Social-geographical essence and content of the competitiveness of the region

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Diana Gryniuk

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The current stage of market transformations in Ukraine requires the changing of existing stereotypes and management. Expecting for administrative reform and economic regionalization of the state requires detailed attention to the scientific concept of "competitiveness of the region." Being economical in nature this concept requires social and geographical understanding. The paper traced the content and nature of the economic competitiveness of the region in social and geographical interpretation. Author presents the fragments of research model components of regional competitiveness. The effective influence of socio-geographical laws, patterns, factors and competitive advantages that determine the strategic potential of the region is figured on. The importance of individual studies of functional subsystems, industrial, social, recreation and tourism, natural resources, administrative and management, investment and innovation under the influence of social transformation is noted. Based on scientific generalizations, the author's definition of region competitiveness was suggested. It is defined by the author as an integrated concept that reveals the state, the process and the outcome of the territory as a socio-economic system. The basis of regional competitiveness is the potential of the territory able to function effectively on the basis of competition (social and geographical advantages. The main goal here should be improvement of the region population quality of life. The work reveals the contribution of individual schools and social geographers’ studies to the development of regional competitiveness. The importance of further development of the theory and methodology of social and geographical research competitiveness of the region is stressed.

DISSONANCE AND CONSONANCE BETWEEN THE COMPETITIVENESS OF

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OANA CRISTINA POPOVICI

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to identify to what extent the notions of organizational and regional competitiveness are similar, in order to be targeted by a comprehensive set of public policy measures. In this respect, we discuss the notions of organizations’ and regional competitiveness and find common factors of influence, namely innovation, networks and regulation. Based on these factors, we search for empirical evidences as regards the mutual impact between the competitiveness of organizations and competitiveness of regions. We present the results using the example of foreign direct investment companies, as their location decision making process is based on assessing both the competitiveness of organizations and the advantages of locations that point to the competitiveness of a location and, extended, to that of a region. While the dissonance is expressed in the differences of interpretation for the two notions, there is a consonant policy that can be employed for supporting both organizational and regional competitiveness: the cluster policy.

Regional competitiveness: The case of Western China

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Vuković Darko

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper explains the concept of regional competitiveness and the factors that influence on it. A large number of various authors explain this concept, based on its different aspects, including: productivity, mikroaspekts (firm, quality of human capital, innovation, technology, infrastructure, social capital, etc.. Taking into account complex nature of regional competitiveness, it is difficult to determine a standard definition of this term. The second part of this paper refers to the case of western China. Substantial disparity in regional development is a reality in every geographically large country, and the causes of the disparity are numerous and complex. Regional inequality has been an important issue in China. This paper generally summarized China's Western regions geography, government policies and development situation. The authors put forward some practical strategies on how to help the western regions create a favorable environment to attract national and international investment.

REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN THE COMPETITIVENESS OF FARMS IN POLAND

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Anna Nowak

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study is to assess the competitiveness of the regional diversity of farms in Poland. The study was conducted on a sample of commodity holdings participating in the Polish FADN in 16 voivodeships for the years 2010–2012. The study was based on indicators of competitiveness in terms of production factors and results. Research shows that labour resources and the eff ectiveness of their use are important aspects of regional diversity of competitiveness of farms. In regions where this factor is present in excess (Małopolskie, Świętokrzyskie, Mazowieckie, Łódzkie and Lubelskie voivodeships, labor productivity was relatively low. These regions are also characterized by lower production potential expressed by the agricultural area of an average farm. The greatest competitive advantages in terms of production profi tability were achieved by farms in Dolnośląskie voivodeship, where there were also some of the highest rates of profi tability of assets.

THE MARKETING ROLE IN IMPROVING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE REGION

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Yuliia Shapoval

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The research objective is the sight of theoretical aspects formulation and prediction of competitiveness of regions within the framework of modern marketing positions. The evolution, programs, strategies, and factors of marketing are analysed, which affects the attractiveness of the regions. Methodology. In the study process, a combination of the following methods is used: generalization and scientific abstraction to specify the key definitions and categories, monographic method – for presenting the opinion of scientists regarding the directions of application of marketing tools in the process of managing the competitiveness of regions, comparative analysis – to detect features of application programs and marketing strategies. Results. It is considered that regional marketing is a mechanism that provides a methodology and tools for ensuring the competitiveness of the territory. It allows determining the marketing type of territorial management, which is formed not from the wishes of the authorities (for example, in search for funds for the implementation of certain projects, but from the study of the needs of consumers (entrepreneurs, local residents, investors, tourists, which the territory has the opportunity to satisfy; analyse the market opportunities and determine the competitive advantages of the territory, as well as influence the sustainable economic growth. It is determined that the competitiveness of the region is defined as a potential opportunity to win in a competition between territories for the benefits that satisfy needs and are distributed among the population and business entities that identify themselves with the region, as well as visitors who have certain intentions in this region. In fact, we are talking about the choice of priorities, in which this territory has competitive advantages, the raise of which can lead to heightening living standards, which is an indicator of the competitiveness of the region. The practical

Factors shaping competitiveness of the region

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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.

Competitiveness of Agrarian Areas in the Stavropol Region

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Varivoda, V.; Heijman, W.J.M.; Ophem, van J.A.C.

2010-01-01

Regional development is determined by possessing specific competitive advantages and their constant improvement. The problem how to increase competitiveness of the areas remains one of the most important for the agrarian sector. Russian economic policy aims at the stable development of the agro

The Japanese Experience of the NameExoWorlds Competition: Translating Official Information into Japanese to Enable Domestic Groups to Participate in a Global Event

Science.gov (United States)

Usuda-Sato, K.; Iizuka, R.; Yamaoka, H.; Handa, T.

2018-02-01

Translation of information from English is an essential step toward ensuring the involvement of non-English speakers in global events. The NameExoWorlds competition, led by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), was held from 9 July 2014 to 15 December 2015. It was a unique event that invited the public to name celestial bodies. In Japan, language acts as a significant barrier for amateur astronomers and school students to participate in global events hosted in English. To address this concern, we established a domestic working group to set up a Japanese website and provided a translation of the IAU's official site for the NameExoWorlds competition. We also developed additional original information in Japanese when needed and sent announcements to a mailing lists of astronomy societies in Japan. As a result, 28% of the registered groups and 47% of proposals for names were from Japan, making Japan the most active country for these stages of the competition. After the competition had ended, we carried out a survey in the Japanese astronomy community and received 124 responses. We found that most of the Japanese participants referred to our official Japanese website in order to overcome the language barrier and participate in the competition. This article explores our work of translating the competition information into Japanese and our evaluation of the impact of this action on the uptake by Japanese astronomy enthusiasts.

Regional Spanish Tourism Competitiveness. A DEA-MONITUR approach

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Juan Carlos Martín

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to analyse the regional tourist competitiveness performance in Spain. We use the seven pillars of tourism from a very detailed and complete database compiled by the Spanish Government –MoniTUR 2010 as primary data. Thus, we calculate a DEA-MONITUR regional tourist competitiveness index in order to compare and rank the total 17 Spanish Autonomous Communities using data envelopment analysis (DEA. Our results show how this performance is very different among regions, and the position of each of the laggard Autonomous Communities should be analysed by their respective destination management organizations (DMOs in order to envisage adequate corrective measures.

Methodological approaches to the assessment of the competitiveness of the region

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Nazarov Nikolai Igorevich

2013-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the results of research methodologies for assessing the competitiveness of the region based on the analysis of literary sources. The study stated the author's technique assessing the competitiveness of the region, in accordance with the paradigm of regional development.

Inferring cultural regions from correlation networks of given baby names

Science.gov (United States)

Pomorski, Mateusz; Krawczyk, Małgorzata J.; Kułakowski, Krzysztof; Kwapień, Jarosław; Ausloos, Marcel

2016-03-01

We report investigations on the statistical characteristics of the baby names given between 1910 and 2010 in the United States of America. For each year, the 100 most frequent names in the USA are sorted out. For these names, the correlations between the names profiles are calculated for all pairs of states (minus Hawaii and Alaska). The correlations are used to form a weighted network which is found to vary mildly in time. In fact, the structure of communities in the network remains quite stable till about 1980. The goal is that the calculated structure approximately reproduces the usually accepted geopolitical regions: the Northeast, the South, and the "Midwest + West" as the third one. Furthermore, the dataset reveals that the name distribution satisfies the Zipf law, separately for each state and each year, i.e. the name frequency f ∝r-α, where r is the name rank. Between 1920 and 1980, the exponent α is the largest one for the set of states classified as 'the South', but the smallest one for the set of states classified as "Midwest + West". Our interpretation is that the pool of selected names was quite narrow in the Southern states. The data is compared with some related statistics of names in Belgium, a country also with different regions, but having quite a different scale than the USA. There, the Zipf exponent is low for young people and for the Brussels citizens.

Assessment of the Competitive Environment in the Regional Markets

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Alexandr Yuryevich Kokovikhin

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The maturity of competitiveness and its dynamics is a focus of assessing state decisions aimed for economic growth. To estimate the maturity of the competitive environment, researchers apply different methods. However, synthesis of the existing approaches has revealed the comparability of various approaches to the assessment of the maturity of the competitive environment. The authors have proposed a methodology of comprehensive assessment, which includes the estimation of market concentration, diverging trends of revenue and costs, survey of entrepreneurs. The comparison of the estimations employs a three-stage model of data processing. This model consequently compares the characteristics of markets maturity obtained while implementing the above-mentioned approaches. We have tested the methodology using the materials of the research performed in 2015–2017 on the territory of Sverdlovsk Region. Our study has shown the following essential results. Firstly, we have classified socially important and priority markets of Sverdlovsk Region by the level of competitiveness development. Most of the markets are estimated as the markets with missing and low competition. The majority of them represent the segments of the education market. The authors also grouped highly competitive markets, which include the retail market, the market of overland carriage of passengers, the market of communication services and the market of cultural services. Moreover, we specified the group of markets with a moderate competition. This group consists of the market of housing and communal services, social services market, and the market of medical products. Secondly, we confirmed that the assessment of a competitive situation using one of the approaches is imprecise. Both in 2015 and in 2016, there is no convergence in estimates received by statistical and survey methods for the market of social services and certain segments of the education market. The authors explain it by

Business networking for SMEs as a means to promote regional competitiveness: A Theoretical Framework

OpenAIRE

Vitor Braga

2004-01-01

The competitiveness of regions, as a means of promoting the competitiveness of a country as a whole, has been one of the main topics on the agenda of policy makers over the last decades. Several attempts at promoting competitiveness have been made with different degrees of success. In most cases, public investment in the regions was perceived as the solution to promote regional competitiveness and top-down policies were implemented. However, competitiveness also has an important dimension tha...

Evaluating the Competitiveness of the Northern and Southern Macro-Regions of Italy

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Lucia Aquilino

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This study uses the Crouch and Ritchie (1999 model of competitiveness to investigate/measure the competitiveness of northern and southern Italian macro-regions. Researching competitive advantages along with identifying strengths/weaknesses represent the objectives of this study. 156 responses were analysed, and findings show that northern regions tend to be more competitive than southern regions. While naturally endowed and created resources represent strengths in both regions, the competitiveness of all the determinant factors included in the tourism development, planning and policy of both tourist destinations are found to be quite inadequate. Moreover, the findings revealed that these mature destinations are experiencing the effects unleashed by a number of trends such as the development of new forms of tourism, the increasing number of tourist arrivals, the growth of the global economy and the sophistication of tourists’ tastes, representing both opportunities and threats that Italian destinations need to consider when planning/developing new strategies.

Regional competitiveness and territorial industrial development in Serbia

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Zeković Slavka

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In the paper are investigated the regional competitiveness and the territorial aspects of industry in Serbia. There are analyzed the key recent movement in industrial development of Serbia and macrolocational factors and territorial organization of industry. The research of possible structural changes of industry and identification of its key development sectors is the important component of territorial development analysis in Serbia. This paper points to the kinds and types of industrial zones and industrial parks as fundamental models of regional and urban development of that activity with critical retrospection on the industrial zones in Serbia (greenfield and brownfield industrial locations. There are shown results of evaluation the regional competitiveness from a stand-point of possibilities of industrial development on the regional level (NUTS 3 by comparative analyses and Spider method. Results are used as one of the bases for making preliminary draft of territorial development scenario of this activity in Serbia and for the possible alocation of the future industrial zones and industrial parks in region level.

Competition increases in the face of strong regional ties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knoetgen, P.M.

1987-01-01

The current fuel market exhibits a large surplus production capacity and is strongly influenced by regional ties, with imports of fabricated fuel serving to supplement domestic production or to keep domestic vendors competitive. In the future, the market is set to become increasingly competitive, especially in Europe and the United States. (author)

Institutes of regional development and competitiveness in the conditions of modernization

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Nadezhda Yakovlevna Kalyuzhnova

2011-06-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the problem of identifying the institutions that influence the development of regions. A systematization of regional development institutions is implemented. Institutions of macro-, meso-, micro- and nano-levels of the economy affecting regional development are highlighted; at each level of the economy the institutions functioning properly and development institutions are also highlighted. The institutions are also systematically divided by type of adjustable rules. The role of institutions in the concept of regional competitiveness is examined. The indexes of regional competitiveness indicators, excluding the institutional environment of regions, are criticized. It is noted that the concept of regional competitiveness considers the region as an economic entity, which can and must prove its right to income with its economic performance, rather than capital status or informal practices of receiving transfers. Formation of the region and the competitiveness of a business entity depends on the maturity of the regional elites and their consolidation, as well as the institutional environment that encourages regional development and prevents monopoly of certain regions. The results of the quantitative analysis of the impact of institutions on the performance of regional development are presented. In particular, the influence of institutions such as corruption, small business and institutional trust is reviewed. The level of corruption is measured by the CPI index, its impact on economic growth in the sample of 12 countries that are close to Russia in terms of development, as well as at the level of Russian regions is considered. According to 2009-2010, the impact on regional development of the newly created development institutions such as foundations to promote small and medium enterprises, regional mortgage funds, special economic zones and regional venture capital funds is analyzed.

The Necessity of ASEAN Competition Law: Rethinking

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Udin Silalahi

2017-12-01

Full Text Available As outlined in the AEC Blueprint, all ASEAN member states (AMSs will endeavour to introduce competition policy by 2015. At present 7 (seven AMSs, namely: Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Myanmar have the national competition laws to supervise anti-competitive conduct in the domestic market. But the question is what if happened unfair competition between ASEAN member states, due to the agreement or businesses activities by business actors that harm competition? ASEAN has an ASEAN Regional Guidelines on Competition Policy (ARGCP that developed by ASEAN Experts Group on Competition (AEGC as framework for member states to develop its own competition law or policy and as a guideline in measuring that directly affect the behaviour of enterprises and the structure of industry and markets. Regional Guideline is just to help AMSs in increasing of awareness of important policy, not to sustain the competition among ASEAN member countries. Until now there is no ASEAN Competition Law and Institution to oversee competition among ASEAN member countries. In this era, ASEAN economic integration it is a certainty that anti-competitive among AMSs will happen.

How to Apply Sustainable Competitive Advantage for Regional Developments (Case: Ostrobothnia Region of Finland

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Takala Josu

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Nowadays companies concern more about how to survive and extend their own business in future in their current marketplace. However, developing and prospering a region of the country is becoming more crucial question. Successful cooperation and partnership between different sectors of economy (for instance, between companies, public and academic sectors leads to the flourishing and prosperity of the region and consequently of a country. European Commission established smart specialization platform, which is a strategic approach to economic development of a region. By defining and developing of vision, competitive advantages and strategic preferences, region will determine knowledge-based potential. The purpose of this paper is to assign and define the collaboration/relations existed, how strong these relations are and what the expectations are between 3 sectors of economy: public, academic and business. Area of carrying out this research is Ostrobothnia region, however, connections in other regions of Finland and internationally is also presented. There have been chosen 3 industrial peaks from Ostrobothnia region: Energy, Fur and Boat industrial peaks. Analysis is conducted by implementing two core methods: Sense & Respond (S&R and Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA. The goal of this research is also to use S&R method so as to allocate efficiently resources, and to define competitive priorities in cooperation. The main results show that the most tight collaboration and partnership is observed between companies and companies in all around Finland and internationally. While concerning other relationships, companies expect to have tighter cooperation especially in Ostrobothnia and other regions of Finland.

Competitiveness of Romanian Regions in the Spatial Structure of the EU

Science.gov (United States)

Török, Ibolya

2017-12-01

In the last years, in order to enhance the competitiveness of the regions, researchers and decision makers alike attribute a special role to supporting entrepreneurial activity, strengthening the SME sector, attracting foreign working capital into the local economy, but also to the territorial concentration of R&D centres. Within the present study, I have considered all relevant economic factors, which might influence competitiveness, having at the same time an impact on the position of the Romanian regions within in the economic structure of the European Union. In the study have managed to prove that Romania is in a rather disadvantaged situation in the case of the three main elements, with a significant impact on the competitiveness of regions: the GDP per capita, the employment rate and labour productivity. Only the Bucharest-Ilfov region is in a more favourable position, but its development level remains far behind the central regions of the EU.

Economic and social analyses at a regional level in the light of competitiveness

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Nicoleta Maria Gogâltan

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In most economic studies, competitiveness is considered a key issue of the political success failure. A major element which contributes to regional inequalities is the level of competitiveness. This element has been the subject of numerous studies over the past years, even though more attention was given to the national level and less to the regional one. Moreover, the purpose of these regional analyses is the correlation of territorial objectives and problems with possible sources of financing, seeing to ensure optimal combinations between regional demand and supply, the optimal distribution of the income and of the results obtained, regional competitiveness, the location of clusters, etc.

National and Regional Competitiveness in the Crisis Context. Successful Examples

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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.

Territory brand as a factor of region competitiveness (on the example of Penza region

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Medushevskaya Inna

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The article describes the brand of territory as a factor of the region competitiveness. The examples of territory brands from the world and Russian practice are analyzed. The possible options for the brand for Penza region are proposed.

Regions Competitiveness Increase by Improving Conditions for Industry and Services

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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.

Regional differences in entrepreneurial perceptions and implications for the Romanian competitiveness policy

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Nicolae Mariana

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Understanding entrepreneurship as being spatially rooted transforms it in a regional and national competitiveness factor. Despite the increasing importance of the territorial dimension in supporting economic growth at policy and declarative levels, in practice, in Romania, the territorial structure and spatial organization of the economy contributes little to the national value added. In this context, we study regional differences in entrepreneurial initiative and perception and their possible impact on the national competitiveness strategy. We use primary data collected in three Romanian regions (Centre, North-East, Bucureşti-Ilfov and conduct a statistical analysis of the data. The results indicate different comparative regional profiles. The regional differences in the intentions, motivations, barriers and limitation for entrepreneurship confirm the theoretical view that personal motivations of becoming an entrepreneur are determined by environmental conditions. We conclude that the regional differences should be taken into account in the elaboration of the competitiveness policy, corroborated with the results of other similar studies.

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

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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

New Horizons Regional Education Center 2001 FIRST Robotics Competition

Science.gov (United States)

2001-01-01

The New Horizons Regional Education Center (NHREC) in Hampton, VA sought and received NASA funding to support its participation in the 2001 FIRST Robotics competition. FIRST, Inc. (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an organization which encourages the application of creative science, math, and computer science principles to solve real-world engineering problems. The FIRST competition is an international engineering contest featuring high school, government, and business partnerships.

New Horizons Regional Education Center 1999 FIRST Robotics Competition

Science.gov (United States)

Purman, Richard I.

1999-01-01

The New Horizons Regional Education Center (NHREC) in Hampton, VA sought and received NASA funding to support its participation in the 1999 FIRST Robotics competition. FIRST, Inc. (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an organization which encourages the application of creative science, math, and computer science principles to solve real-world engineering problems. The FIRST competition is an international engineering contest featuring high school, government, and business partnerships.

Building a competitive regional innovation environment : the regional development platform method as a tool for regional innovation policy

OpenAIRE

Harmaakorpi, Vesa

2004-01-01

The study focuses on building a regional innovation policy tool that takes into account the demands of the present techno-economic and socio-institutional paradigms. Regions are seen to be strongly dependent on their history. The competitiveness of a region is based on the regional resource configurations. In a turbulent world these resource configurations have to be renewed over time setting demands for regional dynamic capabilities. This study emphasises five regional dynamic capabilities: ...

Competition for labor resources: losses of the Amur region

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A. V. Vasilyeva

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the article is to define labor losses of the Amur region because of the competition of regions. Each region, directly or indirectly, seeks to attract and keep in its territory highly skilled labor force. Shortage of labor force slows down development of the economy of the region. Thus, because of the depopulation, the demand for the produced and consumed goods and services in the region is decreasing. The decrease in demand influences tax reduction and non-tax revenues in budgets of various levels, reduction of employment of labor resources, increase in unemployment, increase in cost of products and rendered services, reduction of the gross regional product, growth of social tension in the society.Under conditions of the competition between regions for labor resources, other things being equal, the outflow of labor resources occurs from regions with a rather low level of compensation to regions with a rather high level of the salary. At the same time, the population leaves, as a rule, the provincial and less developed regions and concentrates in the largest metropolitan areas. In the competition for labor resources some regions win and get essential advantages in social and economic development, others sustain considerable losses. Statistical methods of analyzing social and economic phenomena and processes were used as tools for carrying out the research: indexes of dynamics, structure, and tabular and graphic methods of visualization of quantitative data.As a result of the conducted statistical research, it was found out that the population of the Amur region decreases annually, at the same time the decline in the population of the region is long-term and steady in nature. Over 25 years the Amur region lost population amounting to the population of the whole city. The present work shows that the tendency of demographic aging of the population characteristic of many regions of the country is observed in the Amur region. Decrease

Defining competitiveness through the theories of new economic geography and regional economy

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Vuković Darko

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The subject of work is defining competitiveness through a multidisciplinary approach of the theories of new economic geography and regional economy. The paper describes in detail the theory of competitiveness, defined by numerous authors in this area, with special emphasis on the opposing views of Michael Porter and Paul Krugman. A regional competitiveness that is colsely related to economic geography and regional economy, the development of regional economy and typology of regions have been defined in the work. One of the first authors that stressed the importance of geographical location was Michael Porter. In his model called “diamond“, the author emphasizes that geographical concentration of a business enhances the productivity, innovativity and sector export. After this theory, many authors have foccussed on the location problem research, which resulted in better interconnection of economy and geography. As the result of such activities, new directions have been developed, such as the new theory of economic geography and regional economy. New economic geography has been mentioned mostly in connection with the Nobel Prize winner, Paul Krugman, whose theories are often opposed to Porter's ones. Krugman had the most credit for the development of New Economic Geography. At the end of the work, the differences between comparative and competitive adventages were explained. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 47007, br. 47009 i br. 179015

From cities and towns to urban networks in Germany – intra regional competition versus regional co-operation and inter regional competitiveness

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Bernhard Mueller

2000-01-01

Full Text Available For many decades of the 20th century particular cities and towns were understood as integral parts of national and international urban systems. For many years the theory on central places and hierarchy of central places, first developed by Christaller and amended by Loesch, had a decisive influence on spatial research and regional development policies with guiding principles for urbanisation and the development of settlement patterns. However it is becoming ever more evident, that the planned effects of concepts for harmonising intra- and inter-regional differences were not reached. Moreover, inter-regional competition between neighbouring municipalities, as well as modern life styles and residential choices have caused the emergence of new settlement structures with dispersed spatial patterns and string functional ties. It is also true, that urban networking isn’t an easy task and that it inherently carries numerous obstacles.

Current Trends in Name Giving among Bulgarians: A Study of the Names of Newborns in the Sofia Region

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Maya Vlahova-Angelova

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The article showcases a large-scale study of the modern Bulgarian anthroponymic system conducted by the Applied Onomastics section of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Institute for the Bulgarian Language (IBL with the aim of revealing the current trends in the choice of personal names by the Bulgarians at the beginning of the 21st century. The study focuses on personal names of Bulgarians born in 2010 in the Sofia region, as extracted from the Unified System of Civil Registration and Administrative Services of the Population of the Republic of Bulgaria. The total number of births this year was 1,005, of which 51.5% were boys, 48.5% were girls. Statistical and linguistic analysis of names allowed to measure the popularity of both individual personal names and different name types. It shows the quantitative ratio between most commonly chosen names and those of a singular use in relation to the total number of anthroponyms in the corpus, and proves that the male names are more sustainable in terms of usage than female. The derivational and etymological analysis of personal names helped to identify the productive word-formation types of names and the so-called “unisex names,” to distinguish between the native Bulgarian and the borrowed foreign names, as well as to classify graphic and phonetic variants of the same anthroponym. A number of quantitative comparisons were made between certain categories of names, for example, between compound (two-stem personal names (such as Miroslav and simple names (such as Biser, showing the ratio of the two-component personal names (such as Anna-Maria to the rest of the anthroponyms. It was found that the Bulgarian anthroponymic system in the beginning of the 21st century is more open to the non-adapted foreign names (like Mishel, Nancy, shows wider usage of diminutive “unisex names” (Moni, Stephy, Toni, as well as the growing popularity of shortened forms used as official names (Alex, Boni, Pepi, and the

Relationship between the Names of People and Enterprises with Plant Origin with Phytotoponyms in Five Croatian Regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Sindik, Joško; Carić, Tonko

2016-04-01

In this study, the first and last names of people (FN and LN), enterprises (EN) (with plants'species roots in their names) and phytotoponyms (PT) in five Croatian regions are analyzed, in their relationships. The goals of the study were: to determine the correlations between FN, LN, EN and PT; to determine the latent structure of these variables; to forecast number of PT (criterion) on the base of predictors (FN, LN, EN); to determine grouping of the places (within certain regions) as cases by two plants' categorizations; to determine grouping of the plants as cases by regions. We have analyzed 15 places, grouped in five regions, with 39 different plant species. The results revealed that the only principal component highly positively correlated with the variables last name and office name, while the projections for the variables first name (moderate high) and phytotoponyms (low size) were negative. Prediction of the criteria phytotoponyms is satisfactorily good, using three predictors: last name, first name and the office name. First cluster analysis revealed that phytotoponyms are mostly related with trees and deciduous plants, while names are related with trees, deciduous and herbaceous plants. Second cluster analysis obtained clear distinction between regions in dominant PTs, based on certain plants' names. The results indicate clear association between phytotoponyms and names of people.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND MEASUREMENT OF COMPETITIVENESS OF REGIONS ON EXAMPLE OF COUNTRIES EU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ladislav ROLÍNEK

2008-07-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to outline the substance of strategic management in relation to regional development with focus on the basic indicators that evaluate regional competitive advantage. Strategic management presents the collection of methods and approaches that are applicable to the regulation of regional development. The basic requirement of this process is to increase competitive advantage of the regions. It is possible to define regional competitive advantage as the ability of regions to generate revenues and keep employment rate at a level corresponding to national and international competition. The level of regional competitiveness is, for example, measurable by GDP per capita index. Besides this indicator, we can also use the evaluation of labour productivity expressed as GDP per employee as well as the ratio of employable population to the total of economically active inhabitants. For these monitored indicators, the Czech Republic doesn’t belong to the best countries. It is on the 19th place among the countries of EU in GDP per capita and it is also not very good in productivity evaluation, expressed by GDP per employee (20th place. On the other hand, the Czech Republic belongs among the countries with quite high employment rate (12th place. An application of the point method shows that the Czech Republic is on 18th place according to an average of selected indicators resulting from the GDP description per resident. It reaches only 70.2% of the level of the leading country, Luxemburg. The results of the article were obtained in the frame of the project MSM 6007665806 a MPSV 1J 016/04-DP2.

Application of GIS in exploring spatial dimensions of Efficiency in Competitiveness of Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Rahmat, Shahid; Sen, Joy

2017-04-01

Infrastructure is an important component in building competitiveness of a region. Present global scenario of economic slowdown that is led by slump in demand of goods and services and decreasing capacity of government institutions in investing public infrastructure. Strategy of augmenting competitiveness of a region can be built around improving efficient distribution of public infrastructure in the region. This efficiency in the distribution of infrastructure will reduce the burden of government institution and improve the relative output of the region in relative lesser investment. A rigorous literature study followed by an expert opinion survey (RIDIT scores) reveals that Railway, Road, ICTs and Electricity infrastructure is very crucial for better competitiveness of a region. Discussion with Experts in ICTs, Railways and Electricity sectors were conducted to find the issues, hurdles and possible solution for the development of these sectors. In an underdeveloped country like India, there is a large constrain of financial resources, for investment in infrastructure sector. Judicious planning for allocation of resources for infrastructure provisions becomes very important for efficient and sustainable development. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is the mathematical programming optimization tool that measure technical efficiency of the multiple-input and/or multiple-output case by constructing a relative technical efficiency score. This paper tries to utilize DEA to identify the efficiency at which present level of selected components of Infrastructure (Railway, Road, ICTs and Electricity) is utilized in order to build competitiveness of the region. This paper tries to identify a spatial pattern of efficiency of Infrastructure with the help of spatial auto-correlation and Hot-spot analysis in Arc GIS. This analysis leads to policy implications for efficient allocation of financial resources for the provision of infrastructure in the region and building a

Student teams practice for regional robotic competition at KSC

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

Student teams (right and left) behind protective walls maneuver their robots on the playing field during practice rounds of the 1999 Southeastern Regional robotic competition at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex . Thirty schools from around the country have converged at KSC for the event that pits gladiator robots against each other in an athletic-style competition. The robots have to retrieve pillow-like disks from the floor, as well as climb onto the platform (foreground) and raise the cache of pillows to a height of eight feet. KSC is hosting the event being sponsored by the nonprofit organization For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, known as FIRST. The FIRST robotics competition is designed to provide students with a hands-on, inside look at engineering and other professional careers.

Closing ceremonies of the FIRST Southeast Regional robotics competition

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

At the conclusion of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Southeast Regional competition held at the KSC Visitor Complex, KSC Deputy Director for Business Operations Jim Jennings speaks to the teams and other attendees. At left is Gregg Gale, with Walt Disney World, which is the site of the national competition (at EPCOT) April 6-8. Teams of high school students from all over the country tested the limits of their imagination using robots they designed, with the support of business and engineering professionals and corporate sponsors, to compete in a technological battle against other schools' robots. Of the 30 high school teams competing at the Southeast Regional event, 16 were Florida teams co-sponsored by NASA and KSC contractors. Local high schools participating are Astronaut, Bayside, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, Melbourne Central Catholic, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite, and Titusville.

