gap on job-skills mismatch and the compelling resources requirements of SSC graduates to the local and international markets. With these, an academe-led innovation and transformation project anchored on the SSC’s educational tourism model integrating the Psychology of Tourism to management is introduced.

Exchange Sex Among Persons Who Inject Drugs in the New York Metropolitan Area: The Importance of Local Context, Gender and Sexual Identity.

Science.gov (United States)

Walters, Suzan M; Rivera, Alexis V; Reilly, Kathleen H; Anderson, Bridget J; Bolden, Barbara; Wogayehu, Afework; Neaigus, Alan; Braunstein, Sarah

2018-02-21

Exchanging sex for money or drugs is known to increase risk for HIV among persons who inject drugs (PWID). To better understand determinants of exchange sex among PWID we examined factors associated with exchange sex in the New York metropolitan area-defined as New York City (NYC), NY; Newark, NJ; and Long Island, NY-using data from the 2012 National HIV Behavioral Surveillance system cycle on injection drug use. Of the 1160 PWID in this analysis, 24% reported exchange sex, with differences in gender and sexual identity by location. In multivariable analysis gay/bisexual men, heterosexual women, and lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) women were more likely to exchange sex compared to heterosexual men. Exchange sex was also associated with race/ethnicity, homelessness, incarceration, location, and non-injection crack and cocaine use. We find that heterosexual women and LGB women who injected drugs residing in Newark were more likely to report exchange sex compared to NYC. This study highlights how local conditions impact exchange sex.

Exchange Rate Changes and Inflation in Post-Crisis Asian Economies: VAR Analysis of the Exchange Rate Pass-Through

OpenAIRE

Takatoshi Ito; Kiyotaka Sato

2006-01-01

Macroeconomic consequences of a large currency depreciation among the crisis-hit Asian economies had varied from one country to another. Inflation did not soar in most Asian countries, including Thailand and Korea, after the exchange rate depreciated during the crisis. Indonesia, however, suffered very high inflation following a very large nominal depreciation of the rupiah. As a result, price competitive advantage by the rupiah depreciation was lost in the real exchange rate terms. The objec...

The evolution of the status of local electric and gas utilities in a competitive environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nivault, S.

2004-06-01

With the establishment of a common gas and electricity market, the early 21. century is marked by important transformations in the public energy service. Directives 96/92 and 98/30, and directives 2003/54 and 2003/55, make important changes in the regulations concerning gas and electricity activates. In France, the Electricity Act 2000 (10/02/2000) and the Gas Act 2003 (03/01/2003) partially opened the public sector power distribution system to competition. These new rules will drastically modify all operators situations, including that of french local distributors (such as the 'regies', the 'SEML', or the 'SICAE or other cooperatives') who have always been, since being left out of the nationalization process, in a monopolistic situation. In order to succeed in the transition towards a free market economy, french local distributors will have to evolve from their network operator status to that of market operator by renewing their structural organisation and diversifying their activities. (author)

THE EFFECT OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AND HUMAN ADVANTAGE ON INDUSTRIAL COMPETITIVE STRATEGY (Case Study: SMIs in Gorontalo Province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trifandi Lasalewo

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Small and Medium Industries (SMIs have a strategic role in the Indonesian economy, as they earn 61.9 percent of the foreign exchange which goes to make up the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, and nationally they are able to absorb 97 percent of the workforce. The Global Competitiveness Report also notes that SMIs serve as the business units that affect every nation’s competitiveness. Considering this strategic role, the selection of a competitive strategy for these SMIs is absolutely necessary. Through an in-depth literature review, this study aims to explore what variables influence the competitive strategy of industries, particularly the SMIs. By using a Systematic Literature Review (SLR with a total of 31 main literature (articles, papers and books, this study has found two dominant factors that influence industrial competitive strategy: Competitive advantage and human advantage, which are subsequently developed into six independent variables (construct variables, i.e. cost, delivery, product quality, product variety, know-how and innovativeness, with a total of 44 indicators. The results of measurements of the sample of SMIs in Gorontalo Province, using Structural Equation Modeling, found that both competitive advantage and human advantage jointly influence 40.2 percent of the industrial competitive strategies. These results indicate that competitive strategies, such as creating products with unique features, on-time delivery, flexibility in production, and employee involvement in the innovations, are indispensable to SMIs in order for them to produce quality products and be able to maintain their advantage.

75 FR 39319 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-08

... of Directed ISOs, it charges a higher routing fee for such orders. Finally, because the Exchange... direct their order flow to the Exchange. Finally, the Exchange believes that the proposed rates are... Exchange believes that the proposed rates further the objectives of Regulation NMS by promoting competition...

76 FR 51075 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Order Granting Approval to...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-17

... Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Order Granting Approval to a Proposed Rule Change Relating to Appointments to Competitive Market Makers August 11, 2011. I. Introduction On June 10, 2011, the International Securities Exchange, LLC (the ``Exchange'' or the ``ISE'') filed with the Securities...

Innovative solutions in traceability to improve the competitiveness of a local fruit and vegetable retailing system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miklós Pakurár

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The aim of the research is to investigate the network of local fruit and vegetable products from “farm to fork”, to uncover the hidden processes in traceability and to advise innovations in the retailing system to improve the competitiveness of the sector. Traceability is an ability to track any food that will be consumed throughout the processes of production, processing and distribution. The research investigates what the customer knows about the origin and treatments of purchased products and what further information would satisfy the consumer. The study explores the flow of information amongst the chain members: producers, wholesalers, small-scale retailers, and customers. Based on interviews and questionnaires, regression analysis and ordinal regression procedure were performed. Innovative solutions to make the retailing competitive should be aligned with the precise knowledge of the consumer. The results of the research show that deficiencies in data collection, data erosion, low level of cooperation of supply chain partners, not paying more attention for more detailed information, and inadequate control are the main problems of the traceability in fruit and vegetable chains.

Generation Capacity Investments in Electricity Markets : Perfect Competition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gürkan, G.; Ozdemir, O.; Smeers, Y.

2013-01-01

Abstract: In competitive electricity markets, markets designs based on power exchanges where supply bidding (barring demand-side bidding) is at the sole short run marginal cost may not guarantee resource adequacy. As alternative ways to remedy the resource adequacy problem, we focus on three

Role of Competitive Cation Exchange on Chromatographic Displacement of Cesium in the Vadose Zone beneath the Hanford S/SX Tank Farm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lichtner, Peter C.; Yabusaki, Steven B.; Pruess, Karsten; Steefel, Carl

2004-01-01

Migration of radionuclides under the SX-tank farm at the Hanford nuclear waste complex involves interaction of variably water saturated sediments with concentrated NaOH-NaNO 3 -NaNO 2 solutions that have leaked from the tanks. Constant K d models for describing radionuclide retardation are not valid under these conditions because of strong competition for sorption sites by abundant Na + ions, and because of dramatically changing solution compositions with time as the highly concentrated tank fluid becomes diluted as it mixes with infiltrating rainwater. A mechanistic multicomponent sorption model is required that can account for effects of competition and spatially and temporally variable solution compositions. To investigate the influence of the high ionic strength tank fluids on Cs + migration, numerical calculations are performed using the multiphase-multicomponent reactive transport code FLOTRAN. The computer model describes reactive transport in nonisothermal, variably saturated porous media including both liquid and gas phases. Pitzer activity coefficient corrections are used to describe the high ionic strength solutions. The calculations take into account multicomponent cation exchange based on measured selectivity coefficients specific to the Hanford sediments. Solution composition data obtained from Well 299-W23-19, documenting a moderately concentrated leak from the SX-115 tank, are used to calibrate the model. In addition to exchange of cations Na + , K + , Ca 2+ , and Cs + , aqueous complexing and a kinetic description of precipitation and dissolution of calcite are also included in the calculations. The fitted infiltration rate of 0.08 m yr -1 , and fitted cation exchange capacity of 0.05 mol kg -1 are consistent with measured values for the Hanford sediments. A sensitivity analysis is performed for Na + concentrations ranging from 5 to 20 m to investigate the mobility of Cs + interacting with a highly concentrated background electrolyte solution

Competitiveness of Brazilian sugarcane ethanol compared to US corn ethanol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crago, Christine L.; Khanna, Madhu; Barton, Jason; Giuliani, Eduardo; Amaral, Weber

2010-01-01

Corn ethanol produced in the US and sugarcane ethanol produced in Brazil are the world's leading sources of biofuel. Current US biofuel policies create both incentives and constraints for the import of ethanol from Brazil and together with the cost competitiveness and greenhouse gas intensity of sugarcane ethanol compared to corn ethanol will determine the extent of these imports. This study analyzes the supply-side determinants of cost competitiveness and compares the greenhouse gas intensity of corn ethanol and sugarcane ethanol delivered to US ports. We find that while the cost of sugarcane ethanol production in Brazil is lower than that of corn ethanol in the US, the inclusion of transportation costs for the former and co-product credits for the latter changes their relative competitiveness. We also find that the relative cost of ethanol in the US and Brazil is highly sensitive to the prevailing exchange rate and prices of feedstocks. At an exchange rate of US1=R2.15 the cost of corn ethanol is 15% lower than the delivered cost of sugarcane ethanol at a US port. Sugarcane ethanol has lower GHG emissions than corn ethanol but a price of over $113 per ton of CO 2 is needed to affect competitiveness. (author)

Tuning antiferromagnetic exchange interaction for spontaneous exchange bias in MnNiSnSi system

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Liyun; Shen, Jianlei; Li, Mengmeng; Wang, Xi; Ma, Li; Zhen, Congmian; Hou, Denglu; Liu, Enke; Wang, Wenhong; Wu, Guangheng

2017-12-01

Based on almost all the data from the literature on spontaneous exchange bias (SEB), it is expected that the system will show SEB if it meets two conditions simultaneously: (i) there are the coexistence and competition of antiferromagnetic (AFM) and ferromagnetic (FM) interactions and (ii) AFM interaction should dominate but not be too strong in this competition. In order to verify this view, a systematic study on SEB has been performed in this work. Mn50Ni40Sn10 with strong FM interaction and without SEB is chosen as the mother composition, and the negative chemical pressure is introduced by the substitution of Sn by Si to enhance AFM interaction. It is found that a long-range FM ordering window is closed, and a long-range AFM ordering window is opened. As a result, SEB is triggered and a continuous tuning of the spontaneous exchange bias field (HSEB) from 0 Oe to 1300 Oe has been realized in a Mn50Ni40Sn10-xSix system by the enhanced AFM interaction.

ON CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF UNPRECEDENTED RUBLE EXCHANGE GROWTH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Polyakov Egor Nikolaevich

2013-03-01

Full Text Available We provide an analysis of real effective exchange rate dynamics in Russia throughout the last decade. Authors analysed the causes and consequences of real effective exchange growth and assessed how Russian ruble real effective exchange rate comply with its equilibrium level. Authors present results of empiric analysis of relationship between real effective exchange rate and labour productivity in industry of 20 european, asian countries and Russia. The result of this writing was the formulation of key copyright conclusions, namely: 1. The price level in the country (and the level of the real exchange rate of the national currency is a key factor of competitiveness. Accordingly, the real exchange rate of the national currency - is one of the most important policy tools. 2. The ruble today seriously overvalued. Overvaluation of the national currency relative to the equilibrium level is extremely harmful to the economy. Less recognized, but also widespread YaV it possible to the idea that an undervalued currency is a prerequisite for rapid economic growth. 3. A direct consequence of the growth of the real exchange rate in the past 12 years has been the growth of the external debt of the private sector. 4. Restraining the growth rate of the national currency - is also a common practice for countries who are concerned about the level of competitiveness. But Russia is this day-the only country of the G-20, which is impossible to control the REER.

77 FR 39783 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-05

... excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market.... The Exchange also notes that it operates in a highly-competitive market in which market participants... and credits remain competitive with those charged by other venues and therefore continue to be...

76 FR 70202 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-10

... excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market... the proposed maker/taker spread was competitive with other market centers maker/ taker spreads (BATS.... The Exchange also notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in which market participants...

Analysis of Structural Changes and Competitiveness of East Asian Exports after the Currency Crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wangjoong Kim

1999-06-01

Full Text Available This thesis analyzed the export structure and competitive relation of Eastern Asia after the economic crisis in 1997. After the crisis, the export of Eastern Asia slowed down; especially the economic stagnation of Eastern Asia resulted in the big scale decrease in export in that area. Under this situation, Eastern Asia began more and more depending on the export of America. The competition among the Eastern Asia countries takes on a fiercer situation in American market. On the other hand, observing the export competition among the Eastern Asia countries in American market around the foreign exchange crisis period in aspects such as the market share, the extent of export competition and the index of MCA, the result is that Korea has fallen behind the other countries of Asia including China. The export-oriented economy of Korea has been pinned down. Especially considering the importance of export after foreign exchange crisis, this will be a disconcerting problem.

76 FR 37863 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing of...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-28

... Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Relating to Appointments to Competitive Market Makers June 22, 2011. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities... that on June 10, 2011, the International Securities Exchange, LLC (the ``Exchange'' or the ``ISE...

75 FR 6760 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing and...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-10

... excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market... competitive reasons, the Exchange is now seeking to re-introduce an Ultra Tier rebate of $0.0031 per share. \\4...

Sustainability and Competitiveness of Tourism

OpenAIRE

Angelkova, Tanja; Koteski, Cane; Jakovlev, Zlatko; Mitreva, Elizabeta

2011-01-01

Tourism is an activity that can have a really big impact on sustainable development. Sustainability of tourism involves extensive cooperation between tourist companies, tourist destinations and national, regional and local authorities in order to cover a broad group of challenges and at the same time to remain competitive. Opportunities for sustainable tourism development and preservation of its competitiveness, largely influenced by the quality of the environment, preserved and attractive...

76 FR 2172 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-12

... reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market participants to direct their order flow... operates in a highly competitive market in which market participants can readily direct order flow to... uniformly to all Members. The Exchange believes the fees and credits remain competitive with those charged...

75 FR 78271 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-15

... be excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent... its facilities. The Exchange notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in which market... credits remain competitive with those charged by other venues and therefore continue to be reasonable and...

76 FR 41544 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-14

... proposed rule changes reflect a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market participants to... Exchange notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in which market participants can readily... competitive with those charged by other venues and therefore continue to be reasonable and equitably allocated...

76 FR 47285 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-04

... competitive pricing structure designed to incent market participants to direct their order flow to the... a highly competitive market in which market participants can readily direct order flow to competing... uniformly to all Members. The Exchange believes the fees and credits remain competitive with those charged...

76 FR 20750 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-13

... excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market... Members. The Exchange notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in which market participants... competitive with those charged by other venues and therefore continue to be reasonable and equitably allocated...

75 FR 55385 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-10

... be excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent... its facilities. The Exchange notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in which market... credits remain competitive with those charged by other venues and therefore continue to be reasonable and...

75 FR 48733 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-11

... competitive pricing structure designed to incent market participants to direct their order flow to the... highly competitive market in which market participants can readily direct order flow to competing venues... to all Members. The Exchange believes the fees and credits remain competitive with those charged by...

EDITORIAL: Physics competitions Physics competitions

Science.gov (United States)

Jordens, H.; Mathelitsch, L.

2009-11-01

back to 1967, when the first Olympiad was organized in Warsaw, Poland. Today this Olympiad is a worldwide enterprise, and in the 2008 competition in Hanoi, Vietnam, students from 82 countries took part. An overview of the problems and a summary of the results of this Olympiad are given in the first paper, prepared by the organizers of the competition [3]. The students work on four or five different problems, three theoretical ones on one day, and one or two experimental tasks on another. On each day, they have five hours to accomplish their tasks. The problems are prepared by the local organizer, usually a team of physicists from universities in the home country. The level is set by an international syllabus, and the content and wording of the problems have to be agreed by a majority of the supervisors (one from each participating country) in an initial meeting. Afterwards the tasks are translated into the various languages of the competitors; the students also write their results in their own language. The number of awards (gold, silver and bronze, as well as honorable mentions) varies from competition to competition, since it depends on the number of participants. A team consists of at most five students, but they do not act as a team—they work independantly. The selection process in individual countries varies, but is usually executed in several steps, starting from school competitions and going on to regional and national ones. Training courses are often organized on the same levels. Big differences can be seen in training courses at the highest level, the duration ranging from one week to several months. The International Young Physicists Tournament (IYPT) is completely different in spirit [4]. Whereas the students work individually in the Olympiad, IYPT is a competition between teams. In addition, the 17 tasks are known almost a year in advance. The problems are very open, allow for different approaches and include experimental as well as theoretical work. The

On the real performance of cation exchange resins in wastewater treatment under conditions of cation competition: the case of heavy metal pollution.

Science.gov (United States)

Prelot, Benedicte; Ayed, Imen; Marchandeau, Franck; Zajac, Jerzy

2014-01-01

Sorption performance of cation-exchange resins Amberlite® IRN77 and Amberlite™ IRN9652 toward Cs(I) and Sr(II) has been tested in single-component aqueous solutions and simulated waste effluents containing other monovalent (Effluent 1) or divalent (Effluent 2) metal cations, as well as nitrate, borate, or carbonate anions. The individual sorption isotherms of each main component were measured by the solution depletion method. The differential molar enthalpy changes accompanying the ion-exchange between Cs+ or Sr2+ ions and protons at the resin surface from single-component nitrate solutions were measured by isothermal titration calorimetry and they showed a higher specificity of the two resins toward cesium. Compared to the retention limits of both resins under such idealized conditions, an important depression in the maximum adsorption capacity toward each main component was observed in multication systems. The overall effect of ion exchange process appeared to be an unpredictable outcome of the individual sorption capacities of the two resins toward various cations as a function of the cation charge, size, and concentration. The cesium retention capacity of the resins was diminished to about 25% of the "ideal" value in Effluent 1 and 50% in Effluent 2; a further decrease to about 15% was observed upon concomitant strontium addition. The uptake of strontium by the resins was found to be less sensitive to the addition of other metal components: the greatest decrease in the amount adsorbed was 60% of the ideal value in the two effluents for Amberlite® IRN77 and 75% for Amberlite™ IRN9652. It was therefore demonstrated that any performance tests carried out under idealized conditions should be exploited with much caution to predict the real performance of cation exchange resins under conditions of cation competition.

76 FR 41541 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Y-Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-14

... operations and to continue to offer competitive pricing, which, in turn, will benefit Members of the Exchange...) modify the tiered pricing structure applicable to adding displayed liquidity to the Exchange's order book... Adding Liquidity The Exchange currently maintains a tiered pricing structure for adding displayed...

Local moments, exchange interactions, and magnetic order in Mn-doped LaFe2Si2 alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turek, I.; Divis, M.; Niznansky, D.; Vejpravova, J.

2007-01-01

Formation of local magnetic moments in the intermetallic compound LaFe 2 Si 2 due to doping by a few at% of Mn has been investigated by theoretical and experimental tools. While a number of low-temperature experiments prove appearance of non-zero magnetic moments due to the Mn doping, the measured 57 Fe Moessbauer spectra rule out sizable local moments of Fe atoms. This conclusion is in agreement with results of first-principles electronic structure calculations that yield non-vanishing moments only on Mn atoms. The calculated Mn-Mn exchange interactions are of both signs which indicate a magnetically frustrated ground state, probably with a spin-glass-like arrangement of the Mn moments

76 FR 7616 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-10

... levels at a particular venue to be excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing... increased rate, effective January 3, 2011. The Exchange notes that it operates in a highly competitive... believes the fees and credits remain competitive with those charged by other venues and therefore continue...

76 FR 33392 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-08

... be excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent... per share for the Parallel T strategy. EDGX's rate is even more competitive than these. Finally, the...-EDGX-2011-02). The Exchange notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in which market...

Fujifilm-Kodak Duopolistic Competition in Japan and the United States

OpenAIRE

Yoshi Tsurumi; Hiroki Tsurumi

1999-01-01

This article analyzes the duopolistic competition of Fujifilm and Kodak according to the product life cycle and “game theoretic” exchange-of-hostage hypothesis of international trade and investment. It shows how each firm used its home-team and first-mover advantages to compete with the other. It shows that Fujifilm's strategic use of marketing logistics and innovative products reduced Kodak's market share in Japan and elsewhere. This article has implications for the global competition of mul...

75 FR 1674 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing and...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-12

... excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market...) (SR-ISE-2009-24). To adjust DECN's pricing model to be more consistent with other exchanges (even though DECN is not an exchange),\\7\\ the Exchange is now proposing to de-link the pricing structures of...

75 FR 20018 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Order Approving a Proposed Rule Change, As...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-16

... any equity exchange. Given the competitive pressures that currently characterize the U.S. equity... number of alternative sources of information that impose significant competitive pressures on BATS in... competitive pressure on BATS to act equitably, fairly, and reasonably in setting the terms of its proposal...

76 FR 27694 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Y-Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-12

... operations and to continue to offer competitive pricing, which, in turn, will benefit Members of the Exchange... amend its pricing to add displayed liquidity. The Exchange currently maintains a tiered pricing... share. The Exchange proposes to replace its existing tiered pricing structure with a structure that...

ON CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF UNPRECEDENTED RUBLE EXCHANGE GROWTH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Егор Николаевич Поляков

2013-04-01

Full Text Available We provide an analysis of real effective exchange rate dynamics in Russia throughout the last decade. Authors analysed the causes and consequences of real effective exchange growth and assessed how Russian ruble real effective exchange rate comply with its equilibrium level. Authors present results of empiric analysis of relationship between real effective exchange rate and labour productivity in industry of 20 european, asian countries and Russia.The result of this writing was the formulation of key copyright conclusions, namely:1. The price level in the country (and the level of the real exchange rate of the national currency is a key factor of competitiveness. Accordingly, the real exchange rate of the national currency - is one of the most important policy tools.2. The ruble today seriously overvalued. Overvaluation of the national currency relative to the equilibrium level is extremely harmful to the economy. Less recognized, but also widespread YaV it possible to the idea that an undervalued currency is a prerequisite for rapid economic growth.3. A direct consequence of the growth of the real exchange rate in the past 12 years has been the growth of the external debt of the private sector.4. Restraining the growth rate of the national currency - is also a common practice for countries who are concerned about the level of competitiveness. But Russia is this day-the only country of the G-20, which is impossible to control the REER.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-3-4

A trap activation model for hydrogen retention and isotope exchange in some refractory materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brice, D.K.; Doyle, B.L.

1982-01-01

Our recently-developed Local Mixing Model (LMM) has been successful in describing and predicting the properties of hydrogen retention and isotope exchange for a variety of refractory materials. For some materials, however, the detailed predictions of the LMM are not observed. A Trap Activation Model (TAM) is proposed here to account for the observed departures from the LMM. Comparison of experimental room temperature saturation depth profiles for H + →Si with the predictions of TAM suggests that the hydrogen traps are multiple-vacancy complexes in this system. The observed profiles result from a beam-induced competition between trap creation/annihilation and H-trapping/detrapping. (orig.)

78 FR 56253 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing and...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-12

... number of strike prices being opened above and below the value of the underlying security at about the... the Exchange Act. To the contrary, the Exchange believes the proposal is pro-competitive. In this... the same manner as other exchanges.\\12\\ In sum, the proposed rule change presents no novel issues, and...

Experimental and theoretical analysis of the local condensation heat transfer in a plate heat exchanger

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grabenstein, V; Kabelac, S

2012-01-01

Plate heat exchanger (PHE) are today widely used in industrial heat transfer applications due to their good thermal performance, modest space requirement, easy accessibility to all areas and their lower capital and operating costs as compared to shell-and-tube heat exchangers. Although authoritative models for the design of PHE used as condensers are missing, the number of applications where a PHE is operating as a condenser increases. On the way to a reliable model based on physical approaches for the prediction of heat transfer and pressure drop during the condensation process inside a PHE, the flow and heat interactions as well as their dependence on the geometrical parameters of the corrugated plates and the operating conditions must be studied in detail. In this work the stepwise procedure for the fundamental construction of such a model is described. An experimental setup was built to analyze the characteristics of the two-phase-flow in PHE. A single gap, consisting of two transparent corrugated plates, was tested with a two-phase flow of air/water and also with boiling refrigerant R365mfc. Flow pattern maps were constructed for plates with corrugation angles of 27 and 63 degrees relative to the direction of flow. Investigations of the local heat transfer coefficients and the pressure drop were done with the same plates. The measurement of the local heat transfer coefficients was carried out by the use of the 'Temperature Oscillation InfraRed Thermography' (TOIRT) method. Based on these results three main flow patterns are defined: film flow, bubbly flow and slug flow. For each of the three flow patterns an own model for the heat transfer and pressure drop mechanism are developed and the heat transfer coefficient and the friction factor is calculated with different equations depending on the actual steam quality, mass flow and geometrical parameters by means of a flow pattern map. The theory of the flow pattern based prediction models is proved with own

Improving Measurement of Trait Competitiveness: A Rasch Analysis of the Revised Competitiveness Index With Samples From New Zealand and US University Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Krägeloh, Christian U; Medvedev, Oleg N; Hill, Erin M; Webster, Craig S; Booth, Roger J; Henning, Marcus A

2018-01-01

Measuring competitiveness is necessary to fully understand variables affecting student learning. The 14-item Revised Competitiveness Index has become a widely used measure to assess trait competitiveness. The current study reports on a Rasch analysis to investigate the psychometric properties of the Revised Competitiveness Index and to improve its precision for international comparisons. Students were recruited from medical studies at a university in New Zealand, undergraduate health sciences courses at another New Zealand university, and a psychology undergraduate class at a university in the United States. Rasch model estimate parameters were affected by local dependency and item misfit. Best fit to the Rasch model (χ 2 (20) = 15.86, p = .73, person separation index = .95) was obtained for the Enjoyment of Competition subscale after combining locally dependent items into a subtest and discarding the highly misfitting Item 9. The only modifications required to obtain a suitable fit (χ 2 (25) = 25.81, p = .42, person separation index = .77) for the Contentiousness subscale were a subtest to combine two locally dependent items and splitting this subtest by country to deal with differential item functioning. The results support reliability and internal construct validity of the modified Revised Competitiveness Index. Precision of the measure may be enhanced using the ordinal-to-interval conversion algorithms presented here, allowing the use of parametric statistics without breaking fundamental statistical assumptions.

Capital accumulation, structural change and real exchange rate in a Keynesian-Structuralist growth model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oreiro José Luis

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to show at theoretical level that maintaining a competitive real exchange rate positively affects the economic growth of developing countries by means of a Keynesian-Structuralist model that combines elements of Kaleckian growth models with the balance of payments constrained growth models pioneered developed by Thirlwall. In this setting, the level of real exchange rate is capable, due to its effect over capital accumulation, to induce a structural change in the economy, making endogenous income elasticities of exports and imports. For reasonable parameter values it is shown that in steady-state growth there is two long-run equilibrium values for real exchange rate, one that corresponds to an under-valued currency and another that corresponds to an over-valued currency. If monetary authorities run exchange rate policy in order to target a competitive level for real exchange rate, than under-valued equilibrium is stable and the economy will show a high growth rate in the long-run.

Evaluating the effect of exchange rate and labor productivity on import penetration of Brazilian manufacturing sectors

OpenAIRE

Faleiros, João Paulo Martin; da Silva, José Carlos Domingos; Nakaguma, Marcos Yamada

2016-01-01

In recent years, several economists have argued that the sharp loss of competitiveness of the Brazilian industry was caused by a strong exchange rate appreciation. However, other economists have attributed this loss of competitiveness to the dismal growth of labor productivity in the Brazilian industrial sector. The present paper proposes to estimate the differential impacts of variations in exchange rate and labor productivity on the Brazilian market share of imports measured by the coeffici...

Competitive Advantages from Horizontal Relationships in Productive Agglomerations: perceptions of local agents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonardo Pinheiro Deboçã

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Objective – This paper aims to assess to what extent relational view assumptions can explain competitive advantages perceived in the industrial agglomeration contexts of small businesses. Design/methodology/approach – We used qualitative research; two furniture centers, Misassol (SP and Ubá (MG, were examined through comparative data analysis. Data was collected through interviews with executives from 40 companies and 13 supporting organizations. The relational view and its assumptions point to factors that generate competitive advantage resulting from collaborative relationships between companies. Moreover, agglomerations provide intense relationships and are encouraged by governance entities. Findings – No competitive advantages clearly established due to relational gains were identified. The behavior of entrepreneurs in both centers tends strongly towards individualism. What agents identify as competitive advantages corresponds to situational or contextual factors in these centers and do not result from the realization of relational view assumptions, escaping from this paradigm. Relational gains can result only from subgroups that are formed through affinity, with no intervention from governance. Practical implications – Despite an agglomeration tendency within companies belonging to the furniture sector, a strong inclination towards individualism creates barriers to obtaining additional advantages resulting from relational gains, whether due to market regionalization, access of sales representatives, or logistics and tax costs, among other issues. However, actions in small groups are an important governance mechanism for that context. Contributions – Evaluate the assumptions of relational view and its explanatory power for competitive advantages in agglomerations of Brazilian furniture companies.

Measurement of Foreign Exchange Exposure on the Turkish Private Banks’ Stock Prices

OpenAIRE

Serpil Canbas; Murat Doganlar; Yildirim B.Onal

2002-01-01

All performance criteria of the banks are affected by the exchange rate fluctuations through foreign currency transactions and operations. However, exchange rate fluctuations -even without such activities can influence the banks through their affect on foreign competition, foreign loan demand and other banking conditions. Exchange rate exposure is classified as operation, transaction, and accounting exposures. Most of the studies, which measure these exposures, focused on the affect of the ex...

Finite land resources and competition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haberl, Helmut; Mbow, Cheikh; Deng, Xiangzheng

2014-01-01

Rising demand for land-based products (food, feed, fi ber, and bioenergy) as well as conservation of forests and carbon sinks create increasing competition for land. Landuse competition has many drivers, takes different forms, and can have many significant implications for ecosystems as well......: production versus production (e.g., food vs. fuel), production versus conservation (e.g., food production vs. conservation), and built-up environment versus production or conservation (e.g., food vs. urban). Sustainability impacts that result from land-use competition are analyzed and found to differ...... and energy systems, “ land architecture” (i.e., the significance of spatial confi gurations), and multiscale models to assess local-global connections and impacts....

Low-level liquid waste decontamination by ion exchange

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campbell, D.O.; Lee, D.D.; Dillow, T.A.

1991-12-01

Improved processes are being developed to treat contaminated liquid wastes that have been and continue to be generated at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Both inorganic and organic ion-exchange methods have given promising results. Nickel and cobalt hexacyanoferrate(2) compounds are extremely selective for cesium removal, with distribution coefficients in excess of 10 6 and remarkable insensitivity to competition from sodium and potassium. They tend to lose effectiveness at pH > ∼11, but some formulations are useful for limited periods of time up to pH ∼13. Sodium titanate is selective for strontium removal at high pH. The separations are so efficient that simple batch processes can yield large decontamination factors while generating small volumes of solid waste. A resorcinol-based resin developed at the Savannah River Site gave superior cesium removal, compared with other organic ion exchangers; the distribution coefficient was limited primarily by competition from potassium and was nearly independent of sodium. The optimum pH was ∼12.5. It was much less effective for strontium removal, which was limited by competition from sodium. 8 refs., 6 figs., 9 tabs

76 FR 64417 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing and...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-18

... Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to Competitive Market Maker Trading Rights October 12, 2011. Pursuant to Section...\\ notice is hereby given that on October 3, 2011, the International Securities Exchange, LLC (the...

Cu2Se and Cu Nanocrystals as Local Sources of Copper in Thermally Activated In Situ Cation Exchange

KAUST Repository

Casu, Alberto; Genovese, Alessandro; Manna, Liberato; Longo, Paolo; Buha, Joka; Botton, Gianluigi A.; Lazar, Sorin; Kahaly, M. Upadhyay; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo; Prato, Mirko; Li, Hongbo; Ghosh, Sandeep; Palazon, Francisco; De Donato, Francesco; Lentijo Mozo, Sergio; Zuddas, Efisio; Falqui, Andrea

2016-01-01

Among the different synthesis approaches to colloidal nanocrystals a recently developed toolkit is represented by cation exchange reactions, where the use of template nanocrystals gives access to materials that would be hardly attainable via direct synthesis. Besides, post-synthetic treatments, such as thermally activated solid state reactions, represent a further flourishing route to promote finely controlled cation exchange. Here, we report that, upon in situ heating in a transmission electron microscope, Cu2Se nanocrystals deposited on an amorphous solid substrate undergo partial loss of Cu atoms, which are then engaged in local cation exchange reactions with Cu “acceptors” phases represented by rod- and wire- shaped CdSe nanocrystals. This thermal treatment slowly transforms the initial CdSe nanocrystals into Cu2-xSe nanocrystals, through the complete sublimation of Cd and the partial sublimation of Se atoms. Both Cu “donor” and “acceptor” particles were not always in direct contact with each other, hence the gradual transfer of Cu species from Cu2Se or metallic Cu to CdSe nanocrystals was mediated by the substrate and depended on the distance between the donor and acceptor nanostructures. Differently from what happens in the comparably faster cation exchange reactions performed in liquid solution, this study shows that slow cation exchange reactions can be performed at the solid state, and helps to shed light on the intermediate steps involved in such reactions.

Cu2Se and Cu Nanocrystals as Local Sources of Copper in Thermally Activated In Situ Cation Exchange

KAUST Repository

Casu, Alberto

2016-01-27

Among the different synthesis approaches to colloidal nanocrystals a recently developed toolkit is represented by cation exchange reactions, where the use of template nanocrystals gives access to materials that would be hardly attainable via direct synthesis. Besides, post-synthetic treatments, such as thermally activated solid state reactions, represent a further flourishing route to promote finely controlled cation exchange. Here, we report that, upon in situ heating in a transmission electron microscope, Cu2Se nanocrystals deposited on an amorphous solid substrate undergo partial loss of Cu atoms, which are then engaged in local cation exchange reactions with Cu “acceptors” phases represented by rod- and wire- shaped CdSe nanocrystals. This thermal treatment slowly transforms the initial CdSe nanocrystals into Cu2-xSe nanocrystals, through the complete sublimation of Cd and the partial sublimation of Se atoms. Both Cu “donor” and “acceptor” particles were not always in direct contact with each other, hence the gradual transfer of Cu species from Cu2Se or metallic Cu to CdSe nanocrystals was mediated by the substrate and depended on the distance between the donor and acceptor nanostructures. Differently from what happens in the comparably faster cation exchange reactions performed in liquid solution, this study shows that slow cation exchange reactions can be performed at the solid state, and helps to shed light on the intermediate steps involved in such reactions.

Regulating a health insurance exchange: implications for individuals with mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

McGuire, Thomas G; Sinaiko, Anna D

2010-11-01

Under the newly enacted health reform law, millions of lower- and middle-income Americans will purchase individual or family health insurance through state-based markets for private health insurance called insurance "exchanges," which consolidate and regulate the market for individual and small-group health insurance. The authors consider options for structuring choice and pricing of health insurance in an exchange from the perspective of efficiently and fairly serving persons with mental illness. Exchanges are intended to foster choice and competition. However, certain features-open enrollment, individual choice, and imperfect risk adjusters-create incentives for "adverse selection," especially in providing coverage for persons with mental illness, who have higher overall health care costs. The authors review the experience of persons with mental illness in insurance markets similar to the exchanges, such as the Massachusetts Connector and the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program, and note that competition among health plans for enrollees who are "good risks" can undermine coverage and efficiency. They review the possible approaches for contending with selection-related incentives, such as carving out all or part of mental health benefits, providing reinsurance for some mental health care costs, or their preferred option, running the exchange in the same way that an employer runs its employee benefits and addressing selection and cost control issues by choice of contractor. The authors also consider approaches an exchange could use to promote effective consumer choice, such as passive and active roles for the exchange authority. Regulation will be necessary to establish a foundation for success of the exchanges.

Seasonal variations in body composition, maximal oxygen uptake, and gas exchange threshold in cross-country skiers.

Science.gov (United States)

Polat, Metin; Korkmaz Eryılmaz, Selcen; Aydoğan, Sami

2018-01-01

In order to ensure that athletes achieve their highest performance levels during competitive seasons, monitoring their long-term performance data is crucial for understanding the impact of ongoing training programs and evaluating training strategies. The present study was thus designed to investigate the variations in body composition, maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2max ), and gas exchange threshold values of cross-country skiers across training phases throughout a season. In total, 15 athletes who participate in international cross-country ski competitions voluntarily took part in this study. The athletes underwent incremental treadmill running tests at 3 different time points over a period of 1 year. The first measurements were obtained in July, during the first preparation period; the second measurements were obtained in October, during the second preparation period; and the third measurements were obtained in February, during the competition period. Body weight, body mass index (BMI), body fat (%), as well as VO 2max values and gas exchange threshold, measured using V-slope method during the incremental running tests, were assessed at all 3 time points. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 20 package software. Significant differences between the measurements were assessed using Friedman's twoway variance analysis with a post hoc option. The athletes' body weights and BMI measurements at the third point were significantly lower compared with the results of the second measurement ( p exchange threshold, running speed at the gas exchange threshold, VO 2max , amount of oxygen consumed at gas exchange threshold level (VO 2GET ), maximal heart rate (HR max ), and heart rate at gas exchange threshold level (HR GET ) values did not significantly differ between the measurement time points ( p >0.05). VO 2max and gas exchange threshold values recorded during the third measurements, the timing of which coincided with the competitive season of the cross-country skiers

NMR analysis of t-butyl-catalyzed deuterium exchange at unactivated arene localities.

Science.gov (United States)

Stack, Douglas E; Eastman, Rachel

2016-10-01

Regioselective labelling of arene rings via electrophilic exchange is often dictated by the electronic environment caused by substituents present on the aromatic system. Previously, we observed the presence of a t-butyl group, either covalently bond or added as an external reagent, could impart deuterium exchange to the unactivated, C1-position of estrone. Here, we provide nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of this exchange in a solvent system composed of 50:50 trifluoroacetic acid and D 2 O with either 2-t-butylestrone or estrone in the presence of t-butyl alcohol has shed insights into the mechanism of this t-butyl-catalyzed exchange. Fast exchange of the t-butyl group concurrent with the gradual reduction of the H1 proton signal in both systems suggest a mechanism involving ipso attack of the t-butyl position by deuterium. The reversible addition/elimination of the t-butyl group activates the H1 proton towards exchange by a mechanism of t-butyl incorporation, H1 activation and exchange, followed by eventual t-butyl elimination. Density functional calculations are consistent with the observation of fast t-butyl exchange concurrent with slower H1 exchange. The σ-complex resulting from ipso attack of deuterium at the t-butyl carbon was 6.6 kcal/mol lower in energy than that of the σ-complex resulting from deuterium attack at C1. A better understanding of the t-butyl-catalyzed exchange could help in the design of labelling recipes for other phenolic metabolites. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Labelled Compounds and Radiopharmaceuticals published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Spin exchange between ion probes and localized moments in ferromagnets as the origin of transient fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hagelberg, F.; Das, T.P.; Speidel, K.

1993-01-01

The transient field phenomenon has been ascribed to a polarization transfer between the electrons of the ionic projectiles and the surplus of majority spin electrons of the ferromagnetic host over the minority spin electrons. Earlier attempts to explain this crucial process failed to account for the order of magnitude of the experimentally observed transient field strengths. A recent model which proposes spin exchange scattering between bound projectile electrons and quasifree host electrons as the mechanism of polarization transfer arrives at the correct orders of magnitude but is in conflict with the weak velocity dependence of the experimental polarization, exhibiting a strongly decreasing behavior with increasing velocity. The new model presented here proposes spin exchange between the ionic shell and localized electrons of the ferromagnet as a more adequate approach to the problem. It is shown that calculations involving hydrogenlike ions explain the size of the experimentally observed polarization effects as well as their velocity dependence for various ion probes traversing thin iron foils

Need for speed? Exchange latency and liquidity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Menkveld, Albert J.; Zoican, Marius A.

2017-01-01

A faster exchange does not necessarily improve liquidity. On the one hand, speed enables a high-frequency market maker (HFM) to update quotes faster on incoming news. This reduces payoff risk and thus lowers the competitive bid-ask spread. On the other hand, HFM price quotes are more likely to meet

The efficiency of Amberjet 4200 resin in removing nitrate in the presence of competitive anions from Shiraz drinking water.

Science.gov (United States)

Dehghani, M; Haghighi, A Binaee; Zamanian, Z

2010-06-01

The aim of this research is to study the feasibility of removing nitrates from water by means of anion exchange. In the purposed work an attempt was made to utilize strong basic anion resin to remove nitrate in the presence of competitive anion. Amberjet Cl- 4200 ion exchange resin was used in a batch scale. The fixation rate of nitrate without the presences of any competitive anion was almost constant (94.60-96.43) when the nitrate concentrations are in the range of 100-150 mg L(-1). The fixation rate of nitrate in the presences of two competitive anions (sulphate and chloride) was reduced to 82% when the concentration of nitrate was 100 mg L(-1).

New nuclear plant development - balancing localization with competitiveness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caplan, M.; Thompson, T.S.

2014-01-01

Nuclear power plants are large infrastructure projects that require government support and approval. This paper will highlight and contrast the larger, mostly government-desired, nuclear program localization objectives with the more utility-specific requirements for successful project implementation. Governments are concerned about sustainable industrial development, particularly manufacturing, and job creation while utilities are focused on delivering reliable electricity to consumers at the lowest cost. Numerous countries emphasize local content as a key requirement when procuring a station. For countries like China and Korea that have large programs, their strategy has been to localize to the point of having their own indigenous design. However, developing a workable localization strategy that truly benefits the local economy for others including existing nuclear markets like Canada, the UK, South Africa and Brazil as well as in newly developing markets such as Vietnam and Malaysia is more challenging. These countries may not look to indigenize a new design, rather they would localize elements of the nuclear program that best fit their strengths. The paper will discuss the issues related to developing successful localization and industrialization strategies in a changing nuclear world. (author)

New nuclear plant development - balancing localization with competitiveness

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caplan, M.; Thompson, T.S. [MZ Consulting Inc., ON (Canada)

2014-07-01

Nuclear power plants are large infrastructure projects that require government support and approval. This paper will highlight and contrast the larger, mostly government-desired, nuclear program localization objectives with the more utility-specific requirements for successful project implementation. Governments are concerned about sustainable industrial development, particularly manufacturing, and job creation while utilities are focused on delivering reliable electricity to consumers at the lowest cost. Numerous countries emphasize local content as a key requirement when procuring a station. For countries like China and Korea that have large programs, their strategy has been to localize to the point of having their own indigenous design. However, developing a workable localization strategy that truly benefits the local economy for others including existing nuclear markets like Canada, the UK, South Africa and Brazil as well as in newly developing markets such as Vietnam and Malaysia is more challenging. These countries may not look to indigenize a new design, rather they would localize elements of the nuclear program that best fit their strengths. The paper will discuss the issues related to developing successful localization and industrialization strategies in a changing nuclear world. (author)

CONCEPTUAL APPROACH OF COMPETITIVENESS AND INTERDEPENDENCE BETWEEN COMPETITION AND COMPETITIVENESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatiana GUTIUM

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This article is devoted to analysis of interdependence and correlation between competition and competitiveness, and competition’s consequences. The author analysed some authors’ visions on competitiveness, and common features between theories of competition and competitiveness. Using the synthetic indicator elaborated by author has been evaluated the competitiveness of domestic goods on the internal and external market. At the end of this article, the author has developed proposals to increase competitiveness.

Competition and Co-operation between Stock Exchanges in Europe - Legal Aspects and Challenges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Karsten Engsig; Clausen, Nis Jul

2002-01-01

The article analysis why and how European Stock Exchanges enters into alliances. On the background of alliances as Norex, Euronext and the planned iX the different areas and types of co-operation is discussed.......The article analysis why and how European Stock Exchanges enters into alliances. On the background of alliances as Norex, Euronext and the planned iX the different areas and types of co-operation is discussed....

Welfare improving barter in imperfect competition

OpenAIRE

CRESTI, Barbara

2002-01-01

This paper offers a rationale for the development of the barter industry in industrialized economies. It argues that, in a context of imperfect competition, barter represents a profitable and efficient system of exchange. Thanks to barter, even if already at the optimum, a monopolist can still reduce the production costs and thus increase profits. Moreover, by adopting a barter strategy, he also improves social welfare, as he raises total output and decreases market price. Social welfare impr...

Digestion and Construction of Local Advertising Agencies′Core Competitiveness in China%中国本土广告公司核心竞争力的消解与建构

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

廖秉宜

2013-01-01

As the changes of marketing communication environment and the successful implementation of international advertising group′s localization strategy , local advertising agencies′core competitiveness are gradually being digested . Business transformation and management innovation become very important about local advertising agency development in the new era .This paper focuses on the current situation and causes of the digestion of local advertising agencies ′core competitiveness in China , and puts forward the strategies to enhance the core competitiveness of local advertising agen -cies from the dual dimension of business restructuring and management innovation .%随着企业营销传播环境的变化以及国际广告集团本土化战略的成功实施，本土广告公司的核心竞争力正在逐渐被消解，经营业务转型与管理创新成为新时期本土广告公司发展的重要关键词。本文重点分析了我国本土广告公司核心竞争力消解的现状及其深层原因，并从业务重构与管理创新的双重维度提出了本土广告公司核心竞争力提升的策略。

The Influences of the Exchange Rate on the Performance of Romanian Trade

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriela Dobrotă

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The unprecedented development of international trade relations has generated the possibility of obtaining a significant part of the GDP of the participating countries in foreign trade. As a result, the issue of competitiveness in international economy has become a major concern to authorities. In the category of factors which are influencing the competitiveness level is registered the volatility of the exchange rate. In this paper there were analyzed the aspects regarding the evolution of Romania's foreign trade and exchange rate, in the context of monetary policy measures. The conclusion is that the development plan of the national economy is determined by the action of a complex of economic, social and political factors, but measures taken by the monetary authorities in relation to the regime of exchange may generate visible effects at this level and thus to the volume of foreign trade relations.

75 FR 68660 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-11-08

... proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market participants to... Exchange believes that the above pricing is appropriate since higher rebates are directly correlated with... notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in which market participants can readily direct...

Exchange bias coupling in NiO/Ni bilayer tubular nanostructures synthetized by electrodeposition and thermal oxidation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yu, T., E-mail: work_tian@scu.edu.cn [College of Physical Science and Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064 (China); Zhang, Z.W.; Xu, Y.H. [College of Physical Science and Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064 (China); Liu, Y. [Analytical & Testing Center, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064 (China); Li, W.J. [Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Nie, Y.; Zhang, X. [College of Physical Science and Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064 (China); Xiang, G., E-mail: gxiang@scu.edu.cn [College of Physical Science and Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064 (China)

2017-05-01

In this paper, we reported the synthesis of NiO/Ni bilayer nanotubes by electrodeposition and thermal oxidation using anodic aluminum oxide templates. The morphology, structure, chemical composition and magnetic properties, especially magnetic exchange bias induced by subsequent magnetic field cooling, in this one-dimensional antiferromagnetic/ferromagnetic hybrid system were investigated. It was found that the effect of the annealing temperature, which mainly dominated the thickness of the NiO layer, and the annealing time, which mainly dominated the grain size of the NiO, on the exchange bias field showed competitive relationship. The optimized exchange bias field was achieved by the combination of the shorter annealing time and higher annealing temperature. - Highlights: • NiO-Ni bilayer tubular nanotubes were fabricated by electrodeposition and thermal oxidation. • The exchange bias effect in NiO-Ni nanotubes was induced by magnetic field cooling. • The competitive effect of annealing temperature and annealing time on the exchange bias coupling was analyzed.

78 FR 6394 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-30

... higher administrative costs associated with monitoring External Distributors ongoing reporting, as... losing business to its competitors.\\23\\ \\21\\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 (June 9, 2006... with those charged by the Exchange's competitors, EdgeBook Attributed \\SM\\ would promote competition if...

Neutron radiography characterization of an operating proton exchange membrane fuel cell with localized current distribution measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gagliardo, J.J.; Owejan, J.P.; Trabold, T.A.; Tighe, T.W.

2009-01-01

Neutron radiography has proven to be a powerful tool to study and understand the effects of liquid water in an operating fuel cell. In the present work, this experimental method is coupled with locally resolved current and ohmic resistance measurements, giving additional insight into water management and fuel cell performance under a variety of conditions. The effects of varying the inlet humidification level and the current density of the 50 cm 2 cell are studied by simultaneously monitoring electrochemical performance with a 10x10 matrix of current sensors, and liquid water volumes are measured using the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) neutron imaging facility. A counter flow, straight channel proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell is used to demonstrate localized performance loss corresponds to water-filled channels that impede gas transport to the catalyst layer, thereby creating an area that has low current density. Furthermore, certain operating conditions causing excess water accumulation in the channels can result in localized proton resistance increase, a result that can only be accurately observed with combined radiography and distributed electrochemical measurements.

COMPETITIVENESS - KEY ISSUES OF THE ROMANIAN ECONOMY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriela-Liliana, CIOBAN

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Based on the theory that competitiveness plays an increasingly powerful role in creating prosperity, wealth, a large number of economists, researchers, scientists, highlight a number of approaches aimed, on the one hand, on the analysis of competitiveness at national or regional level, and on the other hand, on the ability of local firms to achieve competitive products and to commercialize them in the extern markets. In this context we aim to analyze and develop strategies and methods to help identify competitive areas at a national level. This is necessary because in our opinion the competitiveness of a company and / or country is more than wealth itself; it means a systematic process of wealth creation, plus a social system in which most citizens have access to material wealth. We consider in this respect that a country cannot automatically be considered competitive only if it is rich in natural resources. In our view, a competitive country creates wealth through labor, talent and organization and thus it manages to have a productive and creative potential making it independent of material resources.

75 FR 6767 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing and...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-10

... excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market... competitive reasons, the Exchange is now seeking to re-introduce an Ultra Tier rebate of $0.0031 per share. \\4... to the Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2010,\\5\\ DECN adjusted its pricing model to be more...

36 CFR 254.4 - Agreement to initiate an exchange.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... exchange. 254.4 Section 254.4 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LANDOWNERSHIP ADJUSTMENTS Land Exchanges § 254.4 Agreement to initiate an exchange. (a) Exchanges may be proposed by the Forest Service or by any person, State, or local government. Initial exchange proposals...

75 FR 39307 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-08

... rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market participants to direct..., and is similar to existing pricing for this order type on the International Securities Exchange, LLC... that it operates in a highly competitive market in which market participants can readily direct order...

75 FR 48734 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-11

... competitive pricing structure designed to incent market participants to direct their order flow to the... transaction reporting plans for Tapes A, B and C securities. The Exchange believes that this pricing is... highly competitive market in which market participants can readily direct order flow to competing venues...

76 FR 2168 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-12

... proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market participants to...) remains unchanged at $0.0032 per share. The Exchange believes that the above pricing is appropriate since... notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in which market participants can readily direct...

78 FR 16558 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Y-Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-15

... necessarily competitive. The Exchange also believes that its pricing for displayed orders is appropriately... further detail below. Rebates To Remove Liquidity The Exchange currently offers a tiered pricing structure for executions that remove liquidity. Under the tiered pricing structure, a Member must add a daily...

Determinants of International Outsourcing and Performance: A Relational Exchange Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carl E. Dresden

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Prescriptive discussions regarding international outsourcing abound, but there are few previously proposed models of the antecedents leading to such sourcing. This empirical study utilizes the relational exchange framework proposed by Dwyer, Schurr and Oh (1987 and builds a conceptual model of the firm's use of international outsourcing within the context of relational exchange. The model concentrates on the aspects of relational exchange that are crucial antecedents to successful international outsourcing and empirically demonstrates how both economic and social factors have their influence. The resulting model demonstrates how cooperation, rather than competition, leads to successful international outsourcing.

Insurance Exchange Marketplace: Implications for Emergency Medicine Practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David S. Rankey, MD, MPH

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 requires states to establish healthcareinsurance exchanges by 2014 to facilitate the purchase of qualified health plans. States are required toestablish exchanges for small businesses and individuals. A federally operated exchange will beestablished, and states failing to participate in any other exchanges will be mandated to join the federalexchange. Policymakers and health economists believe that exchanges will improve healthcare atlower cost by promoting competition among insurers and by reducing burdensome transaction costs.Consumers will no longer be isolated from monthly insurance premium costs. Exchanges will increasethe number of patients insured with more cost-conscious managed care and high-deductible plans.These insurance plan models have historically undervalued emergency medical services, while alsounderinsuring patients and limiting their healthcare system access to the emergency department. Thisparadoxically increases demand for emergency services while decreasing supply. The continualdevaluation of emergency medical services by insurance payers will result in inadequate distribution ofresources to emergency care, resulting in further emergency department closures, increases inemergency department crowding, and the demise of acute care services provided to families andcommunities.

76 FR 8389 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-14

... competitive market in which market participants can readily direct order flow to competing venues if they deem fee levels at a particular venue to be excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market participants to direct their order flow to the Exchange. The...

78 FR 10676 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-14

... be excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent... fee of $0.0005 per share is equitable and reasonable because it accounts for the pricing changes on... strategies). The Exchange also notes that it operates in a highly-competitive market in which market...

76 FR 34794 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-14

... competitive market in which market participants can readily direct order flow to competing venues if they deem fee levels at a particular venue to be excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market participants to direct their order flow to the Exchange. The...

76 FR 13246 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-10

... infrastructure and administrative expenses. In addition, the rebate is competitive with rebates offered by Nasdaq... continue to offer a ``one under'' pricing model). The Exchange believes that adding an additional way to... competitive market in which market participants can readily direct order flow to competing venues if they deem...

75 FR 78334 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-15

... competitive market in which market participants can readily direct order flow to competing venues if they deem fee levels at a particular venue to be excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market participants to direct their order flow to the Exchange. The...

76 FR 20414 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-12

... continuing to offer competitive pricing while also permitting the Exchange to avoid significant monetary... Exchange proposes to modify the ``Options Pricing'' section of its fee schedule to: (i) Adopt a definition for Total Consolidated Volume (``TCV''), to be used for purposes of the tiered pricing structure...

76 FR 62884 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-11

... the Exchange by continuing to offer competitive pricing while also creating incentives to providing.... Purpose The Exchange proposes to modify the ``Options Pricing'' section of its fee schedule to: (i... (``BATS Options''); (ii) eliminate a pricing structure that provides a Firm \\7\\ or Market Maker \\8\\ a...