Economy of distrust (the institute of trust and its role in the regional competitiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadezhda Yakovlevna Kalyuzhnova

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The study is dedicated to the role of social capital in ensuring the competitiveness of the social and economic systems. The indicator of interpersonal trust is used as the important indicator of social capital. Trust and distrust are considered in the article as separate categories, the distrust and its role in the economic component of life in the regions and countries are considered. The theoretical provisions revealing the mechanisms of distrust influence on the economy and the competitiveness of economies are given. The article statistically examines the link of indicators of trust and distrust on the level of countries and Russian regions and the competitiveness of countries and Russian regions. The assessment of parameters of interpersonal trust / distrust at the level of regions of the Russian Federation and the country in general on the basis of the Public Opinion Foundation are provided. The calculations of the correlation between the scores of countries’ competitiveness and credibility of the countries on the basis of survey data from the European Social Survey (ESS, as well as the data of the World Economic Forum on the competitiveness of countries in 2008 and 2010 are also provided. Our empirical study confirmed the link between the low level of interpersonal trust and competitiveness of the Russian economy in general, and the state of the country’s institutions. At the same time, we fail to confirm the link between the indicators of interpersonal trust across regions and economic indicators. This may serve as a confirmation of the fact that regional communities have virtually no effect on the behavior and economic decisions of persons taking decisions in the regions. This can be explained by the lack of relationship between trust to the elites making decisions and their position due to the lack of selectivity of the first persons of regions and mechanisms of the real impact of the population on economic decision-making, as

COMPETITIVE FEATURES IN THE MARKET STRUCTURE OF HOUSING PROPERTY WITH REGARD TO REGIONAL DEFINITIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kostyantyn Pavlov

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The subject of research. Given the steady demand for residential real estate, the low solvency of the population, and unbalanced development of individual segments of the regional housing market, competition issues and the mechanism of its operation, today is very relevant. Real estate is one of the components of the national economy because it carries more than half of total world wealth and its stable functioning is one of the most complex processes of market transformations occurring in the country. Active functioning property markets are a prerequisite for the sustainable development of cities and regions of the country. This development is the basis for the effective management of regional and implemented in the system of national governance and local governance. In modern terms, Ukraine is at the stage of the market system, one of which is real estate market. From the way, the subject of study is a competitive relationship, and especially their formation in the regional real estate market. Methodology. In order to carry out a thorough study, there was elaborated numerous scientific literature authored by leading scientists of Ukraine, Europe, and the former Soviet Union camp to define the concepts of “competition”, “regional market”, “real estate”, “residential property”. According to the research of current problems and competitive features in the structure of the real estate market on the basis of regional specificity, a logical systematization of these concepts is made. Results of the research allowed us to “carry” a clear parallel between the correlation of factors and competitive impact on the regional real estate market of the potential buyers, the developer and manufacturer of products directly to real estate as an object relationship. Practical implications. The article is to study the specific competitive position in the regional real estate market in Ukraine and also features of exposure to it by consumers

Regional Competitiveness: Labor-Management Relations, Workplace Practices, and Workforce Quality

OpenAIRE

Jack Kleinhenz; Russ Smith

2011-01-01

This paper examines regional competitiveness as it relates to regional labor-management relations. A survey of recent literature provides perspective and secondary evidence regarding labor-management relations, workplace practices, and workforce quality. It does not answer the question, “Are unions good or bad?” Rather, it investigates the themes of productivity, wage premium, job security, innovation, communication, and economic development—the larger picture to consider when evaluating the ...

Naming asteroids for the popularisation of astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Naranjo, O. A.

2008-06-01

We give a detailed description of how the naming of asteroids was used as a prize in competitions run by educational institutions and museums. There were two events, one in Venezuela and one in Brazil, which used this as an attractive alternative method for the popularisation of astronomy. The first competition, named Bautizo Espacial (Space Baptism), consisted of scientific stories written by high school students. The second, called Grande Desafio (Big Challenge), was a competition where teams of students were challenged to design and build prototype equipment to fight forest fires. Nationally, both events received wide publicity through newspapers, radio, TV and web pages, reaching many people in both countries. As part of both the events, several activities promoting the public knowledge of astronomy were held. The asteroids that were named in these competitions are just some of the many discovered in a search programme developed by the Group of Theoretical Astrophysics of University of Los Andes in Mérida, Venezuela (Grupo de Astrofisica Teórica de la Universidad de Los Andes) as a mainstream research programme. Finally, Asteroids for the Popularisation of Astronomy has been formally proposed to the IAU as a worldwide programme during the celebration of the International Year of Astronomy in 2009 (IYA2009).

Effective governance for competitive regions in Europe: the difficult case of the Randstad

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lambregts, B.; Janssen-Jansen, L.B.; Haran, N.

2008-01-01

Europe has come to recognize that its regions have a major role to play in achieving its cohesion and competitiveness objectives. EU policies and Structural Fund principles are therefore increasingly geared towards enhancing regional capacities. Regions across Europe are responding, with varying

Co-Opetition (Coexisting Competition and Competitive Coexistaence in the Tourism Field in Siberian Regions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga Pavlovna Kuznetsova

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The relevance of the topic is due to the need to use of such category as “co-opetition” by public and local government authorities when implementing their powers in the tourism sphere. We divide the term “co-opetition” into two categories: “coexisting competition” and “competitive coexistence”. The problem field of the study is that in the conditions of crisis development, it is difficult to choose and implement new measures and approaches aimed at improving the economic situation in Russia and its regions, diversify the economy. In modern conditions, it is important and effective to develop domestic tourism and incoming tourism in Russia as well as its effective functioning. Russia has considerable natural and ecological, cultural and historical resources. However, the imperfection of the authorities operation and a mechanism of combined implementation of projects by different territories prevent the transformation of tourism industry into the economic powerhouse. In this regard, on the example of Siberian regions, we offer to the authorities to use co-opetition (in both of its meanings in the combined development of tourism and to establish on this basis the tourist mega-cluster “Fairy Siberia”. The study of foreign experience has allowed revealing the positions, in which Russia falls behind other countries-leaders in the tourism industry. The proposed approach is promising, and it is based on joint efforts of regions and saving money due to the economies of scale. At the same time, it allows the regions to develop their competitive advantages. The practical significance of the received results consists in the possibility of their use by the public and local authorities in the implementation of effective policy for the development of tourism industry.

The role of Entrepreneurial Universities in interfacing Competitive Advantages: The Case of Beira Interior region (Portugal)

OpenAIRE

Ferreira, Joao; Leitão, João; Raposo, Mario

2006-01-01

This paper reveals the importance of a local entrepreneurial university in interfacing competitive advantages, by assuming the condition of most influent and dynamic engine of regional development. The strategic diagnosis provides the identification of a dominant quadrant in the TOWS matrix application to the Beira Interior region, which is dominated by Mini-Maxi strategies. For improving the competitive positioning of that region, the transition from the dominant quadrant (Mini-Maxi) t...

The Competitive Perception

OpenAIRE

Lima, João Tiago

2012-01-01

This paper aims to define what competitive perception is. Using Dufrenne’s phenomenological analysis of the art spectator’s experience, namely the concept of aesthetic perception, I will claim that it is useful to apply this phenomenological approach to the experience of watching sport events. I will argue that the concepts of uncertainty and auto teleology, being two main features in sport competition, are helpful to define competitive perception.

[Competition and prices in the Mexican pharmaceutical market].

Science.gov (United States)

Molina-Salazar, Raúl E; González-Marín, Eloy; Carbajal-de Nova, Carolina

2008-01-01

The forms of market competition define prices. The pharmaceutical market contains submarkets with different levels of competition; on the one hand are the innovating products with patents, and on the other, generic products with or without trade names. Innovating medicines generally have monopolistic prices, but when the patents expire prices drop because of competition from therapeutic alternatives. The trade name makes it easier to maintain monopolistic prices. In Mexico, medicine prices in the private market are high--according to aggregated estimates and prices for specific medicines--which reflect the limitations of pharmaceutical market competition and the power of the trade name. The public segment enjoys competitive prices using the WHO strategy for essential medicines on the basis of the Essential List.

Final matches of the FIRST regional robotic competition at KSC

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

Four robots vie for position on the playing field during the 1999 FIRST Southeastern Regional robotic competition held at KSC. Powered by 12-volt batteries and operated by remote control, the robotic gladiators spent two minutes each trying to grab, claw and hoist large, satin pillows onto their machines. Student teams, shown behind protective walls, play defense by taking away competitors' pillows and generally harassing opposing machines. Two of the robots have lifted their caches of pillows above the field, a movement which earns them points. Along with the volunteer referees, at the edge of the playing field, judges at right watch the action. FIRST is a nonprofit organization, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. The competition comprised 27 teams, pairing high school students with engineer mentors and corporations. The FIRST robotics competition is designed to provide students with a hands-on, inside look at engineering and other professional careers.

Increasing the industrial potential of a region as a factor of improving the region’s competitiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lidiya Viktorovna Shamray

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Objective to determine the factors of increasing the region competitiveness by defining the industrial potential of its enterprises. Methods in the research the systemic structural functional situational economic analysis was widely used as well as modelling of the economic entities functioning. The main modeling method used in this work is the model of breakeven point widely known and tested in many enterprises. The dependence proposed by the author is of analytical character. Results the article considers different approaches to the definition of competitiveness the effect of the factors is described. The industrial potential of the enterprises is presented as one of the factors of regional competitiveness. The difference is described between the competitive advantage in commercial and production activities. The author suggests a methodology allowing to evaluate the competitiveness of industrial enterprises through the performance of production capacity the possibility of making managerial decisions based on the results of its application the results of the model testing are present. The possibility of applying the model at the regional level is shown. Scientific novelty the article presents the authorrsquos method allowing to calculate the potential growth of the enterprises competitiveness using the output capacities as the difference between the maximum and actual values of capacity. Practical significance the use of models in the practice of the company allows to evaluate the enterprise competitiveness identifying the marginal productivity of the equipment. Once it has been reached the questions arise how long the company will remain competitive in achieving 100 capacity utilization selection of areas of extensive growth due to the fact that the limits of intensive growth have been achieved. Testing of the model was carried out at the Volgograd baking enterprises it showed a high accuracy of the calculation the deviation of calculated

THE IMPORTANCE OF BRAND NAME AND QUALITY IN THE RETAIL FOOD INDUSTRY

OpenAIRE

Apelbaum, Eidan

1999-01-01

This paper analyzes the role of brand name recognition and product quality on the competition between national brands and private labels in the retail food industry. Theoretical and empirical evidence is provided to show that both marketing tools play a significant role, but in quite different ways. Quality improvements by one firm will intensify the competition; one firm will gain at the expense of its competitor. Whereas, increasing brand name recognition relaxes the competition, and both f...

Can competition reduce quality?

OpenAIRE

Brekke, Kurt; Siciliani, Luigi; Straume, Odd Rune

2017-01-01

In a spatial competition setting there is usually a non-negative relationship between competition and quality. In this paper we offer a novel mechanism whereby competition leads to lower quality. This mechanism relies on two key assumptions, namely that the providers are motivated and risk-averse. We show that the negative relationship between competition and quality is robust to any given number of firms in the market and whether quality and price decisions are simultaneous or sequential. We...

Sun Grant Initiative Regional Biomass Feedstock Partnership Competitive Grants Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Owens, Vance [South Dakota State Univ., Brookings, SD (United States). North Central Regional Sun Grant Center

2016-12-30

The Sun Grant Initiative partnered with the US Department of Energy (DOE) in 2008 to create the Regional Biomass Feedstock Partnership Competitive Grants Program. The overall goal of this project was to utilize congressionally directed funds to leverage the North Central Regional Sun Grant’s Competitive Grant program at South Dakota State University (SDSU) to address key issues and research gaps related to development of the bioeconomy. Specific objectives of this program were to: 1. Identify research projects through a Regional Competitive Grants program that were relevant to the sustainable production, harvest, transport, delivery, and processing/conversion of cost-competitive, domestically grown biomass. 2. Build local expertise and capacity at the North Central Regional Sun Grant Center at SDSU through an internal selection of key bioenergy research projects. To achieve these, three nationwide Request for Applications (RFA) were developed: one each in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Internal, capacity building projects at SDSU were also selected during each one of these RFAs. In 2013 and 2015, two additional Proof of Concept RFAs were developed for internal SDSU projects. Priority areas for each RFA were 1) Biomass feedstock logistics including biomass harvesting, handling, transportation, storage, and densification; 2) Sustainable biomass feedstock production systems including biomass crop development, production, and life-cycle analysis; 3) Biomass production systems that optimize biomass feedstock yield and economic return across a diverse landscape while minimizing negative effects on the environment and food/feed production; and 4) Promotion of knowledge-based economic development in science and technology and to advance commercialization of inventions that meet the mission of the Sun Grant Initiative. A total of 33 projects were selected for funding through this program. Final reports for each of these diverse projects are included in this summary report

Semantic Interference in Immediate and Delayed Naming and Reading: Attention and Task Decisions

Science.gov (United States)

Piai, Vitoria; Roelofs, Ardi; Schriefers, Herbert

2011-01-01

Disagreement exists about whether lexical selection in word production is a competitive process. Competition predicts semantic interference from distractor words in immediate but not in delayed picture naming. In contrast, Janssen, Schirm, Mahon, and Caramazza (2008) obtained semantic interference in delayed picture naming when participants had to…

Innovation Activity Effect on Competitiveness of the Companies of Khmelnitsky Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V.V. Kravchuk

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes the innovation industry of Khmelnitsky region and the problems of creating an innovative model of industrial development on a combination of scientific and industrial spheres as well as the effective management of innovation as a factor in improving the economy competitiveness.

Role of the environmental factor in the competitiveness of the region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Ya. Kalyuzhnova

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The article shows the role of environmental factor in the competitiveness of the region. The issue of the country's image and the region is considered according to ecology and touristic appeal. We consider the modern role of botanical gardens and their transformation from scientific horticultural organizations to the objects of multi-use facilities type, for a regional multi-utility. The experience of an innovative project of creation of Russia's first environmental technological park and tourist-recreational zone on the basis of the university botanical garden in Irkutsk using the public-private partnership is stated.

Referees check robots after qualifying match at regional robotic competition at KSC

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

Referees check the robots on the floor of the playing field after a qualifying match of the 1999 Southeastern Regional robotic competition at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex . Thirty schools from around the country have converged at KSC for the event that pits gladiator robots against each other in an athletic-style competition. The robots have to retrieve pillow- like disks from the floor, as well as climb onto the platform (with flags) and raise the cache of pillows to a height of eight feet. KSC is hosting the event being sponsored by the nonprofit organization For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, known as FIRST. The FIRST robotics competition is designed to provide students with a hands-on, inside look at engineering and other professional careers.

Formation of competitive potential of the machine-building complex of the region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleg Ivanovich Botkin

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The article describes the features of competitive potential of regional machine-building complex in a globalized world economy. The purpose of the research is the development of theoretically reasonable economic basis of the machine-building complex considering  the  features of business in the conditions of the WTO. In the work, the hypothesis of a special role of the external economic factors locates in development of the enterprises of regional industrial complexes. The study of the theoretical provisions defining the development of the region revealed the factors determining influence of the international trade agreements on spatial localization of the industry. The main attention is paid to an analytical assessment of the current state and the trends, which have developed in the period of post-crisis economic recovery. Analysis of the main indicators of attractiveness has revealed the weak position of local industrial enterprises in the WTO. The directions of strengthening of the competitive capacity of the local industrial enterprises are defined. The obtained results allow us to increase the sustainability of the industry by means of effective management mechanism improvements and to create favorable operating conditions of a machine-building complex of the region

Medieval Karelian Calendar Names: A Cognitive Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina A. Kyurshunova

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The article focuses on calendar personal names recorded in the 15–17th centuries Russian and Swedish manuscripts written in Karelia. Revealing the cognitive potential of this historical stratum of names, the author analyzes the frequency of full (official and modified forms of calendar names, the regional peculiarities of their linguistic adaptation, their ethnolinguisitic and social status, as well as the functioning of calendar names in the regional onomastic system. The analysis shows that the calendar onomasticon holds the leading positions, which reflects important axiological and mental shifts in the people’s culture. The list of most frequent Christian names of the region generally coincides with the onomastic data related to other Russian territories of the same period. The conservation of the name nomenclature is due to family traditions, namely, to familial practices of naming. However, the adaptation and distribution of names display some regional features, particularly in the frequency of different groups of anthroponyms. The peripheral situation of the region and the presence of Balto-Fennic population which adapted the Russian calendar athroponymicon determined the “conservatism” of the calendar names nomenclature: for naming, they selected the names which were better adapted and more extensively used among Russians. The formation of modified names depended mostly on the morphemic structure of the Russian language, regional features being relatively insignificant. The frequency of modified forms of names correlates with the genre of the manuscript and the scribe’s arbitrariness.

Competitive advantage of informational technologies and communications sector for the Romanian west 5 region

OpenAIRE

Duda-Daianu, Dana Codruta

2008-01-01

The present work paper aims to analyse and to point out the competitive advantage of the Western 5 Region in the field of information and communication technology (ICT). Applying the Michael Porter’s model was determined that the competitive advantage is given by human resources. The results of this research will help the decision factors at local level to understand that it may enforce the combination of development strategies.

Competitiveness and Policy Development of SME Clusters, Empirical Evidence in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ma’ruf

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to analyze SME clusters competitiveness based on 9 factors. Those 9 factors of competitiveness are raw materials, labour, product prices, markets, technology, investment, management, and economic and socio-cultural base. The development of SMEs is a part of long-term economic development to attain a balanced economic structure. Nevertheless, the gaps of resource potential, infrastructure and market lead to disproportional dispersion of location as well as industrial lethargy. Regional economic development is defined as a process where the Academic, Business, Community and Government (ABCG manage the existing resources and establish an interrelationship among them to run the economy at regional level. There are seven clusters of SMEs in Sragen regency including featured products of the region. This study investigated the competitiveness of three clusters of SMEs, namely batik cluster, convection cluster and furniture cluster based on the Criteria of Regional Superior Products (PUD. The expected objectives of this study were to determine the contribution of batik fashion, convection and furniture clusters to GRDP, poverty, and development of cluster area/location as well as to provide inputs for the prevailing policy related to the improvement of competitiveness of SMEs clusters. The inputs include the recommendation for the local government to prioritize the policy for the development of batik cluster competitiveness particularly on labor, raw material, management and pricing. In convection cluster, the priority of development policy should be preoccupied on technology, market, investment and economic base. Meanwhile, the socio-cultural aspects must be prioritized for the development of furniture cluster competitiveness. Data was analyzed by using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP and Topsis Analysis.

Student teams maneuver robots in qualifying match at regional robotic competition at KSC

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

All four robots, maneuvered by student teams behind protective walls, converge on a corner of the playing field during qualifying matches of the 1999 Southeastern Regional robotic competition at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex . Thirty schools from around the country have converged at KSC for the event that pits gladiator robots against each other in an athletic-style competition. The robots have to retrieve pillow- like disks from the floor, as well as climb onto the platform (with flags) and raise the cache of pillows to a height of eight feet. KSC is hosting the event being sponsored by the nonprofit organization For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, known as FIRST. The FIRST robotics competition is designed to provide students with a hands-on, inside look at engineering and other professional careers.

75 FR 55541 - NOAA Regional Ocean Partnership Funding Program-FY2011 Funding Competition

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-13

...-01] RIN 0648-ZC20 NOAA Regional Ocean Partnership Funding Program--FY2011 Funding Competition AGENCY: National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce...-profit organizations (requirements described in full announcement) that NOAA is soliciting proposals for...

[Regional anaesthesia as advantage in competition between hospitals. Strategic market analysis].

Science.gov (United States)

Heller, A R; Bauer, K R; Eberlein-Gonska, M; Albrecht, D M; Koch, T

2009-05-01

The German Social Act V section sign 12 is aimed towards competition, efficiency and quality in healthcare. Because surgical departments are billing standard diagnosis-related group (DRG) case costs to health insurance companies, they claim best value for money for internal services. Thus, anaesthesia concepts are being closely scrutinized. The present analysis was performed to gain economic arguments for the strategic positioning of regional anaesthesia procedures into clinical pathways. Surgical procedures, which in 2005 had a relevant caseload in Germany, were chosen in which regional anaesthesia procedures (alone or in combination with general anaesthesia) could routinely be used. The structure of costs and earnings for hospital services, split by types and centres of cost, as well as by underlying procedures are contained in the annually updated public accessible dataset (DRG browser) of the German Hospital Reimbursement Institute (InEK). For the year 2005 besides own data, national anaesthesia staffing costs are available from the German Society of Anaesthesiology (DGAI). The curve of earnings per DRG can be calculated from the 2005 InEK browser. This curve intersects by the cost curve at the point of national mean length of stay. The cost curve was calculated by process-oriented distribution of cost centres over the length of stay and allows benchmarking within the national competitive environment. For comparison of process times data from our local database were used. While the InEK browser lacks process times, the cost positions 5.1-5.3 (staffing costs anaesthesia) and the national structure adjusted anaesthesia staffing costs 2005 as published by the DGAI, were used to calculate nationwide mean available anaesthesia times which were compared with own process times. Within the portfolio diagram of lengths of stay for each DRG and process times most procedures are located in the economic lower left, in particular those with high case mix (length of stay and

Visual object naming in patients with small lesions centered at the left temporopolar region.

Science.gov (United States)

Campo, Pablo; Poch, Claudia; Toledano, Rafael; Igoa, José Manuel; Belinchón, Mercedes; García-Morales, Irene; Gil-Nagel, Antonio

2016-01-01

Naming is considered a left hemisphere function that operates according to a posterior-anterior specificity gradient, with more fine-grained information processed in most anterior regions of the temporal lobe (ATL), including the temporal pole (TP). Word finding difficulties are typically assessed using visual confrontation naming tasks, and have been associated with selective damage to ATL resulting from different aetiologies. Nonetheless, the role of the ATL and, more specifically, of the TP in the naming network is not completely established. Most of the accumulated evidence is based on studies on patients with extensive lesions, often bilateral. Furthermore, there is a considerable variability in the anatomical definition of ATL. To better understand the specific involvement of the left TP in visual object naming, we assessed a group of patients with an epileptogenic lesion centered at the TP, and compared their performance with that of a strictly matched control group. We also administered a battery of verbal and non-verbal semantic tasks that was used as a semantic memory baseline. Patients showed an impaired naming ability, manifesting in a certain degree of anomia and semantically related naming errors, which was influenced by concept familiarity. This pattern took place in a context of mild semantic dysfunction that was evident in different types and modalities of semantic tasks. Therefore, current findings demonstrate that a restricted lesion to the left TP can cause a significant deficit in object naming. Of importance, the observed semantic impairment was far from the devastating degradation observed in semantic dementia and other bilateral conditions.

COMPETITION AS A FORM OF ORGANIZING CULTURAL ACTIVITIES OF THE KRASNOYARSK REGION POPULATION IN THE 1960-1980S

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Ekaterina Ivanovna Lobyneva

2014-08-01

Full Text Available In the article the author deals with the socialist completion as demonstration of huge enthusiasm and creative initiative of the Krasnoyarsk region population in the 1960s. There were more than twenty shock Komsomol construction sites, which became an effective form of youth participating in the economy development.The aim of the work is to find out in what way socialist completion influences on developing different personal features, like abilities, knowledge, erudition, skills, experience, needs, call of duty, responsibility, etc.The methods of historical approach and objectivism are used in the article.The results of work are to considerate problems concerning with organization of the socialist competition in the Krasnoyarsk region. New materials and some documents of local archives are introduced during the research.The study of the socialist competition in the Krasnoyarsk region enables to make a conclusion that the socialist competition is a form of organizing cultural activities of the Krasnoyarsk region population in the 1960s.

Brand name changes help health care providers win market recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Keesling, G

1993-01-01

As the healthcare industry continues to recognize the strategic implications of branding, more providers will undertake an identity change to better position themselves in competitive markets. The paper examines specific healthcare branding decisions, the reasons prompting brand name decisions and the marketing implications for a change in brand name.

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.

Effect of Regional Hospital Competition and Hospital Financial Status on the Use of Robotic-Assisted Surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Jason D; Tergas, Ana I; Hou, June Y; Burke, William M; Chen, Ling; Hu, Jim C; Neugut, Alfred I; Ananth, Cande V; Hershman, Dawn L

2016-07-01

Despite the lack of efficacy data, robotic-assisted surgery has diffused rapidly into practice. Marketing to physicians, hospitals, and patients has been widespread, but how this marketing has contributed to the diffusion of the technology remains unknown. To examine the effect of regional hospital competition and hospital financial status on the use of robotic-assisted surgery for 5 commonly performed procedures. A cohort study of 221 637 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy, total nephrectomy, partial nephrectomy, hysterectomy, or oophorectomy at 1370 hospitals in the United States from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2011, was conducted. The association between hospital competition, hospital financial status, and performance of robotic-assisted surgery was examined. The association between hospital competition was measured with the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), hospital financial status was estimated as operating margin, and performance of robotic-assisted surgery was examined using multivariate mixed-effects regression models. We identified 221 637 patients who underwent one of the procedures of interest. The cohort included 30 345 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy; 20 802, total nephrectomy; 8060, partial nephrectomy; 134 985, hysterectomy; and 27 445, oophorectomy. Robotic-assisted operations were performed for 20 500 (67.6%) radical prostatectomies, 1405 (6.8%) total nephrectomies, 2759 (34.2%) partial nephrectomies, 14 047 (10.4%) hysterectomies, and 1782 (6.5%) oophorectomies. Use of robotic-assisted surgery increased for each procedure from January 2010 through December 2011. For all 5 operations, increased market competition (as measured by the HHI) was associated with increased use of robotic-assisted surgery. For prostatectomy, the risk ratios (95% CIs) for undergoing a robotic-assisted procedure were 2.20 (1.50-3.24) at hospitals in moderately competitive markets and 2.64 (1.84-3.78) for highly competitive markets

Porter on national and regional competitive advantage

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A-P. de Man (Ard-Pieter); F.A.J. van den Bosch (Frans); T. Elfring (Tom)

1997-01-01

textabstractIntroduction: approaches to competitiveness In the last decade, the issue of competitiveness has captured an important position on the agenda of politicians and policymakers. The growing strength of Asian firms on the world market has been debated at some length in both the USA and in

Object Interference in Children's Colour and Position Naming: Lexical Interference or Task-Set Competition?

Science.gov (United States)

La Heij, Wido; Boelens, Harrie; Kuipers, Jan-Rouke

2010-01-01

Cascade models of word production assume that during lexical access all activated concepts activate their names. In line with this view, it has been shown that naming an object's colour is facilitated when colour name and object name are phonologically related (e.g., "blue" and "blouse"). Prevor and Diamond's (2005) recent observation that…

Networks and RegionalCompetitiveness: Towards a Transaction Cost Approach of Small-Scale Cooperation

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Daniel Friel

2005-06-01

Full Text Available A preoccupation with competition often dominates the study of governance. A focus on competition often unnecessarily precludes the possibility that regional institutions can suspend competition in certain areas and facilitate cooperation among potential rivals, thereby potentially contributing to their mutual success. In many ways companies cooperating through these types of networks have a greater degree of flexibility than firms which are forced to rely solely on hierarchies or markets for solutions to their problems. In order to fully understand how such networks work, this article first parses out differences in definitions of networks in order to understand how the type of network mentioned above actually differs from other uses of this term. Then it develops a theory of governance that goes beyond hierarchies and markets by demonstrating how this type of network can lead to reductions in transaction costs. This claim is illustrated on hand from examples of alternative forms of organization in Germany and Italy.

Portrait Of Portugal’s Nut Iii Regions In Productive Location Clusters

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Francisco José Lopes de souse Diniz

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to piece together a picture of Portuguese regions at the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century. In particular, the authors tried to group NUT III regions according to the location of productive activities bearing in mind employment and other economic and social indicators, namely productivity and purchasing power, as well as competitiveness and environmental quality indicators. Using clusters, it was possible to obtain a map of Portugal containing 6 cluster typologies. Clearly, at one end of these typologies are the regions where tertiary activities are predominant and where there is more purchasing power, productivity and competitiveness, causing, however, more damages to the environment, whereas at the other end are the rural less competitive regions with a lower purchasing power but environmentally more attractive. In between, there are other situations which are also looked into.

REGULATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF COMPETITION POLICY

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Liviana Andreea Niminet

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Competition policy starts by shaping a legislative framework. This is aimed to establish boundaries for conducting competition and also sets limits of licit and illicit demarcation, for competitive and anticompetitive practices. The Romanian Competition Law has a divalent approach and it aims to provide specific behavioral conditions in order to stimulate and protect free-market competition, with the ultimate goal of developing a balanced, efficient and competitive economy. Our country’s Competition policy is based on punishing the behavior. There are three such types of anti-competitive behavior, namely: agreements between undertakings, abuse of dominant position and mergers and other concentrations between undertakings. Recent Practice proved that this “enforcement-conduct-punishment” structure is not necessary the best way to address competition and it is high time for authorities to switch both regulation and enforcement of competition from the “classical perspective” towards concepts like “competition advocacy” and “soft power” and give competition policy a new, reshaped face.

Development of innovative potential of the region as a way to increase Russian economy competitiveness in today's realities

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Yamkova S. P.

2016-04-01

Full Text Available the article explains the importance of the development of innovation as the economic competitiveness of regions of Russia. Considered term innovation potential of the region. The problems of development of innovative potential of the region and ways to solve them.

PERFECTION RUSSIAN TAX FEDERALISM AS THE FACTOR OF INCREASE COMPETITIVENESS OF INDUSTRIALLY ADVANCED REGIONS

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D.A. Tatarkin

2008-06-01

Full Text Available In the article problems of increase of competitiveness of industrially advanced regions are considered on the basis of optimization of system of differentiation of tax powers and tax incomes, stimulating authorities of different levels to develop own tax potential, to form economic sources for self-development and to carry out a responsible financial policy in interests of the population. The basic background of research became the ground of an opportunity to transfer the principles of a competition on mutual relations of authorities of a various level, thus determining economic advantages of decentralization control system of territory development.

Analysis of the Impact of the Flow of Migrant Workers on Regional Economy: Based on the Thought about the Promotion of Jiangxi Regional Economic Competitiveness

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Sun Yuping

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Labor resource is the necessary productive factor in regional economic development, and one of important indexes to evaluate regional economic competitiveness. The great economic achievement brought by the 30-year reform and opening up of China is due to the fact that China brought the backward advantage of “demographic dividend” into play, promoted the fast development of industrialization and urbanization, and became the second largest economy in the world. The entity of “demographic dividend” is the non-agricultural migrant population, i.e., migrant workers. The transfer employment of migrant workers has typical regional liquidity, and the imbalance of regional economy causes the flow of many migrant workers. In order to achieve harmonious development and coordinated development, underdeveloped areas must understand the character and regulation, adopt positive industrial policy and supportive policy, guide the reasonable flow of migrant workers, and realize the transfer of local employment and citizenization of migrant workers, which can enhance regional economic competitiveness

Romania's Competitiveness and Competitive Position in Global Context

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Valentin NECULITA

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Competitiveness increase has become a primordial framework of the social and economic development strategies of most world countries (mainly the most developed ones over the last decades. The vigorous boost of the contemporary phenomenon of globalization, which has widened the global area of economies, sectors and firms confrontation, has laid an emphasis on their competitiveness importance for their favorable position in the international competition and has therefore force the status to take proper, broad and concerted measures to stimulate the determining factors of action and to take better advantage of their effects. The purpose of the paper is to determine whether an increase in competitiveness could reduce the disparities between regions. The E.U. Member States and regions need significant financial help to solve various structural problems and to achieve their potential of growth. Romania is no exception, one of the main problems being the low rate in attracting European funds.

Competitiveness and food security at the regional level

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Mikhail Vasil'evich Fyodorov

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with food safety as one of the areas of food security and food sovereignty. A review of concepts, models, acts on the power of international and national levels is made. The authors formulate a conclusion about the need for a measure of «food quality» with the release of the functional components of fitness (the ability to perform specified functions with the purpose and safety (restrictions on the content of harmful substances in the products. The analysis of the competitiveness of local products is made on the quality characteristics based on the proportion of output indicator of inadequate quality or dangerous to health in the total volume of products placed on the market. The paper identifies key areas of federal and regional levels to comply with the quality of food.

Regional competitiveness in the context of “New industrial policy” – the case of Croatia

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Katarina Bačić

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to do research on regional conditions that are most conducive to maximising the positive effects of the implementation of “New industrial policy” (policy based on Smart specialisation strategy to regional competitiveness in Croatia. Rather than using the standard but fragmented system of counties, this small post-transition economy is first mapped into five regions following the concept of regional innovation systems (RISs. Essentially, RIS concept rests on an idea that interactions among regional agents lead to the creation of optimal innovation output, while policy based on Smart specialisation strategy in Croatia is a national policy that promotes creation of innovative products and services in five promising domains and 13 sub-thematic areas. Analysis is carried out in two steps, firstly using a data-driven approach employed in a multidimensional framework for assessing regional accessibility, absorptive capacity and diffusion of knowledge in the context of Smart specialisation strategy (S3 implementation. In the second step, the assumption of post-transition reliance on the external knowledge and technology in producing innovation output is examined via regional presence of high-technology firms, GDP per capita and international trade and investment variables and patents per 100.000 inhabitants using cluster analysis (Ward method. The results show that highly internationalised regions with higher density of hightechnology firms already produce relatively more innovation output per capita. With already favourable conditions in place, these progressive regions are most likely to reinforce their competitive advantages through the transformation of their economic structures enabled by implementation of S3.