76 FR 70183 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-10

... proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market participants to... offer a ``one under'' pricing model). \\15\\ See footnote 5 of the EDGA fee schedule. The Exchange... minus a certain differential. EDGA's pricing is consistent with this premise. The Exchange believes that...

Exchange rate risks and their impact upon the energy market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abed Al-Zabidi

2007-04-01

Full Text Available The expansion of international business in Slovakia brought not only the opening of markets and expansion of enterprise possibilities but also an increase in the competition and new risks. One of such risks is also the exchange rate risk. The business that realizes a financial transaction exceeding borders of the state or derives his buying or selling prices in Slovak crowns from the foreign currency, is subjected to the exchange rate risks. The exchange rate risks are caused by volatility of exchange courses of Slovak crowns related to foreign currencies. The progress of exchange rates can considerably influence a real result of a transaction negatively; therefore it is important for enterprises to identify possible risks resulting from changes in exchange rates, so they could react accordingly.The proposed article is aimed at the explanation of basic techniques of minimizing exchange rate risks with the use of financial tools available on the financial market.

Competition between superconductivity and magnetism in ferromagnet/superconductor heterostructures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Izyumov, Yurii A; Proshin, Yurii N; Khusainov, Mensur G

2002-01-01

The mutual influence of superconductivity and magnetism in F/S systems, i.e. systems of alternating ferromagnetic (F) and superconducting (S) layers, is comprehensively reviewed. For systems with ferromagnetic metal (FM) layers, a theory of the proximity effect in the dirty limit is constructed based on the Usadel equations. For an FM/S bilayer and an FM/S superlattice, a boundary-value problem involving finite FM/S boundary transparency and the diffusion and wave modes of quasi-particle motion is formulated; and the critical temperature T c is calculated as a function of FM- and S-layer thicknesses. A detailed analysis of a large amount of experimental data amply confirms the proposed theory. It is shown that the superconducting state of an FM/S system is a superposition of two pairing mechanisms, Bardin - Cooper - Schrieffer's in S layers and Larkin - Ovchinnikov - Fulde - Ferrell's in FM ones. The competition between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic spontaneous moment orientations in FM layers is explored for the 0- and π-phase superconductivity in FM/S systems. For FI/S structures, where FI is a ferromagnetic insulator, a model for exchange interactions is proposed, which, along with direct exchange inside FI layers, includes indirect Ruderman - Kittel - Kasuya - Yosida exchange between localized spins via S-layer conduction electrons. Within this framework, possible mutual accommodation scenarios for superconducting and magnetic order parameters are found, the corresponding phase diagrams are plotted, and experimental results are explained. The results of the theory of the Josephson effect for S/F/S junctions are presented and the application of the theory of spin-dependent transport to F/S/F junctions is discussed. Application aspects of the subject are examined. (reviews of topical problems)

APPROACHING COMPETITIVENESS AT THE LEVEL OF MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

DORINA NIŢĂ

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The competitiveness of multinational corporations is a particularly complex concept due to the fact that at present this type of company represents economic entities which continue to develop in the context of the process of internationalization and the transition to the use of global strategies. Competitiveness is a competition between corporations for new positions on the markets. With regard to the competitiveness of multinational corporations, the most accurate description was given by Gilbert Abraham Frois who believed these businesses must think globally, but act locally. In the competitive global market, emphasis is laid on plus – the value given by the competitiveness of the human element, taking into account the fact that the human resource doesn’t run out, and its value doesn’t decrease over time, but on the contrary, its value increases on condition that it is rigorously managed and developed.

Brand competition in consumer packaged goods : Sustaining large market advantages with little product differentiation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bronnenberg, B.J.

2008-01-01

In direct competition between national brands of consumer packaged goods (CPG), one brand often has a large local share advantage over the other despite the similarity of the branded products. I present an explanation for these large and persistent advantages in the context of local competition on

MN15-L: A New Local Exchange-Correlation Functional for Kohn-Sham Density Functional Theory with Broad Accuracy for Atoms, Molecules, and Solids.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Haoyu S; He, Xiao; Truhlar, Donald G

2016-03-08

Kohn-Sham density functional theory is widely used for applications of electronic structure theory in chemistry, materials science, and condensed-matter physics, but the accuracy depends on the quality of the exchange-correlation functional. Here, we present a new local exchange-correlation functional called MN15-L that predicts accurate results for a broad range of molecular and solid-state properties including main-group bond energies, transition metal bond energies, reaction barrier heights, noncovalent interactions, atomic excitation energies, ionization potentials, electron affinities, total atomic energies, hydrocarbon thermochemistry, and lattice constants of solids. The MN15-L functional has the same mathematical form as a previous meta-nonseparable gradient approximation exchange-correlation functional, MN12-L, but it is improved because we optimized it against a larger database, designated 2015A, and included smoothness restraints; the optimization has a much better representation of transition metals. The mean unsigned error on 422 chemical energies is 2.32 kcal/mol, which is the best among all tested functionals, with or without nonlocal exchange. The MN15-L functional also provides good results for test sets that are outside the training set. A key issue is that the functional is local (no nonlocal exchange or nonlocal correlation), which makes it relatively economical for treating large and complex systems and solids. Another key advantage is that medium-range correlation energy is built in so that one does not need to add damped dispersion by molecular mechanics in order to predict accurate noncovalent binding energies. We believe that the MN15-L functional should be useful for a wide variety of applications in chemistry, physics, materials science, and molecular biology.

The Nordic power exchange Nord pool and the Nordic model for a liberalised power market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Houmoller, A. P.

2000-01-01

As the first countries in the world, the Nordic countries Norway, Sweden, Finland and denmark have established a common, multinational power exchange. By means of this common power exchange, these countries also have established a common power market. this is also the first - and for the time being - the only place in the world, where you can find a multinational, truly competitive power market. This Nordic model has attracted much interest from other countries in Europe, Asia, North America and South America. The presentation will explain, how the common power exchange makes it possible for the four countries and the five system operators in Scandinavia physically and financially to operate a common, multinational, competitive power market. The presentation will explain how this systems works in the Nordic countries by discussion the following items: - The non-commercial players: The Transmission System Operators and the local grid operators; - The market players: the producers, the retailers, the traders, the brokers and the end users; - The access to the grid: The point tariff system; - The fairness towards the market players and the security of supply: The balancing power and the regulating power; - The power exchange handles bottlenecks in the grid. The presentation will explain how this is done and will demonstrate how this gives the power market a bottleneck handing method which:- Is neutral and fair towards all the market players, - Ensures that all the capacity of any bottleneck is utilised during every hour of operation, - Is extremely easy to use for the Transmission System Operators - also if the bottleneck is cross-border bottleneck; - The Nord Pool spot market Elspot; - The Nord Pool futures market Eltermin; - Area prices; - How financial contracts replace physical contracts when the power market is liberalised; - The day-to-day market and the market for long-term contracts in a liberalised power market; - How to eliminate the c ounter party risk

Industry diversity, competition and firm relatedness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Cong; Madsen, Jakob B.; Steiner, Bodo

2017-01-01

This study investigates the extent to which indicators of external scale economies impacted employment growth in Canada over the period 2004-2011. We focus on knowledge spillovers between firms while accounting for Marshallian specialization, Jacobs’ diversity, and competition by industry, as well...... as related and unrelated firm varieties in terms of employment and sales. We find that the employment growth effects of local competition and diversity are positive, while the effect of Marshallian specialization is negative. Diversification is found to be particularly important for employment growth during...

Exact-exchange spin-density functional theory of Wigner localization and phase transitions in quantum rings.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Thorsten; Siegmund, Marc; Pankratov, Oleg

2011-08-24

We apply exact-exchange spin-density functional theory in the Krieger-Li-Iafrate approximation to interacting electrons in quantum rings of different widths. The rings are threaded by a magnetic flux that induces a persistent current. A weak space and spin symmetry breaking potential is introduced to allow for localized solutions. As the electron-electron interaction strength described by the dimensionless parameter r(S) is increased, we observe-at a fixed spin magnetic moment-the subsequent transition of both spin sub-systems from the Fermi liquid to the Wigner crystal state. A dramatic signature of Wigner crystallization is that the persistent current drops sharply with increasing r(S). We observe simultaneously the emergence of pronounced oscillations in the spin-resolved densities and in the electron localization functions indicating a spatial electron localization showing ferrimagnetic order after both spin sub-systems have undergone the Wigner crystallization. The critical r(S)(c) at the transition point is substantially smaller than in a fully spin-polarized system and decreases further with decreasing ring width. Relaxing the constraint of a fixed spin magnetic moment, we find that on increasing r(S) the stable phase changes from an unpolarized Fermi liquid to an antiferromagnetic Wigner crystal and finally to a fully polarized Fermi liquid. © 2011 IOP Publishing Ltd

78 FR 18384 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Order Approving Proposed Rule Change To...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-26

... operates a competitive liquidity provider program that provides incentives to certain Exchange market... rewards would go to the market maker with the highest number of winning tests and 20% of the total rewards... to allocate the rewards differently. Instead of a fixed dollar amount, the Exchange would reward the...

77 FR 61800 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-11

... reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market participants to direct their order flow... ROUC \\5\\ routing strategy and executes at non-exchange destinations. The pricing of Flag Q is also... qualifying for additional volume tiered pricing. The Exchange offered Members a rebate of $0.0014 per share...

78 FR 49569 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-14

... competitive pricing structure designed to incent market participants to direct their order flow to the... reasonable because it accounts for the pricing changes on BYX. In addition, the proposal allows the Exchange... accounts for the pricing changes on BYX. In addition, the proposal allows the Exchange to continue to...

Elasticity and competitiveness of Indonesia’s palm oil export in India market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Awan Setya Dewanta

2016-10-01

Full Text Available This study examines the elasticity and competitiveness of Indonsia’s palm oil export in the India market, 1990 -2014. The methods used are Error Correction Model (ECM and Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA approach. The results shows that the price is inelastic in short-term but it is elastic in long-term. The income and exchange rate are elastic in the long-term. There is also a decline in competitiveness in the market India. These findings also demonstrate that palm oil is normal goods and can be easily substituted with the same products of other countries or other vegetable oils. It threatens the Indonesian palm oil competitiveness in the Indian market.

Market: local heating; Markedsanalyse: lokale energisentraler

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naper, Linn R.; Bjoerndalen, Joergen

2010-07-01

The aim of this study was to examine how the market for local heating in Norway actually works, whether it is (sufficiently) competition, and what influences the growth opportunities in this market. Local heating can play an important role in ensuring a high proportion of renewable energy for heating and industrial processes. However, this requires a functioning market. The theoretical basis for market analysis is Michael Porter's Five Forces model, which incorporates information about different aspects of a market with a view to evaluate the competitive pressure. The model focuses on customers, competitors and their suppliers, substitutes and potential intruders in the market. This model is complemented by simple economic theory of perfect competition and the concept of perfect competition. (eb)

Marketing of green electrons. Solar-power stock exchanges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nussbaumer-Waelti, E.

1999-01-01

An independent power producer evaluates the current solar-power stock exchanges in Switzerland. Most stock exchanges have been created by electric utilities which want to deliver 'green' power to those of their clients asking for. A first group of solar-power stock exchanges offer to take over the produced solar power at a marginal price. Among them, some organise a competition between the potential solar-power producers, in order to press down the investment cost for the new photovoltaic plants to build. Other stock exchanges propose a periodical adaptation of the prices, especially an adaptation to the capital interest rate. For sure, the total length of the time period for which the contract is established is one of the decisive factors. Because no bank is ready to grant a credit for such an investment without having seen a long-running take-over contract for the produced power [de

Double and super-exchange model in one-dimensional systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vallejo, E.; Navarro, O.; Avignon, M.

2010-01-01

We present an analytical and numerical study of the competition between double and super-exchange interactions in a one-dimensional model. For low super-exchange interaction energy we find phase separation between ferromagnetic and anti-ferromagnetic phases. When the super-exchange interaction energy gets larger, the conduction electrons are self-trapped within separate small magnetic polarons. These magnetic polarons contain a single electron inside two or three sites depending on the conduction electron density and form a Wigner crystallization. A new phase separation is found between these small polarons and the anti-ferromagnetic phase. Spin-glass behavior is obtained consistent with experimental results of the nickelate one-dimensional compound Y 2-x Ca x BaNiO 5 .

Local versus non-local core potentials in electron scattering from sodium atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartschat, K.; Bray, I.

1996-01-01

We have tested the use of a local potential instead of the non-local Hartree-Fock potential to represent exchange effects between the valence or the projectile electron and the core in electron scattering from sodium atoms. For some of the most detailed observables in this collision system, the results of the two approaches are nearly identical, even though the effect of the exchange part is shown to be particularly large. (Author)

An Empirical Analysis of China's Equilibrium Exchange Rate and Misalignment of the RMB

OpenAIRE

Zhu, Lin

2012-01-01

As economic globalization develops in depth, the exchange rate as an important means of macroeconomic control and economic leverage has played a critical role in the economic development in China. Moreover, the real exchange rate can affect the competitiveness of a country’s economy. In fact, a large number of scholars claim that a country should maintain the real exchange rate at its “equilibrium level” in order to keep a steady growth of the economy. Thus, many studies have emphasized on e...

Weather as a Competitive Factor between Local and Foreign Manufacturing Companies in Russia

OpenAIRE

Leppänen, Simo; Ledyaeva, Svetlana; Kosonen, Riitta

2016-01-01

Globalisation has sparked academic interest in companies’ competitive factors and a myriad of internal and external competitive factors have been studied. However, to our knowledge the weather of the host country has not been under study even though weather has been demonstrated to affect economic activity. This paper utilises a company-level panel data to analyse if weather has an impact on domestic and foreign manufacturing companies’ operations in Russia. Temperature was identified to have...

Factors shaping competitiveness of the region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Szymańska Katarzyna

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Regions are competing between themselves for the highest position in the country. Achieving and maintaining this position is associated with benefits such as attracting investors, the growth of entrepreneurship living in the region or commune, improvement of housing conditions, local enrichment, lower unemployment, lower social spending and the development of the real estate market. The inventors of the region potential are: entrepreneurs, groups connecting various environments (clusters, associations, Special Economic Zones, knowledge, innovation, and the living conditions of citizens. Regions compete with each other by using monuments, attracting investors and investing funds. The main factors of territorial competition are associated with local resources. The most common and most general division of territorial competitiveness factors are classified into internal and external. External factors include national and global environment, social, economic and spacious politics of the state and other organizations. Internal factors are local opportunities and development needs. They are in the local coordinate system and depend on local resources (quantity and quality of education inhabitants of commune or region, natural resources in the region, the policy of the region - pro-health, pro-family and pro-environmental, infrastructure, their accessibility, quality and efficiency of their use. The aim of this article is to discuss about creators of region potential (mainly entrepreneurs, clusters, associations, Special Economic Zones, and the relationships between them.

3d-4f magnetic interaction with density functional theory plus u approach: local Coulomb correlation and exchange pathways.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yachao; Yang, Yang; Jiang, Hong

2013-12-12

The 3d-4f exchange interaction plays an important role in many lanthanide based molecular magnetic materials such as single-molecule magnets and magnetic refrigerants. In this work, we study the 3d-4f magnetic exchange interactions in a series of Cu(II)-Gd(III) (3d(9)-4f(7)) dinuclear complexes based on the numerical atomic basis-norm-conserving pseudopotential method and density functional theory plus the Hubbard U correction approach (DFT+U). We obtain improved description of the 4f electrons by including the semicore 5s5p states in the valence part of the Gd-pseudopotential. The Hubbard U correction is employed to treat the strongly correlated Cu-3d and Gd-4f electrons, which significantly improve the agreement of the predicted exchange constants, J, with experiment, indicating the importance of accurate description of the local Coulomb correlation. The high efficiency of the DFT+U approach enables us to perform calculations with molecular crystals, which in general improve the agreement between theory and experiment, achieving a mean absolute error smaller than 2 cm(-1). In addition, through analyzing the physical effects of U, we identify two magnetic exchange pathways. One is ferromagnetic and involves an interaction between the Cu-3d, O-2p (bridge ligand), and the majority-spin Gd-5d orbitals. The other one is antiferromagnetic and involves Cu-3d, O-2p, and the empty minority-spin Gd-4f orbitals, which is suppressed by the planar Cu-O-O-Gd structure. This study demonstrates the accuracy of the DFT+U method for evaluating the 3d-4f exchange interactions, provides a better understanding of the exchange mechanism in the Cu(II)-Gd(III) complexes, and paves the way for exploiting the magnetic properties of the 3d-4f compounds containing lanthanides other than Gd.

78 FR 27274 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-09

...' orders that yield Flag BY. When Direct Edge ECN LLC (d/b/a DE Route) (``DE Route''), the Exchange's... for removing liquidity from the BYX order book for executions by members that add a daily average... competing venues to maintain their competitive standing in the financial markets. The Exchange believes that...

78 FR 16023 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-13

... reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market participants to direct their order flow... volume tiered pricing. The Exchange notes that Footnote 4 is already appended to Flags B, V, Y, 3, and 4... tiered pricing. The Exchange maintains default rates for securities at or above $1.00 and securities...

Electric field-controlled magnetization in exchange biased IrMn/Co/PZT multilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huong Giang, D T; Duc, N H; Agnus, G; Maroutian, T; Lecoeur, P

2013-01-01

Electric-field modulating exchange bias and near 180° deterministic magnetization switching at room temperature are demonstrated in simple antiferromagnetic/ferromagnetic/ferroelectric (AFM/FM/FE) exchange-coupled multiferroic multilayers of IrMn/Co/PZT. A rather large exchange bias field shift up to ΔH ex /H ex = 500% was obtained. This change governs mainly the electric-field strength rather than the applied current. It is explained as being realized through the competition between the electric-field induced uniaxial and unidirectional anisotropies. These results show good prospects for low-power spintronic devices. (paper)

New competition hits the U.S. electric industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunter, M.

1993-01-01

Three case studies of competition in the United States electric industry are described which illustrate some of the most striking characteristics of the new competitive situation: utilities foraging in other service areas for long-term customers, customers playing one service-area's pricing against another to obtain better terms, and new generating entities being created with the option of seeking mandated transmission access. The trends illustrated by these studies indicate a move away from a regulated monopoly setting toward a market in which the price of bulk electricity is driven down toward the long-run marginal cost of the service. In New England, non-utility generation in 1992 accounted for 17% of electricity sales, up from essentially zero in 1980. Although increasing competition among electric utilities could lower electric power prices and improve industrial competitiveness, there are several concerns which may signify unpleasant outcomes for electric utilities. These concerns include inefficient investment, in which local utility grids are bypassed in favor of other generating units whose competitive advantage may be the result of arbitrary cost-shifting; the exit of large power users placing more of a fixed-cost burden on the remaining customers of a utility, resulting in a vicious spiral of more defections; and insecurities in purchasing power from a new supplier who may not be subject to the same legal obligations as a local utility. Recommendations are made for accommodating more competition without causing adverse effects, including proper pricing of transmission, helping utilities compete on generation, and avoiding non-electric mandates for utilities. 9 refs

A cloud based tool for knowledge exchange on local scale flood risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkinson, M E; Mackay, E; Quinn, P F; Stutter, M; Beven, K J; MacLeod, C J A; Macklin, M G; Elkhatib, Y; Percy, B; Vitolo, C; Haygarth, P M

2015-09-15

There is an emerging and urgent need for new approaches for the management of environmental challenges such as flood hazard in the broad context of sustainability. This requires a new way of working which bridges disciplines and organisations, and that breaks down science-culture boundaries. With this, there is growing recognition that the appropriate involvement of local communities in catchment management decisions can result in multiple benefits. However, new tools are required to connect organisations and communities. The growth of cloud based technologies offers a novel way to facilitate this process of exchange of information in environmental science and management; however, stakeholders need to be engaged with as part of the development process from the beginning rather than being presented with a final product at the end. Here we present the development of a pilot Local Environmental Virtual Observatory Flooding Tool. The aim was to develop a cloud based learning platform for stakeholders, bringing together fragmented data, models and visualisation tools that will enable these stakeholders to make scientifically informed environmental management decisions at the local scale. It has been developed by engaging with different stakeholder groups in three catchment case studies in the UK and a panel of national experts in relevant topic areas. However, these case study catchments are typical of many northern latitude catchments. The tool was designed to communicate flood risk in locally impacted communities whilst engaging with landowners/farmers about the risk of runoff from the farmed landscape. It has been developed iteratively to reflect the needs, interests and capabilities of a wide range of stakeholders. The pilot tool combines cloud based services, local catchment datasets, a hydrological model and bespoke visualisation tools to explore real time hydrometric data and the impact of flood risk caused by future land use changes. The novel aspects of the

Local vs. Non-local core potentials in electron scattering from sodium atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartschat, K.; Bray, I.

1996-02-01

We have tested the use of a local potential instead of the non-local Hartree-Fock potential to represent exchange effects between the valence or the projectile electron and the core in electron scattering from sodium atoms For some of the most detailed observables in this collision system/ the results of the two approaches are nearly identical, even though the effect of the exchange part is shown to be particularly large. (authors). 16 refs., 4 figs

Listening to agent agendas in student exchanges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tarp, Gertrud

2003-01-01

The paper is based upon a research study of short-term student exchanges. The study took place from 1996-2000, and comprises seven classes of students from six Danish business schools. Short-term student exchanges in terms of EU funded exchanges and local school exchanges are means to develop...... institutional scepticism and placed within the theoretical framework of symbolic interactionism. The methodology applied is qualitative, grounded theory, and the data originate from diaries, semi-structured interviews and semi-open questionnaires. The findings show that the students have their own exchange...

78 FR 59390 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Withdrawal of Proposed Rule Change...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-26

... Amendment No. 1 Thereto, To Amend the Competitive Liquidity Provider Program September 20, 2013. On June 17...'') \\1\\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\\2\\ a proposed rule change to establish the Competitive Liquidity... Liquidity Provider Program to apply only to corporate issues. On June 24, 2013, the Exchange submitted...

Relative mobility of 1-H atoms of carbohydrates in heterogeneous isotope exchange reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akulov, G.P.; Snetkova, E.V.; Kayumov, V.G.; Kaminskii, Yu.L.

1988-01-01

The method of competitive reactions was used to determine the relative mobilities of the 1-H atoms of carbohydrates in reactions of heterogeneous isotope exchange, using various reference standards, catalysts, and buffer systems. On the basis of the results obtained, the investigated carbohydrates are ranged in a series of decreasing mobility of the hydrogen atoms exchanged in heterogeneous isotope exchange reactions. It was demonstrated that the mobility of the 1-H atoms is related to the concentration of the acyclic forms of the carbohydrates

Managers air thoughts on the top competitive issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makansi, J.; Swanekamp, R.

1996-01-01

Over 100 powerplant managers and representatives from other industry segments exchanged ideas and opinions at Power magazine's Fifth Powerplant O and M Symposium, ''Managing the Powerplant in a Competitive Environment,'' held June 12--14 in Richmond, VA. Attendees may have represented both utility and independent power facilities, but it was clear from the dialogue that, regardless of ownership, most felt that their plants would have to operate as independent businesses, implicitly if not directly

Is parental competitive ability in winter negatively affected by previous springs' family size?

Science.gov (United States)

Fokkema, Rienk W; Ubels, Richard; Tinbergen, Joost M

2017-03-01

Reproductive behavior cannot be understood without taking the local level of competition into account. Experimental work in great tits ( Parus major ) showed that (1) a survival cost of reproduction was paid in environments with high levels of competition during the winter period and (2) experimentally manipulated family size negatively affected the ability of parents to compete for preferred breeding boxes in the next spring. The fact that survival was affected in winter suggests that the competitive ability of parents in winter may also be affected by previous reproductive effort. In this study, we aim to investigate whether (1) such carryover effects of family size on the ability of parents to compete for resources in the winter period occurred and (2) this could explain the occurrence of a survival cost of reproduction under increased competition. During two study years, we manipulated the size of in total 168 great tit broods. Next, in winter, we induced competition among the parents by drastically reducing the availability of roosting boxes in their local environment for one week. Contrary to our expectation, we found no negative effect of family size manipulation on the probability of parents to obtain a roosting box. In line with previous work, we did find that a survival cost of reproduction was paid only in plots in which competition for roosting boxes was shortly increased. Our findings thus add to the scarce experimental evidence that survival cost of reproduction are paid under higher levels of local competition but this could not be linked to a reduced competitive ability of parents in winter.

Exchange Rate and International Trade: Case From Indonesian Manufacturing Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anung Yoga Anindhita

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Exchange rate fluctuation in Floating Exchange Rate Regime is considered to Exchange rate fluctuation in Floating Exchange Rate Regime is considered to have impacts on the international trade through its adjustment to the price and its volatility to the trade risk. This paper is aimed at estimating those impacts on the international trade of manufacturing sector in Indonesia for period 2007 to 2014. To conduct estimation, it uses multiple regression analysis on two models: First, the import of raw-and-auxiliary materials; Second, the export of manufacturing sector. The results show that the exchange rate impacts both work significantly on the import of raw-and-auxiliary materials. The finding implies that, through the import of raw-and-auxiliary materials, manufacturing sector is very susceptible to the shock caused by exchange rate changes. Meanwhile, the export of manufacturing sector is not able to take advantage of the depreciation of the exchange rate due to the lack of competitiveness.DOI: 10.15408/sjie.v6i2.5210

Rise and fall of competitiveness in individualistic and collectivistic societies.

Science.gov (United States)

Leibbrandt, Andreas; Gneezy, Uri; List, John A

2013-06-04

Competitiveness pervades life: plants compete for sunlight and water, animals for territory and food, and humans for mates and income. Herein we investigate human competitiveness with a natural experiment and a set of behavioral experiments. We compare competitiveness in traditional fishing societies where local natural forces determine whether fishermen work in isolation or in collectives. We find sharp evidence that fishermen from individualistic societies are far more competitive than fishermen from collectivistic societies, and that this difference emerges with work experience. These findings suggest that humans can evolve traits to specific needs, support the idea that socio-ecological factors play a decisive role for individual competitiveness, and provide evidence how individualistic and collectivistic societies shape economic behavior.

Can market forces and competition supplant regulation?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graham, D.

1998-01-01

The challenges facing regulators and governments as utilities and pipelines transform from regulated monopolies into competitive businesses were discussed. In the past, the absence of competition required that utility and pipeline companies be regulated by governments to ensure fair pricing and good performance. The question of whether or not competition can entirely replace regulation was examined. Although the focus was on the natural gas industry, the regulatory trends in other industries were also briefly considered. In 1985, the federal government agreed to allow the commodity price of natural gas to fluctuate in response to market forces. This began the process of deregulation in the Canadian natural gas industry. Direct purchasing introduced competition and ended the monopolies of local distribution companies in purchasing gas. The main benefits of the competitive market structure were that consumers could choose products and services from a range of competing companies at competitive prices. This was critical to the success of the Canadian economy since Canada is the third largest exporter of energy and the eighth largest consumer of energy. It was suggested that even in a competitive market abuse of market power is possible, therefore, there is an important role for government in ensuring the existence of a level playing field. A variety of issues involved in an effective transition to a competitive market were also discussed. 2 figs

Thermodynamics of competitive molecular channel transport: application to artificial nuclear pores.