Limited Memory, Categorization, and Competition

OpenAIRE

Yuxin Chen; Ganesh Iyer; Amit Pazgal

2010-01-01

This paper investigates the effects of a limited consumer memory on the price competition between firms. It studies a specific aspect of memory--namely, the categorization of available price information that the consumers may need to recall for decision making. This paper analyzes competition between firms in a market with uninformed consumers who do not compare prices, informed consumers who compare prices but with limited memory, and informed consumers who have perfect memory. Consumers, aw...

Trademarks, consumer protection and domain names on the Internet

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Hana Kelblová

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The article deals with current problems of the conflict of domain names on the Internet with trade marks in relation to the consumer protection. The aim of the article is to refer to ways and means of protection against of the speculative registration of a domain name. In the Czech legal order these means represent legal regulation of the unfair competition in Commercial Code, regulation of liability for damage together with the Trademarks Act.

Incorporating Renewable Energy Science in Regional Landscape Design: Results from a Competition in The Netherlands

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Renée M. de Waal

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Energy transition is expected to make an important contribution to sustainable development. Although it is argued that landscape design could foster energy transition, there is scant empirical research on how practitioners approach this new challenge. The research question central to this study is: To what extent and how is renewable energy science incorporated in regional landscape design? To address this knowledge gap, a case study of a regional landscape design competition in the Netherlands, held from 2010–2012, is presented. Its focus was on integral, strategic landscape transformation with energy transition as a major theme. Content analysis of the 36 competition entries was supplemented and triangulated with a survey among the entrants, observation of the process and a study of the competition documents and website. Results indicated insufficient use of key-strategies elaborated by renewable energy science. If landscape design wants to adopt a supportive role towards energy transition, a well-informed and evidence-based approach is highly recommended. Nevertheless, promising strategies for addressing the complex process of ensuring sustainable energy transition also emerged. They include the careful cultivation of public support by developing inclusive and bottom-up processes, and balancing energy-conscious interventions with other land uses and interests.

Competition-Based Learning: A Model for the Integration of Competitions with Project-Based Learning Using Open Source LMS

Science.gov (United States)

Issa, Ghassan; Hussain, Shakir M.; Al-Bahadili, Hussein

2014-01-01

In an effort to enhance the learning process in higher education, a new model for Competition-Based Learning (CBL) is presented. The new model utilizes two well-known learning models, namely, the Project-Based Learning (PBL) and competitions. The new model is also applied in a networked environment with emphasis on collective learning as well as…

On the issue of methodology of estimating the regional competitive advantages by types of activity

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Azat Rashitovich Safiullin

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Objective to develop the research methodology of the competitive position of territories by types of economic activities to define the relevant types of economic activities and to diagnose their competitive advantages. Methods a differentiated approach to the analysis of competitiveness based on matrix models of competitive positioning which allows to identify the relevant types of economic activities of the territory. This approach determined the choice of specific research methods dialectics abstraction systematic logical structural comparative and statistical. The application of the above methods helped to ensure the validity of the analysis results theoretical and practical conclusions. Results in the study were used the experience and knowledge gained during an earlier undertaken series of projects relating to the assessment of economy efficiency of Tatarstan Republic in 20052011.Previous reports dealt with the change of the selected industries positions of the Republic the structure and dynamics of the competitive position of these industries compared to the leading Russian regions. A distinctive feature of the research results presented in this article is a comparative analysis of competitive advantages of economic activities of Tatarstan Republic based on the matrix model of competitive positioning. Scientific novelty for the first time the matrix model of diagnostics of competitive advantages of the territory by the type of economic activity was proposed which allows to identify the priority industrial portfolio and provide targeted management actions to enhance its investment attractiveness. Practical value the main provisions and conclusions of the article can be used by legislative and executive authorities of the Russian Federation business community research institutions and organizations to develop strategies and programs of socioeconomic development and territorial planning schemes priority directions of industrial and investment

Nitrogen deposition, competition and the decline of a regionally threatened legume, Desmodium cuspidatum.

Science.gov (United States)

Skogen, Krissa A; Holsinger, Kent E; Cardon, Zoe G

2011-01-01

Increased nitrogen (N) deposition, resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels, production of synthetic fertilizers, growth of N(2)-fixing crops and high-intensity agriculture, is one of the anthropogenic factors most likely to cause global biodiversity changes over the next century. This influence may be especially large in temperate zone forests, which are highly N limited and occur in regions with the highest levels of N deposition. Within these ecosystems, N(2)-fixing plants, including legumes, may be more sensitive to N deposition than other plant species. Though it has long been recognized that the competitive edge conferred by N(2)-fixation diminishes with increasing soil N availability, the conservation implications of increased N deposition on native N(2)-fixers have received less attention. We focus on Desmodium cuspidatum, which has experienced dramatic population losses in the last 30-40 years in the northeastern United States. We explore competition between this regionally threatened legume and a common non-N(2)-fixing neighbor, Solidago canadensis, across a gradient of N deposition. Our data show that increased N deposition may be detrimental to N(2)-fixers such as D. cuspidatum in two ways: (1) biomass accumulation in the non-N(2)-fixer, S. canadensis, responds more strongly to increasing N deposition, and (2) S. canadensis competes strongly for available mineral nitrogen and can assimilate N previously fixed by D. cuspidatum, resulting in D. cuspidatum relying more heavily on energetically expensive N(2)-fixation when grown with S. canadensis. N deposition may thus reduce or eliminate the competitive advantage of N(2)-fixing species growing in N-limited ecosystems.

The Crèche and School structure of the CERN Staff Association is looking for a new name

CERN Multimedia

Staff Association

2018-01-01

The CERN Staff Association is launching a competition to find a new name to replace the current acronym EVEE (Espace de Vie Enfantine et École). The competition is open to everyone from Thursday, 1 February 2018 to Thursday, 15 March. All participants can send their name suggestions via the form available on the websites of the Staff Association and the Crèche and School. Good luck to all – may the best one win! P.S. The Rules of the Competition are available on both websites

Song competition affects monoamine levels in sensory and motor forebrain regions of male Lincoln's sparrows (Melospiza lincolnii.

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Kendra B Sewall

Full Text Available Male animals often change their behavior in response to the level of competition for mates. Male Lincoln's sparrows (Melospiza lincolnii modulate their competitive singing over the period of a week as a function of the level of challenge associated with competitors' songs. Differences in song challenge and associated shifts in competitive state should be accompanied by neural changes, potentially in regions that regulate perception and song production. The monoamines mediate neural plasticity in response to environmental cues to achieve shifts in behavioral state. Therefore, using high pressure liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection, we compared levels of monoamines and their metabolites from male Lincoln's sparrows exposed to songs categorized as more or less challenging. We compared levels of norepinephrine and its principal metabolite in two perceptual regions of the auditory telencephalon, the caudomedial nidopallium and the caudomedial mesopallium (CMM, because this chemical is implicated in modulating auditory sensitivity to song. We also measured the levels of dopamine and its principal metabolite in two song control nuclei, area X and the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA, because dopamine is implicated in regulating song output. We measured the levels of serotonin and its principal metabolite in all four brain regions because this monoamine is implicated in perception and behavioral output and is found throughout the avian forebrain. After controlling for recent singing, we found that males exposed to more challenging song had higher levels of norepinephrine metabolite in the CMM and lower levels of serotonin in the RA. Collectively, these findings are consistent with norepinephrine in perceptual brain regions and serotonin in song control regions contributing to neuroplasticity that underlies socially-induced changes in behavioral state.

FIRST 2002, 2003, 2004 Robotics Competition(s)

Science.gov (United States)

Purman, Richard

2004-01-01

The New Horizons Regional Education Center (NHREC) in Hampton, VA sought and received NASA funding to support its participation in the 2002, 2003, and 2004 FIRST Robotics Competitions. FIRST, Inc. (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an organization which encourages the application of creative science, math, and computer science principles to solve real-world engineering problems. The FIRST competition is an international engineering contest featuring high school, government, and business partnerships.

SPECIFICITY OF INTER-ELITE COMPETITION AT REGIONAL LEVEL IN MODERN RUSSIA

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Alexander SOKOLOV

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the approaches to understanding the concept of ‘competition’. There are three approaches to understanding the concept: as a competition in the market, as a behavioral element of the market mechanism and as a market mechanism criterion to resist monopolization. Conditions for the existence of competition are also considered. The first condition for the competition to emerge is a presence of a great number of items of any particular product or resource in the market. The second condition for the emergence of competition is freedom of choice of producers’ economic activities. The third condition for the competition to emerge is correspondence between what determines the demand and what determines the supply. The forth condition for the emergence of competition is the presence of the market of means of production. The essence of the competition in the political field is analyzed as well. Specific conditions for the political competition in modern Russia are distinguished and common features of the political competition in subjects of the Russian Federation are also determined. An example of the conditions and essence of the political competition in Yaroslavl is considered in detail. Changes of the area of political competition for the last four years of the Russian Federation are also considered.

ASPECTS OF REGIONAL COMPETITIVENESS THROUGH DYNAMIC PRICES OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS

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Daniela\tENACHESCU

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents aspects regarding the dynamics of prices of petroleum products: gasoline and diesel in Romania in the period 2003(2007-2014. Both focus on relationship-price raw material and finished product by the impact of market prices. Given that the price of fuel is a key factor in economic development but also in the living of population, this paper has proposed to analyze some aspects of the dynamics of prices of petroleum products in correlation with commodity prices in a competitive market in 2003 -2014. In the analized period, price of oil barrel has a dynamics substantially influenced by the global political turbulences but also by lower oil demand due to consumption reduction, especially lately. Increases and decreases were abrupt and unpredictable in the early years of the first decade of the XXI century. Political crises in the Middle East, the economic crisis started in 2007 and especially the crisis in Ukraine and policies adopted by the EU and the US have led to extremely large fluctuations in oil prices from one period to another . This dynamic will only cover the price of petroleum products namely gazoline and diesel for vehicles.

Competition between television companies for advertising revenue in the United Kingdom: the Independent Television regions prior to deregulation

OpenAIRE

D B Clarke; M G Bradford

1992-01-01

This paper provides a contribution to the geographies of advertising and the media. The authors examine the ways in wbich commercial television companies try to attract advertising to their regions; advertising being their main source of revenue. Competition based on the cost of advertising in particular regions is effectively restricted. This market failure results in regionally uneven allocations of advertising money, and hence an uneven regional pattern of TV company revenues. Other forms ...

Competitive Success in Responsible Regional Ecosystems: An Empirical Approach in Spain Focused on the Firms’ Relationship with Stakeholders

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M. Isabel Sánchez-Hernández

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, any business manager is concerned about sustainability issues and is wondering how to implement social and environmental practices creating economic and social value at the same time. The implementation of social responsibility programs is justified by the benefits that result from a good relationship of the firm with key stakeholders. The present research investigates the links among firms’ relationship with stakeholders, firms’ champion behavior, stakeholders’ satisfaction and firms’ competitive success in regional contexts where social responsibility is promoted. Using the resource-based theory and the concept of shared value, a conceptual model is proposed in which a strong firm relationship with stakeholders will cause the stakeholder’ satisfaction and will help the firm to become a champion in the market, contributing to improved competitiveness. This empirical analysis was based on survey data through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM from 130 Spanish firms in the Region of Extremadura. Participants were firm managers in regional clusters involved in the social responsibility journey promoted by the local government. The results suggest that a good relationship of the frim with stakeholders directly and positively influences firm competitive success, and also, it is enhanced by improvements in stakeholders’ satisfaction and firm champion behavior.

Technology Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Entrepreneurship in the West Region of Romania

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Roja Alexandru

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Technical progress and entrepreneurship have become drivers of economic and social stability and progress. To develop their new ventures, to generate value, and to validate and implement business ideas, entrepreneurs need a competitive business environment, we name it technology entrepreneurial ecosystem. Entrepreneurial new ventures competitiveness depends on the entrepreneurial ecosystem structure and components. Our research presents the main levels of information technology industry linked with technology entrepreneurial ecosystems components. In the second part of our research we present the entrepreneurs perception about information technology entrepreneurial ecosystem in the west region of Romania. Our objective was to find out the entrepreneurs point of view about opportunities and influences that they perceive in the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem

DETERMINANTS OF REGIONAL COMPETITIVENESS IN ROMANIA - A PANEL DATA APPROACH

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Mihaela-Nona, CHILIAN

2014-11-01

Full Text Available In this study, a few panel data models were estimated to analyze the regional competitiveness in the 42 counties (including Bucharest of Romania. The dynamic panel with Arellano "Bover/Blundell" Bond estimators and robust standard errors showed that during 2000-2012 the GDP in the current period depends on the average number of employees and on the GDP value of the previous period. For a fixed effect model, 34.41% (Rho of the total variation is due to the differences within the counties. The Moran's I index in 2000 is negative and close to zero (0.035 suggesting a negative but non-significant spatial autocorrelation. In 2012, the Moran I's suggests a positive and non-significant spatial auto-correlation.

Branding a business name

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Bulatović Ivan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The process of globalization, international businesses, as well as competitive markets imposed the companies (large ones, as well as the others to position in the required market. Making profit, which is the basic aim of every company, in such market environment can only be achieved by demonstrating distinct characteristics of a company, the characteristics which distinguish it from others with the same or similar activities. Historical and analysis of the current market have shown that being recognizable in the multitude of similar companies is a huge challenge, but also one of the main preconditions for successful operations. The moment a company is registered it acquires a specific identity primarily owing to its business name, which distinguishes it from other companies during that first period. Practically at the same time, the company starts creating its image or goodwill by means of several distinctive ways. One of them is branding business name or corporate branding. However, apart from large benefits, companies may also have big difficulties and risks in the same process as well.

WHK Student Interns Named Top Scholars in Regeneron Science Talent Search | Poster

Science.gov (United States)

Two Werner H. Kirsten Student Interns were recently named Top Scholars in the 2017 Regeneron Science Talent Search, the nation’s most prestigious science and math competition for high school students.

Book Review: Airport Competition: The European Experience

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Garry Gumelar Pratama

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The competitive business environment in aviation industry has changed since European Integration. Not only airlines become more competitive after s­uch integration, but also other main infrastructure of aviation, airports. At the first stage of regional development, competition in airport industry seems to be impossible since all countries in a region still have clear jurisdictional boundaries. The other side of the coin is that airport competition becomes an important issue in a more integrated region, such as European Union (EU. This occurs because an airport owner from another country can buy other airports outside its state jurisdiction, under the same region. Articles in this book prove the claim of the existence of airport competition. Under the introductory part, the editors outlined three cases from EU: UK Civil Aviation Authority action to Heathrow Airport in 2008, Blocked Takeover of Bratislava Airport 2006 and European Commission Prohibition on Subsidies to Ryanair by Brussels South Charleroi Airport 2004. All of the cases are inevitable proofs that airport competition undoubtedly exists in Europe.

Distinct patterns of brain activity characterise lexical activation and competition in spoken word production.

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Vitória Piai

Full Text Available According to a prominent theory of language production, concepts activate multiple associated words in memory, which enter into competition for selection. However, only a few electrophysiological studies have identified brain responses reflecting competition. Here, we report a magnetoencephalography study in which the activation of competing words was manipulated by presenting pictures (e.g., dog with distractor words. The distractor and picture name were semantically related (cat, unrelated (pin, or identical (dog. Related distractors are stronger competitors to the picture name because they receive additional activation from the picture relative to other distractors. Picture naming times were longer with related than unrelated and identical distractors. Phase-locked and non-phase-locked activity were distinct but temporally related. Phase-locked activity in left temporal cortex, peaking at 400 ms, was larger on unrelated than related and identical trials, suggesting differential activation of alternative words by the picture-word stimuli. Non-phase-locked activity between roughly 350-650 ms (4-10 Hz in left superior frontal gyrus was larger on related than unrelated and identical trials, suggesting differential resolution of the competition among the alternatives, as reflected in the naming times. These findings characterise distinct patterns of activity associated with lexical activation and competition, supporting the theory that words are selected by competition.

NEWS: Paperclip Physics: anatomy of a competition

Science.gov (United States)

2000-09-01

'Do something about schools' was the request from the Institute of Physics to its branches in 1994. In response the Midland Branch of the Institute of Physics decided to set up a competition that asked sixth-formers to explain some aspect of physics to a non-scientist in five minutes. It was decreed that teams would be expected to do a demonstration but, in order to avoid disadvantaging schools with a small science budget, only items that might be found in the average home would be allowed. So, with a fairly simple set of rules, which also excluded the use of any mains services, and with none of us knowing what to expect, the competition was launched in 1995. Even though we had given careful consideration to the rules and to the matter of the judges (a non-scientist, a physicist and a physics teacher), one thing we had not anticipated was how much fun it would be! The first year's winners used a baby bath and a margarine tub to demonstrate why a boat cannot sail into the wind unless it has a keel. Other contestants used jelly, a kitchen whisk, balloons, talcum powder and sundry kitchen items to demonstrate everything from Archimedes' principle to fusion. And a good time was had by all! And such is the way it has continued, with boiling carrots, a home made van der Graaf generator, a hot air balloon (made from shower curtains!), plenty of acting and dressing-up, rolling pins, plastic guttering, red noses, lots of fun and always a tremendous `buzz' in the room. For four years the competition was run in the Midlands and gradually grew in popularity. In 1998 we decided that it ought to have a proper name and, after much head-scratching, it was named `Paperclip Physics', a name that we hope reflects the ingenious nature of the entries. 1999 was an even more important year for the competition as it was then that the IOP agreed to fund the competition in all its branches in the UK and Ireland. Instead of heats and then a final within the Midlands, now we had regional

Competitiveness of Halal Industry in Maghreb Countries

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Mohammed Rizki Moi

2016-06-01

Full Text Available To ensure that the countries produce halal products in order to remain in the international market, then they must make sure that they remain competitive in the market. Therefore, this study was to measure the competitiveness of the halal industry in the Maghreb countries which consist of five countries, namely Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. The methodology of this study was using halal market share in the country and revealed comparative advantage (RCA. The study found that Mauritania is the most competitive country for halal industry because of it has the highest RCA value and followed by Morocco and Tunisia. While the countries that have lower competitiveness are Algeria and Libya. Therefore, the government and industry should plays a role to improve the competitiveness of their national halal industry and to ensure they remain competitive in the international halal market.

Management Innovations as a Condition of Competitive, Sustainable and Secure Development of the Region

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Nikolay Prokofyevich Ivanov

2016-03-01

Full Text Available In the article within the comparative analysis the author reveals the tendencies of functioning of an economic complex in a number of regions of the South of Russia in recent years; describes the potential of modernization of economy of the Stavropol region; substantiates the influence of organizational and administrative innovations on activity and efficiency of using territorial management of institutes of economic development in practice. The author of the present research proves that realization of administrative capacity of bodies of the regional power of the Stavropol region is mainly connected with the development of production sector of the region, as well as with the monitoring and management of regional economy become the basic elements of creating the diversified, effective and competitive environment focused on creation in the region of the industrial complexes which yield the final products. The article emphasizes that organizational and administrative innovations are mostly directed on the activization of the process of regional innovative system formation, the search of more effective forms of interaction with vertically integrated companies (mega-corporations operating on the territory of the region which investment resources need to be involved in the process of modernization and restructuring of a regional economic complex.

The centrifugal and centripetal force influence on spatial competition of agricultural land in Bandung Metropolitan Region

Science.gov (United States)

Sadewo, E.

2017-06-01

Agricultural activity has suffered a massive land functional shift caused by market mechanism in Bandung metropolitan region (BMR). We argue that the existence of agricultural land in urban spatial structure is the result of interaction between centrifugal and centripetal force on spatial competition. This research aims to explore how several recognized centrifugal and centripetal force influence to the existence of agricultural land in BMR land development. The analysis using multivariate regression indicates that there exists spatial competition between population density and degree of urbanization with agricultural land areas. Its extended spatial regression model suggested that neighboring situation plays an important role to preserve agricultural land areas existences in BMR. Meanwhile, the influence of distance between the location of the city center and employment opportunities is found to be insignificant in the spatial competition. It is opposed to the theory of von Thünen and monocentric model in general. One of the possible explanation of such condition is that the assumption of centrality does not met. In addition, the agricultural land density decay in the southern parts of the area was related to its geographical conditions as protected areas or unfavorable for farming activity. It is suggested that BMR was in the early phase of polycentric development. Hence, better policies that lead redirected development to the southern part of the region is needed as well as population control and regulation of land use.

Exploration history and place names of northern East Greenland: Colophon, abstract, introduction, official place names in Greenland

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Higgins, Anthony K.

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The first recorded landing by Europeans on the coast of northern East Greenland (north of 69°N was that of William Scoresby Jr., a British whaler, in 1822. This volume includes a chronological summary of the pioneer 19th century exploration voyages made by British, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, French and German expeditions – all of whom reported that the region had previously been occupied by the Inuit or Eskimo; also included are brief outlines of the increasing number of government and privately sponsored expeditions throughout the 20th century, whose objectives included cartography, geology, zoology, botany, trapping and the ascent of the highest mountain summits. In 1934 the Place Name Committee for Greenland was established, the tasks of which included a review of all place names hitherto recorded on published maps of Greenland, their formal adoption in danicised form, and the approval or rejection of new name proposals. In northern East Greenland, by far the largest numbers of new place names were those proposed by scientists associated with Lauge Koch’s geological expeditions that lasted from 1926 until 1958. This volume records the location and origin of more than 3000 officially approved place names as well as about 2650 unapproved names.The author’s interest in the exploration history and place names of northern East Greenland started in 1968, when the Geological Survey of Greenland initiated a major five-year geological mapping programme in the Scoresby Sund region. Systematic compilation of names began about 1970, initially with the names given by William Scoresby Jr., and subsequently broadened in scope to include the names proposed by all expeditions to northern East Greenland. The author has participated in 16 summer mapping expeditions with the Survey to northern East Greenland. Publication of this volume represents the culmination of a lifetime working in the Arctic.

Principles of parametric estimation in modeling language competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Menghan; Gong, Tao

2013-06-11

It is generally difficult to define reasonable parameters and interpret their values in mathematical models of social phenomena. Rather than directly fitting abstract parameters against empirical data, we should define some concrete parameters to denote the sociocultural factors relevant for particular phenomena, and compute the values of these parameters based upon the corresponding empirical data. Taking the example of modeling studies of language competition, we propose a language diffusion principle and two language inheritance principles to compute two critical parameters, namely the impacts and inheritance rates of competing languages, in our language competition model derived from the Lotka-Volterra competition model in evolutionary biology. These principles assign explicit sociolinguistic meanings to those parameters and calculate their values from the relevant data of population censuses and language surveys. Using four examples of language competition, we illustrate that our language competition model with thus-estimated parameter values can reliably replicate and predict the dynamics of language competition, and it is especially useful in cases lacking direct competition data.

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION IN ROMANIA. CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES

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Chirila Lavinia Florentina

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Regional innovation is considered one of the most important drivers of development at present. Innovation is the tool that can help regions develop regardless of their natural resources and potential. The main purpose of the paper is to foster the innovation at regional level in Romania in order to determine and highlight the need of further measures to increase regional innovation and regional development of Romanian regions in the current context of getting out of the economic crises. Romania is subject of discrepancies not only at European level but at national level as well in terms of economic development and regional innovation. The research undertaken in the present paper is a qualitative research and followes the model proposed by the Group of Applied Economics in the study called Manual of regional competitiveness assessment, and in the study called Romania’s reindustrialization: policy and strategy, study commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business, and uses regional indicators of the eight Romanian development regions in order to measure the Competitiveness Index based on three Indexes, namely Economic, Social and Innovation Index. The data used was collected from Romania’s National Institute of Statistic, National Centre of Prognosis and from the Eurostat database. The general objective is to enhance the great role of regional level in innovation and to sensitize the policy makers about the need to introduce a regional level in order to enforce regional innovation, the main way of improving regional competitiveness and regional development. The main findings reveal that the Romanian regions that invested more in innovation have a positive evolution in terms of economic growth over time so it is for the best of a region to invest in innovation, an aspect that should be taken into consideration by policy makers and private sector when planning the investments within a region.

COMPETITIVENESS AND COMPETITIVE ORIENTATIONS: EVALUATION OF STUDENTS

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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

Coal competitiveness?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogeaux, B.

2006-01-01

Will coal electrical plants be more competitive in the coming years? Answering this one cannot be limited to merely comparing estimates based on reference electricity production costs. The competitiveness of coal will indeed depend on the final product marketed, as the MWhs are not equal: is the purpose to produce base, half-base MWh? Does the electrical equipment structure require flexible MWh (for instance in the event of significant intermittent renewable energy amounts), and therefore plants able to adjust their power rapidly? But the competitiveness of coal will also depend on many factors that will correct reference cost estimates: uncertainties, risks, externalities. These factors will need to be appreciated on a case by case basis. We introduce some of the reasoning used to better appreciate the future competitiveness of coal, and the main factors conditioning it in three contrasting regions of the world: Europe, USA, china. (author)

40 CFR 35.342 - Competitive process.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Competitive process. 35.342 Section 35...) § 35.342 Competitive process. EPA Regions award Pollution Prevention State Grants to State programs through a competitive process in accordance with EPA guidance. When evaluating State applications, EPA...

University of Toronto mathematics competition (2001–2015)

CERN Document Server

Barbeau, Edward J

2016-01-01

This text records the problems given for the first 15 annual undergraduate mathematics competitions, held in March each year since 2001 at the University of Toronto. Problems cover areas of single-variable differential and integral calculus, linear algebra, advanced algebra, analytic geometry, combinatorics, basic group theory, and number theory. The problems of the competitions are given in chronological order as presented to the students. The solutions appear in subsequent chapters according to subject matter. Appendices recall some background material and list the names of students who did well. The University of Toronto Undergraduate Competition was founded to provide additional competition experience for undergraduates preparing for the Putnam competition, and is particularly useful for the freshman or sophomore undergraduate. Lecturers, instructors, and coaches for mathematics competitions will find this presentation useful. Many of the problems are of intermediate difficulty and relate to the first two...

Indonesian Sea Power and Regional Maritime Security Challenges

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Marsetio Marsetio

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The main objective of this paper is to examine the regional maritime security challenges facing Indonesia. As it is known that entering to the 21st century has come a new term in regional architecture in the Asia-Pacific region, namely the Indo-Pacific region. This region consists of the Indian Ocean and Pacific. Both of these areas became more interconnected than in the previous period. These two regions became a single, significant system in the global order. Key players in the Indo-Pacific region are China, India and the United States. Of course, their actions have created new challenges in maritime security. These challenges include maritime disputes, pirates, and maritime power competition. The dispute in the South China Sea has spawned a security problem in the Asia Pacific region that Indonesia must face in the future.

40 CFR 35.661 - Competitive process.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Competitive process. 35.661 Section 35... 6605) § 35.661 Competitive process. EPA Regions award Pollution Prevention Grant funds to Tribes and Intertribal Consortia through a competitive process in accordance with EPA guidance. When evaluating a Tribe's...

Regional Economic Development Strategy Based Agro-Industries in Key Region Kandangan South of Kalimantan

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Dewi Siska

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Agroindustry has become the main pillar in South Kalimantan development, it can be found in RPJPD 2005-2025. Kandangan mainstay region as one of three leading regions in South Kalimantan which potentially improved to push economy growth through agriculture based industry activity (agroindustry. The concept of agroindustry a side is expected to drive economic growth as well as to realize the equitable distribution of income. This research aims to: (1 identify to economic development of the region in Kandangan mainstay regions, (2 identify the main commodity, (3 identify means of supporting agroindustry, and (4 formulating development strategies based agroindustry region. Entropy analysis shows the development of the economy sufficiently developed in Kandangan mainstay region dominated by the agricultural sector, namely food crops subsector. LQ an SSA analysis shows corn and rice crops become competitive commodities. There are only few of supporting infrastructure agroindustry activities. Strategy formulation in the research is the improvement of infrastructure or infrastructure that can facilitate inter regional connectivity in the region mainstay Kandangan and the government as the leading actor agroindustry development.

Immigration and Competitiveness – Some Methodological Questions

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Tünde Patay

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Immigrants can contribute significantly to the economic and social development of regions or urban areas. Some key figures on migration are thus traditionally used in studies on local development. Beyond the usual description of migratory movements, two research fields are often in the centre of controversies, namely the labour market and the inclusion of immigrants. Comparing the European regions, the phases of urban development as well as the relevant internal and external factors present a mixed picture in Europe. At the same time, the dynamics of migratory movements and the reactions of national and subnational policies also vary. The Member States of the European Union aim to harmonise their definitions and data on migration issues, however, the daily practice leads us to the questions of reliability and comparability of migration statistics; and the interdisciplinary character of migration research offers the use of variable research methods. The aim of this study, as a part of a presentation at a conference on urban development, is to describe some key methodological issues of migration research exploring the typical questions. The first part of the paper calls attention to the importance of data quality, processing and interpretation, describing the research methods mainly used in studies on immigration. The second part summarizes the significance of immigration in regional competitiveness, pointing out the possible “stumbling stones” in the relevant migration studies. Some of these factors, the areas that are mainly in the centre of scientific and political debates, are discussed in this paper, namely the labour market challenges and issues relating to the different aspects of segregation.

48 CFR 1910.004-71 - Limits on the use of brand name or equal purchase descriptions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 true Limits on the use of brand... DESCRIPTIONS 1910.004-71 Limits on the use of brand name or equal purchase descriptions. (a) General. The use of brand name or equal purchase descriptions in solicitations is intended to promote competition by...

TMS interferes with lexical-semantic retrieval in left inferior frontal gyrus and posterior middle temporal gyrus: Evidence from cyclical picture naming.

Science.gov (United States)

Krieger-Redwood, Katya; Jefferies, Elizabeth

2014-11-01

We used TMS to investigate the contribution of left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) and posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG) to lexical/semantic selection and retrieval processes using a cyclical naming paradigm. Participants named pictures that were presented repeatedly across six cycles, either in semantically related or unrelated sets. Previous research has suggested that selection demands are higher for related sets, especially after repetition, since participants experience competition from the activation of semantic neighbours. In contrast, retrieval demands are greater for unrelated sets in the absence of semantic priming, particularly on the first cycle when the target names have not been previously activated. Therefore, this paradigm can reveal independent effects of (i) retrieval demands (i.e., the ease of accessing picture names from visual input) and (ii) selection/competition. We found that rTMS to LIFG and pMTG produced similar behavioural effects: stimulation of both sites disrupted picture naming performance on early cycles (when participants were less practised at producing the picture names) and for semantically-related sets (when there was the potential for increased competition and yet also facilitation from semantic neighbours). There were no effects of TMS when either retrieval or selection requirements were maximal on their own. The data therefore support the view that both LIFG and pMTG contribute to picture name retrieval, with both sites playing a critical role in mediating the semantic facilitation of naming when retrieval demands are high. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Award ceremony for the "Crèche and School" competition

CERN Multimedia

Staff Association

2018-01-01

Whenever there is a competition, there are obviously participants – and especially winners! The awards ceremony for the competition to find a new name for the CERN Staff Association's Crèche and School took place on 15 May. During the ceremony, jointly led by Céline Grobon (President of the Crèche and School Steering Committee), Carole Dargagnon (Headmistress of the Crèche and School) and Jean-Baptiste Zenner (Staff Association delegate), the proposals selected by the jury were rewarded. The first place went to Marie-Luz Cavagna for her proposal "Le jardin des petits chercheurs", and the second place to Sarah Palluel for her proposal "Le Jardin des Zélectrons". Finally, Aude Mourey and Sandra Fleury tied for third place with their respective proposals "Les petits atomes" and "La crèche des particules". Can we find the winning name of the competition among...

Short supply chain: analysis of the competitiveness of organic horticultural farmers at Italian regional level

OpenAIRE

Bertazzoli, Aldo; Ruggeri, Arianna; Samoggia, Antonella

2010-01-01

The paper focuses on the competitiveness of organic horticultural farms implementing short food supply chain (SFSC), by analysing the organisational structures adopted by farmers and their economic performance. The collection of data based on face to face interviews with farmers and the review of the rural development plans of three central Italy regions. Results show that farms prefer a combination of organizational structures that involve both business to consumer and business to business s...

Common region wins the competition between extrinsic grouping cues: Evidence from a task without explicit attention to grouping.

Science.gov (United States)

Montoro, Pedro R; Villalba-García, Cristina; Luna, Dolores; Hinojosa, José A

2017-12-01

The competition between perceptual grouping factors is a relatively ignored topic, especially in the case of extrinsic grouping cues (e.g., common region or connectedness). Recent studies have examined the integration of extrinsic cues using tasks that induce selective attention to groups based on different grouping cues. However, this procedure could generate alternative strategies for task performance, which are non-related to the perceptual grouping operations. In the current work, we used an indirect task, i.e. repetition discrimination task, without explicit attention to grouping cues to further examine the rules that govern dominance between competing extrinsic grouping factors. This procedure allowed us to obtain an unbiased measure of the competition between common region and connectedness cues acting within the same display. The results corroborate previous data showing that grouping by common region dominated the perceived organization of the display, even though the phenomenological strength of the grouping cues was equated for each participant by means of a preliminary scaling task. Our results highlight the relevance of using indirect tasks as an essential tool for the systematic study of the integration of extrinsic grouping cues.

Competition policy and public procurement in developing countries

OpenAIRE

Falvey, Rod; La Chimia, Annamaria; Morrissey, Oliver; Zgovu, Evious

2008-01-01

Measures to support Competition Policy and enhance the efficiency of Public Procurement can enhance the impact of regional integration agreements. The first part addresses Competition Policy - measures employed by government to ensure a fair competitive market environment. Competition policy aims to ensure that markets remain competitive (through anti-trust or anti-cartel enforcement) or become competitive (through liberalisation). For a variety of reasons, competition is often restricted in ...

The Competitiveness of Settlements with SPAS in Some Central European Regions

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Márta Bakucz

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The paper covers two topics which are, broadly, inseparable. The first has as its main target the competitiveness of Spa Tourism in two Regions of Hungary - in settlements with different characteristics; the second, recognising the need for a new way to measure competitiveness in the sector, deals with the creation of a new competitiveness index. The benefits of virtually all forms of Tourism - economic or social – are well enough known to need no repetition. This is especially true of such fields as Spa or Health Tourism, in which there is a natural trend towards longer stays and higher expenditure by visitors. For a relatively poor country such as Hungary – weak in natural resources apart from agricultural land – the basic presence of a generous supply of easily accessible thermal or medicinal water below a huge proportion of its surface area (70% is a remarkable gift. Nevertheless, many factors are to be studied if a rational, sustainable development policy is to be elaborated by public and private interests. There are many spas – settlements with thermal or medicinal waters (or both - spread across Hungary, and their variety is extraordinary. There are huge differences in terms of size, visitor numbers, accommodation facilities, overnights, leisure or treatment facilities and location – that is, their closeness to favourable population areas (domestic or foreign. The critical decisions on investment and development need comprehensive data on all factors of all locations. The essential issue is competitiveness: in Central Europe, where spas have a great tradition and history (e.g., Germany, Austria and today’s Czech Republic, does or can Hungary offer a product which will sell? There are numerous factors and as many bases on which to judge. In 2013 a team from the Faculty of Business and Economics at Pécs University - supported by Hungary’s National Scientific Research Foundation (OTKA – embarked on a study of the

Technology Assessment Need: Review on Attractiveness and Competitiveness

Science.gov (United States)

Salwa Sait, Siti; Merlinda Muharam, Farrah; Chin, Thoo Ai; Sulaiman, Zuraidah

2017-06-01

Technology assessment is crucial in managing technology for the purpose of technology exploitation. With business environment continuously changing, firms have to address this issue critically as technology is considered one of the important elements to evaluate performance and gain competitive advantage. Missteps in deciding the best technology to be developed, employed or maintained would cost the firm overall value. To fulfil the need of finding the appropriate scale to assess suitable technology, this paper summarizes that technology assessment (TA) should cover two main aspects, namely technology attractiveness and competitiveness. These components are seen capable to link the scale suggested towards evaluation of financial and non-financial performance towards competitive advantage.

THE CREATION OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN THE CONTEXT OF REGIONAL COMPETITIVENESS OF REGIONAL UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENT OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

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DANIELA PALAŠČÁKOVÁ

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Universities are rare and the persisting elements of the European culture foundations. The most brilliant minds and the most noble hearts, which shared their wisdom with the people of the world, have always been attracted by universities. University today - applying new curriculum and developing new courses, which correspond with the needs of the labour market – is in the centre of dramatic changes of the quality of life in Europe. The quality of university environment is a significant determinant of the qualitatively or knowledge-based competitiveness. Presented results of the contribution represent the identification and evaluation of the mechanism of the creation of quality management system in university environment and application of the approaches of quality evaluation of university environment using Index of quality of regional university environment in the conditions of the self-governed regions of the Slovak Republic.

Measuring competition in civil aviation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lijesen, M.G.; Nijkamp, P.; Rietveld, P.

2002-01-01

Markets in civil aviation are characterized by large differences in the level of competition, both between time periods as between regions. To measure competition, several indicators are available, such as the number of competitors, the C4-index and the Herfindahl index. We use these measures in

Pasture names with Romance and Slavic roots facilitate dissection of Y chromosome variation in an exclusively German-speaking alpine region.

Science.gov (United States)

Niederstätter, Harald; Rampl, Gerhard; Erhart, Daniel; Pitterl, Florian; Oberacher, Herbert; Neuhuber, Franz; Hausner, Isolde; Gassner, Christoph; Schennach, Harald; Berger, Burkhard; Parson, Walther

2012-01-01

The small alpine district of East Tyrol (Austria) has an exceptional demographic history. It was contemporaneously inhabited by members of the Romance, the Slavic and the Germanic language groups for centuries. Since the Late Middle Ages, however, the population of the principally agrarian-oriented area is solely Germanic speaking. Historic facts about East Tyrol's colonization are rare, but spatial density-distribution analysis based on the etymology of place-names has facilitated accurate spatial mapping of the various language groups' former settlement regions. To test for present-day Y chromosome population substructure, molecular genetic data were compared to the information attained by the linguistic analysis of pasture names. The linguistic data were used for subdividing East Tyrol into two regions of former Romance (A) and Slavic (B) settlement. Samples from 270 East Tyrolean men were genotyped for 17 Y-chromosomal microsatellites (Y-STRs) and 27 single nucleotide polymorphisms (Y-SNPs). Analysis of the probands' surnames revealed no evidence for spatial genetic structuring. Also, spatial autocorrelation analysis did not indicate significant correlation between genetic (Y-STR haplotypes) and geographic distance. Haplogroup R-M17 chromosomes, however, were absent in region A, but constituted one of the most frequent haplogroups in region B. The R-M343 (R1b) clade showed a marked and complementary frequency distribution pattern in these two regions. To further test East Tyrol's modern Y-chromosomal landscape for geographic patterning attributable to the early history of settlement in this alpine area, principal coordinates analysis was performed. The Y-STR haplotypes from region A clearly clustered with those of Romance reference populations and the samples from region B matched best with Germanic speaking reference populations. The combined use of onomastic and molecular genetic data revealed and mapped the marked structuring of the distribution of Y

Competitive low-tech manufacturing and challenges for regional policy in the European context

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Teis; Winther, Lars

2014-01-01

Today, low-tech firms in high-wage countries are focusing on increasing investments in highly skilled labour and advanced machinery, incremental innovation and high value-added niches. Danish policy, however, gives little attention to the new specificities of low-tech manufacturing......, and the understanding of innovation in national and regional strategies is dominated by a science-based perspective. There is a strong policy focus on human capital and research and development in manufacturing. Human capital is vital to manufacturing in general, but the latter is of less importance for low-tech firms....... Conversely, user–producer interactions and machinery investments, which are critical to low-tech competitiveness, are disregarded by policies....

Corporate competitiveness and sustainability risks

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Udo Braendle

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper aims at providing a theoretical analysis of the existing research on corporate competition and sustainability risks that occur when companies aspire to reach maximum competitive advantages and gain competitive benefits compared to their rivals. Competitiveness has been described as a multidimensional, theoretical and relative concept linked with the market mechanism. The concept of competitiveness may refer to different levels of aggregation: national, regional, industrial and individual companies. This paper contributes to the theoretical research on corporate competitiveness by the analysis of old and new definitions of this category. It also notes that the sustainability risks connected to competition can be divided into several groups where the authors highlight environmental, legal, financial risks, behaviour risks and state-related risks as the most crucial ones. For companies to be fit for the competitive challenge, the paper identifies main characteristics of such risks and gives policy guidance for their avoidance

Către un concept operațional al dezvoltării competitive în plan teritorial

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Valentin COJANU

2009-06-01

Full Text Available This paper emphasizes the conceptual need for an agreement on reassigning priorities of competitive development from policies aiming at reducing regional differences to policies encouraging functional integration of a development area. The underlying rationale in shifting the analytical focus rests on the political-economic and socio-cultural characteristics of a habitat that indeterminably amplify or scale down the benefits of economic activities. The permanence of spatial developmental disparities suggests that the strategic directions of any initiative targeting regional competitiveness should follow the lines of (1 maximizing its competitive impact and (2 matching the territorial specificity. According to this perspective, the paper discusses an original theoretical construct and points to graphical representations of operational forms that may configure a policy of territorial development along four co-existent levels: (1 urban fields, (2 clusters, (3 development areas, and (4 disadvantaged areas. The main implication for public policy initiatives resides in smoothing the progress towards building up such a potential for growth. A selected list of recommendations is therefore advanced in compliance with the expeditiousness imperative, namely: (1 adjusting public policy interventions to geographically variable areas of development; (2 prioritizing financial assistance according to integration difficulties specific to a certain area of development, whose coordinates are described along variable geographical scales (local, regional, national and, possibly, international and functional potentialities; (3 enhancing the complementary role of private and community interventions in developing the programming capability.

Proper Names in Dialectal Idioms: Stages of Idiomatization

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Ekaterina S. Kogan

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the functioning of proper names (both personal and place names and their derivatives in dialectal idioms. Based upon the criteria of the establishing of the idiomatic status of word combinations, traditionally used in contemporary lexicology, the author marks out four stages of the entry of units containing proper names and their derivatives into a regional idiomatic inventory: 1 word combinations with figurative meanings and transparent motivation easily decoded by every member of the local community (e. g., naryaditsa kak Anisya Klimovskaya ‘to be slovenly dressed’; 2 word combinations with a proper name localizing a nationally known idiom (e. g., zhelninsky telyonok ‘screaming person’; 3 word combinations including a name with a general meaning (e. g., Masha s Yashey ‘two inseparable persons’; 4 idioms with non-transparent motivation (e. g., tutursky pop ‘cuckoo male’. The analyzed data are retrieved from dialect dictionaries (including those of idioms and notes made by the Ural Federal University Toponymic Expeditions in Kostroma Region in 2011–2013.

Competitiveness and Exports Sustainability of the Indonesian Natural Rubber

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Rumbiati Kamaludin

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This paper examines Indonesian competitiveness in export of natural rubber commodities by employing set of revealed comparative advantage (RCA and Export competitive index (ECI with respect to global trade. The market structure that is formed on natural rubber commodities is calculated using Herfindahl Index and Concentration Ratio analysis tools shows the oligopoly-shaped market structure. Calculation of comparative advantage with RCA analysis shows that the four countries exporting natural rubber, namely Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam each have a comparative advantage. Where Indonesia has a better comparative advantage than Thailand in the period 2011 to 2015. This result is different from the calculations made on competitive advantage (ECI in which Indonesia's natural rubber commodities are not more competitive than Thailand

Innovation and strategic competitiveness

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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.

Revealed Competition for Greenfield Investments between European Regions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.J. Burger (Martijn); G.A. van der Knaap (Bert); R.S. Wall (Ronald)

2012-01-01

textabstractIn the modern economy, cities are assumed to be in fierce competition over attracting foreign investments in leading sectors of the world economy. Despite the rich theoretical discourse on these 'wars', it remains unclear which territories are competing with each other over which types

Name agreement in picture naming : An ERP study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cheng, Xiaorong; Schafer, Graham; Akyürek, Elkan G.

Name agreement is the extent to which different people agree on a name for a particular picture. Previous studies have found that it takes longer to name low name agreement pictures than high name agreement pictures. To examine the effect of name agreement in the online process of picture naming, we

A Regional Comparative Outlook of the Romanian Tourism Industry Competitiveness

OpenAIRE

Carmen MORARU

2012-01-01

The paper aims to determine if the Romanian tourism product has growth prospects using several diagnose and assessment tools: such as BCG matrix (Boston Consulting Group), "Porter Five Forces" model and finally, we are going to analyze the main products in the portfolio using the Ansoff's Matrix. This approach will help us decide what strategy is appropriate for each product. The last step will be to determine the degree of competitiveness of the Romanian tourism using the Tourism Competitive...

A family of names : rune-names and ogam-names and their relation to alphabet letter-names

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Griffiths, Alan

2013-01-01

The current consensus is that vernacular names assigned to the runes of the Germanic fuþark and to Irish ogam characters are indigenous creations independent of Mediterranean alphabet traditions. I propose, however, that ogam-names are based on interpretations of Hebrew, Greek or Latin letter-names

Risk diversification and tax competition : the influence of risk correlations and tax provisions on tax competition

OpenAIRE

Berndt, Markus; Reichl, Bettina

2000-01-01

From standard-portfolio-models the authors derive demand elasticities for risky assets, and combine the results with a simple non-cooperative model of tax competition between capital importing countries. They find that tax rates resulting from tax competition depend heavily on the correlations of capital market indices. If investment alternatives are not correlated, the outcome of both tax competition and a cooperative solution of tax harmonization are identical. The results suggest regional ...

2000 FIRST Robotics Competition

Science.gov (United States)

Purman, Richard

2000-01-01

The New Horizons Regional Education Center (NHREC) in Hampton, VA sought and received NASA funding to support its participation in the 2000 FIRST Robotics competition. FIRST, Inc. (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an organization which encourages the application of creative science, math, and computer science principles to solve real-world engineering problems. The FIRST competition is an international engineering contest featuring high school, government, and business partnerships.

A Comparison of Moment Rates for the Eastern Mediterranean Region from Competitive Kinematic Models

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, E. C.; Ozeren, M. S.; Shen-Tu, B.; Galgana, G. A.

2017-12-01

Relatively continuous, complex, and long-lived episodes of tectonic deformation gradually shaped the lithosphere of the eastern Mediterranean region into its present state. This large geodynamically interconnected and seismically active region absorbs, accumulates and transmits strains arising from stresses associated with: (1) steady northward convergence of the Arabian and African plates; (2) differences in lithospheric gravitational potential energy; and (3) basal tractions exerted by subduction along the Hellenic and Cyprus Arcs. Over the last twenty years, numerous kinematic models have been built using a variety of assumptions to take advantage of the extensive and dense GPS observations made across the entire region resulting in a far better characterization of the neotectonic deformation field than ever previously achieved. In this study, three separate horizontal strain rate field solutions obtained from three, region-wide, GPS only based kinematic models (i.e., a regional block model, a regional continuum model, and global continuum model) are utilized to estimate the distribution and uncertainty of geodetic moment rates within the eastern Mediterranean region. The geodetic moment rates from each model are also compared with seismic moment release rates gleaned from historic earthquake data. Moreover, kinematic styles of deformation derived from each of the modeled horizontal strain rate fields are examined for their degree of correlation with earthquake rupture styles defined by proximal centroid moment tensor solutions. This study suggests that significant differences in geodetically obtained moment rates from competitive kinematic models may introduce unforeseen bias into regularly updated, geodetically constrained, regional seismic hazard assessments.

Competitiveness and linking of emission trading systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hausotter, Tobias; Steuwer, Sibyl; Taenzler, Dennis [adelphi, Berlin (Germany)

2011-01-15

The establishment of emission trading systems raises concerns among industries regarding international competitive disadvantages for the industries under an emissions cap. This study aims to assess competitiveness exposure of industrial sectors and presents policy measures to address these concerns. Moreover, the study provides a comparison of different existing approaches to competitiveness concerns proposed by regional emission trading systems. (orig.)

FEATURES OF EVALUATION OF THE COMPETITIVE STATUS OF TOURIST ENTERPRISES

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Kyrylo Mykolaychuk

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the paper is to provide methodological approaches to assessing the competitive status of the tourism business at different levels of management and to determine the characteristics of models for tourism enterprises. The construction of models will allow identifying the factors, influencing the competitive position; will contribute to increasing the competitiveness of tourism business in the regions and countries. Methodology. The research is based on a comparison of the methods of assessing the competitiveness of countries and their achievements in sustainable development. Indicators of competitiveness characterize the preconditions of development, and achievements in the implementation of competitiveness can be estimated on the basis of competitive status. The main achievement of each country is to ensure sustainable development. A generalized assessment, positioning of states is based on the Human Development Index (HDI. It can be considered the main method of assessing the competitive status of the country. To assess the achievements of the regions in ensuring sustainable development, the regions of the HDI are determined, and appropriate indicators for enterprises can be developed. Such a system of assessment is also required for tourism business. Competitiveness of tourism activity of countries is assessed internationally by the index of competitiveness of travel and tourism (ICTT. Based on the comparison of the HDI and ICTT, it is advisable to develop an indicator of the competitive status of tourism business in the country, regions, and enterprises. Results. Among the components of HDI, the most important is economic and social development. The impact of the tourism business on the economic component reflects the direct contribution to GDP of the country, as well as the indirect contribution by the cost of tourists in the territory of stay and investment in the development of tourism activities. One of the main social

The relative importance of seed competition, resource competition and perturbations on community structure

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K. Bohn

2011-05-01

Full Text Available While the regional climate is the primary selection pressure for whether a plant strategy can survive, however, competitive interactions strongly affect the relative abundances of plant strategies within communities. Here, we investigate the relative importance of competition and perturbations on the development of vegetation community structure. To do so, we develop DIVE (Dynamics and Interactions of VEgetation, a simple general model that links plant strategies to their competitive dynamics, using growth and reproduction characteristics that emerge from climatic constraints. The model calculates population dynamics based on establishment, mortality, invasion and exclusion in the presence of different strengths of perturbations, seed and resource competition. The highest levels of diversity were found in simulations without competition as long as mortality is not too high. However, reasonable successional dynamics were only achieved when resource competition is considered. Under high levels of competition, intermediate levels of perturbations were required to obtain coexistence. Since succession and coexistence are observed in plant communities, we conclude that the DIVE model with competition and intermediate levels of perturbation represents an adequate way to model population dynamics. Because of the simplicity and generality of DIVE, it could be used to understand vegetation structure and functioning at the global scale and the response of vegetation to global change.

Infant VEPs reveal neural correlates of implicit naming: Lateralized differences between lexicalized versus name-unknown pictures

Science.gov (United States)

Styles, Suzy J.; Plunkett, Kim; Duta, Mihaela D.

2015-01-01

Recent behavioural studies with toddlers have demonstrated that simply viewing a picture in silence triggers a cascade of linguistic processing which activates a representation of the picture’s name (Mani and Plunkett, 2010, 2011). Electrophysiological studies have also shown that viewing a picture modulates the auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) triggered by later speech, from early in the second year of life (Duta et al., 2012; Friedrich and Friederici, 2005; Mani et al., 2011) further supporting the notion that picture viewing gives rise to a representation of the picture’s name against which later speech can be matched. However, little is known about how and when the implicit name arises during picture viewing, or about the electrophysiological activity which supports this linguistic process. We report differences in the visual evoked potentials (VEPs) of fourteen-month-old infants who saw photographs of animals and objects, some of which were name-known (lexicalized), while waiting for an auditory label to be presented. During silent picture viewing, lateralized neural activity was selectively triggered by lexicalized items, as compared to nameless items. Lexicalized items generated a short-lasting negative-going deflection over frontal, left centro-temporal, and left occipital regions shortly after the picture appeared (126–225 ms). A positive deflection was also observed over the right hemisphere (particularly centro-temporal regions) in a later, longer-lasting window (421–720 ms). The lateralization of these differences in the VEP suggests the possible involvement of linguistic processes during picture viewing, and may reflect activity involved in the implicit activation of the picture’s name. PMID:26232744

Regional Competitive Intelligence: Benchmarking and Policymaking

OpenAIRE

Huggins , Robert

2010-01-01

Benchmarking exercises have become increasingly popular within the sphere of regional policymaking in recent years. The aim of this paper is to analyse the concept of regional benchmarking and its links with regional policymaking processes. It develops a typology of regional benchmarking exercises and regional benchmarkers, and critically reviews the literature, both academic and policy oriented. It is argued that critics who suggest regional benchmarking is a flawed concept and technique fai...

Work stressed and play? A brief look at competitive gaming

OpenAIRE

Griffiths, MD

2017-01-01

To date, competitive gaming has not been widely researched or recognised in the scientific and professional literature on video games. As the name suggests, competitive gaming comprises players who regularly compete in tournaments organised and run by the gaming community, often for large monetary gains. Secondary benefits include the recognition and admiration of other gaming community members. Such tournaments are now often run by companies that host the events at large convention centres i...

COMPETITIVENESS OF INDONESIAN TEA IN INTERNATIONAL MARKET

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Jauhar Samudera

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Since 2000, Indonesian tea has experienced a lot of problems such as land use change of plantation, lower selling prices, and low productivity. The objectives of this study are to analyze the competitiveness of tea in Indonesia and formulate priority improvements that can support the increasing competitiveness of Indonesian tea. The methods used to analyze the competitiveness were the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA and the Export Product Dynamics (EPD, and to formulate strategies to increase competitiveness, Importance Performance Analysis (IPA was applied. Based on RCA, the types of Indonesian tea which have strong competitiveness are HS 090 210 and HS 090240. The EPD analysis showed that only tea of HS 090210 is in the rising star position, while the HS 090220, HS 090230 and HS090240 tea types are on the retreat position. Based on IPA, sub-determinants which are priority to improve are in quadrant A (under act consisting of five sub-factors, namely the availability of human resources with the capbility of production management, marketing and possess an entrepreneurial spirit; availability and ease of access to capital; strengthening of the structure of Indonesian tea agribusiness; the government policies in improving domestic demand conditions and in encouraging the development of tea processing industry.Keywords: competitiveness, tea, RCA, EPD, IPA

Competitive (AP7) and non-competitive (MK-801) NMDA receptor antagonists differentially alter glucose utilization in rat cortex

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clow, D.W.; Lee, S.J.; Hammer, R.P. Jr.

1991-01-01

The effects of D,L-2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid (AP7), a competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, and MK-801, a non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist, on regional brain metabolism were studied in unanesthetized, freely moving rats by using the quantitative 14 C2-deoxyglucose autoradiographic procedure. AP7 (338 or 901 mg/kg) produced a dose-dependent decrease of metabolic activity throughout most of the regions studied including sensory, motor, and limbic cortices. In contrast, MK-801 (0.1 or 1.0 mg/kg) resulted in a dose-dependent decrease of metabolic activity in sensory cortices, and an increase in limbic regions such as the hippocampal stratum lacunosum moleculare and entorhinal cortex. MK-801 also produced a biphasic response in agranular motor cortex, whereby the low dose increased while the high dose decreased labeling. In addition, MK-801 produced heterogeneous effects on regional cerebral metabolism in sensory cortices. Metabolic activity decreased in layer IV relative to layer Va following MK-801 treatment in primary somatosensory (SI) and visual (VI) cortices, suggesting a shift in activity from afferent fibers innervating layer IV to those innervating layer Va. MK-801 administration also decreased metabolic activity in granular SI relative to dysgranular SI, and in VI relative to secondary visual cortex (VII), thus providing a relative sparing of activity in dysgranular SI and VII. Thus, the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist suppressed activity from extrinsic neocortical sources, enhancing relative intracortical activity and stimulating limbic regions, while the competitive NMDA antagonist depressed metabolic activity in all cortical regions

Commercial Activity or Banking Competition?

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Rose-Marie Pușcaciu

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The study analyzes the competition on the banking market and proposes an overview of debt collection companies through the economic crisis which has profoundly affected the banking sector. Article scroll through the main features of competition on the banking market as well as the domain weaknesses that negatively influenced the banking system performance. Even if there is not a sufficiently transparent and functional legal framework and debt recovery market is not supervised enough, it is among the few markets that increase from year to year. Increasing competition from adjacent companies that compete with banks, namely, a non-banking entity, it is stimulating the banking system which will thus become more constructive. It is estimated, that in terms of customers, there will be no differentiation between the banking industry and non-banking entities that will reshape the Romanian banking system soon. Also, the study aims to highlight the existence of debt collection companies, implicitly, the specific markets, it is only a consequence of excessive, unnecessary and dangerous borrowing from previous years. Avoiding bad loans from banks, a fair competition from banks and from non-banking institutions, in the long term, it will generate a balance in the market and it will support economic growth of Romania.

Pen Name as a Form of a Journalist’s Self-Presentation in the Late 19th — Early 20th Centuries Russian Regional Press

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Tatiana A. Gridina

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The article investigates into the role of pen-names in the self-presentation of a regional newspaper’s journalist, the pen name being analyzed as a kind of micro-text that models the reporter’s image according to their position within the edition’s information field, its stylistic and generic strategies of presenting information. From the onomasiological point of view, the authors distinguish between four types of journalistic pseudonyms: 1 pen names intended to present the author as an unspecified individual; 2 pseudonyms patterned after speaking names whose internal form stresses the characteristics of the journalist’s image; 3 pen names based on the culturally specific associative meaning of the motivating name — such names impose cultural and historical presuppositions governing the perception of the journalist’s image; 4 pen names with various role specializations that manifest the journalist’s inclination to ludic self-presentation. Each type corresponds to several ways of name creation. The latter include abbreviation, onymization of common nouns, different techniques of language game. The authors also establish the generalized strategies of communicational interaction between journalists and their readers: strategy of distancing, strategy of adhesion, and strategy of game interaction. The paper argues that there is correlation between the choice of an interaction strategy and the journalist’s image reflected in their pen name.

Cellular automata with inertia: species competition, spatial patterns, and survival in ecotones

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kramer, K; Koehler, M; Luz, M G E da

2010-01-01

We consider a two-dimensional CA model with three possible states for the system individual cells, 0 and ±. As for the dynamical rules, only ± can exert pressure to change the cells actual states. In this way, the 0 state is neutral and in some sense competitively weaker than the other two states. We further assume an inner property, the inertia, which is an intrinsic resistance to changes in the system. We evolve an ensemble of initial configurations for the CA until reaching steady states. By calculating averages over some relevant quantities for the final stationary configurations, we discuss how certain features of the problem, namely, initial states population and degree of aggregation as well as the values of inertia, can determine the different characteristics of the spatio-temporal pattern created by the CA evolution. We finally discuss how our findings may be relevant in the understanding of structures formation due to species competition in biology, specially in the transition regions between different biomes, the so called ecotones.

Wireless Competition in Canada: An Assessment

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Jeffrey Church

2013-08-01

Full Text Available If there’s one thing Canadians agree on, it’s that Canada’s wireless industry can and should be more competitive. The federal government is on side with the policy objective of having four carriers in every region and has responded with policies that provide commercial advantages to entrants. But, the rub is that there has not been a study that actually assesses the state of competition in wireless services in Canada, until now. Those in favour of policies that will promote and sustain entry point to Canada’s high average revenue per user and low wireless penetration rate (mobile connections per capita as evidence that there is insufficient competition. The difficulty is that the facts are not consistent with this simplistic analysis. Measurements of wireless penetration are skewed toward countries that maintain the Calling Party Pays Protocol and favour pay-as-you-go plans, both of which encourage inflated user counts. Canada’s participation per capita on monthly plans and minutes of voice per capita are not outliers. Moreover, in terms of smartphone adoption and smartphone data usage, Canada is a global leader, contributing to high average revenue per user. Consistent with being world leaders in the rollout of high speed wireless networks, Canada lead its peer group in capital expenditures per subscriber in 2012: the competition of importance to Canadians is not just over price, but also over the quality of wireless networks. In any event, none of the measures typically used in international comparisons are relevant to assessing the competitiveness of Canadian wireless services. The appropriate competitive analysis recognizes two relevant features of the technology of wireless services: (i high fixed and sunk capital costs; and (ii economies of scale and scope. The implications of these are that profitability requires mark ups over short run measures of cost — high gross margins — and that there will be a natural, upper limit on

How Do National Economic Competitiveness Indices View Human Capital?

Science.gov (United States)

Sabadie, Jesus Alquezar; Johansen, Jens

2010-01-01

"Economic competitiveness" is at the top of national, regional and global political and economic agendas. Several countries in all regions of the world have established policies and institutions devoted to economic competitiveness, including in developing and transition countries. This leads to the question of how to define national economic…

The Integration Role of European Defense Procurement in Achieving a More Competitive and Stronger European Defense Equipment Market

Science.gov (United States)

2015-06-01

and systems, even monopolistic ) essence of the supply side of the defense market . There are only a few suppliers that can meet today’s complex...DEFENSE PROCUREMENT IN ACHIEVING A MORE COMPETITIVE AND STRONGER EUROPEAN DEFENSE EQUIPMENT MARKET by Kiril O. Angelov June 2015 Thesis Advisor...COMPETITIVE AND STRONGER EUROPEAN DEFENSE EQUIPMENT MARKET 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6. AUTHOR(S) Kiril O. Angelov 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND

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

Adaptation of Russian Christian Names into the Mari Language

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Alexander L. Pustyakov

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This article analyses the phonetic and morphological adaptation of Christian personal names in the Mari language. The work examines personal names recorded in different regions among the Mari. The composition of the presented data is not exhaustive; it does, however, allow one to observe some general patterns of the adaptation process. The main part of the article is preceded by a brief overview of the Christianization of the Mari region and the contacts between the Mari and the Russian-speaking population; the features of the local dialects of the Russian language are briefly stated. The Mari language incorporated a significant number of Russian names. The source of loans included, besides the standard church name forms, also the numerous varieties found in the Russian dialects. As part of the study, phonetic, structural changes of Christian names in the Mari language are revealed and the reasons for the majority of these transformations are identified. The author also pays attention to the intermediary role of the neighbouring Turkic languages in the penetration of Russian names into the Mari language. Changes in borrowed names were induced by internal Mari linguistic rules, as well as dialectal features of the local Russian dialects. The identification of systematic phonetic and structural transformations helps to determine the origin of obscure anthroponyms.

Separating lexical-semantic access from other mnemonic processes in picture-name verification.