Science.gov (United States)

Bauer, Wolfgang R; Nadler, Walter

2010-12-13

In an analytical model channel transport is analyzed as a function of key parameters, determining efficiency and selectivity of particle transport in a competitive molecular environment. These key parameters are the concentration of particles, solvent-channel exchange dynamics, as well as particle-in-channel- and interparticle interaction. These parameters are explicitly related to translocation dynamics and channel occupation probability. Slowing down the exchange dynamics at the channel ends, or elevating the particle concentration reduces the in-channel binding strength necessary to maintain maximum transport. Optimized in-channel interaction may even shift from binding to repulsion. A simple equation gives the interrelation of access dynamics and concentration at this transition point. The model is readily transferred to competitive transport of different species, each of them having their individual in-channel affinity. Combinations of channel affinities are determined which differentially favor selectivity of certain species on the cost of others. Selectivity for a species increases if its in-channel binding enhances the species' translocation probability when compared to that of the other species. Selectivity increases particularly for a wide binding site, long channels, and fast access dynamics. Recent experiments on competitive transport of in-channel binding and inert molecules through artificial nuclear pores serve as a paradigm for our model. It explains qualitatively and quantitatively how binding molecules are favored for transport at the cost of the transport of inert molecules.

Intensity of competition in the market of greenhouse vegetables

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleg Ivanovich Botkin

2012-03-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews the competitive environment of the market greenhouse vegetables. Revealed specific features of the industry, determining the level of intensity of competition in the market greenhouse vegetables. Classified factors internal and external environment, identify indicators that affect the state of the market. The factors that determine the intensity of competition in the market greenhouse vegetables.The main competitors on the Russian market of greenhouse production.Identified indicators of the intensity level of competition, in particular: the level of monopolization of the market greenhouse vegetables, the level of concentration of production in the industry, the generalized index of the intensity of the competitive environment.Shows a comparative analysis of competitors’ market greenhouse vegetables in Udmurtia.Revealed competitive advantages which can help local producers to reduce the pressure of competition and intra-industry to occupy a leading position in the Russian market of greenhouse vegetable production.The dynamics of economic performance of Russian producers. Ways of improving the competitiveness of enterprises for the production of greenhouse vegetables

Initiation of corrupt exchanges and severity of corruption

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rajeev K. Goel

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the effectiveness of corruption control depending upon whether the bribe taker or the bribe giver initiates the corrupt interaction. The probability of corrupt exchanges depends upon the bribe and the corrupt market structure. The probability of apprehension is set but punishment can be influenced via bribes. Results show that the effectiveness of apprehension hinges on whether higher bribes invite harsher fines. Competition for favors intimidates the bribe giver into offering lower bribes, while greater agency competition has a similar effect on the bribe demanded. Consistent with intuition, better paid bureaucrats demand smaller bribes. Some implications for anti-corruption policy are discussed.

48 CFR 15.306 - Exchanges with offerors after receipt of proposals.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... negotiations may include bargaining. Bargaining includes persuasion, alteration of assumptions and positions... ACQUISITION REGULATION CONTRACTING METHODS AND CONTRACT TYPES CONTRACTING BY NEGOTIATION Source Selection 15.... Negotiations are exchanges, in either a competitive or sole source environment, between the Government and...

47 CFR 64.1903 - Obligations of all incumbent independent local exchange carriers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... existing offices of its affiliated exchange companies, and use its affiliated exchange companies' marketing...) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) MISCELLANEOUS RULES RELATING TO COMMON CARRIERS Separate Affiliate... affiliate that satisfies the following requirements: (1) The affiliate shall maintain separate books of...

SMEs Development Strategy for Competitive and Sustainable Typical Local Snacks of Banten Province

OpenAIRE

Sawarni Hasibuan

2015-01-01

Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for snacks in Indonesia currently has a good growth rate on one hand; but on the other hand, its level of competition is also quite high.  Growth in sales volume of the Indonesian snack industry, both in modern and traditional markets in 2012, was recorded at 10-15 percent far beyond the growth of other manufacturing industries.  However, the level of competition in the snack industry is also relatively high. Business people in the snacks sector do not only com...

78 FR 75435 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Notice of Filing and...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-11

... controversy alleging employment discrimination, including sexual harassment. The Exchange may, however, make... has considered the proposed rule change's impact on efficiency, competition, and capital formation...

Net capital flows to and the real exchange rate of Western Balkan countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabrisch Hubert

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper uses Granger causality tests to assess the linkages between changes in the real exchange rate and net capital inflows using the example of Western Balkan countries, which have suffered from low competitiveness and external imbalances for many years. The real exchange rate is a measure of a country’s price competitiveness, and the paper uses two concepts: relative unit labour cost and relative inflation differential. The sample consists of six Western Balkan countries for the period 1996-2012, relative to the European Union (EU. The main finding is that changes in the net capital flows precede changes in relative unit labour costs and not vice versa. Also, there is evidence that net capital flows affect the inflation differential of countries, although to a less discernible extent. This suggests that the increasing divergence in the unit labour cost between the EU and Western Balkan countries up to the global financial crisis was at least partly the result of net capital inflows. The paper adds to the ongoing debate on improving cost competitiveness through wage restrictions as the main vehicle to avert the accumulation of current account imbalances. It shows the importance of changes in the exchange rate regime, reform of the interaction between the financial and the real sector, and financial supervision and structural change.

78 FR 76337 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-17

... represent a pass through of the rate that Direct Edge ECN LLC (d/ b/a DE Route) (``DE Route''), the Exchange....50% of the TCV in average daily trading volume (``ADV'') on EDGX in total, where at least 1,800,000... competitive standing in the financial markets. Flag RS The Exchange believes that its proposal to delete Flag...

Institutional Structure and International Competitiveness Relationship in Developed Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aynur Yıldırım

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This study analyzes the effects of institutional structure on the international competitiveness of developed countries econometrically by employing a “Panel Data Analysis” with a sample of 21 developed countries and 23 institutional variables for the period 2000-2011. The results of the analysis indicate that while judicial independence, protection of intellectual property rights, integrity of the juridical system, marginal tax, political freedoms, black market exchange rate, restrictions on foreign investment, private sector’s share in the banking system, hiring-minimum wage, and hiring-dismissal have a positive effect; the nature of legal arrangements, government spending, transfers and subsidies, civil liberties, tariffs, regulations regarding trade barriers, collective bargaining, and military tutelage have a negative effect on the international competitiveness of developed countries.

Heat transfer enhancement in cross-flow heat exchanger using vortex generator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, S. Y.; Kwon, H. K.; Kim, B. C.; Park, D. S.; Lee, S. S.

2003-01-01

Fouling is very serious problem in heat exchanger because it rapidly deteriorates the performance of heat exchanger. Cross-flow heat exchanger with vortex generators is developed, which enhance heat transfer and reduce fouling. In the present heat exchanger, shell and baffle are removed from the conventional shell-and-tube heat exchanger. The naphthalene sublimation technique is employed to measure the local heat transfer coefficients. The experiments are performed for single circular tube, staggered array tube bank and in-line array tube bank with and without vortex generators. Local and average Nusselt numbers of single tube and tube bank with vortex generator are investigated and compared to those of without vortex generator

Demolishing the competition: the longitudinal link between competitive video games, competitive gambling, and aggression.

Science.gov (United States)

Adachi, Paul J C; Willoughby, Teena

2013-07-01

The majority of research on the link between video games and aggression has focused on the violent content in games. In contrast, recent experimental research suggests that it is video game competition, not violence, that has the greatest effect on aggression in the short-term. However, no researchers have examined the long-term relationship between video game competition and aggression. In addition, if competition in video games is a significant reason for the link between video game play and aggression, then other competitive activities, such as competitive gambling, also may predict aggression over time. In the current study, we directly assessed the socialization (competitive video game play and competitive gambling predicts aggression over time) versus selection hypotheses (aggression predicts competitive video game play and competitive gambling over time). Adolescents (N = 1,492, 50.8 % female) were surveyed annually from Grade 9 to Grade 12 about their video game play, gambling, and aggressive behaviors. Greater competitive video game play and competitive gambling predicted higher levels of aggression over time, after controlling for previous levels of aggression, supporting the socialization hypothesis. The selection hypothesis also was supported, as aggression predicted greater competitive video game play and competitive gambling over time, after controlling for previous competitive video game play and competitive gambling. Our findings, taken together with the fact that millions of adolescents play competitive video games every day and that competitive gambling may increase as adolescents transition into adulthood, highlight the need for a greater understanding of the relationship between competition and aggression.

Local Foods and Food Cooperatives: Ethics, Economics and Competition Issues

OpenAIRE

Katchova, Ani L.; Woods, Timothy A.

2013-01-01

Consumer interest in locally produced foods marketed through local food networks has been increasing. Local food networks utilize local supply chains such as direct market sales to consumers through CSAs, farmers markets, farm stands, and other alternative outlets. Our goal is to examine the role of food cooperatives in strengthening the local food networks and distributing locally produced products. We utilize data from a national study which includes case studies with three leading food co-...

Identification of the sodium-calcium exchanger as the major ricin-binding glycoprotein of bovine rod outer segments and its localization to the plasma membrane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reid, D.M.; Molday, R.S.; Friedel, U.; Cook, N.J.

1990-01-01

After neuraminidase treatment the Na + /Ca 2+ exchanger of bovine rod outer segments was found to specifically bind Ricinus communis agglutinin. SDS gel electrophoresis and Western blotting of ricin-binding proteins purified from rod outer segment membranes by lectin affinity chromatography revealed the existence of two major polypeptides of M r 215K and 103K, the former of which was found to specifically react with PMe 1B3, a monoclonal antibody specific for the 230-kDa non-neuraminidase-treated Na + /Ca 2+ exchanger. Reconstitution of the ricin affinity-purified exchanger into calcium-containing liposomes revealed that neuraminidase treatment had no significant effect on the kinetics of Na + /Ca 2+ exchange activation by sodium. The authors further investigated the density of the Na + /Ca 2+ exchanger in disk and plasma membrane preparations using Western blotting, radioimmunoassays, immunoelectron microscopy, and reconstitution procedures. The results indicate that the Na + /Ca 2+ exchanger is localized in the rod photoreceptor plasma membrane and is absent or present in extremely low concentrations in disk membranes, as they have previously shown to be the case for the cGMP-gated cation channel. Previous reports describing the existence of Na + /Ca 2+ exchange activity in rod outer segment disk membrane preparations may be due to the fusion of plasma membrane components and/or the presence of contaminating plasma membrane vesicles

Geographic Diversification, Competition and Bank Survival

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jochem, T.

2013-01-01

This article analyzes the effects from portfolio diversification and banking competition on the stability of U.S. banks during the 2008-2011 banking crisis. To do so, it uses exogenous cross-sectional and time-series variation in states' branching restrictions between 1997-2005, the degree of local

ADVISABILITY OF MERGING THE BUCHAREST STOCK EXCHANGE AND THE SIBIU MONETARYFINANCIAL AND STOCK EXCHANGE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aura Dudas

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Analysis of performances of local stock exchanges in the latest years points out thenecessity of increasing the visibility of the local capital market in the regional andEuropean landscape. A single stock market may have the effect of increased credibility,giving thus an impulse to the number of new listings and of new investors.

76 FR 5225 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing of...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-28

... informational advantages that could place an affiliated member of an exchange at a competitive advantage vis... Tang, Assistant General Counsel, ISE, to Michael Gaw, Assistant Director, Division of Trading and...

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF LOCAL HYDRODYNAMICS AND MASS EXCHANGE PROCESSES OF COOLANT IN FUEL ASSEMBLIES OF PRESSURIZED WATER REACTORS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. M. Dmitriev

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The results of experimental studies of local hydrodynamics and mass exchange of coolant flow behind spacer and mixing grids of different structural versions that were developed for fuel assemblies of domestic and foreign nuclear reactors are presented in the article. In order to carry out the study the models of the following fuel assemblies have been fabricated: FA for VVER and VBER, FA-KVADRAT for PWR-reactor and FA for KLT-40C reactor. All the models have been fabricated with a full geometrical similarity with full-scale fuel assemblies. The study was carried out by simulating the flow of coolant in a core by air on an aerodynamic test rig. In order to measure local hydrodynamic characteristics of coolant flow five-channel Pitot probes were used that enable to measure the velocity vector in a point by its three components. The tracerpropane method was used for studying mass transfer processes. Flow hydrodynamics was studied by measuring cross-section velocities of coolant flow and coolant rates according to the model cells. The investigation of mass exchange processes consisted of a study of concentration distribution for tracer in experimental model, in determination of attenuation lengths of mass transfer processes behind mixing grids, in calculating of inter-cellar mass exchange coefficient. The database on coolant flow in fuel assemblies for different types of reactors had been accumulated that formed the basis of the engineering substantiation of reactor cores designs. The recommendations on choice of optimal versions of mixing grids have been taken into consideration by implementers of the JSC “OKBM Afrikantov” when creating commissioned fuel assemblies. The results of the study are used for verification of CFD-codes and CFD programs of detailed cell-by-cell calculation of reactor cores in order to decrease conservatism for substantiation of thermal-mechanical reliability.

The development of Leishmania turanica in sand flies and competition with L. major

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Chajbullinova, A.; Votýpka, Jan; Sádlová, J.; Kvapilová, K.; Seblova, V.; Kreisinger, J.; Jirků, Milan; Sanjoba, C.; Gantuya, S.; Matsumoto, Y.; Volf, P.

2012-01-01

Roč. 5, OCT 2 (2012) ISSN 1756-3305 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : Leishmania turanica * L. major * mixed infections * competition * genetic exchange * vector competence * Phlebotomus Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 3.246, year: 2012 http://www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/5/1/219

Foreign Exchange and Library Collections in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Obiagwu, M. C.

1987-01-01

This discussion of the difficulties involved in acquiring materials for academic libraries in Nigeria uses statistics at one university to demonstrate the drop in foreign exchange based orders. Alternatives to overseas purchasing, including local purchasing, gifts and exchanges, and resource sharing programs, are also discussed. (CLB)

Distributed Classification of Localization Attacks in Sensor Networks Using Exchange-Based Feature Extraction and Classifier

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Su-Zhe Wang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Secure localization under different forms of attack has become an essential task in wireless sensor networks. Despite the significant research efforts in detecting the malicious nodes, the problem of localization attack type recognition has not yet been well addressed. Motivated by this concern, we propose a novel exchange-based attack classification algorithm. This is achieved by a distributed expectation maximization extractor integrated with the PECPR-MKSVM classifier. First, the mixed distribution features based on the probabilistic modeling are extracted using a distributed expectation maximization algorithm. After feature extraction, by introducing the theory from support vector machine, an extensive contractive Peaceman-Rachford splitting method is derived to build the distributed classifier that diffuses the iteration calculation among neighbor sensors. To verify the efficiency of the distributed recognition scheme, four groups of experiments were carried out under various conditions. The average success rate of the proposed classification algorithm obtained in the presented experiments for external attacks is excellent and has achieved about 93.9% in some cases. These testing results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can produce much greater recognition rate, and it can be also more robust and efficient even in the presence of excessive malicious scenario.

A Non-Local, Energy-Optimized Kernel: Recovering Second-Order Exchange and Beyond in Extended Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Bates, Jefferson; Laricchia, Savio; Ruzsinszky, Adrienn

The Random Phase Approximation (RPA) is quickly becoming a standard method beyond semi-local Density Functional Theory that naturally incorporates weak interactions and eliminates self-interaction error. RPA is not perfect, however, and suffers from self-correlation error as well as an incorrect description of short-ranged correlation typically leading to underbinding. To improve upon RPA we introduce a short-ranged, exchange-like kernel that is one-electron self-correlation free for one and two electron systems in the high-density limit. By tuning the one free parameter in our model to recover an exact limit of the homogeneous electron gas correlation energy we obtain a non-local, energy-optimized kernel that reduces the errors of RPA for both homogeneous and inhomogeneous solids. To reduce the computational cost of the standard kernel-corrected RPA, we also implement RPA renormalized perturbation theory for extended systems, and demonstrate its capability to describe the dominant correlation effects with a low-order expansion in both metallic and non-metallic systems. Furthermore we stress that for norm-conserving implementations the accuracy of RPA and beyond RPA structural properties compared to experiment is inherently limited by the choice of pseudopotential. Current affiliation: King's College London.

Competition for transparency as a carrier of competition. Transparency needs in the European wholesale electricity markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jong, Hanneke de; Hakvoort, Rudi

2005-01-01

This paper analyses different transparency aspects regarding European wholesale electricity markets and discusses transparency issues to be solved. In Europe, currently some progress has been made with respect to market transparency but transparency issues related to transmission, system operation and regulation have received little attention so far. Transmission system operators (TSOs) and regulatory authorities need certain market information in order to secure efficient competition. However, TSOs and regulatory authorities need to communicate themselves in order to facilitate competition and decrease uncertainty among market participants. Furthermore, considering ongoing market integration both TSOs and regulatory authorities must exchange information amongst themselves in order to facilitate coordination and monitoring activities. The effect of a higher level of transparency on effective competition is depended on two categories of transparency aspects: aspects that are related to transparency in the sense of open and adequate communication (perspicuity) and aspects that are related to the easiness to understand (clarity). Transparency includes both aspects. Pursuing overall harmonization of the European transparency level is important to fully profit from a higher level of (international) harmonization. Effective harmonization requires harmonization on all communication aspects. For Europe, with its many immature markets, the dilemma remains whether it is preferable to have less transparency with a high level of harmonization or to have a higher level of transparency but a lower level of harmonization. (Author)

Accurate protein structure annotation through competitive diffusion of enzymatic functions over a network of local evolutionary similarities.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric Venner

Full Text Available High-throughput Structural Genomics yields many new protein structures without known molecular function. This study aims to uncover these missing annotations by globally comparing select functional residues across the structural proteome. First, Evolutionary Trace Annotation, or ETA, identifies which proteins have local evolutionary and structural features in common; next, these proteins are linked together into a proteomic network of ETA similarities; then, starting from proteins with known functions, competing functional labels diffuse link-by-link over the entire network. Every node is thus assigned a likelihood z-score for every function, and the most significant one at each node wins and defines its annotation. In high-throughput controls, this competitive diffusion process recovered enzyme activity annotations with 99% and 97% accuracy at half-coverage for the third and fourth Enzyme Commission (EC levels, respectively. This corresponds to false positive rates 4-fold lower than nearest-neighbor and 5-fold lower than sequence-based annotations. In practice, experimental validation of the predicted carboxylesterase activity in a protein from Staphylococcus aureus illustrated the effectiveness of this approach in the context of an increasingly drug-resistant microbe. This study further links molecular function to a small number of evolutionarily important residues recognizable by Evolutionary Tracing and it points to the specificity and sensitivity of functional annotation by competitive global network diffusion. A web server is at http://mammoth.bcm.tmc.edu/networks.

Comparative gas-exchange in leaves of intact and clipped, natural and planted cherrybark oak (Quercus pagoda Raf.) seedlings

Science.gov (United States)

Brian R. Lockhart; John D. Hodges

2005-01-01

Gas-exchange measurements, including C022-exchange rate (net photosynthesis), stomatal conductance, and transpiration, were conducted on intact and clipped cherrybark oak (Quercus pagoda Raf.) seedlings growing in the field and in a nursery bed. Seedlings in the field, released from midstory and understory woody competition,...

On exact and approximate exchange-energy densities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Springborg, Michael; Dahl, Jens Peder

1999-01-01

Based on correspondence rules between quantum-mechanical operators and classical functions in phase space we construct exchange-energy densities in position space. Whereas these are not unique but depend on the chosen correspondence rule, the exchange potential is unique. We calculate this exchange......-energy density for 15 closed-shell atoms, and compare it with kinetic- and Coulomb-energy densities. It is found that it has a dominating local-density character, but electron-shell effects are recognizable. The approximate exchange-energy functionals that have been proposed so far are found to account only...

Competitiveness of tomato production in punjab, pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akhtar, W.; Qureshi, A.H.; Khan, M.A.

2016-01-01

The study measures competitiveness at farm level and economic efficiency at country level of tomato production in relation to tomato trade by using Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) framework in Punjab, Pakistan. The province was divided into two tomato production regions i.e., Central and Southern Punjab for analysis purpose under importable scenario by using import parity price. Results of PAM model revealed that tomato production in both regions of Punjab has competitiveness under prevailing market situation as indicated by positive private profitability and private cost ratio (PCR) which is less than 1. Competitiveness difference in two regions indicated that Central Punjab has more competitiveness at farm level in tomato production. Economic efficiency results i.e. Domestic Resource Cost (DRC) ratio remained 0.39 and 0.51 in Central and Southern Punjab, respectively with positive social profitability indicating strong comparative advantage under importable scenario. The above results implied that Central Punjab has greater economic efficiency than Southern Punjab in domestic resources use for production of tomato as import substitute commodity. Results of Nominal Protection Coefficient (NPC) and Effective Protection Coefficient (EPC) indicated that combine effects of policies on output and tradable input market did not pass any protection to tomato farmers in the study area. Net effect of policy or market failure is reducing the profitability of tomato producers at farm level which indicates lack of motivation from policies for farmers to expand tomato production as import substitute crop. Present study recommended competitiveness and economic efficiency analysis in other tomato producing regions of the country for year round tomato supply on the basis of resource efficiency and to curtail tomato imports to save the precious foreign exchange. To enhance the competitiveness there is need to increase farmer's incentives through increase of farm level price up to

The competitive advantage of corporate philanthropy.

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, Michael E; Kramer, Mark R

2002-12-01

When it comes to philanthropy, executives increasingly see themselves as caught between critics demanding ever higher levels of "corporate social responsibility" and investors applying pressure to maximize short-term profits. In response, many companies have sought to make their giving more strategic, but what passes for strategic philanthropy is almost never truly strategic, and often isn't particularly effective as philanthropy. Increasingly, philanthropy is used as a form of public relations or advertising, promoting a company's image through high-profile sponsorships. But there is a more truly strategic way to think about philanthropy. Corporations can use their charitable efforts to improve their competitive context--the quality of the business environment in the locations where they operate. Using philanthropy to enhance competitive context aligns social and economic goals and improves a company's long-term business prospects. Addressing context enables a company to not only give money but also leverage its capabilities and relationships in support of charitable causes. The produces social benefits far exceeding those provided by individual donors, foundations, or even governments. Taking this new direction requires fundamental changes in the way companies approach their contribution programs. For example, philanthropic investments can improve education and local quality of life in ways that will benefit the company. Such investments can also improve the company's competitiveness by contributing to expanding the local market and helping to reduce corruption in the local business environment. Adopting a context-focused approach goes against the grain of current philanthropic practice, and it requires a far more disciplined approach than is prevalent today. But it can make a company's philanthropic activities far more effective.

Competition of the connectivity with the local and the global order in polymer melts and crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernini, S.; Puosi, F.; Barucco, M.; Leporini, D., E-mail: dino.leporini@df.unipi.it [Dipartimento di Fisica “Enrico Fermi,” Università di Pisa, Largo B.Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa (Italy)

2013-11-14

The competition between the connectivity and the local or global order in model fully flexible chain molecules is investigated by molecular-dynamics simulations. States with both missing (melts) and high (crystal) global order are considered. Local order is characterized within the first coordination shell (FCS) of a tagged monomer and found to be lower than in atomic systems in both melt and crystal. The role played by the bonds linking the tagged monomer to FCS monomers (radial bonds), and the bonds linking two FCS monomers (shell bonds) is investigated. The detailed analysis in terms of Steinhardt's orientation order parameters Q{sub l} (l = 2 − 10) reveals that increasing the number of shell bonds decreases the FCS order in both melt and crystal. Differently, the FCS arrangements organize the radial bonds. Even if the molecular chains are fully flexible, the distribution of the angle formed by adjacent radial bonds exhibits sharp contributions at the characteristic angles θ ≈ 70°, 122°, 180°. The fractions of adjacent radial bonds with θ ≈ 122°, 180° are enhanced by the global order of the crystal, whereas the fraction with 70° ≲ θ ≲ 110° is nearly unaffected by the crystallization. Kink defects, i.e., large lateral displacements of the chains, are evidenced in the crystalline state.

EXCHANGE RATE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH. THE CASE OF ROMANIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolae Ghiba

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Considering the difficulties created by the economic crisis, many exporters have criticized the National Bank of Romania (NBR’s policy regarding the exchange rate evolution. They argue that depreciation is a necessary condition for recovery and not financial stability. On the contrary, Romania cannot afford a shock in the exchange rate level. The risk associated with such a measure is too high for an emerging country and it annihilates any export competitive advantages. Therefore, depreciation may delay the imperative of Romanian economic recovery. A solid economic recovery should have as starting point a financial system sound and stable. Excessive exchange rate depreciation jeopardizes the financial soundness of banks and the borrower’s ability to repay their loans. Therefore, it creates inflationary flare-ups, particularly dangerous for the economy of any state.

Method of solidifying radioactive ion exchange resin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minami, Yuji; Tomita, Toshihide

1989-01-01

Spent anion exchange resin formed in nuclear power plants, etc. generally catch only a portion of anions in view of the ion exchange resins capacity and most of the anions are sent while possessing activities to radioactive waste processing systems. Then, the anion exchange resins increase the specific gravity by the capture of the anions. Accordingly, anions are caused to be captured on the anion exchange resin wastes such that the specific gravity of the anion exchange resin wastes is greater than that of the thermosetting resins to be mixed. This enables satisfactory mixing with the thermosetting resins and, in addition, enables to form integral solidification products in which anion exchange resins and cation exchange resins are not locallized separately and which are homogenous and free from cracks. (T.M.)

International Competition and Small-Firm Exit in US Manufacturing

OpenAIRE

Robert M Feinberg

2013-01-01

This study analyzes both the determinants of small firm exit rates in US manufacturing over the 1989–2004 period, especially the reaction of domestic firms to the nature of foreign competition as measured by industry-specific real exchange rate movements (interacted with import penetration by industry). These international pressures seem to lead to increased rates of smallest-firm exit in manufacturing, though the magnitudes of these effects are smaller than sometimes discussed. However, high...

REGIONAL COMPETITIVENESS VERSUS TERRITORIAL COMPETITIVENESS: PROJECT TAONABA CASE STUDY - TOWN OF ABYMES, GUADELOUPE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neffati Houda

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Territorial intelligence can be defined as the ability of a territory to anticipate socio-economic changes and the resulting knowledge management as well as to generate policies, know-how and innovations that will ultimately create a polycentric area of expertise and service capabilities to enhance the competitiveness of companies located there. It is created by setting up a sustainable development process to review business competitiveness with all the inherent consequences in managing, making, planning and implementing decisions. Territorial competitiveness is an integrated and proactive approach to shaping the future of territories, regions and larger geographies – . to some degree it can also be referred to as spatial planning. It goes beyond traditional regional policy as it brings together economic, social and environment opportunities and in addition to other factors which influence where activities takes place, concerns how different places function and are connected, and what social and business conditions are available Territorial competitiveness strategies can help in exploring the potential for economic growth and job creation and at the same time support an enhanced quality of life by helping to meet the challenge of sustainable development. The article reports on an action research to support the urban community of Cap Excellence in Guadeloupe in its local sustainable development project. After summarizing the terms of the debate surrounding sustainable development and presenting the region, the research is placed back in the context of a more general approach of territorial intelligence.. The limits of developing a local Agenda 21 in the form of a "programmed action plan" give the opportunity to improve territorial intelligence with the concept of agency arising from Foucault's 'dispositif' or apparatus, Deleuze's theory of agency and the actor-network. A discussion on this ontology social will be initiated. We will give

Local hybrid functionals: An assessment for thermochemical kinetics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaupp, Martin; Bahmann, Hilke; Arbuznikov, Alexei V.

2007-01-01

Local hybrid functionals with position-dependent exact-exchange admixture are a new class of exchange-correlation functionals in density functional theory that promise to advance the available accuracy in many areas of application. Local hybrids with different local mixing functions (LMFs) governing the position dependence are validated for the heats of formation of the extended G3/99 set, and for two sets of barriers of hydrogen-transfer and heavy-atom transfer reactions (HTBH38 and NHTBH38 databases). A simple local hybrid Lh-SVWN with only Slater and exact exchange plus local correlation and a one-parameter LMF, g(r)=b(τ W (r)/τ(r)), performs best and provides overall mean absolute errors for thermochemistry and kinetics that are a significant improvement over standard state-of-the-art global hybrid functionals. In particular, this local hybrid functional does not suffer from the systematic deterioration that standard functionals exhibit for larger molecules. In contrast, local hybrids based on generalized gradient approximation exchange tend to give rise to nonintuitive LMFs, and no improved functionals have been obtained along this route. The LMF is a real-space function and thus can be analyzed in detail. We use, in particular, graphical analyses to rationalize the performance of different local hybrids for thermochemistry and reaction barriers

An Econometric Analysis of the Impact of Real Effective Exchange Rate on Economic Activities in Nepal

OpenAIRE

NARA BAHADUR THAPA

2002-01-01

This paper tests the relationship between REER and GDP on the Nepalese economy. In the literature, two channels of transmission exist for the real exchange rate to affect economic activities; these are the aggregate demand channel and the aggregate supply channel. The traditional view has it that the real exchange rate operates through the aggregate demand channel. This means that the depreciation of the real exchange rate enhances the international competitiveness of domestic goods, boosts n...

The impacts of product market competition on the quantity and quality of voluntary disclosures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mojgan Saeidi

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an empirical investigation to study the relationship between product market competition and voluntary disclosure among 124 selected firms listed on Tehran Stock Exchange over the period 2004-2013. The study uses Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI and Lerner (LLIA index to measure competition in terms of capacity and price, respectively. In addition, the study uses the questionnaire developed by Botosan (1997 [Botosan, C. A. (1997. Disclosure level and the cost of equity capital. Accounting Review, 72(3, 323-349.] to measure voluntary disclosure. Using linear regression technique, the study has determined that there was a meaningful, direct and positive relationship between voluntary disclosure and competition in terms of price (LLIA. In addition, the results indicate that there was a meaningful and reverse relationship between voluntary disclosure and competition in terms of capacity (HHI.

MACROECONOMIC ASPECTS OF COMPETITIVENESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleg Hooke

2017-09-01

economic development strategy based on the principles of sustainable development and, accordingly, with the trends of the “green” transformation of the economy. The practical significance of this research paper is that the resulting conclusion and generalizations will help the state, regional government, local self-government, as well as enterprises, solve important problems of developing and implementing their economic development strategies based on the principles of sustainable development and, accordingly, along with the trends of the “green” transformation of the economy. Value. In terms of a crisis of competitiveness, the advantages are primarily obtained not through improving the quality of products, but through reducing costs. Thus, one of the goals of the Ukrainian economy at the present stage is to become competitive and maximize the usage of its macroeconomic aspect.

Hierarchical classification with a competitive evolutionary neural tree.

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, R G.; Butchart, K; Davey, N

1999-04-01

A new, dynamic, tree structured network, the Competitive Evolutionary Neural Tree (CENT) is introduced. The network is able to provide a hierarchical classification of unlabelled data sets. The main advantage that the CENT offers over other hierarchical competitive networks is its ability to self determine the number, and structure, of the competitive nodes in the network, without the need for externally set parameters. The network produces stable classificatory structures by halting its growth using locally calculated heuristics. The results of network simulations are presented over a range of data sets, including Anderson's IRIS data set. The CENT network demonstrates its ability to produce a representative hierarchical structure to classify a broad range of data sets.

Competition between abstraction and exchange channels in H + HCN reaction: Full-dimensional quantum dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiang, Bin; Guo, Hua, E-mail: hguo@unm.edu [Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131 (United States)

2013-12-14

Dynamics of the title reaction is investigated on an ab initio based potential energy surface using a full-dimensional quantum wave packet method within the centrifugal sudden approximation. It is shown that the reaction between H and HCN leads to both the hydrogen exchange and hydrogen abstraction channels. The exchange channel has a lower threshold and larger cross section than the abstraction channel. It also has more oscillations due apparently to quantum resonances. Both channels are affected by long-lived resonances supported by potential wells. Comparison with experimental cross sections indicates underestimation of the abstraction barrier height.

Theoretical investigation on the mechanism and dynamics of oxo exchange of neptunyl(VI) hydroxide in aqueous solution.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xia; Chai, Zhifang; Wang, Dongqi

2015-03-21

Four types of reaction mechanisms for the oxo ligand exchange of monomeric and dimeric neptunyl(VI) hydroxide in aqueous solution were explored computationally using density functional theory (DFT) and ab initio classical molecular dynamics. The obtained results were compared with previous studies on the oxo exchange of uranyl hydroxide, as well as with experiments. It is found that the stable T-shaped [NpO3(OH)3](3-) intermediate is a key species for oxo exchange in the proton transfer in mononuclear Path I and binuclear Path IV, similar to the case of uranyl(VI) hydroxide. Path I is thought to be the preferred oxo exchange mechanism for neptunyl(VI) hydroxide in our calculations, due to the lower activation energy (22.7 and 13.1 kcal mol(-1) for ΔG(‡) and ΔH(‡), respectively) of the overall reaction. Path II via a cis-neptunyl structure assisted by a water molecule might be a competitive channel against Path I with a mononuclear mechanism, owing to a rapid dynamical process occurring in Path II. In Path IV with the binuclear mechanism, oxo exchange is accomplished via the interaction between [NpO2(OH)4](2-) and T-shaped [NpO3(OH)3](3-) with a low activation energy for the rate-determining step, however, the overall energy required to fulfill the reaction is slightly higher than that in mononuclear Path I, suggesting a possible binuclear process in the higher energy region. The chemical bonding evolution along the reaction pathways was discussed by using topological methodologies of the electron localization function (ELF).

Thermodynamics of competitive molecular channel transport: application to artificial nuclear pores.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wolfgang R Bauer

Full Text Available In an analytical model channel transport is analyzed as a function of key parameters, determining efficiency and selectivity of particle transport in a competitive molecular environment. These key parameters are the concentration of particles, solvent-channel exchange dynamics, as well as particle-in-channel- and interparticle interaction. These parameters are explicitly related to translocation dynamics and channel occupation probability. Slowing down the exchange dynamics at the channel ends, or elevating the particle concentration reduces the in-channel binding strength necessary to maintain maximum transport. Optimized in-channel interaction may even shift from binding to repulsion. A simple equation gives the interrelation of access dynamics and concentration at this transition point. The model is readily transferred to competitive transport of different species, each of them having their individual in-channel affinity. Combinations of channel affinities are determined which differentially favor selectivity of certain species on the cost of others. Selectivity for a species increases if its in-channel binding enhances the species' translocation probability when compared to that of the other species. Selectivity increases particularly for a wide binding site, long channels, and fast access dynamics. Recent experiments on competitive transport of in-channel binding and inert molecules through artificial nuclear pores serve as a paradigm for our model. It explains qualitatively and quantitatively how binding molecules are favored for transport at the cost of the transport of inert molecules.

48 CFR 15.201 - Exchanges with industry before receipt of proposals.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... early exchanges of information are— (1) Industry or small business conferences; (2) Public hearings; (3..., in order to avoid creating an unfair competitive advantage. Information provided to a potential... confidential business strategy, and is protected under 3.104 or subpart 24.2. When conducting a presolicitation...

Pesticide-mediated interspecific competition between local and invasive thrips pests

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Xueyin; Reitz, Stuart R.; Yuan, Huiguo; Lei, Zhongren; Paini, Dean Ronald; Gao, Yulin

2017-01-01

Competitive interactions between species can be mitigated or even reversed in the presence of anthropogenic influences. The thrips species Frankliniella occidentalis and Thrips tabaci are highly invasive and damaging agricultural pests throughout the world. Where the species co-occur, one species tends to eventually predominate over the other. Avermectin and beta-cypermethrin are commonly used insecticides to manage thrips in China, and laboratory bioassays demonstrated that F. occidentalis is significantly less susceptible than T. tabaci to these insecticides. In laboratory cage trials in which both species were exposed to insecticide treated cabbage plants, F. occidentalis became the predominant species. In contrast, T. tabaci completely displaced F. occidentalis on plants that were not treated with insecticides. In field trials, the species co-existed on cabbage before insecticide treatments began, but with T. tabaci being the predominant species. Following application of avermectin or beta-cypermethrin, F. occidentalis became the predominant species, while in plots not treated with insecticides, T. tabaci remained the predominant species. These results indicate that T. tabaci is an intrinsically superior competitor to F. occidentalis, but its competitive advantage can be counteracted through differential susceptibilities of the species to insecticides. These results further demonstrate the importance of external factors, such as insecticide applications, in mediating the outcome of interspecific interactions and produce rapid unanticipated shifts in the demographics of pest complexes. PMID:28084404

Pesticide-mediated interspecific competition between local and invasive thrips pests.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Xueyin; Reitz, Stuart R; Yuan, Huiguo; Lei, Zhongren; Paini, Dean Ronald; Gao, Yulin

2017-01-13

Competitive interactions between species can be mitigated or even reversed in the presence of anthropogenic influences. The thrips species Frankliniella occidentalis and Thrips tabaci are highly invasive and damaging agricultural pests throughout the world. Where the species co-occur, one species tends to eventually predominate over the other. Avermectin and beta-cypermethrin are commonly used insecticides to manage thrips in China, and laboratory bioassays demonstrated that F. occidentalis is significantly less susceptible than T. tabaci to these insecticides. In laboratory cage trials in which both species were exposed to insecticide treated cabbage plants, F. occidentalis became the predominant species. In contrast, T. tabaci completely displaced F. occidentalis on plants that were not treated with insecticides. In field trials, the species co-existed on cabbage before insecticide treatments began, but with T. tabaci being the predominant species. Following application of avermectin or beta-cypermethrin, F. occidentalis became the predominant species, while in plots not treated with insecticides, T. tabaci remained the predominant species. These results indicate that T. tabaci is an intrinsically superior competitor to F. occidentalis, but its competitive advantage can be counteracted through differential susceptibilities of the species to insecticides. These results further demonstrate the importance of external factors, such as insecticide applications, in mediating the outcome of interspecific interactions and produce rapid unanticipated shifts in the demographics of pest complexes.

Biquadratic Exchange in CsMnxMg1-xBr3

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Falk, U.; Furrer, A.; Kjems, Jørgen

1984-01-01

The importance of higher-order exchange interaction in localized S-state systems is discussed. The equation of motion is solved for a one-dimensional antiferromagnet with bilinear and biquadratic exchange coupling. It is shown that the biquadratic exchange interaction usually cannot be derived from...

New Evidence on the Price Effects of Cigarette Tax Competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Carpenter, Christopher S; Mathes, Michael T

2016-05-01

Multiple studies have shown that cigarette taxes are more than fully passed through to cigarette prices and that access to a nearby state with a lower cigarette tax also reduces local cigarette prices. We study two other sources of tax competition: nearby Native American reservations and online sales. Using quarterly data on local cigarette prices from 1976-2003, we show that the opening of a Native American casino within 25 miles of a city center is associated with a $0.016-$0.027 lower per-pack price, while a 50 percentage point increase in internet penetration is associated with a $0.22-$0.25 per-pack price reduction. These effects are not observed for other local prices for which there is no potential tax savings. Our results further our understanding of how tax competition affects local cigarette prices and provide context to studies linking Native American reservations and internet penetration to cigarette smuggling.

The Effects of Workers’ Remittances on Exchange Rate Volatility and Exports Dynamics -New Evidence from Pakistan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adnan Khurshid

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This study examines the impact of remittances on the exchange rate and exports in Pakistan, using the system GMM aproach on annual data series. We carry out a full sample Granger causality test along with the sub-sample rolling window approach using monthly data series to find the causal relationship between remittances (REM and the exchange rate (EXR. The System GMM results reveal that remittances depreciate the exchange rate and have a positive influence on export competitiveness. In addition to this, the remittance inflow appreciates the exchange rate only if it is used for savings and negatively affects competitiveness if it is channeled towards consumption. The change in exchange rate regime from multiple to flexible depreciated the exchange rate while, the global financial crises uplifted the currency rate and negatively affect the exports. The results show the bidirectional causal relationship between remittances and the exchange rate. The outcomes further reveal that the parameters in the VAR model are unstable, which is a clear indication of the presence of structural changes. The rolling window estimation approach with time-varying characteristics finds bi-directional causality between REM and the EXR in the different sub-samples. The results of this study fall in line with the portfolio model proposed by Mussa (1984 which states that the flow of remittances causes appreciation. The sub-sample causality is related to significant economic events, which means the results are not a statistical artifact.

Clusters and the new economics of competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, M E

1998-01-01

Economic geography in an era of global competition poses a paradox. In theory, location should no longer be a source of competitive advantage. Open global markets, rapid transportation, and high-speed communications should allow any company to source any thing from any place at any time. But in practice, Michael Porter demonstrates, location remains central to competition. Today's economic map of the world is characterized by what Porter calls clusters: critical masses in one place of linked industries and institutions--from suppliers to universities to government agencies--that enjoy unusual competitive success in a particular field. The most famous example are found in Silicon Valley and Hollywood, but clusters dot the world's landscape. Porter explains how clusters affect competition in three broad ways: first, by increasing the productivity of companies based in the area; second, by driving the direction and pace of innovation; and third, by stimulating the formation of new businesses within the cluster. Geographic, cultural, and institutional proximity provides companies with special access, closer relationships, better information, powerful incentives, and other advantages that are difficult to tap from a distance. The more complex, knowledge-based, and dynamic the world economy becomes, the more this is true. Competitive advantage lies increasingly in local things--knowledge, relationships, and motivation--that distant rivals cannot replicate. Porter challenges the conventional wisdom about how companies should be configured, how institutions such as universities can contribute to competitive success, and how governments can promote economic development and prosperity.

Competitive Intelligence and Regional Development within the Framework of Indonesian Provincial Autonomy

Science.gov (United States)

Dou, Henri; Manullang, Sri Damayanty

2004-01-01

Teaching methodologies and uses of competitive intelligence and competitive technical intelligence in countries where the culture and the technological level are very different from the western world cannot be implemented without a cultural understanding of the tacit local knowledge and cultural behavior of people. As an example of…

Forming of Sustainable City Competitiveness in the PRC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shvydanenko Oleg

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The article describes theoretical principles of international competitiveness of cities. The main methodological grounds of modern models of countries sustainable competitive development are studied. Taking into account the key trends in globalization, the main determinants of forming high competitive status of cities are comprehensively described. Benchmarking of sustainable competitiveness of PRC cities and provinces has been performed, and up-to-date priorities of balanced development of the People's Republic of China PRC have been analyzed. Chinese competitive development strategies has been investigated, and the benchmarking of sustainable competitiveness of Chinese cities has been accomplished. The nature and scale of urbanization processes in China are revealed. The main priorities in the structure of contemporary urbanization strategy of the PRC are defined, being focused on such areas as demographic planning, land management, financial security, residential construction in cities, ecology and environmental protection. The essence of smart cities in the context of their role in formation of local competitive development systems is determined. On the basis of qualitative indicators, the balanced competitiveness of cities of the PRC and the development of smart cities in Chinese provinces has been analyzed. The principles of government influence on the growth of sustainable competitiveness of Chinese megacities is investigated. The supporting evidence is provided for that the main objectives of Chinese megacities development for the next 5 years are to maintain sustainable rates of economic development, to increase the living standards of a specific city population, and to modernize the industrial sector. The strategic priorities for developing individual plans of competitive development for certain cities of the PRC and forming the sustainable competitiveness thereof, are specified.

Expression Pattern and Localization Dynamics of Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor RIC8 during Mouse Oogenesis.

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Merly Saare

Full Text Available Targeting of G proteins to the cell cortex and their activation is one of the triggers of both asymmetric and symmetric cell division. Resistance to inhibitors of cholinesterase 8 (RIC8, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor, activates a certain subgroup of G protein α-subunits in a receptor independent manner. RIC8 controls the asymmetric cell division in Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster, and symmetric cell division in cultured mammalian cells, where it regulates the mitotic spindle orientation. Although intensely studied in mitosis, the function of RIC8 in mammalian meiosis has remained unknown. Here we demonstrate that the expression and subcellular localization of RIC8 changes profoundly during mouse oogenesis. Immunofluorescence studies revealed that RIC8 expression is dependent on oocyte growth and cell cycle phase. During oocyte growth, RIC8 is abundantly present in cytoplasm of oocytes at primordial, primary and secondary preantral follicle stages. Later, upon oocyte maturation RIC8 also populates the germinal vesicle, its localization becomes cell cycle dependent, and it associates with chromatin and the meiotic spindle. After fertilization, RIC8 protein converges to the pronuclei and is also detectable at high levels in the nucleolus precursor bodies of both maternal and paternal pronucleus. During first cleavage of zygote RIC8 localizes in the mitotic spindle and cell cortex of forming blastomeres. In addition, we demonstrate that RIC8 co-localizes with its interaction partners Gαi1/2:GDP and LGN in meiotic/mitotic spindle, cell cortex and polar bodies of maturing oocytes and zygotes. Downregulation of Ric8 by siRNA leads to interferred translocation of Gαi1/2 to cortical region of maturing oocytes and reduction of its levels. RIC8 is also expressed at high level in female reproductive organs e.g. oviduct. Therefore we suggest a regulatory function for RIC8 in mammalian gametogenesis and fertility.

Power exchanges in the German market: an initial assessment; Bourses d'electricite sur le marche Allemand - premieres evaluations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dinko, Raytchev [Universite de Montesquieu Bordeaux-4, Lab. d' Analyse et de Recherche en Economie-Economie et Finance Internationales LAREefi, 33 (France)

2002-11-01

The emergence of power exchanges is one of the key phenomena accompanying the liberation of the electricity industry. Apart from the Nordic countries, this is a recent event, especially for the countries of continental Europe. In this study, we will be focusing on the German electricity market for several reasons. Firstly, Germany has the largest market for electrical power in Europe. As the electricity sector is in the process of opening up to competition, this country is one of the 'good pupils' in the field of electrical deregulation. Next, it is a good idea to draw up an initial overview of the German experience following the launch on 27.11.2001 of an organised market in France (the PowerNext exchange). Currently, there are three exchanges able to negotiate contracts in the German hub: the Amsterdam Power Exchange (APX), the European Energy (EEX) and the Leipzig Power Exchange (LPX). The exchanges were created between May 1999 (APX) and August 2000 (EEX). They are in a situation of direct competition in the German market. This competition is particularly keen since the three players are well aware of the challenge at stake: becoming the leading exchange for the German market and (possibly) in a future integrated European market. The announcement of a merger between LPX and EEX in 2002 (published on 26.10.2001 on the sites of both exchanges) underlines the importance of these strategic issues. The purpose of this work is to carry out an assessment of the three exchanges during their first months in existence. Using an econometric analysis, we offer conclusions concerning the capacity of these exchanges to supply a reference price. The opportunities for arbitration are also examined. Despite the difficulties of the market launches, the exchanges have successfully maintained a certain degree of coherence in their prices and may now sit back a little and plan their expansion. It is difficult at this stage to see who the eventual 'winner' will

Determinants of supplier-buyer relationship competitiveness in transnational companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matevž Rašković

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Effective supplier-buyer relationship management should not be seen only in terms of cost and financial measures, as outlined by Transaction cost economics, but also in terms of other (“softer” relational benefits, like e.g. more comprehensive information sharing, higher levels of trust, better cooperation and increased relationship flexibility. This second view is grounded in both Relationship marketing and Resource-advantage theory. Surprisingly, only a few research papers on supplier-buyer relationships address both of these perspectives equally, as well as in terms of long-term competitiveness (vis-avis a traditional short-term performance. The purpose of this paper is to analyze business relationship determinants of supplier-buyer relationship competitiveness, where we study the impact of (1 relationship-based information exchange, (2 network spillover effects, (3 transaction-specific investments, (4 trust, (5 cooperation (joint actions and (6 flexibility on perceived (7 supplier-buyer relationship competitiveness. In this regard the main research question of our study is: Which relational and transactional dimensions determine supplier-buyer relationship competitiveness, as well as how strongly? To provide the answer this research question we employ an exploratory-type Partial Least Squares (PLS regression in conjunction with a novel perspective of network spillover effects, as a set of independent variables in our model. The data set consists of a sample of 130 international suppliers (approx. 30 % response rate connected to a transnational company (TNC headquartered in Slovenia, which operates in the steel construction solutions’ industry. Our results clearly identify a relational and a transactional set of determinants of supplier-buyer relationship competitiveness, with the former having a significantly higher impact on competitiveness than the latter. With regards to specific dimensions associated with this relational component

Inflation in a Fully-Euroised Economy: Could Inflation Differentials Threaten Competitiveness?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mitrović-Mijatović Marijana

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This paper analyses inflation in Montenegro, a country which uses euro outside the euro area, and investigates the factors which contribute to price differentials in Montenegro relative to the euro area. Furthermore, the paper examines whether changes in the real effective exchange rates, which in Montenegro’s case follow the path of price differentials, may have any influence on country’s competitiveness.

Is parental competitive ability in winter negatively affected by previous springs' family size?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fokkema, Rienk W; Ubels, Richard; Tinbergen, Joost M

2017-01-01

Reproductive behavior cannot be understood without taking the local level of competition into account. Experimental work in great tits (Parus major) showed that (1) a survival cost of reproduction was paid in environments with high levels of competition during the winter period and (2)

Evaluation of PersianCAT Agent's Accepting Policy in Continuous Double Auction, Participant in CAT 2007 Competition

Science.gov (United States)

Honari, Sina; Fos-Hati, Amin; Ebadi, Mojtaba; Gomrokchi, Maziar

As there is a growing tendency towards online auctions, online Multi Agent Systems for economic activities like stock exchanges is more in demand. CAT (CATallactics) competition has produced a great opportunity for researchers since 2007 to put their theories into practice in a real-time economic-based competition, combining traders and brokers. As one of participants, we evaluated our new accepting policy by putting it to challenge. In this paper we give a general overview of one of our policies in the market.

77 FR 10579 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing and...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-22

...-106). The Exchange now proposes to extend the fees for complex orders adopted in SR-ISE-2011-81 to the... the fees adopted in SR-ISE-2011-81, is to maintain the attractive and competitive economics for...

Exchange energy of inhomogenous electron gas near a metal surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miglio, L.; Tosi, M.P.; March, N.H.

1980-12-01

Using the first-order density matrix of an infinite-barrier model of a metal surface, the exchange energy density can be evaluated exactly as a function of distance z from the barrier. This result is compared with the local approximation -3/4e 2 (3/π)sup(1/3) rhosup(4/3)(z) where rho is the electron density in the model. The local approximation is demonstrated to be quantitatively accurate at all z. The integrated surface exchange energy is given to within 3% by the local theory. (author)

Characteristic Features of Publications on Architectural Competition Practice in Latvia, 1859–2013

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Linda Leitāne-Šmīdberga

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The competition practice has been rather extensively published, as publications on architectural competitions are inseparable from the competition process itself. They are a significant part of representation that explicitly promotes understanding of the design, realization and implementation process, and are a way to communicate the project to the client, jury, community and authorities. Yet, there have always been insufficient consistent critical discussions on the architecture and planning discourse in Latvia, neither on competitions, nor on the related publications. The purpose of the paper is to distinguish features that characterize publications on architectural competitions in Latvia. Methodological principles and systematization of the materials have been carried out according to the historical and logical approach method based on studies of the collected examples and sources of over 1,000 publications on 960 competitions of the past 160 years. The paper systematizes publications on competition practice over the several time periods in Latvia (Russian Empire 1859–1918, Independence 1918–34, Authoritarian Regime 1934–40, Soviet Period 1940–90 and the Second Independence 1991–2013 according to their topics, the author’s professional profiles, type and content and, eventually their characteristic style. Insights into the development of local competition practice through related publications help to explain the formation of a significant part of the local architectural and urban discourse, as its understanding is partially determined by the plurality of representations and interpretations.

COMP-1 promotes competitive advantage of nematode sperm.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Jody M; Chavez, Daniela R; Stanfield, Gillian M

2015-03-19

Competition among sperm to fertilize oocytes is a ubiquitous feature of sexual reproduction as well as a profoundly important aspect of sexual selection. However, little is known about the cellular mechanisms sperm use to gain competitive advantage or how these mechanisms are regulated genetically. In this study, we utilize a forward genetic screen in Caenorhabditis elegans to identify a gene, comp-1, whose function is specifically required in competitive contexts. We show that comp-1 functions in sperm to modulate their migration through and localization within the reproductive tract, thereby promoting their access to oocytes. Contrary to previously described models, comp-1 mutant sperm show no defects in size or velocity, thereby defining a novel pathway for preferential usage. Our results indicate not only that sperm functional traits can influence the outcome of sperm competition, but also that these traits can be modulated in a context-dependent manner depending on the presence of competing sperm.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yunjong Wang

1999-03-01

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

COMPETITIVENESS AND COMPETITIVE ORIENTATIONS: EVALUATION OF STUDENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Z. Efimova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Education of a competitive student is a strategically significant problem of the system of higher education in modern social and economic conditions. Personal competitiveness and competitive orientations – priority quality of future expert for successful future professional experience.The aim of the present research is to study factors of competitive orientations formation and criteria for evaluation of competitiveness of student’s youth in the Russian society.Methodology and research methods. Results of theoretical researches of Russian and foreign researchers are generalized; secondary analysis of data based on results of sociological researches and analysis of official statistical data are carried out. The results of the sociological survey undertaken in 2017 on the basis of statistical methods were processed and studied by the instrumentality of IBM SPSS Statistics 23 program; 1196 students of institutions of higher and secondary vocational education of the Tyumen region took part.Results and scientific novelty. It is stated that senior students feel themselves more competitive. It is revealed that a quarter of students who took part in the survey, generally men, count themselves competitive. A continuous distance of goal-setting is recorded among these respondents; in every third case they have plans of professional growth for five and more years that allows them to build attractive competitive strategy.The level of the competitiveness is directly connected with such indicators as “social stratum”, “overall life satisfaction”, “self-esteem of health”, “tendency to lead a healthy lifestyle” and “the level of trust in the surrounding people”. Mostly the students oriented on competition look into the future with confidence and optimism.Respondents focused on the competitiveness were more tend to demonstrate their abilities and cause admiration, have a creative approach towards work, be ready for surprises

Dynamic analysis of interhospital collaboration and competition: empirical evidence from an Italian regional health system.