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Jason Fitzgerald Smith

2013-10-01

Full Text Available We present a novel paradigm to identify shared and unique brain regions underlying non-semantic, non-phonological, abstract, audio-visual (AV memory versus naming using a longitudinal functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment. Participants were trained to associate novel AV stimulus pairs containing hidden linguistic content. Half of the stimulus pairs were distorted images of animals and sine-wave speech versions of the animal’s name. Images and sounds were distorted in such a way as to make their linguistic content easily recognizable only after being made aware of its existence. Memory for the pairings was tested by presenting an AV pair and asking participants to verify if the two stimuli formed a learned pairing. After memory testing, the hidden linguistic content was revealed and participants were tested again on their recollection of the pairings in this linguistically informed state. Once informed, the AV verification task could be performed by naming the picture. There was substantial overlap between the regions involved in recognition of nonlinguistic sensory memory and naming, suggesting a strong relation between them. Contrasts between sessions identified left angular gyrus and middle temporal gyrus as key additional players in the naming network. Left inferior frontal regions participated in both naming and nonlinguistic AV memory suggesting the region is responsible for AV memory independent of phonological content contrary to previous proposals. Functional connectivity between angular gyrus and left inferior frontal gyrus and left middle temporal gyrus increased when performing the AV task as naming. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that, at the spatial resolution of fMRI, the regions that facilitate nonlinguistic AV associations are a subset of those that facilitate naming though reorganized into distinct networks.

Policies and place-making for competitive cities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Musterd, S.; Kovács, Z.; Musterd, S.; Kovács, Z.

2013-01-01

Policy-makers are making efforts to strengthen the competitiveness of their cities and urban regions. This book is about these policies and their implications for place-making and competitive cities. Policies driven by ‘classic’ location theory, cluster policies, ‘creative class’ policies aimed at

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…

Research and technology organizations’ mobilizers of the regional environment: Competitive strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Augusto Rincón Díaz

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to propose a contingent model that facilitates knowledge of the strategies followed by the research technology organizations (RTOs of Valencia and the Basque Country, Spain, to adapt to the turbulence of their environment. Design/methodology/approach - The research includes context, organizational and results variables and identifies some barriers that the RTOs encounter in collaborating with SMEs and also the best practices they follow to develop competitive advantages. The methodology used consisted of applying the proposed model to the 27 RTOs of both autonomous regions; a factor analysis was then performed to determine whether there exist groups of related (correlated variables; finally, the authors proceeded to carry out a hierarchical cluster analysis to observe how the 27 RTOs are distributed according to their ability to adapt and respond to environmental turbulence. Findings - The technological policy must consider the characteristics of each region to propose more efficient and equitable mechanisms that allow the RTOs to face new challenges. Originality/value -This study proposes a theoretical model suitable for RTOs to respond to environmental changes, to the current economy globalization and to cope with new challenges. This proposal means that RTOs must manage an appropriate combination of key factors, including the development of more proactive innovation strategies, an organic organizational structure to relate better with other innovation agents and universities, which help them to work more efficiently with SMEs and to obtain a higher innovative performance.

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...

THE TAXATION AND THE COUNTRIES COMPETITIVENESS

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Csongor CSŐSZ

2017-06-01

Full Text Available According to the OECD, competitiveness is a measure of a country's advantage or disadvantage in selling its products on international markets. While economists consider productivity and growth rate as basic indicators of competitiveness, those dealing with economic- and social policy - including the OECD and various bodies of the EU - also emphasize the importance of high level employment rates. The regional policy of the EU,which is targeting balanced territorial development, considers the improvement of the competitiveness of its regions as the most effective tool achieving cohesion. The study contains an analysis of the GDP of the 12 member states that joined the Union in 2004 (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovak Republic, Slovenia and those in 2007 (Romania and Bulgaria in relation with the employment rate, corporate tax, personal income tax values, imports and exports value.

CONCEPTUAL APPROACH OF COMPETITIVENESS AND INTERDEPENDENCE BETWEEN COMPETITION AND COMPETITIVENESS

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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 for biomass. Regional imbalances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiklund, S.E.; Bohlin, B.; Remes, M.; Aakesson, H.; Warnqvist, B.; Norrstroem, H.; Jonsson, Tomas

1997-04-01

The main aim of this study has been to investigate if a substantial increase in biofuel utilization may lead to pronounced regional differences in supply and demand, and what effects such imbalances could lead to. In the study the country has been split up into ten regions, from north to south, and it is confirmed that there would be an imbalance effect. confirmed that there would be an imbalance effect

FACTORS INCREASING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF MILK PRODUCTION IN THE KRASNODAR REGION

OpenAIRE

Kremyanskaya E. V.

2016-01-01

The study justifies the need for improving the competitiveness of milk production in the commodity market, identifies the key indicators of improving the competitiveness of milk, which include the quality and level of costs. A direct dependence of the efficiency of realization of milk and incentives of operators of machine milking (milkers) on the quality of the raw milk produced is defined by means of the method of statistical groupings. A correlation and regression analysis of the quality o...

EDITORIAL: Physics competitions Physics competitions

Science.gov (United States)

Jordens, H.; Mathelitsch, L.

2009-11-01

1. Physics competitions: aims and realizations One aim of physics competitions is to increase the interest of young students, primarily at upper secondary level, to physics and natural sciences in general. A competition has motivational aspects known usually from sports events or games—comparing one's own ability with others, of course with the desire to be better and to win. If competitions reach nationwide and even international levels, additional stimulation is created. Competitions provide greatest attraction to possible winners, to the group of gifted people in a particular field. This implies that science contests are excellent tools for the promotion of talented students. Traditional teaching has been shown to have problems in supporting this group of students. Very often teachers are overstretched with the demands of teaching both low- and high-level students. Extracurricular activities are therefore a good chance to relieve the teacher, and to give talented students the opportunity for appropriate training and challenge. The competitions, however, have a broader impact and address more young people than one might guess from the statements above. Training courses and selection at school level give a larger group of students extra and, to some extent, complimentary education in physics. The degree of complexity of the tasks corresponds very often to the standards of the next level of education in the school system. Interestingly, many physics competitions have their origin in countries beyond the former Iron Curtain. They started as regional and national tournaments, were joined by neighbouring countries and have grown, in some cases, to events with participants from more than 80 countries. Although the features mentioned above are common to the different competitions, there are distinct differences between them [1]. The International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) is the oldest international physics competition for students at upper secondary level [2]. It dates

Competitive Pressure on China : Factor Rewards Migration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ten Raa, T.; Pan, H.

2001-01-01

Our objective is to assess personal income under perfect competition, when factors are rewarded according to their productivities, and to contrast the ensuing distribution with the status quo.Competition will yield winners and losers, both in terms of factor claims and in terms of regions or

The effects of stimulus competition and voluntary attention on colour-graphemic synaesthesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Rich, Anina N; Mattingley, Jason B

2003-10-06

Colour-graphemic synaesthetes experience vivid colours when reading letters, digits and words. We examined the effect of stimulus competition and attention on these unusual colour experiences in 14 synaesthetes and 14 non-synaesthetic controls. Participants named the colour of hierarchical local-global stimuli in which letters at each level elicited synaesthetic colours that were congruent or incongruent with the display colour. Synaesthetes were significantly slower to name display colours when either level was incongruent than when both levels were congruent. This effect was significantly reduced when synaesthetes focused attention on one level while the congruency of letters at the ignored level was varied. These findings suggest that competition between multiple inducers and mechanisms of voluntary attention influence colour-graphemic synaesthesia.

Globalization and Firm Competitiveness in the Middle East and North Africa Region

OpenAIRE

Fawzy, Samiha

2002-01-01

Globalization has increased competitive pressures on firms. Together with rapid technological change, it has altered the environment in which firms operate. While globalization offers unprecedented opportunities for firms to act successfully, it simultaneously heightens the risks for firms lagging behind. In an open and liberalized world, increasing firm competitiveness has become a major ...

Farmer Performance under Competitive Pressure in Agro-cluster Regions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wardhana, D.; Ihle, R.; Heijman, W.J.M.

2017-01-01

Agro-clusters would allow farmers to acquire positive and negative externalities. On one hand, smallholder farmers in spatial proximity are likely to benefit from this concentration; on the other hand, they incur high competitive pressure from other neighboring farmers. We examine the link between

Competitive market for multiple firms and economic crisis

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Yong

2010-09-01

The origin of economic crises is a key problem for economics. We present a model of long-run competitive markets to show that the multiplicity of behaviors in an economic system, over a long time scale, emerge as statistical regularities (perfectly competitive markets obey Bose-Einstein statistics and purely monopolistic-competitive markets obey Boltzmann statistics) and that how interaction among firms influences the evolutionary of competitive markets. It has been widely accepted that perfect competition is most efficient. Our study shows that the perfectly competitive system, as an extreme case of competitive markets, is most efficient but not stable, and gives rise to economic crises as society reaches full employment. In the economic crisis revealed by our model, many firms condense (collapse) into the lowest supply level (zero supply, namely, bankruptcy status), in analogy to Bose-Einstein condensation. This curious phenomenon arises because perfect competition (homogeneous competitions) equals symmetric (indistinguishable) investment direction, a fact abhorred by nature. Therefore, we urge the promotion of monopolistic competition (heterogeneous competitions) rather than perfect competition. To provide early warning of economic crises, we introduce a resolving index of investment, which approaches zero in the run-up to an economic crisis. On the other hand, our model discloses, as a profound conclusion, that the technological level for a long-run social or economic system is proportional to the freedom (disorder) of this system; in other words, technology equals the entropy of system. As an application of this concept, we give a possible answer to the Needham question: “Why was it that despite the immense achievements of traditional China it had been in Europe and not in China that the scientific and industrial revolutions occurred?”

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.)

Critical success factors for competitiveness of construction companies: A critical review

Science.gov (United States)

Hanafi, Abdul Ghafur; Nawi, Mohd Nasrun Mohd

2016-08-01

Making progress basically, a fundamental issue for the construction companies to get by in a highly competitive industry. From time to time, industry players are facing stiff and tough competition due to large number of players, whether existing or new players involved from various background and track record. Furthermore, the large numbers of component deciding the competitiveness of contractors, whose organization structures and governance have turned out to be more muddled. Different construction companies have their own unique criteria which may differ from one to another. The enormous amount of issues needs to bring down to manageable numbers so that measures can be identified and scrutinized to enhance competitiveness. This paper discusses the result from the critical investigation from past studies in the Asian countries, namely China, India, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Several fundamental factors have been identified as CSFs in construction companies in respective country. Also highlighted a critical survey based upon various literatures written on this subject where critical success factors (CSFs) as a yardstick to gauge the relationship among CSFs in various construction companies in the Asian region. Far reaching estimation of an organization's performance and resulting input to its supervision is crucial for business change. Estimation additionally empowers organizations to be contrasted from one another on the premise of institutionalized data, permitting best practices to be distinguished and connected more widely. Different countries have their own set of critical success factors (CSFs) which may differ in term of priority and at the same time share common elements of success factor in accomplishment as a construction companies. The study, which is exploratory in nature, embraced the content investigation and inductive technique to accomplish its objectives.

Plants and geographical names in Croatia.

Science.gov (United States)

Cargonja, Hrvoje; Daković, Branko; Alegro, Antun

2008-09-01

The main purpose of this paper is to present some general observations, regularities and insights into a complex relationship between plants and people through symbolic systems like geographical names on the territory of Croatia. The basic sources of data for this research were maps from atlas of Croatia of the scale 1:100000. Five groups of maps or areas were selected in order to represent main Croatian phytogeographic regions. A selection of toponyms from each of the map was made in which the name for a plant in Croatian language was recognized (phytotoponyms). Results showed that of all plant names recognized in geographical names the most represented are trees, and among them birch and oak the most. Furthermore, an attempt was made to explain the presence of the most represented plant species in the phytotoponyms in the light of general phytogeographical and sociocultural differences and similarities of comparing areas. The findings confirm an expectation that the genera of climazonal vegetation of particular area are the most represented among the phytotoponyms. Nevertheless, there are ample examples where representation of a plant name in the names of human environment can only be ascribed to ethno-linguistic and socio-cultural motives. Despite the reductionist character of applied methodology, this research also points out some advantages of this approach for ethnobotanic and ethnolinguistic studies of greater areas of human environment.

Organizational Structure and Product Market Competition

OpenAIRE

Jung Hur; Yohanes E. Riyanto

2007-01-01

We analyze an interaction between a firm’s choice of organizational structure and competition in the product-market. Two organizational structures are considered, namely a centralized-organization, whereby formal authority is retained by a principal, and a decentralized-organization, whereby formal authority is delegated to an agent. We show that the choice of organizational structure hinges on a trade-off between operating-profit and managerial effort. The principal may prefer to choose an o...

Functional Values and Characteristics of Food Brand Name Based on the Relation between Language and Culture

OpenAIRE

Haitao Lu

2015-01-01

For commodities, labeling is a mark enabling food producers or manufacturers to differ their goods from others in a same classification. As a kind of labeling, food brand is various in form and its name is the focus of this study. With market economic system, Chinese food industry is facing much severer market competitions, so studying on languages of food brand name has significant guidance to the sustainable development of food brand. This study investigates characteristics of food brand na...

Research on the Ancient Mongolian Place-Name Along the Silk Road

Science.gov (United States)

Nashunwuritu; Baiyinbateer; Duoxi

2016-06-01

"Silk Road" is an ancient commercial trade channel connecting China with Asia, Africa and Europe and a major link of the economy, politics and culture of the East and West as well. In the 13th Century, with the westward expedition of Mongolian, the communication and integration of culture among different countries was accelerated, which led to many Mongolian place-names scattered in the countries along the silk-road, such as Khwarezmia, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Kipchak, Persian, involving today's Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Serbia, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, India and many other countries and regions. The place-name is a kind of important factor that can represent the changes of culture, economic in history. We analyzed the current place-names in different countries or regions with different language to find out ancient Mongolian place-names, and marked the names on the digital map. Through the changes and transition of the place-name, we explored the development of Mongolian language changes itself, Mongolian blends with other languages, and furtherly reveal information of culture exchange.

RESEARCH ON THE ANCIENT MONGOLIAN PLACE-NAME ALONG THE SILK ROAD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nashunwuritu

2016-06-01

Full Text Available “Silk Road” is an ancient commercial trade channel connecting China with Asia, Africa and Europe and a major link of the economy, politics and culture of the East and West as well. In the 13th Century, with the westward expedition of Mongolian, the communication and integration of culture among different countries was accelerated, which led to many Mongolian place-names scattered in the countries along the silk-road, such as Khwarezmia, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Kipchak, Persian, involving today's Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Serbia, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, India and many other countries and regions. The place-name is a kind of important factor that can represent the changes of culture, economic in history. We analyzed the current place-names in different countries or regions with different language to find out ancient Mongolian place-names, and marked the names on the digital map. Through the changes and transition of the place-name, we explored the development of Mongolian language changes itself, Mongolian blends with other languages, and furtherly reveal information of culture exchange.

COMPETITION IN ROMANIAN BANKING SECTOR

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Capraru Bogdan

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Recent turmoil in the global financial system has impacted severely on the banking sector with many banks suffering large losses and necessitating the need to raise additional capital privately or through their respective national governments. In our study we investigate the impact of structural reforms performed throughout the European Union (EU accession process on competition and contestability of banking systems in Romania. The literature of the measurement of competition can be divided into two major approaches: structural and non-structural. The structural approach to the assessment of competition embraces the Structure-Conduct-Performance Hypothesis (SCP and the Efficient Structure Hypothesis (ESH. The structural approach, as the name suggests, assesses bank competition by examining measures of market structure such as concentration ratios (the share of assets held by the top 3 or 5 institutions or indices (e.g., the Herfindhal-Hirschman index and supposes that higher concentration in the banking market causes less competitive bank conduct and leads to higher bank profitability. The SCP model is originally developed by Bain (1956. The second approach, ESH, developed by Demsetz (1973 and Peltzmann (1977 suggests that the superior performance of the market leaders determines the market structure, implying that higher efficiency produces both higher concentration and greater profitability. The non-structural indicators of competition are mainly based on the measures of monopoly power developed by Lerner (1934. The Lerner Index suggests the mark-up of price over marginal cost. An alternative non-structural indicator of the degree of market competition is the Panzar and Rosse (1987 H-statistic. The H-statistic measures the extent to which changes in banking costs are reflected in changes in banking revenues. In order to examine the level of competition and market power of banks in Romania for period 2003 - 2009, we estimate the non

Spatial concentration of economic activity and competitiveness of Central European regions

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Justyna Majewska

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The paper tackles with a still somewhat underdeveloped aspect of regional competiveness which regards to spillover effects stemming from spatial proximity of highly competitive neighbors. Although spillover effects are well recognized in the literature, we focus more on inter-regional concentration of business activity when enterprises are located in a particular district which is not far from the agglomeration center but not the center itself. We check for statistical significance of spatial autocorrelation measures (local Moran’s Ii statistic in order to identify spillovers between districts in Central European countries (Germany, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia. We use variables indicating Knowledge Intensive Services (KIS, in particular hi-tech KIS and information and communication services (including computer science. We compare 2009 with 2015 to notice agglomeration dynamics. We observe statistically significant spillover effects in Central European countries in urbanization-type clusters as well as strengthening of the effect over time. Taking into consideration more detailed data for Poland we conclude that while hi-tech KIS mostly spill over to neighboring districts, the reverse pattern may be observed for computer science (programming and consultancy. One explanation is that this subsector relies on highly demanded workforce and a prestigious localization (in the agglomeration centers works as a bargaining chip to attract programmers. In order to measure the spillover effects more precisely it is recommended to define and measure the neighborhood of agglomeration centers using localization of firms based on GPS coordinates instead of centroids (geometric means of districts – as shown in example of Poland.

Endogenous growth theory and regional development policy

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Cvetanović Slobodan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The numerous versions of endogenous explanations of economic growth emphasize the importance of technological change driving forces, as well as the existence of appropriate institutional arrangements. Endogenous growth theory contributes to a better understanding of various experiences with long-term growth of countries and regions. It changes the key assumptions of the Neoclassical growth theory and participates in the modern regional development physiology explanation. Based on these conclusions, the paper: a explicates the most important theoretical postulates of the theory, b explains the most important factors of economic growth in the regions in light of the Endogenous growth theory messages and c emphasizes the key determinants of regional competitiveness which in our view is conceptually between the phenomena of micro- and macro-competitiveness and represents their necessary and unique connection. First of all, micro-competitiveness is transformed into a regional competitiveness; then regional competitiveness is transformed into a macro-competitiveness. In turn, macro - influences the microeconomic competitiveness, and the circle is closed. After that, the process starts over again.

Does tourism destination competitiveness lead to performance? A case of ASEAN region

OpenAIRE

Hafiz Hanafiah, Mohd; Hemdi, Mohamad Abdullah; Ahmad, Ismail

2016-01-01

The main purpose of this paper is to identify the causes of ASEAN tourism performance. This paper empirically examines the role of tourism destination competitiveness on tourism performance among the ASEAN countries. This study employed the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) to assess tourism performance of the ASEAN countries. More specifically, this paper explores whether tourism's core resources, complementary resources, destination management, tourism prices and globalisation...

41 CFR 105-72.503 - Competition.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... competitive advantage, contractors that develop or draft specifications, requirements, statements of work... (Continued) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION Regional Offices-General Services Administration 72-UNIFORM...

A name is a name is a name: some thoughts and personal opinions about molluscan scientific names

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dance, S.P.

2009-01-01

Since 1758, with the publication of Systema Naturae by Linnaeus, thousands of scientific names have been proposed for molluscs. The derivation and uses of many of them are here examined from various viewpoints, beginning with names based on appearance, size, vertical distribution, and location.

Non-price competition in the regional high-rise construction market

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Ganebnykh Elena

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes the market of high-rise residential construction in the city of Kirov (Russia. A minimal significance of price factors has been revealed in the process of the market analysis. This suggests that a lower price does not guarantee an increase in consumer demand. Thus, factors of non-price competition are of great importance in the market in question. The expert survey has identified the factors of non-price competition which influence consumer perceptions. A perceptual map has been constructed on the basis of the identified factors by means of the factor analysis to determine the positioning of each high-rise building relative to the consumer requirements. None of the high-rise residential buildings in the market in question meets the consumers’ expectations of an “ideal facility”.

Non-price competition in the regional high-rise construction market

Science.gov (United States)

Ganebnykh, Elena; Burtseva, Tatyana; Gurova, Ekaterina; Polyakova, Irina

2018-03-01

The article analyzes the market of high-rise residential construction in the city of Kirov (Russia). A minimal significance of price factors has been revealed in the process of the market analysis. This suggests that a lower price does not guarantee an increase in consumer demand. Thus, factors of non-price competition are of great importance in the market in question. The expert survey has identified the factors of non-price competition which influence consumer perceptions. A perceptual map has been constructed on the basis of the identified factors by means of the factor analysis to determine the positioning of each high-rise building relative to the consumer requirements. None of the high-rise residential buildings in the market in question meets the consumers' expectations of an "ideal facility".

Mediterranean Way of Competitiveness

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Art Kovacic

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The Mediterranean area have a special concept of competitiveness topic. Normally is that region not so industrial and knowledge based oriented as a North Europe.That countries can't reach the same development level as the north one. Lisbon's and Goethenburg's strategies create the main framework of development programme. Mediterranean programme is such a case. European internal market has forced the EU countries to increase competitiveness. The economic prosperity of countries is associated with their ability to generate or attract economic activities which are able to increase income by performing well on themarket. Financial crisis in the EU has changed the look on the competitiveness research. Economy in the main countries has to find way of recovery. Former giants of the financial world have found themselves suddenly facing bankruptcy.Inevitably, the crisis is also having an effect on households and businesses - economic growth has slowed sharply and in some EU countries unemployment has begun to increase for the first time in several years. Form that perspective we have to find the right solution of European competitiveness.

Language competition in a population of migrating agents

Science.gov (United States)

Lipowska, Dorota; Lipowski, Adam

2017-05-01

Influencing various aspects of human activity, migration is associated also with language formation. To examine the mutual interaction of these processes, we study a Naming Game with migrating agents. The dynamics of the model leads to formation of low-mobility clusters, which turns out to break the symmetry of the model: although the Naming Game remains symmetric, low-mobility languages are favored. High-mobility languages are gradually eliminated from the system, and the dynamics of language formation considerably slows down. Our model is too simple to explain in detail language competition of migrating human communities, but it certainly shows that languages of settlers are favored over nomadic ones.

REGIONAL CHAINS OF ADDED VALUE AS A TOOL OF INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION- COMPETITIVENESS

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M. E. Guliyev

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives. The infrastructural aspects of integrated interaction and factors impacting on the efficiency increase of regional participation  in the creation of added value chains on the example of cooperation  between developed and developing countries during the  implementation of joint production projects are considered.Methods. A factor analysis of the degree of various countries’ involvement into global added value chains is carried out,  taking into account their geographical location, natural resources and openness of markets, as well as the infrastructure, professional knowledge of the workforce, practice of cooperation of  domestic firms with foreign partners and the attractiveness of their investment climate.Results. An evaluation of the integrated potential of individual countries, which could undertake the functions of  integrators and mediators within the implementation of regional  programmes of social and economic development, is presented. The  growth potential is estimated and the role of global creation chains  of added value (AVC revealed as a tool for increasing the  competitiveness of national trade policies. It is determined that,  when adopting the latest technologies, companies strive to geographically approximate the placement of the middle links of added value chains to specialised suppliers, “smart” consumers and scientific centres as a means of maintaining innovation continuity.Conclusion. The countries of the EEU and the CIS have significant potential for developing cooperation in the field of  transition to a model of new economic growth, as well as in the  development and application of regional added value chains. As well  as the extractive sector of the economy of the EEU and CIS  countries, included in the regional added value chains, agriculture, chemical and textile industries, metallurgy, transport  engineering, and services sector have the potential to be key

Knowledge management as a means of developing a firm’s competitive advantage

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Tomaž Čater

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Knowledge management is one of the most popular themes of modern scientific literature. However, in spite of all the published research on the importance of knowledge management, there is little said about knowledge as a direct source of a firm’s competitive advantage. In the past decades, three main hypotheses on the sources of a firm’s competitive advantage were developed; namely, the industrial organization, the resource-based and the capability-based hypotheses. In this paper, we argue that the knowledge-based hypothesis can and should be considered as the fourth tantamount hypothesis on how the sources of the competitive advantage of a firm can be explained.

COMPETITIVENESS ASSESSMENT OF THE REWARD POLICY: A CASE STUDY

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Ponomarchuk M. A.

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Competitive wage policy is considered as the main tool for solving the problem of attracting, retaining and promoting qualified personnel, which is relevant for domestic organizations. The article defines the main stages and purposes of evaluation of the competitiveness of the wage policy. The authors studied the use of an estimation of the wage policy competitiveness by the Russian organizations and identified practical need for and methods of assessing the competitiveness of the wage policy. Objective and subjective factors influencing the direction of the wage policy are identified, as well as the trends in wages under the influence of the crisis conditions. The main indicators of mobility and personnel turnover, the average wage in the Irkutsk region are considered. The description of the external conditions of functioning of the organizations in the Irkutsk region is presented.

Problemy konkurencii i kooperacii v toplivno-jenergeticheskom komplekse Baltijskogo regiona [Competition and cooperation problems in the energy sector of the Baltic region

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Zverev Yuri

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This article considers the problems of competition and cooperation in the field of energy in the Baltic region, first of all, those related to the export of Russian oil and oil products, the Nord Stream gas pipeline, and the construction of nuclear plants in Poland, the Kaliningrad region, Lithuania, and Belarus. The author shows that, though Russia and the EU occasionally pursue opposite goals, there is considerable interdependence between them, and a confrontation is disadvantageous for both parties.

North-American norms for name disagreement: pictorial stimuli naming discrepancies.

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Mary O'Sullivan

Full Text Available Pictorial stimuli are commonly used by scientists to explore central processes; including memory, attention, and language. Pictures that have been collected and put into sets for these purposes often contain visual ambiguities that lead to name disagreement amongst subjects. In the present work, we propose new norms which reflect these sources of name disagreement, and we apply this method to two sets of pictures: the Snodgrass and Vanderwart (S&V set and the Bank of Standardized Stimuli (BOSS. Naming responses of the presented pictures were classified within response categories based on whether they were correct, incorrect, or equivocal. To characterize the naming strategy where an alternative name was being used, responses were further divided into different sub-categories that reflected various sources of name disagreement. Naming strategies were also compared across the two sets of stimuli. Results showed that the pictures of the S&V set and the BOSS were more likely to elicit alternative specific and equivocal names, respectively. It was also found that the use of incorrect names was not significantly different across stimulus sets but that errors were more likely caused by visual ambiguity in the S&V set and by a misuse of names in the BOSS. Norms for name disagreement presented in this paper are useful for subsequent research for their categorization and elucidation of name disagreement that occurs when choosing visual stimuli from one or both stimulus sets. The sources of disagreement should be examined carefully as they help to provide an explanation of errors and inconsistencies of many concepts during picture naming tasks.

Competitiveness regulation of dairy products production in the Crimea

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Domozhilkina Zh. V.

2016-05-01

Full Text Available the article outlines the results of studying the major problems concerning supporting competitiveness and quality of dairy products in the Crimea. The researchers compared the level of competitiveness of the dairy enterprise ltd. «Бег» with other brands of milk and suggested measures to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of competitiveness management of dairy products in this region.

Small and medium enterprise competitiveness: Internationalization strategy

OpenAIRE

Silva, Francisco Maria Branco Cannas Henriques da

2013-01-01

Field lab: SME competitiveness This work project has the objective to internationalize a Portuguese fast food chain, named Prego Gourmet, to the Brazilian market, more specifically, to enter in the Sao Paulo fast food industry in the end of 2013, through studies of the internal and external environment. Hence, this work project is a prospective analysis of what the company should do in order to internationalize, analysing the entry mode, collaborative arrangements, and implemen...

Co-operation and Competition in Regional Economic Development Associated with Radioactive Waste Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Webler, Thomas

2009-01-01

Competition and co-operation appear in many different social venues. The author gives a variety of examples of co-operative behaviour in economics, politics, research, and everyday life activities such as sports. These four diverse examples illustrate the variety of forms that co-operation may take such as tacit co-operation, incremental co-operation, deep co-operation, etc. The links with the form of democracy (adversary democracy or consensual democracy) are also pointed. However, as with so many other things in life, the key is to the question of co-operation or competition is balance. Co-operation and competition are dialectical opposites. They create and maintain and define each other; they each are incomplete without the other

COMPETITIVENESS - KEY ISSUES OF THE ROMANIAN ECONOMY

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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.

The analysis of export commodity competitiveness in Central Java Province at period 2011-2015

Science.gov (United States)

Elysi, M. G.; Darsono; Riptanti, E. W.

2018-03-01

This study aims to determine the competitiveness of furniture export in Central Java Province Indonesia in terms of comparative and competitive advantages and to formulate the strategies to enhance the competitiveness of furniture export in Central Java Province. Descriptive analytic method was used for this research. Data used in this research are primary and secondary data. Data were analyzed using RCA (Revealed Comparative Advantage), TSI (Trade Specialization Index) and SOAR (Strength, Opportunity, Aspiration, Result). The results showed that furniture commodity in Central Java Province had strong comparative competitiveness with the value of RCA>1 and had strong competitiveness with positive index values in the range of 0 to 1. Based on SOAR analysis, strategy measures can be formulated, namely maintaining the existing and expanding targeted markets, improving product designs (innovations) and improving raw materials efficiency.

Interspecific interactions in phytophagous insects revisited: a quantitative assessment of competition theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan, Ian; Denno, Robert F

2007-10-01

The importance of interspecific competition is a highly controversial and unresolved issue for community ecology in general, and for phytophagous insects in particular. Recent advancements, however, in our understanding of indirect (plant- and enemy-mediated) interactions challenge the historical paradigms of competition. Thus, in the context of this rapidly developing field, we re-evaluate the evidence for interspecific competition in phytophagous insects using a meta-analysis of published studies. Our analysis is specifically designed to test the assumptions underlying traditional competition theory, namely that competitive interactions are symmetrical, necessitate spatial and temporal co-occurrence, and increase in intensity as the density, phylogenetic similarity, and niche overlap of competing species increase. Despite finding frequent evidence for competition, we found very little evidence that plant-feeding insects conform to theoretical predictions for interspecific competition. Interactions were highly asymmetrical, similar in magnitude within vs. between feeding guilds (chewers vs. sap-feeders), and were unaffected by the quantity of resources removed (% defoliation). There was mixed support for the effects of phylogeny, spatial/temporal separation, and the relative strength of intra- vs. interspecific competition. Clearly, a new paradigm that accounts for indirect interactions and facilitation is required to describe how interspecific competition contributes to the organization of phytophagous insect communities, and perhaps to other plant and animal communities as well.

The discrete dynamics of symmetric competition in the plane.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, H; Rogers, T D

1987-01-01

We consider the generalized Lotka-Volterra two-species system xn + 1 = xn exp(r1(1 - xn) - s1yn) yn + 1 = yn exp(r2(1 - yn) - s2xn) originally proposed by R. M. May as a model for competitive interaction. In the symmetric case that r1 = r2 and s1 = s2, a region of ultimate confinement is found and the dynamics therein are described in some detail. The bifurcations of periodic points of low period are studied, and a cascade of period-doubling bifurcations is indicated. Within the confinement region, a parameter region is determined for the stable Hopf bifurcation of a pair of symmetrically placed period-two points, which imposes a second component of oscillation near the stable cycles. It is suggested that the symmetric competitive model contains much of the dynamical complexity to be expected in any discrete two-dimensional competitive model.

Using EB-QFD to achieve competitive advantages for world class manufacturing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahman Mostofi

2012-10-01

Full Text Available This paper introduces a tool named EB-QFD used for electronic business planning in strategic issues. Nowadays, the challenges of manufacturing sectors for achieving global competition will depend on their speed to change from domestic to world class manufacturing organizations, also the rapid global deployment of electronic business, information technology and their benefits have required managers to make decision, which look for a balance world class manufacturing factors with strategic business goals. To ensure that selected e-business strategies meet world class manufacturing requirements, organizations should simultaneously explore and communicate the relationship between world class manufacturing and electronic business. Electronic business planners can achieve competitive advantages through the implementation of an integration of quality function deployment (QFD with electronic business (EB called EB-QFD. This study is based on data collected from an Iranian auto parts manufacturing company and the implementation of EB-QFD. In this research, EB-QFD contains two parts named EB-WHATs as needs of Electronic Business and EB-HOWs as resources for EB-WHATs. Statistical analysis points that there are positive relationships between using EB-WHATs and EB-HOW and world class manufacturing factors as competitive advantages. We used electronic business systems for EB-WHATs and resource based view (RBV for EB-HOWs.

The Role of Special Operations Forces in Global Competition

Science.gov (United States)

2016-04-01

adversary to achieve its objectives. 10 Gray Zone and competition short of armed conflict The concept of a gray area between peace and war...and distract, or a prolific arsonist in a region may achieve all of the escalatory objectives. Summary of actions: global competition options For...place today. COMPETITION CONTROL/ ADVANTAGE U.S. NEAR PEER STATES ASPIRING STATES NON-STATE ACTORS D DOD NORTHCOM SOUTHCOM EUCOM AFRICOM CENTCOM

Systemic Competitiveness of SMEs in Mexico City, Mexico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Luisa Saavedra García

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The objective of this work was to apply the model of systemic competitiveness, SMEs in Mexico City. Developing four levels of competitiveness: macro level (economic environment, meso level (regional environment, Level Goal (Environment Socioeconomic and micro Level (internal factors. Data collection was done through fieldwork and archival research. The main findings are among the major strengths of the economic environment: high level of gross domestic product, high labor productivity and fiscal autonomy, the main weaknesses: the unions and the unemployment rate; meanwhile stand between foreign investment opportunities between threats and insecurity, corruption and difficulty in business transactions. In the regional setting a positive and 1 perfect relationship between the number of economic units and per capita GDP was found. With regard to socio-cultural factors, presents lower levels of poverty and unemployment to the rest of the country. Finally, at the micro level, the competitiveness of SMEs is in direct relation to the size of the company and the industry sector shows higher competitiveness trade and services sectors.

[Competition-dependence on retrieval-induced forgetting: the influence of the amount of retrieval cues].

Science.gov (United States)

Yamada, Yohei; Tsukimoto, Takashi; Hirano, Tetsuji

2010-02-01

Remembering some of the studied (target) items impairs subsequent remembrance of relevant (non-target) items. This phenomenon, retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF), occurs when non-targets actively compete with the retrieval of a target. Researchers suggest that suppression mechanisms reduce interference from relevant items to facilitate the retrieval of target items (Anderson, 2003). Competition-dependence is one of the properties that support the suppression hypothesis (Anderson, Bjork, & Bjork, 1994). In the present study, we manipulated the type of retrieval practice (normal, last-letter, or category-name) in order to vary the degree of competition between the target and the non-targets. For the high-scoring retrieval practice group, RIF occurred in the normal retrieval condition, but not in the last-letter or in the category-name conditions. For the low-scoring retrieval practice group, RIF did not occur in any of the conditions. These findings provide new evidence that the occurrence of RIF depends on the degree of competition between a target item and related non-target items during retrieval practice.

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.

Data mining teaching throughout cards game competition

OpenAIRE

Antoñanzas-Torres, Javier; Urraca, Ruben; Sodupe-Ortega, Enrique; Martínez-de-Pison, Francisco; Pernía-Espinoza, Alpha

2015-01-01

[EN] Data-mining techniques and statistical metrics learning can be complicated because of the complexity and overwhelming nature of this field. In this paper a class competition to improve learning of designing Decision Support Systems (DSS) by playing a classic cards game named "Copo" is proposed. The fact that this game is based on a probabilistic problem and that different solutions can be obtained represents a very typical kind of problem in the field of engineering and compu...

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.

Competition, transmission and pattern evolution: A network analysis of global oil trade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Hai-Ying; Ji, Qiang; Fan, Ying

2014-01-01

This paper studies the competition among oil importers using complex network theory, combined with several alternative measures of competition intensity, to analyze the evolution of the pattern and transmission of oil-trading competition. The results indicate that oil trade has formed a global competition pattern and that the role played by the Asian-Pacific region in the evolution of this competition pattern is becoming increasingly prominent. In addition, global competition intensity has continued to rise, and non-OECD countries have become the main driving force for this increase in global competition intensity. The large oil importers are the most significant parts of the global oil-trading competition pattern. They are not only the major participants in the competition for oil resources but also play important roles in the transmission of oil-trading competition. China and the United States especially display the feature of globalization, whose impacts of transmission reach across the whole oil-trading competition network. Finally, a “5C” (changeability, contestability, cooperation, commitment and circumstances) policy framework is put forward to maintain the stability of oil trade and improve the energy security of oil importers in various aspects. - Highlights: • An oil-trading competition network is constructed using complex network theory. • Oil trade has formed a global competition pattern and its intensity has kept rising. • The status of the Asian-Pacific region in the competition pattern becomes prominent. • Large oil importers play important roles in transmitting the trading competition. • A “5C” policy framework is put forward to cope with the intensive competition

The three names

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bas Jongenelen

2011-01-01

Two spectators are each asked to think of a girl's name (because your sister in law is pregnant and names are a big issue at the moment in your family.) You explain that you have a boy's name in your head, and you ask the spectators to think what this boy's name might be. You write three names on a

DO THE REGIONS OF ROMANIA HAVE POTENTIAL FOR SERVICE INNOVATION? THE CASE OF THE REGION OF BUCHAREST-ILFOV

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

IOSIF ALINA-ELENA

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The paper is focused on conducting an assessment on one particular region of Romania, namely the region of Bucharest-Ilfov, in relation to service innovation. The paper starts with an introductory section that reveals the region’s position in terms of competitiveness and innovation within the European Union. Afterwards, a short snapshot on innovation and service innovation is included, followed by a SWOT analysis of the Region of Bucharest-Ilfov. Both the socio-economic performance of the region and the regional performance in service innovation are analyzed. The paper ends with the conclusion section that includes an overview on the main characteristics of the region from the perspective of service innovation. The region of Bucharest-Ilfov is showing its performance in service innovation through various indicators, particularly by the share of employees in service innovation intensive industries and knowledge intensive service that overcome the EU average. Particularly, the enterprises from the Bucharest-Ilfov region are mostly encountered into the services sector, but they are at their beginnings in terms of service innovation. Moreover, most of the innovation comes from SMEs that tend to offer both product and process innovation. Consequently, service innovation in the region of Bucharest-Ilfov is mainly expected to be driven by the SMEs, but taking into account that big companies have their contribution too.

Electric power's new competitive marketplace

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hornick, R.; Zeppieri, J.; Rudden, K.

1993-01-01

Currently, competition is limited primarily to power generation, the sale of wholesale bulk power, and fuel substitution at the point of end use. However, within the next several years, the rivalry will focus on large, energy-intensive industrial and large commercial customers. Driven by the disparity in rates among neighboring and regional utilities, large users are expected to lobby aggressively for retail wheeling and access to new supplies. New competitors will provide customers with additional supply options, forcing traditional utilities to offer better prices and or service. Competition at the point of end use also will increase as the natural gas industry develops new end-use technologies, gas utilities compete more aggressively, and some state regulatory commissions promote fuel switching as part of integrated resource planning (IRP) and demand-side management (DSM). However, as long as electric utilities are subject to cost-based rate of return regulation within price-sensitive markets, they will be a competitive disadvantage. The paper discusses the following: competitive risks by market segment, wholesale markets, industrial markets, commercial markets, residential markets, and franchise markets

Deep learning for predicting the monsoon over the homogeneous regions of India

Science.gov (United States)

Saha, Moumita; Mitra, Pabitra; Nanjundiah, Ravi S.

2017-06-01

Indian monsoon varies in its nature over the geographical regions. Predicting the rainfall not just at the national level, but at the regional level is an important task. In this article, we used a deep neural network, namely, the stacked autoencoder to automatically identify climatic factors that are capable of predicting the rainfall over the homogeneous regions of India. An ensemble regression tree model is used for monsoon prediction using the identified climatic predictors. The proposed model provides forecast of the monsoon at a long lead time which supports the government to implement appropriate policies for the economic growth of the country. The monsoon of the central, north-east, north-west, and south-peninsular India regions are predicted with errors of 4.1%, 5.1%, 5.5%, and 6.4%, respectively. The identified predictors show high skill in predicting the regional monsoon having high variability. The proposed model is observed to be competitive with the state-of-the-art prediction models.

Building Regional Competencies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Norus, Jesper

2004-01-01

This paper analyzes the foundations of regional knowledge and its long-term impact onthe region's companies' and how a particular knowledge has developed an ability tostay competitive within a specific technological field. The case illustrates how theCopenhagen region has been able to develop...... a dominating position in the global marketfor industrial enzymes from 1870-2004. The case of industrial enzymes shows how aregion has been able to build sustainable competitive advantages from its distinctivecompetencies. This is done through a mixture of outsourcing and in sourcing ofcompetencies, knowledge...

PENGATURAN PASSING OFF DALAM PENGGUNAAN DOMAIN NAME TERKAIT DENGAN MEREK

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Herti Yunita Putri

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In cyber world we often hear about domain name’s term. Domain name is a unique name to identify the server computer’s name like a web server or email server on a computer network or Internet. Passing off also make causes confusion in using merk from a famous brand or merk on the goods and services. Selected domain name in the internet media often creates the similar domain name with the other parties. This similar domain name are often used by people who are not responsible to take advantages of the domain name for themself. This can be caused by the presence of competition from Internet media business. This things called passing off. This research is a normative juridical research with a qualitative analysis. The legal materials include primary legal, secondary law and tertiary legal materials. Collection technique applied is literary study. Legal materials were analyzed to see the argument implementation of the definition of merk, the definition of domain name, definition of passing off, passing off in use related by merk and domain name and the rules of law in Indonesia related by merk, domain name and passing off. Big wishes in the future it can assist as a basic reference and legal considerations which are useful in Indonesian law practice. There are two passing off related to the merk and domain name, called Crybersquatting and Tiposquatting. Domain name rules are not regulated clearly in merk regulation named Act No. 15 of 2001. It regulated in PP 24 Year 1993 about The Class List of Goods or Services In Merk, Telecommunications are included in the goods or services in merk. Domain name are regulated in UDRP (Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy with competent institutions called ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Dalam dunia maya (cyber world, kita sering mendengar istilah domain name. Domain name adalah nama unik yang diberikan untuk mengidentifikasi nama server komputer seperti web server atau email server di

Competitive and innovation factors in wine tourism clusters: A comparative study between consolidated and emerging regions in Brazil and Uruguay / Factores de competitividad e innovación en clusters enoturísticos: Un estudio comparativo entre las regiones consolidadas y emergentes en Brasil y Uruguay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flores Shana Sabbado

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to establish a cross-country analysis of the structure and organization of wine tourism clusters in consolidated and emerging wine regions in Brazil and Uruguay, looking for identifying the key factors for competitiveness and innovation. The regions chosen for analysis are: Vale dos Vinhedos, Campanha and Vale do São Francisco, in Brazil, and sites on Montevideo and Canelones, in Uruguay. The study analyze competitive factors in each region, including: the structure and density, support institutions at national and regional level, educational and research institutions, organization process for the geographical indication and the relationship between wine tourism and the promotion of wine and region. Further than comparing the two countries, the research also puts stop regions according to their stage of development in each assessed factor. Thus, the study suggests strategies that can be adopted at regional level or in cooperation between regions (in the country or bi-national cooperation to strengthen and develop the tourist areas of the wine as a whole.

Story of the Name of Restinga Jurubatiba National Park

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arthur Soffiati

2010-05-01

Full Text Available This text recovers the story of an Integral Protection Conservation Unit situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: The Jurubatiba Shoal National Park (Restinga de Jurubatiba National Park, the best preserved shoal area in the world. Responsible for proposing the park’s name, the author discourses about name options taken into consideration when the National Park was created and also briefly reports on the importance of this regional ecosystem.

DECISION MAKING IN COMPETITIVENESS OF REGIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marija Bogataj

2011-02-01

Full Text Available ESPON ATTREG project aims to investigate the motivation and behaviour of migration flows and daily commuting of students, tourists, aging population migrating to their secondary homes, students and other “part time” commuters – but especially behaviour of human resources in gross migrations and daily commuting – between regions. One of the key elements of the cohesion policy of the European Commission is the contribution of the development of new transport infrastructure to regional economic development. Extensive spending has taken place under ERDF, Cohesion Fund and ISPA to reduce disparities among regions. One of the prominent initiatives in the European Union in this respect is the development of the Trans-European transport networks (TEN-T, where also investments in Slovenian networks took place among priority list, which is based on the accessibility index value. In the case study of Slovenia decision support system is suggested for better forecasting the results of investments.

Modulation of neural activity during object naming: Effects of time and practice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Turennout, M.I. van; Bielamowicz, L.; Martin, A.

2003-01-01

Repeated exposure to objects improves our ability to identify and name them, even after a long delay. Previous brain imaging studies have demonstrated that this experience-related facilitation of object naming is associated with neural changes in distinct brain regions. We used event-related

Competitiveness and Economic Growth in Romanian Regions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simionescu Mihaela

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Considering the fact that Romanian economy competitiveness is not based on innovation and investment in human capital, this study makes an empirical evaluation of the impact of occupation and unemployment in Romanian counties on the economic growth. The approach based on panel vector-autoregressive (panel VAR models indicated a negative impact of occupation and activity rate in 42 Romanian counties on the economic growth during 2006-2014. On the other hand, the real economic growth was achieved at high unemployment rates. These results are contrary to previous studies in literature and are due to a structural economic crisis and to lack of labour productivity and investment in human capital. Further policy measures should focus on structural unemployment decrease, more skilled labour force according to labour market needs, lifelong learning, higher performance and quality of education system, promotion of social inclusion, poverty control.

Parents accidentally substitute similar sounding sibling names more often than dissimilar names.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zenzi M Griffin

Full Text Available When parents select similar sounding names for their children, do they set themselves up for more speech errors in the future? Questionnaire data from 334 respondents suggest that they do. Respondents whose names shared initial or final sounds with a sibling's reported that their parents accidentally called them by the sibling's name more often than those without such name overlap. Having a sibling of the same gender, similar appearance, or similar age was also associated with more frequent name substitutions. Almost all other name substitutions by parents involved other family members and over 5% of respondents reported a parent substituting the name of a pet, which suggests a strong role for social and situational cues in retrieving personal names for direct address. To the extent that retrieval cues are shared with other people or animals, other names become available and may substitute for the intended name, particularly when names sound similar.

Priming picture naming with a semantic task: an fMRI investigation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shiree Heath

Full Text Available Prior semantic processing can enhance subsequent picture naming performance, yet the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying this effect and its longevity are unknown. This functional magnetic resonance imaging study examined whether different neurological mechanisms underlie short-term (within minutes and long-term (within days facilitation effects from a semantic task in healthy older adults. Both short- and long-term facilitated items were named significantly faster than unfacilitated items, with short-term items significantly faster than long-term items. Region of interest results identified decreased activity for long-term facilitated items compared to unfacilitated and short-term facilitated items in the mid-portion of the middle temporal gyrus, indicating lexical-semantic priming. Additionally, in the whole brain results, increased activity for short-term facilitated items was identified in regions previously linked to episodic memory and object recognition, including the right lingual gyrus (extending to the precuneus region and the left inferior occipital gyrus (extending to the left fusiform region. These findings suggest that distinct neurocognitive mechanisms underlie short- and long-term facilitation of picture naming by a semantic task, with long-term effects driven by lexical-semantic priming and short-term effects by episodic memory and visual object recognition mechanisms.

Views on cultic place-names in Denmark: a review of research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bente Holmberg

1990-01-01

Full Text Available Although interest has long been shown in the meaning of place-names, place-name research as a methodical study has only a comparatively short history. A favourite topic for several authors has been to describe the history of an area on the basis of its place-names. From among all the names in the district, they would select now one and now another. Sometimes they would add a little non-onomastic source material and gradually they would reconstruct — on an exceptionally fragile foundation — a picture of the cultic past of the region. However, Danish place-names containing pre-Christian elements, in spite of their small number, may form an important source of information about the history of religion.

Temperament and self-based correlates of cooperative, competitive and individualistic learning preferences.

Science.gov (United States)

Gocłowska, Małgorzata A; Aldhobaiban, Nawal; Elliot, Andrew J; Murayama, Kou; Kobeisy, Ahmed; Abdelaziz, Ashraf

2017-06-01

People vary in the extent to which they prefer cooperative, competitive or individualistic achievement tasks. In this research, we conducted two studies designed to investigate correlates and possible roots of these social interdependence orientations, namely approach and avoidance temperament, general self-efficacy, implicit theories of intelligence, and contingencies of self-worth based in others' approval, competition and academic competence. The results indicated that approach temperament, general self-efficacy and incremental theory were positively related, and entity theory was negatively related to cooperative preferences (|r| range from .11 to .41); approach temperament, general self-efficacy, competition contingencies and academic competence contingencies were positively related to competitive preferences (|r| range from .16 to .46); and avoidance temperament, entity theory, competitive contingencies and academic competence contingencies were positively related, and incremental theory was negatively related to individualistic preferences (|r| range from .09 to .15). The findings are discussed with regard to the meaning of each of the three social interdependence orientations, cultural differences among the observed relations and implications for practitioners. © 2015 International Union of Psychological Science.

Geographic Names

Data.gov (United States)

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), developed by the United States Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, provides...

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ORGANISATIONAL COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AND PERFORMANCE MODERATED BY THE AGE AND SIZE OF FIRMS

OpenAIRE

Alimin Ismadi Ismail; Haslinda Abdullah; Jegak Uli; Raduan Che Rose

2010-01-01

It has been argued that achieving a position of competitive advantage is a necessary precursor to a firm's significant performance. This paper will empirically examine the potential moderating variables that could affect the relationship between a firm's competitive advantage and performance, namely the firms' age and size. By examining the relative moderating effects of these variables, this paper delivers valuable information to firms, specifically with regard to strategic management direct...

THE IMPACT OF THE EXTERNALITIES GENERATED BY COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moraru Adrian

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The goal of the paper named “The impact of the externalities generated by Competitive Intelligence” is to describe and understand how this activity works and behaves in a competitive environment, and what are the real cost of obtaining durable competitive advantages through a process such as Competitive Intelligence. This activity creates high added value on the market and the proper use of it can have a strong influence on increasing the competitiveness on the global economic environment and, therefore, increasing the efficiency inside those environments. On the other hand, externalities play a significant part in the economic welfare and, currently, in a globalized world, must be taken into consideration in order to obtain sustainable growth of the economy. As any other economic activity, Competitive Intelligence is also causing both positive and negative externalities. A thorough analysis of those externalities effects has to be made in order to understand how this process really works, and this paper aims to be the starting point of that analysis. Of course, further studies have to deepen each impact and obtain relevant results that will add up and draw more specific conclusions. This study’s conclusions, however, will reveal if this activity can work properly in every type of economy, regardless of its state of development. Since it represents a way to improve global competitiveness and, therefore, the market’s performance, the impact Competitive Intelligence is making on the whole economic system is a main parameter for establishing its real use. All in one, by being one of the most innovative ways to obtain competitive advantages through qualitative methods of analysis, the implementation of this process into the organizational culture of firms might change the way competitors choose to respond to one another’s actions. This research has taken into consideration both the macroeconomic and the microeconomic environment, using

Collaborative and Competitive Video Games for Teaching Computing in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Spencer; Chan, Samantha

2017-01-01

This study measures the success of using a collaborative and competitive video game, named Space Race, to teach computing to first year engineering students. Space Race is played by teams of four, each with their own tablet, collaborating to compete against the other teams in the class. The impact of the game on student learning was studied…

Identifying competitive strategies to improve the performance of hospitals in a competitive environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Chuan-Hui; Chiao, Yu-Ching; Tsai, Yafang

2017-11-21

This study is based on competitive dynamics theory, and discusses competitive actions (including their implementation requirements, strategic orientation, and action complexity) that influence hospitals' performance, while also meeting the requirements of Taiwan's "global budget" insurance payment policy. In order to investigate the possible actions of hospitals, the study was conducted in two stages. The first stage investigated the actions of hospitals from March 1 to May 31, 2009. Semi-structured questionnaires were used, which included in-depth interviews with senior supervisors of 10 medium- and large-scale hospitals in central Taiwan. This stage collected data related to the types of actions adopted by the hospitals in previous years. The second stage was based on the data collected from the first stage and on developed questionnaires, which were distributed from June 29 to November 1, 2009. The questionnaires were given to 20 superintendents, deputy superintendents, and supervisors responsible for the management of a hospital, and focused on medical centers and regional hospitals in central Taiwan in order to determine the types and number of competitive actions. First, the strategic orientation of an action has a significantly positive influence on subjective performance. Second, action complexity has a significantly positive influence on the subjective and the objective performance of a hospital. Third, the implementation requirements of actions do not have a significantly positive impact on the subjective or the objective performance of a hospital. Managers facing a competitive healthcare environment should adopt competitive strategies to improve the performance of the hospital.

Authorities and organizations involved with geographic names - 1989: United States, Canada, Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Orth, Donald J.

1989-01-01

There is a need for accurate and standard geographic names usage in all levels of government, industry, commerce, communications, education, and research. There is also a growing number of organizations in North America that are, fully or partly, involved in the scholarly study of geographic names. This report is a list of official national, State/Provincial, and regional provincial authorities concerned with name standardization, and of organizations involved with the study of geographic names, in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The appendixes are copies of documents that provide additional information about the organization, policies, procedures, and publications of some of these organizations.

What's in a Name? Interlocutors Dynamically Update Expectations about Shared Names.

Science.gov (United States)

Gegg-Harrison, Whitney M; Tanenhaus, Michael K

2016-01-01

In order to refer using a name, speakers must believe that their addressee knows about the link between the name and the intended referent. In cases where speakers and addressees learned a subset of names together, speakers are adept at using only the names their partner knows. But speakers do not always share such learning experience with their conversational partners. In these situations, what information guides speakers' choice of referring expression? A speaker who is uncertain about a names' common ground (CG) status often uses a name and description together. This N+D form allows speakers to demonstrate knowledge of a name, and could provide, even in the absence of miscommunication, useful evidence to the addressee regarding the speaker's knowledge. In cases where knowledge of one name is associated with knowledge of other names, this could provide indirect evidence regarding knowledge of other names that could support generalizations used to update beliefs about CG. Using Bayesian approaches to language processing as a guiding framework, we predict that interlocutors can use their partner's choice of referring expression, in particular their use of an N+D form, to generate more accurate beliefs regarding their partner's knowledge of other names. In Experiment 1, we find that domain experts are able to use their partner's referring expression choices to generate more accurate estimates of CG. In Experiment 2, we find that interlocutors are able to infer from a partner's use of an N+D form which other names that partner is likely to know or not know. Our results suggest that interlocutors can use the information conveyed in their partner's choice of referring expression to make generalizations that contribute to more accurate beliefs about what is shared with their partner, and further, that models of CG for reference need to account not just for the status of referents, but the status of means of referring to those referents.

INNOVATIVE CLUSTER OR COMPETITIVENESS POLE?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liliana Scutaru

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The paper analyzes the situation of clusters in Romania and their areas of activity and innovation in entrepreneurship Romanian state. It is made also a territorial distribution of clusters on the eight regions. The findings lead to the conclusion that there are some clusters that have the vocation to become poles of competitiveness in areas such as renewable energy, automotive, electronics, health, biotechnology, mechatronics or ICT (Information and Communication Technology which represent the resources for future of the Romanian economy. Regarding the degree of innovation of Romanian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs, the level is relatively modest, 30.8% of all enterprises being innovative. If we were to answer the question the title suggests, we would say "yes" to both since the innovative cluster as well as the competitiveness pole promotes par excellence, innovation through study, research and stimulation of creativity. And this is more than enough to support economic growth of Romania and maintain the competitiveness worldwide.

Possibilities of fractal analysis of the competitive dynamics: Approaches and procedures

Science.gov (United States)

Zagornaya, T. O.; Medvedeva, M. A.; Panova, V. L.; Isaichik, K. F.; Medvedev, A. N.

2017-11-01

The possibilities of the fractal approach are used for the study of non-linear nature of the competitive dynamics of the market of trading intermediaries. Based on a statistical study of the functioning of retail indicators in the region, the approach to the analysis of the characteristics of the competitive behavior of market participants is developed. The authors postulate the principles of studying the dynamics of competition as a result of changes in the characteristics of the vector and the competitive behavior of market agents.

The Mystery of the River Name Mezen

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadezhda V. Kabinina

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The article focuses on the origins of the name Mezen that refers to a large river in the north of the European part of Russia. The author critically reviews the earlier etymologies, in which the hydronym has been interpreted on the basis of the Ugric and Balto-Fennic-Sami data, and hypothesizes for Proto-Permic or Finno-Permic origins of the name as an alternative. According to this hypothesis, the name Mezen originates from an old lexical item related to the obsolete Komi-Zyrian mös and Udmurtian -mes (Permic *mεs with the general meaning of ‘source, spring, brook,’ which in toponymy stands for ‘river’ or ‘stream’. In evidence of the former toponymic productivity of this Permic word, the author provides multiple examples of hydronyms with the determinant -mVs to be found on the territory of the Republic of Komi and adjacent regions — the Russian North and the Perm Region (Vaimos, Kochmas, Madmas, Chermos, etc.. The author suggests that the lexical unit correlating with the Komi-Zyrian mös, Udmurtian -mes, and Common Permic *mεs was once part of a more complex term represented not only in the name Mezen, but also in its North Russian “counterparts,” Mezen’ga and Mezenda, as well as in substrate toponymy of the Komi Republic (Mozyn / Mozym = Russian Mezen; Mozimdіn, Mozimlyva, Mozimözin and in some substrate hydronyms of the modern Ob-Ugric areas (Khanty dialectal Mǒśaŋ = Russian Mozym, and Mоsəm = Nazym. Recognizing that ethnolinguistic attribution of the original lexical unit for these names seems problematic, the author is inclined to think that this is an old compound in which the final component, reconstructed as Common Permic *-εŋ, had the meaning of ‘river, stream’. Summing up all phonetic, morphological, semantic, and geographical evidence, the author concludes that the presently multilingual hydronyms of the MVsVn / MVsVm type most likely date back to the dialects of ancient “Permians,” still

The Impact of the Hotel Industry on the Competitiveness of Tourism Destinations in Hungary

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albert Tóth Attila

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on a complex question from the perspective of the hotel industry. It tries to draw attention to the importance of hotels, enhancing it on the basis of the tourism destination competitiveness models and introducing the role and place of the hotel industry in the most important models. The hotel industry research evaluates the most important tourism destinations of Hungary on the micro-regional level that justifies the importance and contribution of the hotels and accommodations to competitiveness and success of tourism destinations with exact results. As a result of the research, the micro-regional destinations can be ranged within three groups in Hungary. In the first group of the most developed and most competitive tourism destinations, the hotel industry plays a very important role. In these regions, the hotel industry has a significant effect not only on competitiveness of tourism but also on general development of the regions. In the second group, which can be still called tourism destination, tourism and the hotel industry both play a significant role, but only the competitiveness of tourism can be considered good, the effects of the tourism on general development of the region can be proved only to a lesser extent. In the third group, the effects of tourism and the hotel industry can only be experienced to a lesser extent. The majority of these regions are not considered to be attractive tourism destinations for tourists any more.

Strategic Accessibility Competition

OpenAIRE

Bacchiega, Emanuele; Randon, Emanuela; Zirulia, Lorenzo

2010-01-01

We analyze the effect of competition in market-accessibility enhancement among quality-differentiated firms. Firms are located in regions with different ex-ante transport costs to reach the final market. We characterize the equilibrium of the two-stage game in which firms first invest to improve market accessibility and then compete in prices. Efforts in accessibility improvement crucially depend on the interplay between the willingness to pay for the quality premium of the median consumer an...

COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE ANALYSIS - SCENARIOS METHOD

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Ivan Valeriu

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Keeping a company in the top performing players in the relevant market depends not only on its ability to develop continually, sustainably and balanced, to the standards set by the customer and competition, but also on the ability to protect its strategic information and to know in advance the strategic information of the competition. In addition, given that economic markets, regardless of their profile, enable interconnection not only among domestic companies, but also between domestic companies and foreign companies, the issue of economic competition moves from the national economies to the field of interest of regional and international economic organizations. The stakes for each economic player is to keep ahead of the competition and to be always prepared to face market challenges. Therefore, it needs to know as early as possible, how to react to others’ strategy in terms of research, production and sales. If a competitor is planning to produce more and cheaper, then it must be prepared to counteract quickly this movement. Competitive intelligence helps to evaluate the capabilities of competitors in the market, legally and ethically, and to develop response strategies. One of the main goals of the competitive intelligence is to acknowledge the role of early warning and prevention of surprises that could have a major impact on the market share, reputation, turnover and profitability in the medium and long term of a company. This paper presents some aspects of competitive intelligence, mainly in terms of information analysis and intelligence generation. Presentation is theoretical and addresses a structured method of information analysis - scenarios method – in a version that combines several types of analysis in order to reveal some interconnecting aspects of the factors governing the activity of a company.

What’s in a Name? – Consequences of Naming Non-Human Animals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borkfelt, Sune

2011-01-01

have consequences for the way we think about animals (human and non-human), peoples, species, places, things etc. Through a blend of history, philosophy and representational theory—and using examples from, among other things, the Bible, Martin Luther, colonialism/imperialism and contemporary ways......The act of naming is among the most basic actions of language. Indeed, it is naming something that enables us to communicate about it in specific terms, whether the object named is human or non-human, animate or inanimate. However, naming is not as uncomplicated as we may usually think and names...... of keeping and regarding non-human animals—this paper attempts to trace the importance of (both specific and generic) naming to our relationships with the non-human. It explores this topic from the naming of the animals in Genesis to the names given and used by scientists, keepers of companion animals, media...

MACROECONOMIC ASPECTS OF COMPETITIVENESS

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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.

What's in a Name? Interlocutors dynamically update expectations about shared names

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Whitney Marie Gegg-Harrison

2016-02-01

Full Text Available In order to refer using a name, speakers must know that their addressee knows about the link between the name and the intended referent. In cases where speakers and addressees learned names together, speakers are adept at using names only when their addressee knows them. But speakers do not always share such learning experience with their conversational partners. In these situations, what information guides speakers’ choice of referring expression? A speaker who is uncertain about a names’ common ground (CG status often uses a name and description together. This N+D form allows speakers to demonstrate knowledge of a name, and could provide, even in the absence of miscommunication, useful evidence to the addressee regarding the speaker’s knowledge. In cases where knowledge of one name is associated with knowledge of other names, could provide indirect evidence regarding knowledge of other names that could support generalizations used to update beliefs about CG. Using data explanation approaches to language processing as a guiding framework, we predict that interlocutors can use their partner’s choice of referring expression, in particular their use of an N+D form, to generate more accurate beliefs regarding their partner’s knowledge of other names. In Experiment 1, we find that domain experts are able to use their partner’s referring expression choices to generate more accurate estimates of CG. In Experiment 2, we find that interlocutors are able to infer from a partner’s use of an N+D form which other names that partner is likely to know or not know. Our results suggest that interlocutors can use the information conveyed in their partner’s choice of referring expression to make generalizations that contribute to more accurate beliefs about what is shared with their partner, and further, that models of CG for reference need to account not just for the status of referents, but the status of means of referring to those referents.