Science.gov (United States)

Mascia, Daniele; Di Vincenzo, Fausto; Cicchetti, Americo

2012-05-01

Policymakers stimulate competition in universalistic health-care systems while encouraging the formation of service provision networks among hospital organizations. This article addresses a gap in the extant literature by empirically analyzing simultaneous collaboration and competition between hospitals within the Italian National Health Service, where important procompetition reforms have been implemented. To explore how rising competition between hospitals relates to their propensity to collaborate with other local providers. Longitudinal data on interhospital collaboration and competition collected in an Italian region from 2003 to 2007 are analyzed. Social network analysis techniques are applied to study the structure and dynamics of interhospital collaboration. Negative binomial regressions are employed to explore how interhospital competition relates to the collaborative network over time. Competition among providers does not hinder interhospital collaboration. Collaboration is primarily local, with resource complementarity and differentials in the volume of activity and hospital performance explaining the propensity to collaborate. Formation of collaborative networks among hospitals is not hampered by reforms aimed at fostering market forces. Because procompetition reforms elicit peculiar forms of managed competition in universalistic health systems, studies are needed to clarify whether the positive association between interhospital competition and collaboration can be generalized to other health-care settings. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Competitive positioning of power generation plants in a deregulated market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stephens, J.

1998-01-01

As industrialized countries deregulate their electric power industries, there is a fundamental shift from guaranteed cost recovery to open market competition on a deregulated grid. Utilities generally competitively bid into a power exchange where the lowest cost power providers are dispatched first. Therefore, the competitiveness of utilities determines their profitability. This commercial structure compels power generators to seek out ways of improving their equipment and plant performance. The inevitability of this trend is demonstrated by a look at the installed base in the US where the move toward deregulation is gaining momentum. More than half of the generating plants in the US are over 20 years old. The average thermal efficiency nation-wide is 33%. In contrast, contemporary coal-and gas-fired plants can operate at efficiency levels up to 45 percent and 55 to 60%, respectfully. With new facilities coming on-line, existing plants will need to make improvements to be dispatched. When deregulation fully envelopes the US market, utilities will not all fit into one pattern; their strategies and actions will depend on a multiple set of factors. Their success will be based on their ability to change landscapes from guaranteed cost recovery to competitive bidding. This paper discussers technical and commercial options available to power producers to improve their competitive positions in a deregulated market as well as software for determining the competitiveness of specific power plants and the location-based market prices of electricity. Examples of the application of alternatives will be cited along with expected payback and impact on cents per kilowatt-hour production costs

Predictive Control, Competitive Model Business Planning, and Innovation ERP

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nourani, Cyrus F.; Lauth, Codrina

2015-01-01

is not viewed as the sum of its component elements, but the product of their interactions. The paper starts with introducing a systems approach to business modeling. A competitive business modeling technique, based on the author's planning techniques is applied. Systemic decisions are based on common......New optimality principles are put forth based on competitive model business planning. A Generalized MinMax local optimum dynamic programming algorithm is presented and applied to business model computing where predictive techniques can determine local optima. Based on a systems model an enterprise...... organizational goals, and as such business planning and resource assignments should strive to satisfy higher organizational goals. It is critical to understand how different decisions affect and influence one another. Here, a business planning example is presented where systems thinking technique, using Causal...

Sibling competition arena: selfing and a competition arena can combine to constitute a barrier to gene flow in sympatry.

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, A K; Hood, M E; Giraud, T

2012-06-01

Closely related species coexisting in sympatry provide critical insight into the mechanisms underlying speciation and the maintenance of genetic divergence. Selfing may promote reproductive isolation by facilitating local adaptation, causing reduced hybrid fitness in parental environments. Here, we propose a novel mechanism by which selfing can further impair interspecific gene flow: selfing may act to ensure that nonhybrid progeny systematically co-occur whenever hybrid genotypes are produced. Under a competition arena, the fitness differentials between nonhybrid and hybrid progeny are then magnified, preventing development of interspecific hybrids. We investigate whether this "sibling competition arena" can explain the coexistence in sympatry of closely related species of the plant fungal pathogens (Microbotryum) causing anther-smut disease. The probabilities of intrapromycelial mating (automixis), outcrossing, and sibling competition were manipulated in artificial inoculations to evaluate their contribution to reproductive isolation. We report that both intrapromycelial selfing and sibling competition significantly reduced rates of hybrid infection beyond that expected based solely upon selfing rates and noncompetitive fitness differentials between hybrid and nonhybrid progeny. Our results thus suggest that selfing and a sibling competition arena can combine to constitute a barrier to gene flow and diminish selection for additional barriers to gene flow in sympatry. © 2012 The Author(s). Evolution © 2012 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Experimental and numerical investigation of dimplelike protrusions employed in recent heat exchangers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Preibisch, S; Dietzel, D; Buschmann, M H; Friebe, C

2011-01-01

This study is motivated by the observation that recent investigations of dimpled surfaces employed for enhancing heat transfer rarely go beyond general parameters like pressure losses and heat transfer performance. Here, we explore a real world dimpled cross-flow heat exchanger. In particular, we are interested in the global parameters, but also in the local flow situation around a single dimplelike protrusion. Detailed PIV-experiments and simulations of the local flow around single protrusions and groups of them reveal the flow structures essential for heat transfer. These local results are brought in conjunction with the general performance of the heat exchanger. Based on local results, simulations of the complete heat exchanger are carried out which are found to be in reasonable agreement with the global parameters found experimentally.

Kinetic Behaviors of a Competitive Population and Fitness System in Exchange-Driven Growth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Ke; Lin Zhenquan; Sun Yunfei

2008-01-01

We proposed an aggregation model of two species aggregates of fitness and population to study the interaction between the two species in their exchange-driven processes of the same species by introducing the monomer birth of fitness catalyzed by the population, where the fitness aggregates perform self-death process and the population aggregates perform self-birth process. The kinetic behaviors of the aggregate size distributions of the fitness and population were analyzed by the rate equation approach with their exchange rate kernel K 1 (k,j) = K 1 kj and K 2 (k,j) = K 2 kj, the fitness aggregate's self-death rate kernel J 1 (k) = J 1 k, population aggregate's self-birth rate kernel J 2 (k) = J 2 k and population-catalyzed fitness birth rate kernel I(k,j) = Ikj v . The kinetic behavior of the fitness was found depending crucially on the parameter v, which reflects the dependence of the population-catalyzed fitness birth rate on the size of the catalyst (population) aggregate. (i) In the v ≤ 0 case, the effect of catalyzed-birth of fitness is rather weak and the exchange-driven aggregation and self-death of the fitness dominate the process, and the fitness aggregate size distribution a k (t) does not have scale form. (ii) When v > 0, the effect of the population-catalyzed birth of fitness gets strong enough, and the catalyzed-birth and self-death of the fitness aggregates, together with the self-birth of the population aggregates dominate the evolution process of the fitness aggregates. The aggregate size distribution a k (t) approaches a generalized scaling form

The dynamic consequences of cooperation and competition in small-world networks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iván Y Fernández-Rosales

Full Text Available We present a study of the social dynamics among cooperative and competitive actors interacting on a complex network that has a small-world topology. In this model, the state of each actor depends on its previous state in time, its inertia to change, and the influence of its neighboring actors. Using numerical simulations, we determine how the distribution of final states of the actors and measures of the distances between the values of the actors at local and global levels, depend on the number of cooperative to competitive actors and the connectivity of the actors in the network. We find that similar numbers of cooperative and competitive actors yield the lowest values for the local and global measures of the distances between the values of the actors. On the other hand, when the number of either cooperative or competitive actors dominate the system, then the divergence is largest between the values of the actors. Our findings make new testable predictions on how the dynamics of a conflict depends on the strategies chosen by groups of actors and also have implications for the evolution of behaviors.

Modern Paradigm of Ensuring Competitive Advantages of an Enterprise

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Klymchuk Alyona O.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article considers evolution of development of the paradigm of ensuring competitive advantages of an enterprise. Foreign and domestic scientists focus on individual directions of development of competitive advantages and pay insufficient attention to new management concepts – development of the information society, knowledge economy and dynamism of integration processes. The goal of the study is formation of the modern paradigm of ensuring competitive advantages of an enterprise with consideration of tendencies of development of the knowledge economy, information society and integration processes. Enterprise competitiveness is a synergetic characteristic, which reflects enterprise capability of dynamic response to changes of the market situation with the aim of keeping predominance over other economic subjects. Management of the future, on the basis of the management 2.0 concept, should take into account interests not only of top management and shareholders but also employees, local communities and territories and meet requirements of the society in general, individual groups of consumers and tendencies of development of managerial and information technologies. The paradigm of the modern theory of ensuring competitive advantages should include models of keeping competitive advantages in the existing markets and models of development of future markets; strategy of development of enterprise competitiveness, human capital development and efficient enterprise management.

Heat transfer enhancement for fin-tube heat exchanger using vortex generators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, Seong Yeon; Park, Dong Seong; Chung, Min Ho; Lee, Sang Yun

2002-01-01

Vortex generators are fabricated on the fin surface of a fin-tube heat exchanger to augment the convective heat transfer. In addition to horseshoe vortices formed naturally around the tube of the fin-tube heat exchanger, longitudinal vortices are artificially created on the fin surface by vortex generators. The purpose of this study is to investigate the local heat transfer phenomena in the fin-tube heat exchangers with and without vortex generators, and to evaluate the effect of vortices on the heat transfer enhancement. Naphthalene sublimation technique is employed to measure local mass transfer coefficients, then analogy equation between heat and mass transfer is used to calculate heat transfer coefficients. Experiments are performed for the model of fin-circular tube heat exchangers with and without vortex generators, and of fin-flat tube heat exchangers with and without vortex generators. Average heat transfer coefficients of fin-flat tube heat exchanger without vortex generator are much lower than those of fin-circular tube heat exchanger. On the other hand, fin-flat tube heat exchanger with vortex generators has much higher heat transfer value than conventional fin-circular tube heat exchanger. At the same time, pressure losses for four types of heat exchanger is measured and compared

FINANCIAL AND LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS OF THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES ON BANK EXTERNAL TRADING OPERATIONS

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Ignat Papazov

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The term "currency" has different meanings but is usually defined as any means of payment that is not in local currency units. The ratio between the foreign currency and local currency units results into exchange rate. When arranging payment transactions abroad, local entities - natural and legal persons must exchange their national currency in advance for the currency of the country in which they are due or in another currency commonly accepted as an international payment. Under this regime, the national currency is quoted in relation to another currency, that is exchange rate.

Money and exchange in an economy with spatially differentiated agents

Science.gov (United States)

Manolova, Petia; Lai Tong, Charles; Deissenberg, Christophe

2003-06-01

The impact of money supply on the real variables and on utility is an important question in monetary economics. Most previous works study this impact in representative agent economies, often under perfect foresight. With such a framework, however, the use of fiat money as a medium of exchange cannot be endogenously explained. This paper, by contrast, considers an economy where fiat money is intrinsically necessary for exchange, due to the local structure of interaction among agents. It investigates the transitory and permanent impact of local or global injections of money on the dynamics of exchanged quantities, prices, and individual welfares, and the mechanisms that explain this evolution.

Statistical thermodynamics and energy exchanges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oudet, X.

1987-01-01

The probability of finding the energy of a particle in the vicinity of a given energy is determined, taking into account of the conservation of energy during the exchanges of energy. As a result the exchanges which determine the different probabilities also introduce a dependence between them, allowing a full calculation. The solution has the main properties of the distribution of Fermi-Dirac, with the mean energy per particle as variable in place of temperature. It allows to propose a localized model for the conduction electrons [fr

In-situ monitoring of internal local temperature and voltage of proton exchange membrane fuel cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chi-Yuan; Fan, Wei-Yuan; Hsieh, Wei-Jung

2010-01-01

The distribution of temperature and voltage of a fuel cell are key factors that influence performance. Conventional sensors are normally large, and are also useful only for making external measurements of fuel cells. Centimeter-scale sensors for making invasive measurements are frequently unable to accurately measure the interior changes of a fuel cell. This work focuses mainly on fabricating flexible multi-functional microsensors (for temperature and voltage) to measure variations in the local temperature and voltage of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) that are based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). The power density at 0.5 V without a sensor is 450 mW/cm(2), and that with a sensor is 426 mW/cm(2). Since the reaction area of a fuel cell with a sensor is approximately 12% smaller than that without a sensor, but the performance of the former is only 5% worse.

Thoughts on the International Cooperation and Exchanges of Chinese Research Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Jiang-bin

2009-01-01

More prominent in the 21st century than ever are the internationalization of the competition for talents, the globalization of their mobility, and the diversity of the demand for them. This article analyzes the major features and content of the international cooperation and exchanges, and further discusses their tactics and measures in the process…

Cross-cousin marriage among the Yanomamö shows evidence of parent-offspring conflict and mate competition between brothers.

Science.gov (United States)

Chagnon, Napoleon A; Lynch, Robert F; Shenk, Mary K; Hames, Raymond; Flinn, Mark V

2017-03-28

Marriage in many traditional societies often concerns the institutionalized exchange of reproductive partners among groups of kin. Such exchanges most often involve cross-cousins-marriage with the child of a parent's opposite-sex sibling-but it is unclear who benefits from these exchanges. Here we analyze the fitness consequences of marrying relatives among the Yanomamö from the Amazon. When individuals marry close kin, we find that ( i ) both husbands and wives have slightly lower fertility; ( ii ) offspring suffer from inbreeding depression; ( iii ) parents have more grandchildren; and ( iv ) siblings, especially brothers, benefit when their opposite-sex siblings marry relatives but not when their same-sex siblings do. Therefore, individuals seem to benefit when their children or opposite-sex siblings marry relatives but suffer costs when they, their parents, or same-sex siblings do. These asymmetric fitness outcomes suggest conflicts between parents and offspring and among siblings over optimal mating strategies. Parental control of marriages is reinforced by cultural norms prescribing cross-cousin marriage. We posit that local mate competition combined with parental control over marriages may escalate conflict between same-sex siblings who compete over mates, while simultaneously forging alliances between opposite-sex siblings. If these relationships are carried forward to subsequent generations, they may drive bilateral cross-cousin marriage rules. This study provides insights into the evolutionary importance of how kinship and reciprocity underlie conflicts over who controls mate choice and the origins of cross-cousin marriage prescriptions.

Territory, competitive advantages and local productive systems

OpenAIRE

Monarca U.

2007-01-01

This work aims at analyzing if, as often indicated by theoretical and empirical literature, the "territory" variable shows local development dynamics. A review of the districts phenomenon has favoured the attempt to integrate modern economical trends in this consolidated productive model, with particular emphasis on firm internationalization, market globalisation and the IT developments, including business services as well. The work underlines two implication of this innovative approach: the ...

Competition for light and water in a coupled soil-plant system

Science.gov (United States)

Manoli, Gabriele; Huang, Cheng-Wei; Bonetti, Sara; Domec, Jean-Christophe; Marani, Marco; Katul, Gabriel

2017-10-01

It is generally accepted that resource availability shapes the structure and function of many ecosystems. Within the soil-plant-atmosphere (SPA) system, resource availability fluctuates in space and time whereas access to resources by individuals is further impacted by plant-to-plant competition. Likewise, transport and transformation of resources within an individual plant is governed by numerous interacting biotic and abiotic processes. The work here explores the co-limitations on water losses and carbon uptake within the SPA arising from fluctuating resource availability and competition. In particular, the goal is to unfold the interplay between plant access and competition for water and light, as well as the impact of transport/redistribution processes on leaf-level carbon assimilation and water fluxes within forest stands. A framework is proposed that couples a three-dimensional representation of soil-root exchanges with a one-dimensional description of stem water flow and storage, canopy photosynthesis, and transpiration. The model links soil moisture redistribution, root water uptake, xylem water flow and storage, leaf potential and stomatal conductance as driven by supply and demand for water and carbon. The model is then used to investigate plant drought resilience of overstory-understory trees simultaneously competing for water and light. Simulation results reveal that understory-overstory interactions increase ecosystem resilience to drought (i.e. stand-level carbon assimilation rates and water fluxes can be sustained at lower root-zone soil water potentials). This resilience enhancement originates from reduced transpiration (due to shading) and hydraulic redistribution in soil supporting photosynthesis over prolonged periods of drought. In particular, the presence of different rooting systems generates localized hydraulic redistribution fluxes that sustain understory transpiration through overstory-understory interactions. Such complex SPA dynamics

Competition and habitat selection in a forest-floor small mammal fauna

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dueser, R D [Univ. of Virginia, Charlottesville; Hallett, J G

1980-01-01

In a study of habitat exploitation in a forest-floor small mammal community, we have collected habitat and population data for Peromyscus leucopus, Ochrotomys nuttalli, and Tamias striatus. Using multiple regression analysis, researchers estimate the effects of habitat selection and competition on the local distributions of these species during three seasons. Each of the partial regression coefficients relating the density of an independent species to the density of the dependent species is negative. This result indicates that competition is pervasive among these species. Competitive ability and habitat selectivity both increase in the order Peromyscus-Tamias-Ochrotomys. Peromyscus is a poorly competitive habitat generalist, Ochrotomys is a strongly competitive habitat specialist, and Tamias is intermediate in both respects. The competitive hierarchy is stable between seasons. These results both confirm the conclusions reached in previous studies of this small mammal community and suggest the design of experiments to further clarify the mode and consequences of interaction between these species.

Competitive balance in national European soccer competitions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haan, M.A.; Koning, R.H.; van Witteloostuijn, A.; Albert, Jim; Koning, Ruud H.

2007-01-01

According to popular belief, competitive balance in national soccer competitions in Europe has decreased due to the Bosman ruling and the introduction of the Champions League. We test this hypothesis using data from 7 national competitions, for a host of indicators. We find some evidence for

Local and global dynamics in a duopoly with price competition and market share delegation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fanti, Luciano; Gori, Luca; Mammana, Cristiana; Michetti, Elisabetta

2014-01-01

This paper aims at studying a nonlinear dynamic duopoly model with price competition and horizontal product differentiation augmented with managerial firms, where managers behave according to market share delegation contracts. Ownership and management are then separate and managers are paid through adequate incentives in order to achieve a competitive advantage in the market. In this context, we show that complexity arises, related both to the structure of the attractors of the system and the structure of their basins, as multistability occurs. The study is conducted by combining analytical and numerical techniques, and aims at showing that slight different initial conditions may cause very different long-term outcomes

Interaction among actors in retail market competition in malang city

Science.gov (United States)

Kurniawan, B.; Ma'ruf, M. F.

2018-01-01

In several countries, traditional market lose in competition with supermarket. Supermarket has several advantages compared with traditional market. It can provides consumers with lower prices, offer more varieties of products and higher quality products than traditional retailers, has more comfortable place for shopping. In Malang City, the existence of traditional traders was threatened. In a competitive retail market, traditional traders get less protection from the Government of Malang Municipality. Massive demonstrations conducted by traditional traders along with other society elements unable to stem the rapid growth of modern retail. This paper focus on the interaction of Malang Municipality actors in the local retail market competition. How those interaction can make imbalance retail market competition. The author uses descriptive-analytic method with a qualitative approach in this work. As a result, the interaction tend to produce imbalance retail market competition. Interaction between legislative, executive, bureaucracy and mass media tend to support modern retail growth than traditional one.

The economic policy as factor of competitiveness in China

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Juan González García

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The object of this article consists of establishing the relation between competitiveness and economic policy in the case of the People’s Republic of China in the period from 1948 to 2008. The hypothesis that is demonstrated throughout the presentation maintains that more than the macroeconomic stability, the economic growth is directly related to the type of economic policy that applies a nation, as it is the case of China. The historical antecedents (1948-1978, the economic policy in the days of the reform of the economy (1978-1998 and the present time in which the past and the present are crossed, constitute the huge landmarks of the work. The economic policy is analyzes in “sub political” such as the agriculturist, industrialist, prices, foreign trade, foreign affairs, fiscal, monetary, exchange and investment, competitiveness etc., taking the work to planes of better concretion.

Development of a Malian food exchange system based on local ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

No significant differences were found for the intakes of legumes, milk, vegetables and sugar-added foods. Conclusions: This study allowed the development of Malian food exchange lists and demonstrated their usefulness for the description of the dietary pattern and energy and macronutrient intakes of male and female ...

Gauging the future competitiveness of renewable energy in Colombia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caspary, Georg

2009-01-01

This article aims to assess the likely competitiveness of different forms of renewable energy in Colombia over the next 25 years. To this end, it compares the likely power production cost for a set of renewable energy sources, and compares them to the likely long-run cost of traditional energy. Costs from global and local externalities through the use of traditional energy sources are also factored into the analysis. The key conclusion of the article is that while solar PV will likely remain uncompetitive under any future cost scenario, cost paths for small hydro, modern biomass or geothermal are already close enough to being competitive, so that appropriate government intervention may make the decisive difference in making these technologies competitive with conventional energy technologies. (author)

A MULTINATIONAL COMPANY PROBLEM: INFILTRATING INTO THE CLUSTERS TO GAIN COMPETITIVE EDGE IN THE TRADITIONAL MARKETS

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Murat KOC

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This paper is concerned with one of the main challenges of the Multinational Companies which they face in the traditional and thus in local markets. Multinational Companies aims to gain competitive advantage through differentiation in terms of their globalization strategy. However, in the local markets where the organic relationship of firms are more designed in local habits, and markets react with stable consumer behaviors, it gets harder to enter into market and drive a competitive edge. This paper aims to understand the reasons of this challenge, the analysis of resistance of traditional markets, successful sample breaking into local market and the strategy around it.

Contemporary large-scale international design competitions1 in China. A case study of Baietan, Guangzhou

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zheng Liang

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The importance of contemporary design competitions has been increasingly recognized in fast-growing China in the course of World Trade Organization (WTO integration and globalization. However, scientific and systematic analysis is rare on how international design competitions are introduced, and how they interact and transplant in the Chinese context. The well-known Chinese-Western culture gap and complicated social and political background make this topic more challenging. Herein, the authors focus on how the international design competitions were “translated” into both international and local perspectives with a compara­tive analysis on development of international design competitions between the Chinese and the Finnish model. To fully exemplify the design-completion procedure and the different roles of Chinese stakeholders and their perspectives on design competitions, the authors study the Baietan case, which was chosen due to its specific relationship with the city’s strategic plan, its representativeness in using international design competitions in connection to large-scale urban projects in China and its public access to the relevant documentation. The preliminary findings suggest that Chinese-style design competitions, acting as ‘designed trading zones’, with less-defined competition rules compared to the Finnish model, may foster the settings of local transformation in adopting international urban planning and design knowledge. However, an integrated approach is required to address subsequent implementation.

Competitive adsorption of heavy metals onto sesame straw biochar in aqueous solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jong-Hwan; Ok, Yong Sik; Kim, Seong-Heon; Cho, Ju-Sik; Heo, Jong-Soo; Delaune, Ronald D; Seo, Dong-Cheol

2016-01-01

Objective of this research was to evaluate adsorption of heavy metals in mono and multimetal forms onto sesame straw biochar (SSB). Competitive sorption of metals by SSB has never been reported previously. The maximum adsorption capacities (mgg(-1)) of metals by SSB were in the order of Pb (102)≫Cd (86)≫Cr (65)>Cu (55)≫Zn (34) in the monometal adsorption isotherm and Pb (88)≫Cu (40)≫Cr (21)>Zn (7)⩾Cd (5) in the multimetal adsorption isotherm. Based on data obtained from the distribution coefficients, Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption models, and three-dimensional simulation, multimetal adsorption behaviors differed from monometal adsorption due to competition. Especially, during multimetal adsorption, Cd was easily exchanged and substituted by other metals. Further competitive adsorption studies are necessary in order to accurately estimate the heavy metal adsorption capacity of biochar in natural environments. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

THREATS AND BENEFITS OF EXCHANGE RATE REGIMES FOR UKRAINE IN TERMS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

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Svitlana Glushchenko

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the paper is to determine threats and benefits of exchange rate regimes in terms of the integration of Ukraine into the European community. Emphasizing features of the manifestation of currency exchange rate in Ukrainian practice is a precondition for choosing the optimal exchange rate regime for Ukraine, which, in its turn, will provide an opportunity to reduce inflation and implement effective tools of monetary and fiscal policies to promote further economic growth and competitiveness of the country. The uses of free-floating exchange rate and «currency board» regimes have either positive effects for Ukraine or certain threats. Methodology. This research is based on a synthesis of data on the uses of exchange rate regimes in Ukraine as an independent. It is considered angular regimes, which are by far the most suitable for Ukraine in terms of the European vector of its development. Peculiarities of using these regimes are revealed and their major threats to the domestic economy are pointed out. This article analyzes the dynamics of the trade balance of payments of Ukraine, the dynamics of the commodity structure of Ukraine`s exports and imports and the external debt of Ukraine. Results. Taking into account the experience of countries, which were in crisis situations, they show the necessity of the uses of freefloating exchange rate regime and possibilities of «currency board» regime, despite threats that they may have. World experience testifies the implementation of structural reforms, effective monetary policy, fiscal policy and discipline of the government. Thorough preparation of Ukraine’s transition to the «currency board» regime can justify itself in conditions of crisis and provide impetus to Ukrainian economy benefits. The paper defines conditions under which the success of a new model of exchange rate policy will be achieved. Practical implications. The study accents attention on the specifics of the uses of the

Evaluating the effect of exchange rate and labor productivity on import penetration of Brazilian manufacturing sectors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João Paulo Martin Faleiros

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, several economists have argued that the sharp loss of competitiveness of the Brazilian industry was caused by a strong exchange rate appreciation. However, other economists have attributed this loss of competitiveness to the dismal growth of labor productivity in the Brazilian industrial sector. The present paper proposes to estimate the differential impacts of variations in exchange rate and labor productivity on the Brazilian market share of imports measured by the coefficient of import penetration of total demand for manufacturing goods. We start by developing a simple theoretical model to investigate under what conditions the impacts of an exchange rate depreciation and an increase in labor productivity would differ. We test the theoretical implications of the model by means of a GMM panel data analysis focusing on 17 manufacturing sectors in the period between 1996 and 2011. Our results suggest that both variables matter to explain the coefficient of import penetration. Nevertheless, labor productivity has the strongest negative impact on the market share of imported goods, even after controlling for sector fixed-effects.

75 FR 3212 - Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools; Overview Information; Grant Competition for the Cooperative...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-20

... principles of the economic system in the United States, including seminars on the economic institutions in... Competition for the Cooperative Civic Education and Economic Education Exchange Program; Notice Inviting.... Funding Opportunity Description Purpose of Program: The Cooperative Civic Education and Economic Education...

International Education Hubs: Collaboration for Competitiveness and Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Knight, Jane

2014-01-01

This chapter focuses on the development of education hubs, a recent phenomenon in international higher education. Three models of hubs are examined in relation to the forces, risks, and opportunities of globalization and how local and international collaborations are essential for both global competitiveness and sustainability.

78 FR 40531 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing of a Proposed Rule Change...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-05

... Products'' to incentivize competitive and aggressive quoting by market makers registered with the Exchange... market transactions in [shares] do not appear to result in the abuses that Rules 101 and 102 of...

Reflections on Competition, Competition Regulation and the Current Crises

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buch-Hansen, Hubert; Wigger, Angela

2013-01-01

competition came to enjoy such an exalted status in Europe and then challenges conventional wisdom by bringing into focus the downsides of competition. It argues that excessive competition and neoliberal competition regulation have contributed to intensify the economic, political, social and environmental...

COMP-1 promotes competitive advantage of nematode sperm

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Jody M; Chavez, Daniela R; Stanfield, Gillian M

2015-01-01

Competition among sperm to fertilize oocytes is a ubiquitous feature of sexual reproduction as well as a profoundly important aspect of sexual selection. However, little is known about the cellular mechanisms sperm use to gain competitive advantage or how these mechanisms are regulated genetically. In this study, we utilize a forward genetic screen in Caenorhabditis elegans to identify a gene, comp-1, whose function is specifically required in competitive contexts. We show that comp-1 functions in sperm to modulate their migration through and localization within the reproductive tract, thereby promoting their access to oocytes. Contrary to previously described models, comp-1 mutant sperm show no defects in size or velocity, thereby defining a novel pathway for preferential usage. Our results indicate not only that sperm functional traits can influence the outcome of sperm competition, but also that these traits can be modulated in a context-dependent manner depending on the presence of competing sperm. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05423.001 PMID:25789512

Competitive Advantages of Small Medium Industry on the Islands in Indonesian Context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muslim El Hakim Kurniawan

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Indonesian Law No.3/2014 regarding Industry requires both Central and Local Governments to realize the competitiveness of small and medium industries. However, the fact that the condition of each region is not similar becomes a main problem. It is because Indonesia is an archipelagic country. The competitiveness index of Asia Competitiveness Institute 2015 indicates that islands provinces, such as Kepulauan Bangka Belitung, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Sulawesi Utara, Maluku, Maluku Utara, Sulawesi Tenggara, need specific development strategies. They cannot be equated with the mainlands, such as Java and Sumatera, because their competitiveness rank is very low. A review of literature on the competitiveness of islands entrepreneurs shows that from the 4 (four schools of thought in competitive advantage, only few researchers have pertained on the knowledge based on the schools of thought. Therefore, this could be a future research opportunity.

Political Competition and the Diffusion of Conditional Cash Transfers in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denilson Bandeira Coêlho

2012-12-01

Full Text Available What factors determine the diffusion of social policies? This article exam - ines the launching of conditional cash transfer programs by Brazilian munici - palities to explore this problem. The literature of political science asserts that such programs have been widely implemented because they correspond to an al - ternative policy strategy adopted by governments facing opposition to implement universal public policies. So, political competition would be at the root of CCT launching. This article presents an alternative explanation. From 1995 to 2001, local governments created or emulated the Bolsa Escola Program (BEP in all regions of the country. Such a path continued after the lauching of the national Bolsa Escola by the federal government. Why did some local governments decide to adopt the national BEP and others did not? To answer these questions, the research tests the influence of structural, internal and external variables on the dissemination of CCT programs. Two main hypotheses are tested. The first as - serts that local political competition is positive for policy diffusion. The second hypothesis claims that party alignment between the municipal and federal levels increases the likelihood of municipalities adopting the federal BEP. The research uses Event History Analysis to test statistically the impact of political incentives on policy diffusion among São Paulo State’s municipalities. Two types of policy diffusion are examined: horizontal and vertical. The findings confirm that polit - ical competition influences the horizontal diffusion among municipalities. Unex - pectedly, vertical diffusion does not occur because of party alignment or political competition. Rather, levels of socioeconomic development drive policy emulation.

Got junk? The federal role in regulating "competitive" foods.

Science.gov (United States)

Salinsky, Eileen

2009-12-11

A wide variety of food and beverage items are available in schools in addition to the school meals provided through the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. A long-standing source of controversy, the need for stronger federal restrictions on foods that compete with school meals is again under debate. This issue brief examines the availability and consumption of competitive foods, explores the regulation of these foods at the federal level, considers trends in state and local restrictions, and summarizes perceived barriers to improving the nutritional quality of competitive food options.

In-situ Monitoring of Internal Local Temperature and Voltage of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chi-Yuan Lee

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The distribution of temperature and voltage of a fuel cell are key factors that influence performance. Conventional sensors are normally large, and are also useful only for making external measurements of fuel cells. Centimeter-scale sensors for making invasive measurements are frequently unable to accurately measure the interior changes of a fuel cell. This work focuses mainly on fabricating flexible multi-functional microsensors (for temperature and voltage to measure variations in the local temperature and voltage of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC that are based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS. The power density at 0.5 V without a sensor is 450 mW/cm2, and that with a sensor is 426 mW/cm2. Since the reaction area of a fuel cell with a sensor is approximately 12% smaller than that without a sensor, but the performance of the former is only 5% worse.

Monte Carlo study of the double and super-exchange model with lattice distortion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Suarez, J R; Vallejo, E; Navarro, O [Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Apartado Postal 70-360, 04510 Mexico D. F. (Mexico); Avignon, M, E-mail: jrsuarez@iim.unam.m [Institut Neel, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and Universite Joseph Fourier, BP 166, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France)

2009-05-01

In this work a magneto-elastic phase transition was obtained in a linear chain due to the interplay between magnetism and lattice distortion in a double and super-exchange model. It is considered a linear chain consisting of localized classical spins interacting with itinerant electrons. Due to the double exchange interaction, localized spins tend to align ferromagnetically. This ferromagnetic tendency is expected to be frustrated by anti-ferromagnetic super-exchange interactions between neighbor localized spins. Additionally, lattice parameter is allowed to have small changes, which contributes harmonically to the energy of the system. Phase diagram is obtained as a function of the electron density and the super-exchange interaction using a Monte Carlo minimization. At low super-exchange interaction energy phase transition between electron-full ferromagnetic distorted and electron-empty anti-ferromagnetic undistorted phases occurs. In this case all electrons and lattice distortions were found within the ferromagnetic domain. For high super-exchange interaction energy, phase transition between two site distorted periodic arrangement of independent magnetic polarons ordered anti-ferromagnetically and the electron-empty anti-ferromagnetic undistorted phase was found. For this high interaction energy, Wigner crystallization, lattice distortion and charge distribution inside two-site polarons were obtained.

Competition and facilitation may lead to asymmetric range shift dynamics with climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Ettinger, Ailene; HilleRisLambers, Janneke

2017-09-01

Forecasts of widespread range shifts with climate change stem from assumptions that climate drives species' distributions. However, local adaptation and biotic interactions also influence range limits and thus may impact range shifts. Despite the potential importance of these factors, few studies have directly tested their effects on performance at range limits. We address how population-level variation and biotic interactions may affect range shifts by transplanting seeds and seedlings of western North American conifers of different origin populations into different competitive neighborhoods within and beyond their elevational ranges and monitoring their performance. We find evidence that competition with neighboring trees limits performance within current ranges, but that interactions between adults and juveniles switch from competitive to facilitative at upper range limits. Local adaptation had weaker effects on performance that did not predictably vary with range position or seed origin. Our findings suggest that competitive interactions may slow species turnover within forests at lower range limits, whereas facilitative interactions may accelerate the pace of tree expansions upward near timberline. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Competition, Student Sorting and Performance in Local Education Markets: The Dutch Secondary Sector.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cabus, Sofie; Cornelisz, Ilja

2017-01-01

This article empirically examines the implications of competition among Dutch secondary schools: (1) regarding the sorting of students by performance levels in schools at the begiining of secondary education; and (2) regarding performance gains in the secondary school career, controlling for the

Exchange students' motivations and language learning success

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Caudery, Tim; Petersen, Margrethe; Shaw, Philip

One point investigated in our research project on the linguistic experiences of exchange students in Denmark and Sweden is the reasons students have for coming on exchange. Traditionally, an important goal of student exchange was to acquire improved language skills usually in the language spoken...... in the host country. To what extent is this true when students plan to study in English in a non-English speaking country? Do they hope and expect to improve their English skills, their knowledge of the local language, both, or neither? to what extent are these expectations fulfilled? Results form the project...

Environmental structure and competitive scoring advantages in team competitions

Science.gov (United States)

Merritt, Sears; Clauset, Aaron

2013-10-01

In most professional sports, playing field structure is kept neutral so that scoring imbalances may be attributed to differences in team skill. It thus remains unknown what impact environmental heterogeneities can have on scoring dynamics or competitive advantages. Applying a novel generative model of scoring dynamics to roughly 10 million team competitions drawn from an online game, we quantify the relationship between the structure within a competition and its scoring dynamics, while controlling the impact of chance. Despite wide structural variations, we observe a common three-phase pattern in the tempo of events. Tempo and balance are highly predictable from a competition's structural features alone and teams exploit environmental heterogeneities for sustained competitive advantage. Surprisingly, the most balanced competitions are associated with specific environmental heterogeneities, not from equally skilled teams. These results shed new light on the design principles of balanced competition, and illustrate the potential of online game data for investigating social dynamics and competition.

Reexamination of the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) under Cournot Competition

OpenAIRE

Dai, Meixing

1995-01-01

This paper reexamines the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in an open economy macroeconomic model with Cournot competition in the international trade of a unique good. Foreign and domestic firms have a Cournot perception of foreign and domestic markets and make separate quantity decisions for each market taking the quantity decisions of the other firm as given. In introducing the money, the balance of payments relation and the nominal exchange rate, the PPP implied by the law of one price can be...

National Business Cycles and Community Competition for Jobs.

Science.gov (United States)

Kasarda, John D.; Irwin, Michael D.

1991-01-01

Analysis of employment change data for 3,101 counties during recent national recession and recovery periods found that factors derived from human ecological theory (density, infrastructure age, unionization, labor force education, and crime rate) best predicted local competitive dynamics across all business-cycle phases. Contains 60 references.…

The impact of product market competition on transactions with related parties and company performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mojtaba Asadi

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an empirical investigation on the effect of product market competition on transactions with related parties and company performance. The study selects a sample of 250 randomly selected firms whose common shares were traded on Tehran Stock Exchange. The study uses Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI to measure the market concentration and uses historical information over the period 2008-2012 to examine the hypotheses of the survey. Using simple regression analysis, the study has detected a positive relationship between HHI and related party transactions. In addition, the study has detected a negative relationship between competition and company performance measured by return on assets.

Competition of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya and Higher-Order Exchange Interactions in Rh /Fe Atomic Bilayers on Ir(111)

Science.gov (United States)

Romming, Niklas; Pralow, Henning; Kubetzka, André; Hoffmann, Markus; von Malottki, Stephan; Meyer, Sebastian; Dupé, Bertrand; Wiesendanger, Roland; von Bergmann, Kirsten; Heinze, Stefan

2018-05-01

Using spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory we demonstrate the occurrence of a novel type of noncollinear spin structure in Rh /Fe atomic bilayers on Ir(111). We find that higher-order exchange interactions depend sensitively on the stacking sequence. For fcc-Rh /Fe /Ir (111 ) , frustrated exchange interactions are dominant and lead to the formation of a spin spiral ground state with a period of about 1.5 nm. For hcp-Rh /Fe /Ir (111 ) , higher-order exchange interactions favor an up-up-down-down (↑↑↓↓) state. However, the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction at the Fe /Ir interface leads to a small angle of about 4° between adjacent magnetic moments resulting in a canted ↑↑↓↓ ground state.

Group differences in reciprocity, multiplexity and exchange : measures and application

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Agneessens, Filip; Skvoretz, John

Local forces structure social networks. One major and widely researched local force is reciprocity, often assumed to work homogeneously across actors-i.e., all actors are equally subject to the same level of force towards reciprocity. Other local forces, like multiplexity and exchange, are also

THE IMPACT OF THE EXCHANGE RATE ON THE COMMERCIALS FLOWS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihaela IAVORSCHI

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The liberalization of capital movements between states and of the trade of goods and services, are one of the most important phenomena in the current world economy. The purpose of the present study, in the case of Romania, is to answer the question whether the interventions by means of the exchange rate of the national currency contributes to the fluidization and improvement of the commercial trades. The study demonstrates that the leu devaluation does not lead to a substantial increase of the exports. As a mechanism of influence of the commercials flows, the exchange rate has a short-term influence and the economy requires structural reforms, meant to stimulate the growth of the economic competitiveness.

Electrostatic influence of local cysteine environments on disulfide exchange kinetics.

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, G H; Cennerazzo, M J; Karalis, A J; Field, D

1981-11-10

The ionic strength dependence of the bimolecular rate constant for reaction of the negative disulfide 5,5'-dithiobis (2-nitrobenzoic acid) with cysteines in fragments of naturally occurring proteins was determined by stopped-flow spectroscopy. The Debye-Hückel relationship was applied to determine the effective charge at the cysteine and thereby determine the extent to which nearby neighbors in the primary sequence influence the kinetics. Corrections for the secondary salt effect on cysteine pKs were determined by direct spectrometric pH titration of sulfhydryl groups or by observation of the ionic strength dependence of kinetics of cysteine reaction with the neutral disulfide 2,2'-dithiodipyridine. Quantitative expressions was verified by model studies with N-acetyl-cystein. At ionic strengths equal to or greater than 20 mM, the net charge at the polypeptide cysteine site is the sum of the single negative charge of the thiolate anion and the charges of the amino acids immediately preceding and following the cysteine in the primary sequence. At lower ionic strengths, more distant residues influence kinetics. At pH 7.0, 23 degree C, and an ionic strength of 20 mM, rate constants for reaction of the negative disulfide with a cysteine having two positive neighbors, one positive and one neutral neighbor, or two neutral neighbors are 132000, 3350, and 367 s-1 M-1, respectively. This corresponds to a contribution to the activation energy of 0.65- 1.1 kcal/mol per ion pair involved in collision between the cysteine and disulfide regions. The results permit the estimation that cysteine local environments may provide a means of achieving a 10(6)-fold range in rate constants in disulfide exchange reactions in random-coil proteins. This range may prove useful in developing strategies for directing disulfide pairing in synthetic proteins.

Analysis of competition and market power in the wholesale electricity market in India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shukla, Umesh Kumar; Thampy, Ashok

2011-01-01

The electricity reforms were initiated in India with the objective of promoting competition in the electricity market. In order to promote competition, the Electricity Act 2003 was enacted and various policy initiatives were taken by the Government of India. Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) also facilitated competition through the regulatory framework of availability based tariff, Indian Electricity Grid Code, open access in inter-state transmission, inter-state trading and power exchanges. Despite these initiatives, electricity prices increased in the Wholesale Electricity Market in India (WEMI). This paper analyses the market structure and competitiveness in the WEMI. There are, of course, various potential reasons for the rise in the electricity price. This paper seeks to investigate, if market power was one of the reasons for increase in market prices. Concentration ratio, Herfindahl-Hirschman index, Supply Margin Assessment, and Residual Supply Index have been used to measure market power. This paper also uses the price-cost mark-up to examine, if exercise of market power led to higher margins. The analysis suggests that market power of firms may be part of the reason for the increase in electricity prices in WEMI. The study suggests various measures to increase competition in the WEMI.

Competitive Intelligence on the Internet-Going for the Gold.

Science.gov (United States)

Kassler, Helene

2000-01-01

Discussion of competitive intelligence (CI) focuses on recent Web sties and several search techniques that provide valuable CI information. Highlights include links that display business relationships; information from vendors; general business sites; search engine strategies; local business newspapers; job postings; patent and trademark…

Meeting the challenges of emerging competition in the telecom industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vincent, S.

1998-01-01

The nature and pace of change within the Canadian telecommunications industry was discussed. The combined impacts of deregulation, converging technology, cost pressures and increasingly sophisticated markets have demanded huge changes for providers of services. In Canada, deregulation began with select services and broadened to include all major service offerings. The market impact of deregulation has been greater in Canada than in the United States. The state of the telecommunications industry today, and a chronology of how TELUS has responded to deregulation and the steps it has taken to maintain profitability of services was reviewed. The need for regulation that serves to introduce a level playing field to allow players to compete and then disappears, was addressed. The problem of protracted price wars in the long distance market was discussed. The market segmentation efforts underway in the local exchange market for more focus and pricing strategies, and the urgent need for both types of providers to implement profitable pricing and cost control strategies as they expand into additional markets, also received attention. As for the future, the challenge will be to reduce costs and continuously improve service. Benefits to consumers will be assured by competition, and the constantly emerging new technologies

78 FR 39395 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-01

... be insulated from such external disruptions. Furthermore, by reducing the impact that could arise... costs. The revenue generated by the Service would pay for the development, marketing, technical... in a highly competitive market. In such an environment, the Exchange must continually review, and...

47 CFR 76.1616 - Contracts with local exchange carriers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... shall serve a copy of this submission on the local franchising authority, along with a notice of the local franchising authority's right to file comments with the Commission consistent with § 76.7. ...

Retail competition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

Retail competition as the cornerstone of a competitive electricity marketplace was the subject of the seventh in the series of policy discussion papers developed at the Market Design Conference. Concern was expressed that because of the complexities involved in market design and technical implementation, the retail competition may lag behind other elements of the implementation of the new market design. A variety of key issues were debated, including the role of physical versus financial contracts, the form of retail competition and financial settlement systems in the short term, the requirement to separate 'competitive' (metering, billing, maintenance, consumer education) from non-competitive' (the transmission wires) services and the role of municipal electric utilities. It was agreed that the IMO should play an important role in defining and enforcing the separation of services, and that as a general rule, the development of policy in this area should be guided by the principle of maximizing the potential for competition

Decisions on Remanufacturing with WTP Disparity and Recycling Competition under Government Subsidies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tong Shu

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Enterprises have assigned increasing importance to remanufacturing, and meanwhile, the competitiveness of remanufacturing has also become established. In this article, game theory is exploited and government subsidies for remanufacturing, consumer willingness to pay and recycling competition are considered, with a focus on a supply chain consisting of one local manufacturer and one nonlocal remanufacturer. This study attempts to investigate how nonlocal remanufacturers and local manufacturers determine whether they recycle used products and engage in remanufacturing when these factors are considered, in the hope that the results can be constructive in terms of policies and management related to enterprises and governments. As such, four situations are considered and the corresponding models are built to derive the optimal production of each enterprise in the four different situations. Numerical results under the four situations are furthercompared. The results show that consumer acceptance of remanufactured products, irrespective of whether there is competition in production and recycling of remanufactured products and whetherthe government provides subsidy for remanufacturing directly affects each enterprise, remanufacturing and the profits of the overall supply chains. Based on these factors, enterprises should adjust strategies and choose to compete or stop competing or monopolize the market. The government should define attitudes towards the market competition and supervise the changes of market competitiveness based onmarket competition and consumer acceptance of remanufactured products. This study can provide some constructive guidance for some potential nonlocal enterprises engaged in remanufacturing, and at the same time shed some light for desirable direction in some further research onremanufacturing in theory and practice.

Magnetization switching behavior with competing anisotropies in epitaxial Co3FeN /MnN exchange-coupled bilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Hajiri, T.; Yoshida, T.; Jaiswal, S.; Filianina, M.; Borie, B.; Ando, H.; Asano, H.; Zabel, H.; Kläui, M.

2016-11-01

We report unusual magnetization switching processes and angular-dependent exchange bias effects in fully epitaxial Co3FeN /MnN bilayers, where magnetocrystalline anisotropy and exchange coupling compete, probed by longitudinal and transverse magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) magnetometry. The MOKE loops show multistep jumps corresponding to the nucleation and propagation of 90∘ domain walls in as-grown bilayers. By inducing exchange coupling, we confirm changes of the magnetization switching process due to the unidirectional anisotropy field of the exchange coupling. Taking into account the experimentally obtained values of the fourfold magnetocrystalline anisotropy, the unidirectional anisotropy field, the exchange-coupling constant, and the uniaxial anisotropy including its direction, the calculated angular-dependent exchange bias reproduces the experimental results. These results demonstrate the essential role of the competition between magnetocrystalline anisotropy and exchange coupling for understanding and tailoring exchange-coupling phenomena usable for engineering switching in fully epitaxial bilayers made of tailored materials.

Competitive intelligence as an enabler for firm competitiveness: An overview

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Maune

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to provide an overview, from literature, about how competitive intelligence can be an enabler towards a firm’s competitiveness. This overview is done under the background of intense global competition that firms are currently experiencing. This paper used a qualitative content analysis as a data collection methodology on all identified journal articles on competitive intelligence and firm competitiveness. To identify relevant literature, academic databases and search engines were used. Moreover, a review of references in related studies led to more relevant sources, the references of which were further reviewed and analysed. To ensure reliability and trustworthiness, peer-reviewed journal articles and triangulation were used. The paper found that competitive intelligence is an important enabler of firm competitiveness. The findings from this paper will assist business managers to understand and improve their outlook of competitive intelligence as an enabler of firm competitiveness and will be of great academic value.

Theoretical investigation of isotope exchange reaction in tritium-contaminated mineral oil in vacuum pump.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Liang; Xie, Yun; Du, Liang; Li, Weiyi; Tan, Zhaoyi

2015-04-28

The mechanism of the isotope exchange reaction between molecular tritium and several typical organic molecules in vacuum pump mineral oil has been investigated by density functional theory (DFT), and the reaction rates are determined by conventional transition state theory (TST). The tritium-hydrogen isotope exchange reaction can proceed with two different mechanisms, the direct T-H exchange mechanism and the hyrogenation-dehydrogenation exchange mechanism. In the direct exchange mechanism, the titrated product is obtained through one-step via a four-membered ring hydrogen migration transition state. In the hyrogenation-dehydrogenation exchange mechanism, the T-H exchange could be accomplished by the hydrogenation of the unsaturated bond with tritium followed by the dehydrogenation of HT. Isotope exchange between hydrogen and tritium is selective, and oil containing molecules with OH and COOH groups can more easily exchange hydrogen for tritium. For aldehydes and ketones, the ability of T-H isotope exchange can be determined by the hydrogenation of T2 or the dehydrogenation of HT. The molecules containing one type of hydrogen provide a single product, while the molecules containing different types of hydrogens provide competitive products. The rate constants are presented to quantitatively estimate the selectivity of the products. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Acetylglutamate synthase in Neurospora crassa: characterization, localization, and genetic behavior of a regulatory enzyme of arginine biosynthesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobson, J.A.

1988-01-01

This study describes the characterization and localization of the first enzyme of arginine biosynthesis in Neurospora crassa. A radioactive assay was developed to detect this enzyme whereby radioactive substrate and product molecules could be separated by ion-exchange chromatography. The enzyme was found to have a pH optimum of 9.0 and K/sub m/ values for glutamate and acetyl-CoA of approximately 4.7 and 0.45 mM, respectively. The enzyme was shown to be feedback inhibited by arginine. Half-maximal inhibition was observed at 0.13 mM arginine, a concentration which is similar to be in vivo cytosolic concentration of 0.2 mM. Arginine was found to act as a competitive inhibitor with respect to acetyl-CoA. Acetylglutamate synthase was localized to the mitochondrion. However, in contrast to the mitochondrial matrix location of the other ornithine biosynthetic enzymes, this enzyme was found to reside on the mitochondrial inner membrane

Regions Competitiveness Increase by Improving Conditions for Industry and Services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiraskova Eliska

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The main field of study regarding location theories is to define location factors and to determine the optimal location assuming rational behaviour of economic entities. The issue is to find outwhat place is suitable for localization of the economic entity in order to maximize its profits in relation to its spatial orientation. In the theoretical part, location theories for industry andservices with the impact of location factors are first briefly described. Mainly their development and significance in the competitive environment is discussed because the right selection of location factors can actually help to increase the competitiveness of regions. This paper analyses the actual soft regional and local location factors in individual economic sectors and focuses on thesecondary and tertiary sector because the primary sector is affected by other than the examined factors. The aim of this paper is to identify factors that affect industry and are more important to the service sector. Identifying these factors can actually help to attract new businesses and to increase regions competitiveness. It is, therefore, necessary to determine the key factors that have stimulating effects on the development of individual regions.

Competition between disorder and exchange splitting in superconducting ZrZn2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Powell, B J; Annett, James F; Gyoerffy, B L

2003-01-01

We propose a simple picture for the occurrence of superconductivity and the pressure dependence of the superconducting critical temperature, T SC , in ZrZn 2 . According to our hypothesis the pairing potential is independent of pressure, but the exchange splitting, E xc , leads to a pressure dependence in the (spin dependent) density of states at the Fermi level, D σ (ε F ). Assuming p-wave pairing T SC is dependent on D σ (ε F ) which ensures that, in the absence of non-magnetic impurities, T SC decreases as pressure is applied until it reaches a minimum in the paramagnetic state. Disorder reduces this minimum to zero, this gives the illusion that the superconductivity disappears at the same pressure as ferromagnetism does. (letter to the editor)

Local description of the energy transfer process in a packed bed heat exchanger

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, M.L.M.; Sampaio, R.; Gama, R.M.S. da.

1990-01-01

The energy transfer process in a packed-bed heat exchanger, in counter0flow arrangement is considered. The phenomenon is described through a Continuum Theory of Mixtures approach, in which fluid and solid (porous matrix) are regarded as continuous constituents possessing, each one, its own temperature and velocity fields. The heat 'exchangers consists of two channels, separated by an impermeable wall without thermal resistence, in which there exists a saturated flow. Some particular cases are simulated. (author)

Equilibrium exchange rate assessment in Serbia using the IMF external sustainability approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pažun Brankica

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The exchange rate has always been a topical issue, particularly in the last two decades, at the time of strong world economy globalisation, as well as liberalization of international flows of goods, services and factors of production, which has resulted in stronger trade and financial integration. There has been a rise in the share of trade in world GDP. Growing developing countries contribute significantly to this growth, which is evident from the data that show increase of their share in world trade , as well as their importance in international capital flows. One of the most important concepts in open macroeconomics is the equilibrium real exchange rate - ERER. Deviations of the real exchange rate are considered to be the cause of the loss of competitiveness and economic slowdown, as well as possible currency crisis (overvaluation and undervaluation. Disadvantages of traditional concepts in exchange rate assessment which are very often reflected in unsuccessful empirical results, motivate experts to seek alternative models to assist in equilibrium exchange rate analysis. This paper aims to present one of three complementary methodologies used by the International Monetary Fund, for the equilibrium real exchange rate assessment in Serbia, as well as the deviation of the real exchange rate from its (estimated equilibrium, that is external sustainability approach.

Germination phenology determines the propensity for facilitation and competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Leverett, Lindsay D

2017-09-01

A single plant can interact both positively and negatively with its neighbors through the processes of facilitation and competition, respectively. Much of the variation in the balance of facilitation and competition that individuals experience can be explained by the degree of physical stress and the sizes or ages of plants during the interaction. Germination phenology partly controls both of these factors, but its role in defining the facilitation-competition balance has not been explicitly considered. I performed an experiment in a population of the winter annual Arabidopsis thaliana (Brassicaceae) to test whether germinating during physically stressful periods leads to facilitation while germinating during periods that promote growth and reproduction leads to competition. I manipulated germination and neighbor presence across two years in order to quantify the effects of the local plant community on survival, fecundity, and total fitness as a function of germination phenology. Neighbors increased survival when germination occurred under conditions that were unsuitable for survival, but they reduced fecundity in germinants that were otherwise the most fecund. Later germination was associated with facilitation in the first year but competition in the second year. These episodes of facilitation and competition opposed each other, leading to no net effect of neighbors when averaged over all cohorts. These results indicate that variation in germination timing can explain some of the variation in the facilitation-competition balance in plant communities. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

Exchange Rate Movement and Foreign Direct Investment in Asean Economies

OpenAIRE

Lily, Jaratin; Kogid, Mori; Mulok, Dullah; Thien Sang, Lim; Asid, Rozilee

2014-01-01

The inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) are important for a country's economic development, but the world market for FDI has become more competitive. This paper empirically analyses the exchange rate movements and foreign direct investment (FDI) relationship using annual data on ASEAN economies, that is, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore. By employing ARDL bounds test approach, the empirical results show the existence of significant long-run cointegration between excha...