Competencia y precios en el mercado farmacéutico mexicano Competition and prices in the Mexican pharmaceutical market

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Raúl E Molina-Salazar

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Las formas que asume la competencia en el mercado definen el nivel de precios. El mercado farmacéutico contiene submercados con diferente grado de competencia; por un lado existen productos innovadores con patente y, por el otro, genéricos con marca comercial o sin ella. Por lo general, los medicamentos innovadores con patente tienen precios monopólicos, pero a su vencimiento éstos bajan al enfrentar la competencia de alternativas terapéuticas. La marca permite conservar las rentas económicas del monopolio. En México los precios de los medicamentos en el mercado privado son elevados, de acuerdo con las estimaciones agregadas y para medicamentos específicos, lo cual refleja las limitaciones de la competencia en el mercado y el poder de la marca comercial. En el segmento público se obtienen precios competitivos con la estrategia de los medicamentos esenciales de la Organización Mundial de la Salud, con base en el listado de productos del Cuadro Básico.The forms of market competition define prices. The pharmaceutical market contains submarkets with different levels of competition; on the one hand are the innovating products with patents, and on the other, generic products with or without trade names. Innovating medicines generally have monopolistic prices, but when the patents expire prices drop because of competition from therapeutic alternatives. The trade name makes it easier to maintain monopolistic prices. In Mexico, medicine prices in the private market are high -according to aggregated estimates and prices for specific medicines- which reflect the limitations of pharmaceutical market competition and the power of the trade name. The public segment enjoys competitive prices using the WHO strategy for essential medicines on the basis of the Essential List.

Would Enforcing Competition Law Compromise Industry Policy Objectives?

OpenAIRE

Evenett, Simon J.

2005-01-01

One recurring concern in the debate over the efficacy of enacting competition laws in developing countries is that its enforcement may compromise important industrial policy goals. This concern has been raised in regional fora and in multilateral organizations such as the World Trade Organization, where officials have considered the pros and cons of including competition provisions in international trade agreements. However, the concern is broader and often national debates over the merits of...

Himantoglossum jankae (Orchidaceae: Orchideae), a new name for a long-misnamed lizard orchid

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Molnar, A.; Kreutz, C.A.J.; Ovari, M.; Sennikov, A.N.; Bateman, R.M.; Takacs, A.; Somlyay, L.; Sramko, G.

2012-01-01

A new name, Himantoglossum jankae, is given to the widely recognised lizard orchid species that is distributed primarily in the Balkan Peninsula and the northwestern region of Asia Minor and has been erroneously named H. caprinum in most previous literature. The new species differs from its closest

Face-name association learning and brain structural substrates in alcoholism.

Science.gov (United States)

Pitel, Anne-Lise; Chanraud, Sandra; Rohlfing, Torsten; Pfefferbaum, Adolf; Sullivan, Edith V

2012-07-01

Associative learning is required for face-name association and is impaired in alcoholism, but the cognitive processes and brain structural components underlying this deficit remain unclear. It is also unknown whether prompting alcoholics to implement a deep level of processing during face-name encoding would enhance performance. Abstinent alcoholics and controls performed a levels-of-processing face-name learning task. Participants indicated whether the face was that of an honest person (deep encoding) or that of a man (shallow encoding). Retrieval was examined using an associative (face-name) recognition task and a single-item (face or name only) recognition task. Participants also underwent 3T structural MRI. Compared with controls, alcoholics had poorer associative and single-item learning and performed at similar levels. Level of processing at encoding had little effect on recognition performance but affected reaction time (RT). Correlations with brain volumes were generally modest and based primarily on RT in alcoholics, where the deeper the processing at encoding, the more restricted the correlations with brain volumes. In alcoholics, longer control task RTs correlated modestly with smaller tissue volumes across several anterior to posterior brain regions; shallow encoding correlated with calcarine and striatal volumes; deep encoding correlated with precuneus and parietal volumes; and associative recognition RT correlated with cerebellar volumes. In controls, poorer associative recognition with deep encoding correlated significantly with smaller volumes of frontal and striatal structures. Despite prompting, alcoholics did not take advantage of encoding memoranda at a deep level to enhance face-name recognition accuracy. Nonetheless, conditions of deeper encoding resulted in faster RTs and more specific relations with regional brain volumes than did shallow encoding. The normal relation between associative recognition and corticostriatal volumes was not

Names of Southern African grasses: Name changes and additional ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The main reasons for changes in botanical names are briefly reviewed, with examples from the lists. At this time, about 1040 grass species and subspecific taxa are recognized in the subcontinent. Keywords: botanical research; botanical research institute; botany; grass; grasses; identification; name change; nomenclature; ...

CONTRAVENTION AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR PRACTICE OF UNFAIR COMPETITION

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RUJAN ION CRISTINEL

2014-10-01

Full Text Available commerce. The commercial activity is, from a legal perspective, a correct exercise of the ownership and free initiative by the legal person in the commercial activities, the business conduct being necessary to circumscribe the legal rules that govern the commercial market. This article has as starting point on the one hand the need for legal provisions ensuring a real protection to the Romanian consumers exposed to unfair trade practices, and on the other hand of some comprehensive legal stipulations on tradesmen’s contravention and criminal liability that show an unfair competitive conduct. The general regulatory framework regarding the unfair competition consists of the Law no. 11/1991 on combating the unfair competition, the legal stipulations which relate to the European provisions on the matter, namely the Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council from May 11th 2005 concerning unfair commercial practices of enterprises in the internal market to consumers and amending the Directive 84/450/EEC of the Council, of the Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC no. 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The European legislation includes the stipulations regarding the unfair commercial practices prohibited in the E.U. space, as well as the stipulations relating to the economic interests of consumers who enter into transactions with tradesmen. In this respect, the European regulations deem unfair trade practices those acts or actions that violate the principles of professional diligence and which may influence the commercial decisions of consumers, being categorized as misleading practices and aggressive commercial practices. In accordance with the provisions of the Law no. 11/1991 on combating the unfair competition, with the ulterior amendments and supplements, unfair competition represents the commercial practices of the enterprise

Air Cargo Development in the Regional Airports of the Baltic Sea Region Through Road Feeder Services

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Beifert Anatoli

2015-06-01

Full Text Available As issued in the Competition Policy Brief on the new state aid rules for a competitive aviation industry by the Competition Directorate-General of the European Commission in February 20141, it will be more difficult for unprofitable airports, to obtain financial public subsidies on EU, national or regional level. Although the positive impact of small airports on the regional development and general accessibility was mentioned, still the operating aid to the airports shall be cut out over a maximum of 10 years. It has been further stated that the vast majority of small and regional airports experience problems to cover their running operative costs, as a result from an intensive market competition and overlapping of airports’ catchment areas preventing even some promising airports from growth. Public subsidies are mostly used by the airport management for infrastructural investments, to cover operating losses or to attract price-sensitive airlines. Herewith, among other things, the EU Commission is pointing out at the lack of cooperation structures and network strategies among the regional airports and at rather isolated and individual approach during elaboration of the airport development scenarios. However, the Competition Policy Brief permits public aid to regional airports, among other things if there is sufficient transports need to establish transition periods for small airports; the need for more flexibility of the regional airports in the remote areas has been underlined. The EU Commission is expecting herewith not to close the regional airports, but to stimulate them to operate on cost efficient and profitable basis, and that only the most inefficient airports will be closed.

Competition policy for health care provision in Norway.

Science.gov (United States)

Brekke, Kurt R; Straume, Odd Rune

2017-02-01

Competition policy has played a very limited role for health care provision in Norway. The main reason is that Norway has a National Health Service (NHS) with extensive public provision and a wide set of sector-specific regulations that limit the scope for competition. However, the last two decades, several reforms have deregulated health care provision and opened up for provider competition along some dimensions. For specialised care, the government has introduced patient choice and (partly) activity (DRG) based funding, but also corporatised public hospitals and allowed for more private provision. For primary care, a reform changed the payment scheme to capitation and (a higher share of) fee-for-service, inducing almost all GPs on fixed salary contracts to become self-employed. While these reforms have the potential for generating competition in the Norwegian NHS, the empirical evidence is quite limited and the findings are mixed. We identify a set of possible caveats that may weaken the incentives for provider competition - such as the partial implementation of DRG pricing, the dual purchaser-provider role of regional health authorities, and the extensive consolidation of public hospitals - and argue that there is great scope for competition policy measures that could stimulate provider competition within the Norwegian NHS. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design + energy: results of a national student design competition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1980-01-01

A national competition for students in schools of architecture was conducted during the Spring of 1980. The competition was the first of a series of competitions that emphasized the integration of architectural design and energy considerations in medium-scale building projects, and specifically applying passive solar design strategies and the appropriate use of brick masonry materials. Some 300 faculty members and over 2200 students representing 80 of the 92 US architecture schools participated in the program. A summary is presented of the program and the range of submissions grouped by problem types and general climatic region.

Student Intern Lands Top Prize in National Science Competition | Poster

Science.gov (United States)

By Ashley DeVine, Staff Writer Student intern Sam Pritt’s interest in improving geolocation led him to develop a project that won a top regional prize at the Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology in November. Pritt was awarded a $3,000 college scholarship, and he competed in the national competition in early December.

Competition and wage effects in the global online market for microwork and services outsourcing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beerepoot, N.; Lambregts, B.; Nicholson, B.; Babin, R.; Lacity, M.C.

2016-01-01

A new form of service outsourcing has emerged, namely the global online job marketplace for freelance contractors. Such platforms are currently the closest proxy to the idea of a global labor market. In this chapter, we examine how competition manifests itself on one such global online platform,

The competitive advantage of the Tunisian palm date sector in the Mediterranean region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ben-Amor, R.; Aguayo, E.; Miguel-Gómez, M. D. de

2015-07-01

In Tunisia, date-palm cultivation and production are of clear strategic importance in terms of economic, social and environmental development. However, the globalization of markets has had a huge impact on the traditional concept of the comparative advantage enjoyed by Tunisia in date exports, highlighting the necessary determinants for competitiveness in the international scenario. In fact, an analysis of the competitive advantage of the Tunisian date industry in the Mediterranean area and Iran over the last 20 years shows that Tunisia is still the main supplier of dates to the EU. The Deglet-Nour variety, in particular, puts Tunisia ahead of traditional competitors such as Algeria and Iran, with average of competitiveness indices as BIS 6405.99, DI 17.38, CMS 41.04 and TBI 99.50 are more stable than those countries during the studied period. But it is currently facing new competitors like Israel and re-exporting countries like France. New business strategies (conditioning, new non-chemical treatments, packing, opening new markets, new distribution channels) would be positive responses to tackle current market limitations, the emergence of new producers and restrictive EU policies. (Author)

The competitive advantage of the Tunisian palm date sector in the Mediterranean region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rihab Ben-Amor

2015-06-01

Full Text Available In Tunisia, date-palm cultivation and production are of clear strategic importance in terms of economic, social and environmental development. However, the globalization of markets has had a huge impact on the traditional concept of the comparative advantage enjoyed by Tunisia in date exports, highlighting the necessary determinants for competitiveness in the international scenario. In fact, an analysis of the competitive advantage of the Tunisian date industry in the Mediterranean area and Iran over the last 20 years shows that Tunisia is still the main supplier of dates to the EU. The Deglet-Nour variety, in particular, puts Tunisia ahead of traditional competitors such as Algeria and Iran, with average of competitiveness indices as BIS 6405.99, DI 17.38, CMS 41.04 and TBI 99.50 are more stable than those countries during the studied period. But it is currently facing new competitors like Israel and re-exporting countries like France. New business strategies (conditioning, new non-chemical treatments, packing, opening new markets, new distribution channels would be positive responses to tackle current market limitations, the emergence of new producers and restrictive EU policies.

VIRTUAL COMPETITIVENESS: YOUTHS’ VIEWS

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M. Yu. Semenov

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Nowadays, the use of information and communication technologies (ICT has become an integral part both of every individual’s life and of the society in general. It is no longer possible to deny the impact of virtual environment on socialisation and development of the identity of young people. In this regard, the investigation of young people’s view on virtual social networks, and the possibility of students’ own competitiveness realization through various web services. The aim of the research presented in the article is to study the factors of students’ assessment of virtual social networks as a tool of personal fulfillment. Methodology and research methods. Content analysis and synthesis of scientific publications studies were carried out at a theoretical stage of the research; secondary sampling analysis of sociologic data material sources was conducted. The empirical research stage involved the instrument of questionnaire surveys, statistical data processing and interpretation of the results. Results and scientific novelty. The social survey conducted in 2017 with the participation of 1087 high school students and 1196 college students of the Tyumen Region shown that the more competitive students consider themselves, the more competitive they perceive the people having great popularity on the Internet. At that, compared to girls, young people are more inclined to consider the people having great popularity on the Internet competitive. It is determined that having a popular virtual media account for the young person is less worthwhile than for female respondents. The author explains this fact: male representatives regard it as “social capital” which can contribute to growth of their competitiveness in society as well as to achieve some profit. The author concludes that youth views on competitiveness are not directly related to the activity in virtual social networks. Frequent use by respondents of the Internet and

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

Essays on Competition and Innovations in the Automobile Markets

OpenAIRE

Leheyda, Nina

2007-01-01

The central focus of my dissertation has been on the investigation of developments towards more competitive and innovative firm behaviour in the global automobile markets. The automobile companies meet each other in many product and geographical markets worldwide. A large proportion of their production is outside of their "home" country. In my work I focus on international most important car markets, namely US, European and German as the most important single European car market and a very in...

Analysis of inter-energy competition in the age of complex energies

Science.gov (United States)

1989-12-01

This is a survey report of the Japan Energy Economics Research Institute. Section 1 describes the energy industry in time of complex energies (History of changes and competition of energy sources. Formation of the energy market. Energy tax). Section 2 describes the present situation and the prospect of the competition among the energies (Present images of competition between industrial sector, civil household sector, transportation sector and the energy conversion sector. Development of the energy utilization system (cogeneration, regional air conditioning, waste heat recovery system, individual air conditioning system. Strategic meaning of the expansion of inter-energy competition market). Section 3 describes the arrangement of the fair competition conditions and the energy policy (Energy policy effect and cost. Energy industrial regulation and its abatement. Competitive energy market and fair competing conditions).

Strategic objectives and the usage possibility of competitive advantages of the grain crops complex of Chelyabinsk region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ol'ga Dmitrievna Rubaeva

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews the logical scheme of strategy of the grain complex competitive advantages usage. The results of evaluation of financial and economic situation of agricultural enterprises engaged into production of grain are presented. Determination of the level of competitiveness of the agro-grain industry was established on the basis of obtaining an integral point-weighting factor of competitiveness. Evaluation and confirmation of this technique allowed identifying key factors of competitiveness of agricultural enterprises in the grain corns industry. The main conclusion of the study is the following: the use of resource-saving technologies for the cultivation of crops greatly influences the development of competitive advantages. Calculations showed that the application of resource-saving technology increases productivity, reduces labour requirements and the cost of equipment maintenance and repair, fuel costs, improves basic economic indicators of activity: gross revenues from sales is increasing.

CURRENT TRENDS OF THE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION. THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETITIVE ECONOMIC AGGLOMERATIONS OF CLUSTER TYPE

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LAURA CISMAŞ

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The study of economic agents’ behaviour, whose nowadays tendency is togroup themselves in space as clusters, has an important place in the field of localizing industrialactivities. This is due to domestic scale economies, known as agglomerations economies.According to Edgar M. Hoover (Hoover, 1948, domestic scale economies are specific tocompanies; the economies of localizing - to a certain branch, whose companies form clusters incertain geographical arias, and the urbanization economies are specific to cities, where thereare clusters of companies from different branches. The specialty literature regarding localeconomic development, based on the idea of cluster starts from well-known economic theories,such as: agglomeration theory (Alfred Marshall, the theory of spatial localizing of industrialunits (Alfred Weber, the theory of interdependence of locations (Harold Hotelling, the diamondtheory (Michael Porter, the theory of entrepreneurship (Joseph Schumpeter, the theory ofgeographical concentration. Basically, the common point which links them are the conceptswhich occur in these theories, such as: industrial district, industrial agglomeration, spatialinterdependence, concepts which lie at the basis of the cluster idea. Clusters represent animportant instrument for promoting industrial development, innovation, competitiveness andeconomic growth. If, at the beginning, the effort to develop clusters belonged to private personsand companies, nowadays, the actors involved in their development are the governments andpublic institutions of national or regional level.The objective established within the Lisbon Strategy (2000, to make the EuropeanUnion “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy”, is tightly linked to thenew approaches of the European economic policy, to competitiveness. One of the policies isfocused on developing at the European Union level clusters in the high competitiveness fields. with an innovative character

Impact of Flexibility of Manufacturing System Components on Competitiveness of SMEs in Northern India

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Shakun Preet Kaur

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The present manufacturing environment is characterized by a number of changes which poses challenges to a typical manufacturing unit. Time demands a shift from the traditional manufacturing strategies as they do not fit to present market competition. A flexible systems strategy has to be designed for remaining competitive in the market and perform well. For designing strategies and policies it is important to know the factors that influence performance of the system. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of the flexibility of manufacturing system components on competitiveness of SMEs in northern India. A questionnaire based survey was conducted in the SMEs across northern India analysing three sectors namely automotive, machine tool and light engineering (mechanical components and equipment. The study contributes to the existing literature by empirically investigating the impact of machine, material handling and worker flexibility on competitiveness of manufacturing firms. This paper presents a Structural Equation Model displaying the impact of flexibility of manufacturing system components on competitiveness of SMEs.

Distribution of Chinese names

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Ding-wei

2013-03-01

We present a statistical model for the distribution of Chinese names. Both family names and given names are studied on the same basis. With naive expectation, the distribution of family names can be very different from that of given names. One is affected mostly by genealogy, while the other can be dominated by cultural effects. However, we find that both distributions can be well described by the same model. Various scaling behaviors can be understood as a result of stochastic processes. The exponents of different power-law distributions are controlled by a single parameter. We also comment on the significance of full-name repetition in Chinese population.

Competition and Consumer Behavior in the Context of the Digital Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena-Mădălina Vătămănescu

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The current paper aims to investigate the relation between competition and online purchasing decision-making, integrating consumer protection awareness and the corresponding consumer behavior as mediators. The focus is on both subjective and objective measures related to the level of consumer awareness and action in a fast-growing competition, potentiated by the digital economy. In order to investigate the relations between the aforementioned concepts, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted, using a sample of 257 students from three top Romanian universities. Based upon the theoretical directions presented in the literature review, a conceptual model was elaborated and tested by employing a partial least squares structural equation modeling technique. As the examination of the structural model indicated, online purchasing decision-making is indirectly influenced by the high competition in the digital economy, by means of consumer protection awareness and consumer protection behavior. At this level, the analyzed factors, namely the competition in the digital economy, the consumer protection awareness and the consumer behavior with respect to the consumer protection policies, explain over 16% in the variance of the online purchasing decision-making.

Competitive Advantage and its Sources in an Evolving Market

Science.gov (United States)

Zaridis, Apostolos D.

2009-08-01

In a continuously altered and evolving Market, as is the food manufacturing market, the main and long-lasting objective of firm that is the maximization of its wealth and consequently the continuous remaining in profit regions, appears that it is possible to be achieved via the obtainment and maintenance of diachronically long-term competitive advantage, which it will render the firm unique or leader force in a inexorable competition that is continuously extended in a globalized market. Various definitions and different regards are developed in regard to the competitive advantage and the way with which a firm it is possible, acquiring it, to star in the market in which it is activated. As result of sustainable competitive advantage in a firm comes the above the average performance. Abundance of resources and competences that are proposed as sources of competitive advantage in the resource-based view literature exists, while they are added continuously new based on empiric studies. In any case, it appears to suffer hierarchy of sources of competitive advantage, with regard to sustainability of these.

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...

British Sign Name Customs

Science.gov (United States)

Day, Linda; Sutton-Spence, Rachel

2010-01-01

Research presented here describes the sign names and the customs of name allocation within the British Deaf community. While some aspects of British Sign Language sign names and British Deaf naming customs differ from those in most Western societies, there are many similarities. There are also similarities with other societies outside the more…

Technical Efficiency and Port Competition: Revisiting the Bohai Economic Rim, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grace Wang

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The Bohai Economic Rim plays an important role in supporting China’s economic growth. For this research, we selected nine main ports in the region to study whether intra-port competition or corporatization would improve efficiency. Using a panel fixed effect model and stochastic frontier model, we found that the technical efficiency of selected ports is significantly influenced by the time of the initial public offering than by regional competition. The results are supportive and encouraging for policy makers to move toward the decentralized port governance in China.

Sellers’ Pricing Policy in Spatial Competition Models (a case study of the Russian rolled product market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Torbenko A. M.

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The article views competition in the rolled section market. The hypotheses about price discrimination, competition according to Cournot or Hotelling being present at this market, have been tested. The dependence of rolled section prices in the region on the distance between the region and rolled section producers’ location, as well as on other factors, has been tested. It is concluded that the Russian rolled section market is characterized by Hotelling competition without using price discrimination

What's in a Name

Science.gov (United States)

Bush, Sarah B.; Albanese, Judith; Karp, Karen S.

2016-01-01

Historically, some baby names have been more popular during a specific time span, whereas other names are considered timeless. The Internet article, "How to Tell Someone's Age When All You Know Is Her Name" (Silver and McCann 2014), describes the phenomenon of the rise and fall of name popularity, which served as a catalyst for the…

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.

History of NAMES Conferences

Science.gov (United States)

Filippov, Lev

2013-03-01

Franco-Russian NAMES Seminars are held for the purpose of reviewing and discussing actual developments in the field of materials science by researchers from Russia and from the Lorraine Region of France. In more precise terms, as set down by the organizers of the seminar (the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys and the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine), the mission of the seminars is as follows: the development of scientific and academic contacts, giving a new impulse to joint fundamental research and technology transfer the development and consolidation of scientific, technical and business collaboration between the regions of Russia and Lorraine through direct contact between the universities, institutes and companies involved The first Seminar took place on 27-29 October 2004, at the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine (on the premises of the Ecole Européenne d'Ingénieurs en Génie des Matériaux, Nancy, France). The number, variety and quality of the oral presentations given and posters exhibited at the first Seminar were of high international standard. 30 oral presentations were given and 72 posters were presented by 19 participants from five universities and three institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences participants from 11 laboratories of three universities from the Lorraine region three industrial companies, including the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company—EADS, and ANVAR (Agence Nationale de Valorisation de la Recherche) From 2005 onwards, it was decided to organize the Seminar every other year. The second Seminar convened on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys on 10-12 November 2005 in Moscow, Russia. The seminar demonstrated the efficiency of the scientific partnership founded between the research groups of Russia and France during the first Seminar. High productivity of the Franco-Russian scientific cooperation on the basis of the Research-Educational Franco

The effect of counter-trading on competition in electricity markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dijk, Justin; Willems, Bert

2011-01-01

In a competitive electricity market, nodal pricing is the most efficient way to manage congestion. Counter-trading is inefficient as it gives the wrong long term signals for entry and exit of power plants. However, in a non-competitive market, additional entry will improve the competitiveness of the market, and will increase social benefit by reducing price-cost margins. This paper studies whether the potential pro-competitive entry effects could make counter-trading more efficient than nodal pricing. We find that this is unlikely to be the case, and expect counter-trading to have a negative effect on overall welfare. The potential benefits of additional competition (more competitive prices and lower production cost) do not outweigh the distortions (additional investment cost for the entrant, and socialization of the congestion cost to final consumers). - Research highlights: → 'Counter-trading' and 'nodal pricing' manage congestion in electric grids. → Nodal pricing gives superior locational prices. → Counter-trading induces extra investments in regions with a production surplus. → Extra investments improve competition, but are expected to be socially inefficient.

Evaluation on Core Competitiveness of Wholesale Market of Agricultural Products Based on CWAA Operator

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2011-01-01

According to relevant data,we select five indices,namely management ability,organization and management capability,enterprise culture,development ability and technical equipment ability,to establish the index system of core competitiveness of wholesale market of agricultural products.Based on combination weight arithmetic average(CWAA) operator,we advance an evaluation model of core competitiveness of wholesale market of agricultural products which involves participation of many people.By inviting five exerts,we conduct evaluation in terms of management ability of wholesale market of agricultural products,organization and management capability of leadership,enterprise culture of wholesale market of agricultural products,future development ability of wholesale market of agricultural products,and exiting technical equipment ability of wholesale market of agricultural products.We adopt hundred-mark system to grade and evaluate core competitiveness of wholesale market of agricultural products.The results show that the experts’ evaluation score of core competitiveness of wholesale market of agricultural products is high.The evaluation result is reasonable and authentic and this model is feasible.

Mining for Strategic Competitive Intelligence Foundations and Applications

CERN Document Server

Ziegler, Cai-Nicolas

2012-01-01

The textbook at hand aims to provide an introduction to the use of automated methods for gathering strategic competitive intelligence. Hereby, the text does not describe a singleton research discipline in its own right, such as machine learning or Web mining. It rather contemplates an application scenario, namely the gathering of knowledge that appears of paramount importance to organizations, e.g., companies and corporations. To this end, the book first summarizes the range of research disciplines that contribute to addressing the issue, extracting from each those grains that are of utmost relevance to the depicted application scope. Moreover, the book presents systems that put these techniques to practical use (e.g., reputation monitoring platforms) and takes an inductive approach to define the gestalt of mining for competitive strategic intelligence by selecting major use cases that are laid out and explained in detail. These pieces form the first part of the book. Each of those use cases is backed by a nu...

How reading differs from object naming at the neuronal level.

Science.gov (United States)

Price, C J; McCrory, E; Noppeney, U; Mechelli, A; Moore, C J; Biggio, N; Devlin, J T

2006-01-15

This paper uses whole brain functional neuroimaging in neurologically normal participants to explore how reading aloud differs from object naming in terms of neuronal implementation. In the first experiment, we directly compared brain activation during reading aloud and object naming. This revealed greater activation for reading in bilateral premotor, left posterior superior temporal and precuneus regions. In a second experiment, we segregated the object-naming system into object recognition and speech production areas by factorially manipulating the presence or absence of objects (pictures of objects or their meaningless scrambled counterparts) with the presence or absence of speech production (vocal vs. finger press responses). This demonstrated that the areas associated with speech production (object naming and repetitively saying "OK" to meaningless scrambled pictures) corresponded exactly to the areas where responses were higher for reading aloud than object naming in Experiment 1. Collectively the results suggest that, relative to object naming, reading increases the demands on shared speech production processes. At a cognitive level, enhanced activation for reading in speech production areas may reflect the multiple and competing phonological codes that are generated from the sublexical parts of written words. At a neuronal level, it may reflect differences in the speed with which different areas are activated and integrate with one another.

WMO SDS-WAS NAMEE Regional Center: Towards continuous evaluation of dust models in Northern Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Basart, Sara; García-Castillo, Gerardo; Cuevas, Emilio; Terradellas, Enric

2016-04-01

frequently affected by intrusions of Saharan dust. Regional Node are evaluated during two years (2013-2014) with observations recorded in the Sahelian region and Canary Islands. Additionally, since the data sets of weather records have an excellent spatial and temporal coverage, observations of horizontal visibility included in meteorological reports are used as an alternative way to monitor dust events in near-real-time (NRT). Recently, a new visibility product that includes more than 1,500 METAR stations has implemented in the SDS-WAS NAMEE Regional Center. The present contribution also will demonstrate how the visibility can complement the information provided by other observing systems (air quality monitoring stations, sun photometers, vertical profilers or satellite products) and numerical simulations presenting its application in tracking several dust episodes. Otherwise, the vertical distribution of aerosol also influences the radiative effect at the top of the atmosphere, especially when aerosols have strong absorption of shortwave radiation. The free troposphere contribution to aerosol optical depth (AOD) and the altitude of lofted layers are provided thanks to the vertical profiling capability of the lidar/ceilomenter technique. Currently, a lidar located in Dakar (Senegal) and a ceilometer in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) provide near-real-time (NRT) vertical profiles of aerosols, which are compared with those simulated by models.

PAKDD Data Mining Competition 2009: New Ways of Using Known Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Linhart, Chaim; Harari, Guy; Abramovich, Sharon; Buchris, Altina

The PAKDD 2009 competition focuses on the problem of credit risk assessment. As required, we had to confront the problem of the robustness of the credit-scoring model against performance degradation caused by gradual market changes along a few years of business operation. We utilized the following standard models: logistic regression, KNN, SVM, GBM and decision tree. The novelty of our approach is two-fold: the integration of existing models, namely feeding the results of KNN as an input variable to the logistic regression, and re-coding categorical variables as numerical values that represent each category's statistical impact on the target label. The best solution we obtained reached 3rd place in the competition, with an AUC score of 0.655.

COMPETITIVENESS OF LEADING COMMODITIES TO SUPPORT DEVELOPING REGION OF AGROTOURISM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Murwatiningsih Murwatiningsih

2013-10-01

Full Text Available AbstractThe aim of the research is to seek the competitiveness of the leading commodity in Semarang city which supports the development of centre commodity in agrotourism area. The method of analysis is leading sector, scoring analysis and capacity asessment through FGD. The result of the research reveals that leading commodities are Durian, Longan, Water Apple, and Rambutan. It is found that subdistrict Gunungpati and Mangunsari are ready to be the centre of horticulture commodity because its strategic location. It is located nearby Jatibarang reservoir (potential to be a tourism village, its cultivation is relatively successful, accessable transportation, and good management. Hence, it can be the pilot project area.Key words: competitiveness, centre, commodity, horticultureJEL Classification: O20, Q10AbstrakKesejahteraan petani tidak meningkat karena daya saingnya rendah dan pengelolannya tidak optimal. Tujuan penelitian, untuk melihat daya saing komoditas unggulan Kota Semarang untuk mendukung pengembangan sentra komoditas di kawasan agrowisata. Metode analisis yaitu sektor basis, analisis scoring serta capacity assessment melalui FGD. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan komoditas yang diunggulkan di Gunungpati adalah durian, klengkeng, jambu air dan rambutan. Kelurahan Gunungpati dan Mangunsari siap dijadikan sentra komoditas hortikultura di Kecamatan Gunungpati karena letaknya strategis- dekat dengan waduk Jatibarang (dapat menjadi desa wisata, budidaya relatif lebih berhasil, transportasi dan akseptibilitas lebih mudah, pengelolaannya bagus sehingga sudah menjadi daerah percontohan.Kata Kunci: daya saing, sentra, komoditas, hortikulturJEL Classification: O20, Q10

Dictionary of Alaska place names

Science.gov (United States)

Orth, Donald J.

1971-01-01

This work is an alphabetical list of the geographic names that are now applied and have been applied to places and features of the Alaska landscape. Principal names, compiled from modem maps and charts and printed in boldface type, generally reflect present-day local usage. They conform to the principles of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names for establishing standard names for use on Government maps and in other Government publications. Each name entry gives the present-day spelling along with variant spellings and names; identifies the feature named; presents the origin and history of the name; and, where possible, gives the meaning of an Eskimo, Aleut, Indian, or foreign name. Variant, obsolete, and doubtful names are alphabetically listed and are cross referenced, where necessary, to the principal entries.