Competition improves robustness against loss of information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arash eKermani Kolankeh

2015-03-01

Full Text Available A substantial number of works aimed at modeling the receptive field properties of the primary visual cortex (V1. Their evaluation criterion is usually the similarity of the model response properties to the recorded responses from biological organisms. However, as several algorithms were able to demonstrate some degree of similarity to biological data based on the existing criteria, we focus on the robustness against loss of information in the form of occlusions as an additional constraint for better understanding the algorithmic level of early vision in the brain. We try to investigate the influence of competition mechanisms on the robustness. Therefore, we compared four methods employing different competition mechanisms, namely, independent component analysis, non-negative matrix factorization with sparseness constraint, predictive coding/biased competition, and a Hebbian neural network with lateral inhibitory connections. Each of those methods is known to be capable of developing receptive fields comparable to those of V1 simple-cells. Since measuring the robustness of methods having simple-cell like receptive fields against occlusion is difficult, we measure the robustness using the classification accuracy on the MNIST hand written digit dataset. For this we trained all methods on the training set of the MNIST hand written digits dataset and tested them on a MNIST test set with different levels of occlusions. We observe that methods which employ competitive mechanisms have higher robustness against loss of information. Also the kind of the competition mechanisms plays an important role in robustness. Global feedback inhibition as employed in predictive coding/biased competition has an advantage compared to local lateral inhibition learned by an anti-Hebb rule.

ECO-INNOVATION AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND COMPETITIVENESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margareta RUSU

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In the context of global economy a dominant role of knowledge is the importance of human resources in the process of innovation and value creation. This paper aims to address Romania’s competitiveness in the context of global change mitigation by analyzing the counties competitiveness and eco-innovation. The efficiency-driven stage of development, which Romania is part of require specific regulatory measure in order to achieve sustainable development and competitive advantage. Analyzing the eco-innovation local needs by focusing on the SME can be seen as a solution, as they are creative in order to compensate for the lack of funding in research, development and innovation (like cluster research which is beneficial for sharing the risk and cost involved in research activities.

77 FR 37944 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing of...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-25

... Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change To Allow Competitive Market Makers To Use Their Membership Points To Enter Multiple Quotes in an Options Class June 19... 19b-4 thereunder,\\2\\ notice is hereby given that on June 6, 2012, the International Securities...

77 FR 47152 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-07

... competitors.\\8\\ The additional feature will allow Members to publically disclose their identity when quoting... functionality that is consistent with that of functionality offered by the Exchange's competitors.\\12\\ The... amount of data available to market participants, and also spur innovation and competition for the...

78 FR 62804 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-22

... the Exchange by continuing to offer competitive pricing while also creating additional incentives to... tiered pricing structure through which Members can realize higher rebates for adding displayed liquidity... well as the rebates provided to Members not qualifying for tiered pricing. For purposes of the fee...

75 FR 78783 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-16

... regarding decisions to pause trading and continue to reduce the negative impacts of sudden, unanticipated price movements in Circuit Breaker Securities. The Exchange believes that the pilot is working well... proposal, the Commission has considered the proposed rule's impact on efficiency, competition, and capital...

Competitive Intelligence.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergeron, Pierrette; Hiller, Christine A.

2002-01-01

Reviews the evolution of competitive intelligence since 1994, including terminology and definitions and analytical techniques. Addresses the issue of ethics; explores how information technology supports the competitive intelligence process; and discusses education and training opportunities for competitive intelligence, including core competencies…

Healthy Competition and Unsound Comparison: Reforming Educational Competition in Singapore

Science.gov (United States)

Christensen, Søren

2015-01-01

It is frequently claimed that the "competition state" responds to external competition by making competition increasingly central to its internal processes as well. This article discusses education reform in Singapore as departing from the opposite position. In Singapore "excessive" competition in education is now targeted by…

RegionsТ Competition for Investment Projects in Forest Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valentina Fedorovna Lapo

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The author considers the problem of competition between regions for investments. It is hypothesized that the presence of legislative stimulating benefits in a particular region, ceteris paribus, promotes investment flows in forest projects from other regions and is an instrumentl of inter-regional competition. To test the hypotheses the researcher uses a modified model with spatial weighted exogenous variables in order to assess the spatial effects. The obtained estimates indicate the presence of spatial effects, both negative (an inter-regional competition for investment and positive (agglomeration effects. The author argues that the process of inter-regional competition for investment in projects on forest development is caused by benefits under taxes and payments into the regional budget, regulation of pricing (including actions by natural and local monopolies and depreciation policy and solutions to put some forest projects in the list of priority ones. Along with this, the paper identifies agglomeration effects induced by a number of benefits: direct dealings in investment by financing or property contribution, subsidies, state guarantees, credit security and partial payment of interest

Global Concept of Financial Institutional Transformation of Stock Exchange

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Burmaka Mykola

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The article is about the research of processes of global transformation of stock exchanges through the mechanisms of internationalization, corporate and network consolidation, and technology. Objective processes of internationalization in stock markets affected by financial globalization and arising global information resources create new challenges for stock exchanges that can be overcome by adequate development strategies. The growing competition between stock exchanges and new capital institutes requires stock exchanges to use modern exchange technologies, primarily innovative, in order to maintain liquidity and increase investment attractiveness. Have been analysed the newest tendencies and determinants of modern global financial institutional architecture construction, the leading role in which are starting to play new stock exchanges and stalk exchange platforms, formed in growing financial centres of the world. Have been identified he main components of international stock market restructurization in the process of financial globalization, one of the attributes of which turned out to be a certain fragmentation of markets and their universalization. Through the example of US and EU financial market modernization processes of the last decade have been analysed financial and legal mechanisms of the national and regional levels, which are designed to ensure sustainable development of the global economy at the postcrisis stage. Have been diagnosed international activity of stock exchanges through the quantity indexed of foreign companies in listing, volume of trade with foreign financial instruments, and participation of foreign investors in exchange trade. Have been offered and calculated indices of internationalization of the world’s leading stock market. Have been analysed consolidation processes of the leading stock exchanges and new electronic trading systems at the regional, meso-global and global levels, which resulted in formation of

National and Regional Competitiveness in the Crisis Context. Successful Examples

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gina Cristina DIMIAN

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The paper addresses the issue of national and regional competitiveness in the context of socio-economic and financial crisis. Competitiveness is a complex concept which can be studied at both the firm and the local and national level.Thus, in economic terms the competitiveness is most often associated with the productivity or efficiency with which inputs are transformed into goods and services. As for the regional competitiveness it should be analyzed in terms of results (revenue, employment and in relation to its determinants: ranging from the classical production factors (capital, labour, technological progress to the “soft” factors (human capital, research and development, dissemination of knowledge.The current economic environment has revealed that countries such as China, India, Brazil and also the Czech Republic and Poland, following prudent economic policies, have managed to make from macroeconomic stability, investment in education and research some of their major drivers of economic growth.

Sex allocation and investment into pre- and post-copulatory traits in simultaneous hermaphrodites: the role of polyandry and local sperm competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Schärer, Lukas; Pen, Ido

2013-03-05

Sex allocation theory predicts the optimal allocation to male and female reproduction in sexual organisms. In animals, most work on sex allocation has focused on species with separate sexes and our understanding of simultaneous hermaphrodites is patchier. Recent theory predicts that sex allocation in simultaneous hermaphrodites should strongly be affected by post-copulatory sexual selection, while the role of pre-copulatory sexual selection is much less clear. Here, we review sex allocation and sexual selection theory for simultaneous hermaphrodites, and identify several strong and potentially unwarranted assumptions. We then present a model that treats allocation to sexually selected traits as components of sex allocation and explore patterns of allocation when some of these assumptions are relaxed. For example, when investment into a male sexually selected trait leads to skews in sperm competition, causing local sperm competition, this is expected to lead to a reduced allocation to sperm production. We conclude that understanding the evolution of sex allocation in simultaneous hermaphrodites requires detailed knowledge of the different sexual selection processes and their relative importance. However, little is currently known quantitatively about sexual selection in simultaneous hermaphrodites, about what the underlying traits are, and about what drives and constrains their evolution. Future work should therefore aim at quantifying sexual selection and identifying the underlying traits along the pre- to post-copulatory axis.

Chemical and physicochemical characterization of vermicompost from bovine manure and evaluation of competitive adsorption of cadmium and lead

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamim, Soraida Sozzi Miguel; Jordao, Claudio Pereira; Brune, Walter; Pereira, Jose Luis

1996-01-01

The chemical and physicochemical characterization of vermicompost from bovine manure has been studied. It was examined the pH and cation exchangeable capacity (CTC), moistness, ash, organic carbon, total nitrogen, lignin, cellulose and metal concentrations, among other characteristics. The vermicompost was then applied to the retention and competition of metal pollutants (Cd and Pb) from metal nitrate solutions. The retention was affected by both the pH and time of adsorption, while the competitive character of these metals for the substrate was not relevant to each pH examined. (author)

Proposal for the award of a blanket purchase agreement, without competitive tendering, for the supply of Burndy connectors

CERN Document Server

2004-01-01

This document concerns the award of a blanket purchase agreement, without competitive tendering, for the supply of Burndy connectors. The Finance Committee is invited to agree to the negotiation of a blanket purchase agreement, without competitive tendering, with SOURIAU (CH), for the supply of Burndy connectors over a period of three years, for a total amount not exceeding 600 000 euros (932 000 Swiss francs), subject to revision for inflation from 1st January 2006. The amount in Swiss francs has been calculated using the present rate of exchange.

Making renewable energy competitive in India: Reducing financing costs via a government-sponsored hedging facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farooquee, Arsalan Ali; Shrimali, Gireesh

2016-01-01

In India, a significant barrier to market-competitiveness of renewable energy is a shortage of attractive debt. Domestic debt has high cost, short tenors, and variable interest rates, adding 30% to the cost of renewable energy compared to renewable energy projects elsewhere. Foreign debt is as expensive as domestic debt because it requires costly market-based currency hedging solutions. We investigate a government-sponsored foreign exchange facility as an alternative to reducing hedging costs. Using the geometric Brownian motion (GBM) as a representative stochastic model of the INR–USD foreign exchange rate, we find that the expected cost of providing a currency hedge via this facility is 3.5 percentage points, 50% lower than market. This leads to an up to 9% reduction in the per unit cost of renewable energy. However, this requires the government to manage the risks related to unexpected currency movements appropriately. One option to manage these risks is via a capital buffer; for the facility to obtain India's sovereign rating, the capital buffer would need to be almost 30% of the underlying loan. Our findings have significant policy implications given that the Indian government can use this facility to make renewable energy more competitive and, therefore, hasten its deployment. - Highlights: • We analyze a government-sponsored foreign exchange facility in India. •We use geometric Brownian motion to represent the INR–USD exchange rate. •This facility can reduce the currency hedging costs by 50%. •This facility can reduce the levelized cost of renewable energy by 9%. •The capital buffer to reach India's sovereign rating is 30% of the original loan.

77 FR 47150 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-07

... competitors.\\8\\ The additional feature will allow Members to publically disclose their identity when quoting... functionality that is consistent with that of functionality offered by the Exchange's competitors.\\12\\ The... available to market participants, and also spur innovation and competition for the provision of market data...

78 FR 41447 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Y-Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-10

... also spur innovation and competition for the provision of market data. The Exchange believes that its... making profitable trading decisions. If the cost of the product exceeds its expected value, the BD will... rapid, inexpensive, and profitable. The history of electronic trading is replete with examples of...

Ecological Controls on Land-Atmosphere Exchange

Science.gov (United States)

Goulden, M. L.; Litvak, M. E.; Winston, G.; Miller, S. D.; Read, E.; Elliot, R.

2002-12-01

We have been using long-term eddy covariance to investigate the patterns of energy and CO2 exchange between the atmosphere and a freshwater marsh in California, and also between the atmosphere and a series of boreal forest stands in Manitoba, Canada. Most researchers believe that ecological phenomenon, such as plant herbivore interactions and interspecific differences in plant life-history strategy, are relatively unimportant in determining the interannual and landscape patterns of Land-Atmosphere exchange. However, we have found that interactions between plants and herbivores exert a large control on the interannual patterns of energy and CO2 exchange in the freshwater marsh, and that interspecific differences in plant strategy are critical for understanding the landscape scale patterns of energy and CO2 exchange in the boreal forest. Despite a relatively constant climate and flooding regime at the California marsh, annual Carbon balance varied by 6 tC ha-1 or more from year to year. These deviations were caused in part by variation in herbivory by rodents and insects. Likewise, peak CO2 uptake by boreal forest stands recovering from fire differed less than expected, with a 4-year-old stand assimilating CO2 at rates comparable to that by middle aged stands, and faster than that by old stands. These patterns reflect differences in the life history strategies of the dominant plants, with the youngest stands dominated by fast growing ruderals, the middle aged stands dominated by fast growing competitive species, and the old stands dominated by slow growing stress tolerant species.

Chemical trend of exchange coupling in diluted magnetic II-VI semiconductors: Ab initio calculations

Science.gov (United States)

Chanier, T.; Virot, F.; Hayn, R.

2009-05-01

We have calculated the chemical trend of magnetic exchange parameters ( Jdd , Nα , and Nβ ) of Zn-based II-VI semiconductors ZnA ( A=O , S, Se, and Te) doped with Co or Mn. We show that a proper treatment of electron correlations by the local spin-density approximation (LSDA)+U method leads to good agreement between experimental and theoretical values of the nearest-neighbor exchange coupling Jdd between localized 3d spins in contrast to the LSDA method. The exchange couplings between localized spins and doped electrons in the conduction band Nα are in good agreement with experiment as well. But the values for Nβ (coupling to doped holes in the valence band) indicate a crossover from weak coupling (for A=Te and Se) to strong coupling (for A=O ) and a localized hole state in ZnO:Mn. This hole localization explains the apparent discrepancy between photoemission and magneto-optical data for ZnO:Mn.

EDITORIAL: Physics competitions Physics competitions

Science.gov (United States)

Jordens, H.; Mathelitsch, L.

2010-07-01

This editorial opens the second special section on physics competitions in European Journal of Physics. In the first section last year, we asked for feedback on the idea of such a section and on the content of the articles. We received no answer whatsoever, which can be interpreted in two ways: the section is not interesting enough to raise motivation for feedback, or the reader is satisfied. Having no indication which scenario is the correct one, we are optimistic and favour the second. The section at hand contains three articles. Again, as last year, the organizer of the annual Olympiad reports on tasks and outcomes of this competition. The Olympiad took place in Merida, Mexico, and was by far the largest event with 316 contestants from 68 countries. Again, the predominance of Asian/Chinese students was manifest, showing how serious the training is taken by both their authorities and students. Unfortunately, the winners of the last International Young Physicists' Tournament (IYPT), the team from Korea, did not accept the offer to report on their prize-winning contribution. We are thankful that two students from Austria, who achieved second place with their team, took over and reported on the task which they presented in the finals of the competition. It connects the fields of sport and physics and explains a special move in skateboarding. The third contribution introduces a different competition, 'International Conference of Young Scientists'. On one hand, as in the Olympiad, it addresses individuals, not teams. On the other, as in the IYPT, students have several months to prepare and also the quality of the presentation is an important element of the judgment. In fact, this competition comes closer to real scientific research compared to the other events. Finally and again, we hope that this section will serve several purposes: To show the competitions as a very important tool in the support of gifted students. To raise awareness amongst university teachers, and

Power market competition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly, J.

1998-01-01

In the Unites States the prospect of greater competition in wholesale power market was immediately eclipsed by talk of retail competition. Attempts to move to retail competition have been costly and complex. Prudent public policy and economic analyses suggest that retail competition not be implemented until it can first be demonstrated that effective competition exists in wholesale power markets [it

Lunabotics Mining Competition

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Rob; Murphy, Gloria

2010-01-01

This slide presentation describes a competition to design a lunar robot (lunabot) that can be controlled either remotely or autonomously, isolated from the operator, and is designed to mine a lunar aggregate simulant. The competition is part of a systems engineering curriculum. The 2010 competition winners in five areas of the competition were acknowledged, and the 2011 competition was announced.

Fair Exchange in Strand Spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joshua D. Guttman

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Many cryptographic protocols are intended to coordinate state changes among principals. Exchange protocols coordinate delivery of new values to the participants, e.g. additions to the set of values they possess. An exchange protocol is fair if it ensures that delivery of new values is balanced: If one participant obtains a new possession via the protocol, then all other participants will, too. Fair exchange requires progress assumptions, unlike some other protocol properties. The strand space model is a framework for design and verification of cryptographic protocols. A strand is a local behavior of a single principal in a single session of a protocol. A bundle is a partially ordered global execution built from protocol strands and adversary activities. The strand space model needs two additions for fair exchange protocols. First, we regard the state as a multiset of facts, and we allow strands to cause changes in this state via multiset rewriting. Second, progress assumptions stipulate that some channels are resilient-and guaranteed to deliver messages-and some principals are assumed not to stop at certain critical steps. This method leads to proofs of correctness that cleanly separate protocol properties, such as authentication and confidentiality, from invariants governing state evolution. G. Wang's recent fair exchange protocol illustrates the approach.

Social media marketing and business competitiveness: evidence from South African tourism SMMEs

OpenAIRE

Patient Rambe

2017-01-01

The increasing prominence of social media marketing in advancing the global reach and visibility of products and services is ideal for the South African tourism industry, which depends on local and international visitors for leveraging its business activities and competitiveness. However, what remains under-explored in tourism literature is the depth of integration of social media marketing into the competitive strategies of emerging tourism small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs). To add...

Competitivity of biofuels in heating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flyktman, M.

1996-01-01

The competitivity of indigenous fuels in heating of residential houses in comparison with imported fuels, and both electricity and district heating, has been studied in this research, ordered by the Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry. Heating plants of residential house scale (20-1000 kW) have been investigated in the research. Only the new heating plants are included in the investigation. The heat generation calculations concerning the residential heating plants have been made for following indigenous fuels: sod peat, fuel-chips, peat and wood pellets, firewood and straw. In addition to these, the calculations have been made for light fuel-oil, electric heating, district heating and natural gas. The local energy tariffs have to be taken into account in electric heating, district heating and natural gas heating. A calculation model, based on flowsheet calculation, forms the main result of the project. By using the model it is possible to update the competitivity data rapidly. Of all the indigenous fuels, sod peat and fuel-chips appeared to be competitive with electric and district heating costs in nearly all scales investigated. The construction of the heat generation costs of solid indigenous fuels differs remarkably from those of electric and district heating. The main part of the heating costs of wood chips and sod peat is formed of fixed costs; i.e. of investment costs and of the costs of heating and control work. The energy costs are the highest costs items in electric an district heating, as well as in the oil heating. It is possible to improve the competitivity of biofuels by developing cheaper boilers and fuel processing and storage devices

Sudanese live sheep and mutton exports competitiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Babiker Idris Babiker

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The livestock sector of Sudan provides livelihood for about 17% of the population. Sudanese livestock products meet the domestic demand for meat in addition to a substantial excess for export amounting to about 22% of total country exports. It contributes about 19% of GDP. Sheep marketing in Sudan is characterised by traditional operations and is informally organised, although, recently there are great efforts by the formal livestock authorities to organise some secondary and terminal livestock markets. These markets are deficient in basic infrastructures and systematic marketing research. The system as a whole is faced by various complex obstacles and constraints, which decrease the contribution of livestock in general, and sheep in particular, to the national economy, and suppress the optimum exploitation of this resource. These obstacles are represented in the lack of transportation networks that connect the production and consumption centres to break the seasonality of supply that creates shortages and high prices at the consumption centres. This paper employs the policy analysis matrix (PAM technique to examine the Sudanese live sheep and mutton competitiveness in the international market. The results indicated that the market price was greater than the border price implying a positive incentive as an implicit subsidy to the live sheep exporter. The mutton exporters were found subsidised as well. The international value added (IVA indicted a positive foreign exchange earnings or savings. Exported live sheep and mutton coefficient of competitiveness (CIC implied that sheep and mutton exports are profitable and internationally competitive.

Temperature and cooling field dependent exchange coupling in [Cr/Gd]{sub 5} multilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiao, Z.W.; Chen, H.J.; Jiang, W.D.; Wang, J.F.; Yu, S.J. [Department of Physics, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou (China); Hou, Y.L.; Lu, B.; Ye, Q.L. [Department of Physics, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou (China)

2016-09-15

Exchange coupling has been investigated in the [Cr/Gd]{sub 5} multilayers deposited at 25, 200, and 400 C, where the Neel temperature (T{sub N}) of antiferromagnetic Cr is slightly higher than the Curie temperature (T{sub C}) of ferromagnetic Gd. It was found that the exchange coupling existed not only at T{sub C} < T < T{sub N}, but also above the temperature (T{sub N}) of antiferromagnetic orderings with incommensurate spin-density wave structures transiting to paramagnetic state. These results can be discussed in terms of the crucial role played by the antiferromagnetic spins of Cr with commensurate spin-density wave structures in the vicinity of the Cr/Gd interfaces. Moreover, the exchange coupling of the multilayers grown at different temperatures exhibited different dependencies on the measuring temperature and the cooling field, respectively. Positive exchange bias was observed in the multilayers grown at 200 and 400 C. The interfacial roughness, grain size, and the antiferromagnetic orderings of Cr may be responsible for the anomalous exchange coupling of the multilayers. In addition, the competition between the exchange coupling at Cr/Gd interfaces and the external field-Cr surface magnetic coupling can explain the appearance of negative or positive exchange bias. (copyright 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

The Joint Fire Science Program Fire Exchange Network: Facilitating Knowledge Exchange About Wildland Fire Science Across the U.S.

Science.gov (United States)

York, A.; Blocksome, C.; Cheng, T.; Creighton, J.; Edwards, G.; Frederick, S.; Giardina, C. P.; Goebel, P. C.; Gucker, C.; Kobziar, L.; Lane, E.; Leis, S.; Long, A.; Maier, C.; Marschall, J.; McGowan-Stinski, J.; Mohr, H.; MontBlanc, E.; Pellant, M.; Pickett, E.; Seesholtz, D.; Skowronski, N.; Stambaugh, M. C.; Stephens, S.; Thode, A.; Trainor, S. F.; Waldrop, T.; Wolfson, B.; Wright, V.; Zedler, P.

2014-12-01

The Joint Fire Science Program's (JFSP) Fire Exchange Network is actively working to accelerate the awareness, understanding, and adoption of wildland fire science information by federal, tribal, state, local, and private stakeholders within ecologically similar regions. Our network of 15 regional exchanges provides timely, accurate, and regionally relevant science-based information to assist with fire management challenges. Regional activities, through which we engage fire and resource managers, scientists, and private landowners, include online newsletters and announcements, social media, regionally focused web-based clearinghouses of relevant science, field trips and demonstration sites, workshops and conferences, webinars and online training, and syntheses and fact sheets. Exchanges also help investigators design research that is relevant to regional management needs and assist with technology transfer to management audiences. This poster provides an introduction to and map of the regional exchanges.

Exchange rate policy, growth, and foreign trade in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gligorić Mirjana

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes a hot topic: the influence of an undervalued currency on macroeconomic variables - primarily on the economic growth and trade balance of a country, but also on employment, foreign exchange reserves, competition, and living standards. It also reviews and explains the consequences of yuan undervaluation, points out the need for its appreciation, and states the negative effects that stem from this measure. Special attention is given to the problematic bilateral relations between China and the USA and the reasons why Americans are worried about the exchange rate policy that China implements. Although yuan appreciation would decrease the American foreign trade deficit, it also raises the question of further financing of the American deficit. There are also other problems that the possible appreciation would cause for the American economy, due to the effect of J-curve, passthrough, larger costs of input imported from China, etc. Therefore, Chinese foreign exchange policy is an important subject, but it is not the solution to the problems of the global economy - which have deeper roots than that. However, there is no excuse for China implementing unfair exchange rate policies, or replacing such policies with controversial protectionist policies (as some authors have suggested.

Regulated Medicare Advantage And Marketplace Individual Health Insurance Markets Rely On Insurer Competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, Richard G; McGuire, Thomas G

2017-09-01

Two important individual health insurance markets-Medicare Advantage and the Marketplaces-are tightly regulated but rely on competition among insurers to supply and price health insurance products. Many local health insurance markets have little competition, which increases prices to consumers. Furthermore, both markets are highly subsidized in ways that can exacerbate the impact of market power-that is, the ability to set price above cost-on health insurance prices. Policy makers need to foster robust competition in both sectors and avoid designing subsidies that make the market-power problem worse. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

78 FR 49574 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-14

... through of the rate that Direct Edge ECN LLC (d/b/a DE Route) (``DE Route''), the Exchange's affiliated... daily basis, measured monthly, more than that MPID's December 2012 added TCV (the ``December Baseline... of Members or competing venues to maintain their competitive standing in the financial markets...

78 FR 21666 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-11

... excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market... existing pricing tiers within its fee schedule make rebates available to Members that are also based on the....10% proposed herein.\\8\\ Moreover, like existing pricing on the Exchange that is tied to Member's...

77 FR 7225 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-10

... particular venue to be excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed... BATS + NYSE Arca destination specific routing option to continue to offer a ``one under'' pricing model... exchange that is routed to plus or minus a certain differential. EDGA's pricing is consistent with this...

77 FR 48188 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-13

... excessive. The proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market... HA counts towards achieving the tiered pricing in Footnote 4 and the rate for Flag HA does not change... pricing changes in the PSX's pending filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is...

78 FR 40225 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Order Approving a Proposed Rule Change...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-03

... potential for unfair competitive advantage.\\19\\ Although the Commission continues to be concerned about... regarding the potential for conflicts of interest in instances where a member firm is affiliated with an... use any information that it may have because of its affiliation with the Exchange to its advantage.\\18...

78 FR 40253 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Order Approving a Proposed Rule Change...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-03

... potential for unfair competitive advantage.\\19\\ Although the Commission continues to be concerned about... regarding the potential for conflicts of interest in instances where a member firm is affiliated with an... use any information that it may have because of its affiliation with the Exchange to its advantage.\\18...

76 FR 20394 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-12

... uniformity regarding decisions to pause trading and continue to reduce the negative impacts of sudden, unanticipated price movements in Circuit Breaker Securities. The Exchange believes that the pilot is working... the proposed rule's impact on efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 78c(f). At...

Competition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bridoux, F.; Vodosek, M.; Den Hartog, D.N.; McNett, J.M.

2014-01-01

Competition traditionally refers to the actions that firms take in a product market to outperform rivals in attracting customers and generating revenues. Yet, competition extends beyond product markets to other arenas such as factor markets, where firms compete for resources, and the political

Power exchange game in the electricity market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pyykko, S.; Partanen, J.; Viljainen, S.; Lassila, J.; Honkapuro, S.; Tahvanainen, K.

2006-01-01

Since it is not economically reasonable to build parallel electricity networks, in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, electricity distribution is protected by monopoly. However, electricity production and selling have been opened up to competition by connecting the transmission networks of these countries together, and it is possible to produce electricity where it is cheapest. A common electricity power market, called Nord Pool, has been created where electricity can be bought, sold or used as an exchange product. In order to help students understand the operation of electricity markets and the use of different electricity exchange products, the Department of Electrical Engineering at Lappeenranta University developed a scheme in which the theory can be used in practice. In the scheme, students are given the responsibility to manage the electricity markets of power companies in order analyze, plan and make decisions, which are skills required on the open power markets. The paper provided an introduction to the electricity markets in Nordic countries and discussed Nord Pool and its products. Information about education at the Department of Electrical Engineering at Lappeenranta University of Technology was also presented. The paper also provided details of the power exchange scheme on the electricity markets. 6 refs., 17 figs