New synonyms and a new name in Asteraceae: Senecioneae from the southern African winter rainfall region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. C. Manning

2010-07-01

Full Text Available A review of the genera Othonna and Senecio undertaken for the forthcoming Greater Cape plants 2: Namaqualand-southern Namib and western Karoo (Manning in prep. led to a re-examination of the taxonomic status of several species. This was facilitated by the recent availability of high-resolution digital images on the Aluka website (www.aluka.org of the Drege isotypes in the Paris Herbarium that formed the basis of many species described by De Candolle in his Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis. These images made it possible to identify several names whose application had remained uncertain until now. Each case is briefly discussed, with citation of additional relevant herbarium specimens. The following species are reduced to synonomy: O. incisa Harv. is included in O. rosea Harv.; O. spektakelensis Compton and O. zeyheri Sond. ex Harv. are included in O. retrorsa DC.; S. maydae Merxm. is included in S. albopunctatus Bolus, which is now considered to include forms with radiate and discoid capitula; S. cakilefolius DC. is included in  O. arenarius Thunb.; S. pearsonii Hutch, is included in O. aspertdus DC.; S. parvifolius DC. is included in S. carroensis DC.; S. eriobasis DC. is included in S. erosus L.f.; and S. lobelioides DC. is included in S. flavus (Decne. Sch.Bip. The name S. panduratus (Thunb. Less, is identified as a synonym of S. erosus L.f. and plants that are currently know n under this name should be called S. robertiifolius DC. The confusion in the application o f the names O. perfoliata (L.f. Jacq. and O. filicaulis Jacq. is examined. O. perfoliata is lecto- typified against a specimen in the Linnaean Herbarium (LINN  w ith radiate capitula. The name O. filicaulis correctly applies to a radiate species and is treated as a synonym of O. perfoliata. The vegetatively similar taxon with disciform capitula that is currently known as O. filicaulis should be known as (  undulosa (DC. J.C.Manning  & Goldblatt, comb. nov. The

Cooperative resources lead to sustainable competitive advantage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Vieira

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The objective of this research is to analyze how organizational resources contribute to cooperatives achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. The theoretical approach of this study is the Resource Based View and VRIO model advocated by Barney and Hesterly (2007. The research was characterized as descriptive and quantitative, through data collection from secondary sources and a survey. The data collection tool was a questionnaire devised by Peacock, Sehnem and Hoffmann (2011. Data collection took place between the months of September 2014 and March 2015. The study sample was composed of a total of 215 cooperatives from across the country, divided into 13 segments. Secondary data was subjected to content analysis. The primary data was analyzed using statistical inference, namely: descriptive statistics, mean, Pearson correlation, Varimax rotation and the Kruskal-Wallis test. The main results showed that human resources are seen as important to achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. This research contributed to and enables new studies concerning the growth of cooperatives taking into account the use of internal resources.

Product-line extensions and pricing strategies of brand-name drugs facing patent expiration.

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Song Hee; Shepherd, Marvin D; Scoones, David; Wan, Thomas T H

2005-01-01

This study proposed an alternative to brand loyalty as the explanation for the continued price rigidity of patent-expired brand-name prescription drugs despite the increase in market entry of generic drugs facilitated by the 1984 Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act. Study hypotheses were to test (1) whether market entries of new-product extensions are associated with market success of original brand-name drugs before generic drug entry, and (2) whether original brand-name drugs exhibit price rigidity to generic entry only when they are extended. The design is a retrospective follow-up study for the prescription drug brands that lost their patents between 1987 and 1992. The drug brands were limited to nonantibiotic, orally administered drugs containing only 1 active pharmaceutical ingredient. Information on patent expiration, entry of a product extension, and market success were determined from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.s Orange Book, First DataBank, and American Druggist, respectively. Market success was defined as whether an original drug brand was listed in the top 100 prescriptions most frequently dispensed before facing generic entry. Product-line extension was defined as the appearance of another product that a company introduces within the same market after its existing product. Drug prices were average wholesale prices from the Drug Topics Red Book. The relationship between product-line extension and market success was examined using a logistic regression analysis. The price rigidity to entry was tested using a panel regression analysis. A total of 27 drug brands lost their patents between 1987 and 1992. Drug brands that achieved market success were 16 times more likely to be extended than were those that did not (OR=16, 95% confidence interval, 2.12-120.65). The price rigidity to entry existed in drug brands with extensions (beta=2.65%, P new product-line extension introduced for an original brand helps the original price be

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

Student Intern Ben Freed Competes as Finalist in Intel STS Competition, Three Other Interns Named Semifinalists | Poster

Science.gov (United States)

By Ashley DeVine, Staff Writer Werner H. Kirstin (WHK) student intern Ben Freed was one of 40 finalists to compete in the Intel Science Talent Search (STS) in Washington, DC, in March. “It was seven intense days of interacting with amazing judges and incredibly smart and interesting students. We met President Obama, and then the MIT astronomy lab named minor planets after each

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.

Power generation planning: a survey from monopoly to competition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kagiannas, A.G.; Askounis, D.T.; Psarras, J.

2004-01-01

During the last two decades electric power generation industry in many countries and regions around the world has undergone a significant transformation from being a centrally coordinated monopoly to a deregulated liberalized market. In the majority of those countries, competition has been introduced through the adoption of a competitive wholesale electricity spot market. Short-term efficiency of power generators under competitive environment has attracted considerable effort from researchers, while long-term investment performance has received less attention. In this context, the paper aims to serve as a comprehensive review basis for generation planning methods applied in a competitive electric power generation market. The traditional modeling techniques developed for generation expansion planning under monopoly are initially presented in an effort to assess the evolution of generation planning according to the evolution of the structure of the electric power market. (author)

Arabic fish names gathered at the fish market in Hurghada (al-Ġardaqah) May 2011

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Provencal, Philippe; Skaarup, Birgit

2016-01-01

This article lists the Arabic names of fish and a few other marine animals, which were gathered by interviewing different people working at the fish market in Hurghada, Egypt in May 2011. The article is intended as a lexical study on the names presently used for these animals on the Red Sea coast...... of Egypt. This name material has been compared with other name materials for marine life in local vernacular Arabic dialects from the Red Sea region, and to a lesser extent with Classical Arabic material. Where possible, the etymology of the names, whether certain or hypothetical, has been provided....

The tobacco international competitiveness of the South Brazil :1997-2014

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ricardo Candéa Sá Barreto

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The research analyses the international competitiveness of the southern tobacco in international trade. We used data analysis system of the Foreign Trade Information Internet (ALICE-Web, the Foreign Trade Secretariat (SECEX of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC in the years 1997-2014. Additionally, advantages index were constructed for and competitiveness revealed to observe the state of the production behavior in international trade. The results show that the southern region has a high relative advantage in tobacco exports over the years considered. The revealed competitiveness was positive, however, advantage of greater magnitude since 2005.

Evalvacija šolskega matematičnega tekmovanja Kenguru = Evaluation of the Kangaroo School Mathematical Competition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barbara Komel

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Each year Slovene students of secondary vocational schools, among them also the Construction and Service School in Kranj (Economics and Service Educational Centre Kranj, compete in knowledge in the Kangaroo International Mathematical Competition . We decided to evaluate two points of view of the competition, namely processional in the sense of extra-curricular activities, i.e. preparation for the competition, and interpersonal in the sense of deepening the relations between teachers and students. One of the main aims of our evaluation, besides deepening the relations, was to motivate and prepare as many students as possible for the competition. While carrying out the project, there was a growing conviction that the process of evaluation is more important than its results, because it has united and brought closer all the participants, students as well as teacher-mentors. An extremely positive consequence of evaluation is the fact that the understanding of the competition itself has improved and it has also boosted its own efficiency. School climate has become friendlier, while the project group of mathematicians gained new guidelines for further work.

A subspecies of region crossing change, region freeze crossing change

OpenAIRE

Inoue, Ayumu; Shimizu, Ryo

2016-01-01

We introduce a local move on a link diagram named a region freeze crossing change which is close to a region crossing change, but not the same. We study similarity and difference between region crossing change and region freeze crossing change.

Directory of awardee names

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1999-07-01

Standardization of grant and contract awardee names has been an area of concern since the development of the Department`s Procurement and Assistance Data System (PADS). A joint effort was begun in 1983 by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) and the Office of Procurement and Assistance Management/Information Systems and Analysis Division to develop a means for providing uniformity of awardee names. As a result of this effort, a method of assigning vendor identification codes to each unique awardee name, division, city, and state combination was developed and is maintained by OSTI. Changes to vendor identification codes or awardee names contained in PADS can be made only by OSTI. Awardee names in the Directory indicate that the awardee has had a prime contract (excluding purchase orders of $10,000 or less) with, or a financial assistance award from, the Department. Award status--active, inactive, or retired--is not shown. The Directory is in alphabetic sequence based on awardee name and reflects the OSTI-assigned vendor identification code to the right of the name. A vendor identification code is assigned to each unique awardee name, division, city, and state (for place of performance). The same vendor identification code is used for awards throughout the Department.

ESTIMATION OF EFFICIENCY OF THE COMPETITIVE COOPERATION MODEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalia N. Liparteliani

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Competitive cooperation model of regional travel agencies and travel market participants is considered. Evaluation of the model using mathematical and statistical methods was carried out. Relationship marketing provides a travel company certain economic advantages.

Innovations for competitiveness: European views on "better-faster-cheaper"

Science.gov (United States)

Atzei, A.; Groepper, P.; Novara, M.; Pseiner, K.

1999-09-01

The paper elaborates on " lessons learned" from two recent ESA workshops, one focussing on the role of Innovation in the competitiveness of the space sector and the second on technology and engineering aspects conducive to better, faster and cheaper space programmes. The paper focuses primarily on four major aspects, namely: a) the adaptations of industrial and public organisations to the global market needs; b) the understanding of the bottleneck factors limiting competitiveness; c) the trends toward new system architectures and new engineering and production methods; d) the understanding of the role of new technology in the future applications. Under the pressure of market forces and the influence of many global and regional players, applications of space systems and technology are becoming more and more competitive. It is well recognised that without major effort for innovation in industrial practices, organisations, R&D, marketing and financial approaches the European space sector will stagnate and loose its competence as well as its competitiveness. It is also recognised that a programme run according to the "better, faster, cheaper" philosophy relies on much closer integration of system design, development and verification, and draws heavily on a robust and comprehensive programme of technology development, which must run in parallel and off-line with respect to flight programmes. A company's innovation capabilities will determine its future competitive advantage (in time, cost, performance or value) and overall growth potential. Innovation must be a process that can be counted on to provide repetitive, sustainable, long-term performance improvements. As such, it needs not depend on great breakthroughs in technology and concepts (which are accidental and rare). Rather, it could be based on bold evolution through the establishment of know-how, application of best practices, process effectiveness and high standards, performance measurement, and attention to

Marketing technologies for building competitiveness of companies export

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatyana Tsygankova

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In context of post-industrial development of global economy, escalating competition in international goods markets, the definition of competitive export is proposed based upon both existing criteria – sustainability, effectiveness, adaptivity and fair competition, and on those described in the work – ecological performance, service maintenance, brand awareness and high technology. Given that, it is proved that with the aim of detailing the elements of competitive export, the latter should be typified depending upon the performer (export competitiveness of a company, country, region and subject (export competitiveness of goods, services, rights upon intellectual property objects, keeping in mind universal and specific features of export criteria proposed to be characterised through a range of indices on corporate and state levels. Groups of factors affecting export competitiveness building are systematized (institutional, financial and economic, marketing, foreign trade, scientific and technological, resource-related and social and ecological. Marketing technologies are typified on corporate level under the following criteria: novelty, object, creative component availability, internationalization stages, international marketing forms, digitalization level, management functions, customer-centreness scale, international marketing activity stages, financial security, specific features of intercorporate coordination. The practice of applying international marketing technologies by companies is investigated. In context of necessity to overcome crisis phenomena and increase competitive export volume, an assessment is made of integrating national manufacturing into regulated global chains of creating added value with the relevant rating, in particular, depending upon the available potential, minimality of technical and organizational changes, marketing relevancy, enabling to determine the manufacturing areas most prepared to cooperation, and

Sudden Cardiac Arrest during Participation in Competitive Sports.

Science.gov (United States)

Landry, Cameron H; Allan, Katherine S; Connelly, Kim A; Cunningham, Kris; Morrison, Laurie J; Dorian, Paul

2017-11-16

The incidence of sudden cardiac arrest during participation in sports activities remains unknown. Preparticipation screening programs aimed at preventing sudden cardiac arrest during sports activities are thought to be able to identify at-risk athletes; however, the efficacy of these programs remains controversial. We sought to identify all sudden cardiac arrests that occurred during participation in sports activities within a specific region of Canada and to determine their causes. In this retrospective study, we used the Rescu Epistry cardiac arrest database (which contains records of every cardiac arrest attended by paramedics in the network region) to identify all out-of-hospital cardiac arrests that occurred from 2009 through 2014 in persons 12 to 45 years of age during participation in a sport. Cases were adjudicated as sudden cardiac arrest (i.e., having a cardiac cause) or as an event resulting from a noncardiac cause, on the basis of records from multiple sources, including ambulance call reports, autopsy reports, in-hospital data, and records of direct interviews with patients or family members. Over the course of 18.5 million person-years of observation, 74 sudden cardiac arrests occurred during participation in a sport; of these, 16 occurred during competitive sports and 58 occurred during noncompetitive sports. The incidence of sudden cardiac arrest during competitive sports was 0.76 cases per 100,000 athlete-years, with 43.8% of the athletes surviving until they were discharged from the hospital. Among the competitive athletes, two deaths were attributed to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and none to arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. Three cases of sudden cardiac arrest that occurred during participation in competitive sports were determined to have been potentially identifiable if the athletes had undergone preparticipation screening. In our study involving persons who had out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, the incidence of sudden cardiac

"Getting much more than a song contest". Attempts at enacting a competitive state through project events

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Morten Krogh; Ren, Carina Bregnholm

see Copenhagen and Denmark getting “much more than a song contest” with this particular choice of venue. We propose to explore the ESC and the choice of Refshale Island as the ESC venue as enacting a specific issue of public concern (Marres 2012), namely the competitiveness of the Danish state. We...... discuss the implications and consequences of organizing the event in this way, arguing that the B&W halls take part in envisioning a new kind of creative and competitive project state rooted in the cultural economy....

Marine Place Names

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set contains the geographic place names for features in the U.S territorial waters and outer continental shelf. These names can be used to find or define a...

By which name should I call thee? The consequences of having multiple names.

Science.gov (United States)

Stevenage, Sarah V; Lewis, Hugh G

2005-11-01

The nominal competitor effect suggests that, when a person has two names associated with them, recall of either name is more difficult than if they just had one name. Drawing on a connectionist framework, this effect could arise either if multiple names were represented as being connected to a single person identity node (PIN), or if multiple names were represented as being connected via one-to-one links to multiple PINs. Whilst the latter has intuitive appeal, results from two experiments support the former architecture. Having two names connected to a single PIN not only gives rise to a nominal competitor effect (Experiment 1), but also gives rise to a familiarity enhancement effect (Experiment 2). These empirical results are simulated using an extension of Brédart, Valentine, Calder, and Gassi's (1995) connectionist architecture, which reveals that both effects hold even when the association of both names to the PIN is unequal. These results are presented in terms of a more complete model for person recognition, and the representation of semantic information within such a model is examined.

Municipal Competition for Inhabitants under Population Decrease. Zusammenfassung: Kommunale Konkurrenz um Einwohner bei Bevölkerungsrückgang

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Friedrich

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The shrinking population during the break-down, adaptation and recovery phase in Estonian social and political development enforces municipal competition among the municipalities. Competition for inhabitants is embedded in regional competition showing horizontal and vertical competition relations. Inhabitants’ competition prevails indirectly through municipal business promotion competition and directly through competition for inhabitants. The competition shows three phases. A phase concerns zoning and long-term planning; a second one refers to negotiations with settlement firms and short-term actions to attract inhabitants followed by a phase of revisions of zoning and measures. The oligopolistic industrial zoning model of business promotion policy points to the consequences of horizontal municipal competition also on population. Vertical influences on business promotion policy demonstrate a game-theoretic example of intergovernmental intervention from higher government on zoning. The negotiation phase in business promotion policy is modelled by a bilateral monopoly model between a municipality and a settlement firm. Horizontal regional competition highlights the implications on inhabitants’ competition. An oligopoly model of direct inhabitant competition concerns the zoning in particular for housing. Furthermore, a model of public enterprise service and fee formation and of horizontal public firm competition shows inhabitants’ competition in the second phase. Forms of inhabitant competition concerning suburbanisation and using public debt, revenues such as taxes, fees and expenditures are mentioned. Finally, follows a discussion of possible instruments to regulate inhabitant competition.

Increasing state market share through regional positioning

Science.gov (United States)

Muzaffer Uysal; Joseph S. Chen; Daniel R. Williams

2000-01-01

State tourism officials need to know more about the nature of in-state and out-of-state visitor characteristics and how actual and potential visitors perceive local destinations. The main objective of this study was to understand Virginia's image as a travel destination versus competitive states in the Mid-Atlantic region of the USA. The regional competitiveness...

Buyer and seller data from pay what you want and name your own price laboratory markets.

Science.gov (United States)

Krämer, Florentin; Schmidt, Klaus M; Spann, Martin; Stich, Lucas

2017-06-01

Pay What You Want (PWYW) and Name Your Own Price (NYOP) are customer-driven pricing mechanisms that give customers (some) pricing power and that have been used in service industries with high fixed costs to price discriminate without setting a reference price. This paper describes buyer and seller data in a series of induced-value laboratory experiments that compare PWYW and NYOP in monopoly and competitive situations. Sellers are in a one-shot interaction with buyers. Sellers using customer-driven pricing mechanisms may exogenously or endogenously receive additional promotional benefits, for instance through word-of-mouth effects. The major findings based on the data presented here are reported in the paper "Delegating Pricing Power to Customers: Pay What You Want or Name Your Own Price?" (Krämer et al., 2017) [3].

Buyer and seller data from pay what you want and name your own price laboratory markets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florentin Krämer

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Pay What You Want (PWYW and Name Your Own Price (NYOP are customer-driven pricing mechanisms that give customers (some pricing power and that have been used in service industries with high fixed costs to price discriminate without setting a reference price. This paper describes buyer and seller data in a series of induced-value laboratory experiments that compare PWYW and NYOP in monopoly and competitive situations. Sellers are in a one-shot interaction with buyers. Sellers using customer-driven pricing mechanisms may exogenously or endogenously receive additional promotional benefits, for instance through word-of-mouth effects. The major findings based on the data presented here are reported in the paper "Delegating Pricing Power to Customers: Pay What You Want or Name Your Own Price?" (Krämer et al., 2017 [3].

Europos Sąjungos regioninė politika: regionų konkurencingumo analizė

OpenAIRE

Stasiulionis, Tadas

2018-01-01

European Union regions’ competitiveness analysis is based on European Commission data about European regions’ competitiveness. Regions, that want to implement their economic, political and social goals, have to properly compete and be involved into an economic activities. For this reason it is important to analyse European Union regions’ competitiveness and search for appropriate methods, that could be applied to acquire the appropriate competitiveness in European regions. By analysing differ...

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…

PERMANENT INNOVATION - SOLUTION FOR THE INCREASE OF THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE COMPANIES

OpenAIRE

Corina FRÃSINEANU; Ioan FRÃSINEANU

2011-01-01

The economy based on knowledge imposes a careful administration of the innovation activity at the level of the companies parallel to the possibility of the formation of innovation networks - competitive poles - clusters. These types of cooperation between companies are aimed at maintaining and increasing the competitive advantage acquired at regional or national level

Naming as Strategic Communication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmeltz, Line; Kjeldsen, Anna Karina

2016-01-01

This article presents a framework for understanding corporate name change as strategic communication. From a corporate branding perspective, the choice of a new name can be seen as a wish to stand out from a group of similar organizations. Conversely, from an institutional perspective, name change...

Competition among Turkish hospitals and its effect on hospital efficiency and service quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Torun, Nazan; Celik, Yusuf; Younis, Mustafa Z

2013-01-01

The level of competition among hospitals in Turkey was analyzed for the years 1990 through 2006 using the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). Multiple and simple regression analyses were run to observe the development of competition among hospitals over this period of time, to examine likely determinants of competition, and to calculate the effects of competition on efficiency and quality in individual hospitals. This study found that the level of competition among hospitals in Turkey has increased throughout the years. Also, competition has had a positive effect on the efficiency of hospitals; however, it did not have a significant positive effect on their quality. Moreover, there are important differences in the level of competition among hospitals that vary according to the geographical region, the type of ownership, and the type of hospital. This study is one of the first to evaluate the effects of health policies on competition as well as the effects of increasing competition on hospital quality and efficiency in Turkey.

Competitive forces and academic plastic surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, S H

1998-04-01

Economic constraints developing as a result of rising health care costs in the United States pose significant challenges for and threats to the survival of academic plastic surgery. Declining clinical revenues, competition for patients and resources from other health care providers, and reductions in support of its education and research efforts necessitate a paradigm shift if it is to survive. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 92 of the 100 postgraduate training program directors of plastic surgery in the United States. The most common source of clinical income on a national basis was indemnity insurance. Sources of clinical income varied by region. The majority of programs, 80 percent, report that at least 75 percent of the income support for faculty came from practice income. Financial support for ancillary and research personnel, in large part, came from this same source. Resident salaries and benefits came largely from other resources. Generally as population density within the metropolitan area in which a program was located increased, so too did the number of competing plastic surgeons, including graduates of the program and nonacademic cosmetic and hand surgeons. However, levels of competition for cosmetic surgery in smaller metropolitan areas of some regions seem to be similar to those reported by programs in larger communities. Plastic surgery programs in very competitive communities received significantly greater amounts of their income from indemnity insurance and self-paying patients than did programs in less competitive metropolitan areas. Internal competition from other surgical and nonsurgical specialists within the same institution is likewise keen. Virtually all respondents, 93 percent, report that their institutions provided patient care in a least one designated center of excellence in the following disciplines: hand, microsurgery, craniofacial, cleft lip and palate, burn, and cosmetic surgery. This study suggests that centers of

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…

Does Introduction of Bureaucratic Competition Reduce Corruption in Public Service Delivery?

OpenAIRE

Banerjee, Panchali; Mukherjee, Vivekananda

2015-01-01

The paper theoretically explores the impact of introducing bureaucratic competition on corruption. For this purpose it considers three different measures of corruption such as corruption incidence (CI), relative corruption incidence (CRI) and corruption rents (CR) in two different types of economies namely corruption-tolerant economies and corruption-reliant economies. As it compares both intensive margin (i.e. the magnitude of bribe) and extensive margin (i.e. the number of bribe incident) o...

What's in a Name? Sound Symbolism and Gender in First Names.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David M Sidhu

Full Text Available Although the arbitrariness of language has been considered one of its defining features, studies have demonstrated that certain phonemes tend to be associated with certain kinds of meaning. A well-known example is the Bouba/Kiki effect, in which nonwords like bouba are associated with round shapes while nonwords like kiki are associated with sharp shapes. These sound symbolic associations have thus far been limited to nonwords. Here we tested whether or not the Bouba/Kiki effect extends to existing lexical stimuli; in particular, real first names. We found that the roundness/sharpness of the phonemes in first names impacted whether the names were associated with round or sharp shapes in the form of character silhouettes (Experiments 1a and 1b. We also observed an association between femaleness and round shapes, and maleness and sharp shapes. We next investigated whether this association would extend to the features of language and found the proportion of round-sounding phonemes was related to name gender (Analysis of Category Norms. Finally, we investigated whether sound symbolic associations for first names would be observed for other abstract properties; in particular, personality traits (Experiment 2. We found that adjectives previously judged to be either descriptive of a figuratively 'round' or a 'sharp' personality were associated with names containing either round- or sharp-sounding phonemes, respectively. These results demonstrate that sound symbolic associations extend to existing lexical stimuli, providing a new example of non-arbitrary mappings between form and meaning.

A Standardized Reference Data Set for Vertebrate Taxon Name Resolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Zermoglio, Paula F; Guralnick, Robert P; Wieczorek, John R

2016-01-01

Taxonomic names associated with digitized biocollections labels have flooded into repositories such as GBIF, iDigBio and VertNet. The names on these labels are often misspelled, out of date, or present other problems, as they were often captured only once during accessioning of specimens, or have a history of label changes without clear provenance. Before records are reliably usable in research, it is critical that these issues be addressed. However, still missing is an assessment of the scope of the problem, the effort needed to solve it, and a way to improve effectiveness of tools developed to aid the process. We present a carefully human-vetted analysis of 1000 verbatim scientific names taken at random from those published via the data aggregator VertNet, providing the first rigorously reviewed, reference validation data set. In addition to characterizing formatting problems, human vetting focused on detecting misspelling, synonymy, and the incorrect use of Darwin Core. Our results reveal a sobering view of the challenge ahead, as less than 47% of name strings were found to be currently valid. More optimistically, nearly 97% of name combinations could be resolved to a currently valid name, suggesting that computer-aided approaches may provide feasible means to improve digitized content. Finally, we associated names back to biocollections records and fit logistic models to test potential drivers of issues. A set of candidate variables (geographic region, year collected, higher-level clade, and the institutional digitally accessible data volume) and their 2-way interactions all predict the probability of records having taxon name issues, based on model selection approaches. We strongly encourage further experiments to use this reference data set as a means to compare automated or computer-aided taxon name tools for their ability to resolve and improve the existing wealth of legacy data.

A Standardized Reference Data Set for Vertebrate Taxon Name Resolution.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paula F Zermoglio

Full Text Available Taxonomic names associated with digitized biocollections labels have flooded into repositories such as GBIF, iDigBio and VertNet. The names on these labels are often misspelled, out of date, or present other problems, as they were often captured only once during accessioning of specimens, or have a history of label changes without clear provenance. Before records are reliably usable in research, it is critical that these issues be addressed. However, still missing is an assessment of the scope of the problem, the effort needed to solve it, and a way to improve effectiveness of tools developed to aid the process. We present a carefully human-vetted analysis of 1000 verbatim scientific names taken at random from those published via the data aggregator VertNet, providing the first rigorously reviewed, reference validation data set. In addition to characterizing formatting problems, human vetting focused on detecting misspelling, synonymy, and the incorrect use of Darwin Core. Our results reveal a sobering view of the challenge ahead, as less than 47% of name strings were found to be currently valid. More optimistically, nearly 97% of name combinations could be resolved to a currently valid name, suggesting that computer-aided approaches may provide feasible means to improve digitized content. Finally, we associated names back to biocollections records and fit logistic models to test potential drivers of issues. A set of candidate variables (geographic region, year collected, higher-level clade, and the institutional digitally accessible data volume and their 2-way interactions all predict the probability of records having taxon name issues, based on model selection approaches. We strongly encourage further experiments to use this reference data set as a means to compare automated or computer-aided taxon name tools for their ability to resolve and improve the existing wealth of legacy data.

Retrospective injury epidemiology of one hundred one competitive Oceania power lifters: the effects of age, body mass, competitive standard, and gender.

Science.gov (United States)

Keogh, Justin; Hume, Patria A; Pearson, Simon

2006-08-01

The injury epidemiology of competitive power lifters was investigated to provide a basis for injury prevention initiatives in power lifting. Self-reported retrospective injury data for 1 year and selected biographical and training information were obtained via a 4-page injury survey from 82 men and 19 women of varying ages (Open and Masters), body masses (lightweight and heavyweight), and competitive standards (national and international). Injury was defined as any physical damage to the body that caused the lifter to miss or modify one or more training sessions or miss a competition. A total of 118 injuries, which equated to 1.2 +/- 1.1 injuries per lifter per year and 4.4 +/- 4.8 injuries per 1,000 hours of training, were reported. The most commonly injured body regions were the shoulder (36%), lower back (24%), elbow (11%), and knee (9%). More injuries appeared to be of a sudden (acute) (59%) rather than gradual (chronic) nature (41%). National competitors had a significantly greater rate of injury (5.8 +/- 4.9 per 1,000 hours) than international competitors (3.6 +/- 3.6 per 1,000 hours). The relative proportion of injuries at some body regions varied significantly as a function of competitive standard and gender. No significant differences in injury profile were seen between Open and Masters or between lightweight and heavyweight lifters. Power lifting appears to have a moderately low risk of injury, regardless of the lifter's age, body mass, competitive standard, or gender, compared with other sports. Future research should utilize a prospective cohort or case-controlled design to examine the effect of a range of other intrinsic and extrinsic factors on injury epidemiology and to assess the effects of various intervention strategies.

The spirit of competition: to win or not to win.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teresa Szczepinska

Full Text Available A competition is a contest between individuals or groups. The gain is often an award or recognition, which serves as a catalyst to motivate individuals to put forth their very best. Such events for recognition and success are part of many International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB Student Council Regional Student Groups (RSGs activities. These include a popular science article contest, a Wikipedia article competition, travel grants, poster and oral presentation awards during conferences, and quizzes at social events. Organizing competitions is no different than any other event; they require a lot of hard work to be successful. Each event gives remarkable organizational and social experience for students running it, while at the same time the participants of the competitions are rewarded by prizes and recognition. It gives everybody involved an opportunity to demonstrate their extraordinary talents and skills. Competitions are unique because they bring out both the best and worst in people.

Periodic and chaotic events in a discrete model of logistic type for the competitive interaction of two species

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez-Ruiz, Ricardo; Fournier-Prunaret, Daniele

2009-01-01

Two symmetrically coupled logistic equations are proposed to mimic the competitive interaction between two species. The phenomena of coexistence, oscillations and chaos are present in this cubic discrete system. This work, together with two other similar ones recently published by the authors, completes a triptych dedicated to the two species relationships present in Nature, namely the symbiosis, the predator-prey and the competition. These models can be used as basic ingredients to build up more complex interactions in the ecological networks.

The Effect of Advanced Management Accounting Practices on the Competitive Strategies and Performance

OpenAIRE

Rahmi Yücel; Kayhan Ahmetoğulları

2015-01-01

This study is based on a sample of 300 managers from the production industry of West Marmara Region. The goal of this study is to examine the interaction among advanced management accounting practices, competitive strategies and company performance. As a result of study, it is found that advanced accounting management practices have a positive effect on the company performance and competitive strategies. In addition, competitive strategies have an effect on the company performance positively....

Efficiency-wage competition and nonlinear dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Guerrazzi, Marco; Sodini, Mauro

2018-05-01

In this paper we develop a nonlinear version of the efficiency-wage competition model pioneered by Hahn (1987) [27]. Under the assumption that the strategic relationship among optimal wage bids put forward by competing firms is non-monotonic, we show that market wage offers can actually display persistent fluctuations described by a piece-wise non-invertible map. Thereafter, assuming that employers are never constrained in the labour market, we give evidence that in the parameter region of chaotic dynamics, the model is able to reproduce the business cycle regularity according to which in the short-run average wages fluctuate less than aggregate employment. In addition, we show that the efficiency-wage competition among firms leads to some inefficiencies in the wage setting process.

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

THE STATE OF ECONOMIC FREEDOM IN UKRAINE AND ITS IMPACT ON COMPETITIVENESS

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S. Mytsiuk

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The place of Ukraine in the world rankings, the level of economic freedom in Ukraine and its impact on competitiveness are considered in the article. The analysis of tendencies of development of Ukraine in the international arena is carried and competitiveness of the national economy is defined. The indices of global competitiveness and economic freedom are investigated. The basic components of these ratings are analyzed and correlation between economic freedom of the country and its competitiveness is proved. The macroeconomic and institutional factors of Ukraine's competitiveness increase on the world stage are identified. It has been found out that reduction of the competitiveness of Ukraine in the international rankings is connected with the political instability and foreign aggression. Since military confrontation in the Donbas region lead to a steady decline in general economic indicators, destruction of infrastructure, lower production, it has a negative impact on future international competitiveness ranking of Ukraine.

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.

Modeling policy mix to improve the competitiveness of Indonesian palm oil industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silitonga, R. Y.H.; Siswanto, J.; Simatupang, T.; Bahagia, S.N.

2016-07-01

The purpose of this research is to develop a model that will explain the impact of government policies to the competitiveness of palm oil industry. The model involves two commodities in this industry, namely crude palm oil (CPO) and refined palm oil (RPO), each has different added value. The model built will define the behavior of government in controlling palm oil industry, and their interactions with macro-environment, in order to improve the competitiveness of the industry. Therefore the first step was to map the main activities in this industry using value chain analysis. After that a conceptual model was built, where the output of the model is competitiveness of the industry based on market share. The third step was model formulation. The model is then utilized to simulate the policy mix given by government in improving the competitiveness of Palm Oil Industry. The model was developed using only some policies which give direct impact to the competitiveness of the industry. For macro environment input, only price is considered in this model. The model can simulate the output of the industry for various government policies mix given to the industry. This research develops a model that can represent the structure and relationship between industry, government and macro environment, using value chain analysis and hierarchical multilevel system approach. (Author)

Modeling policy mix to improve the competitiveness of Indonesian palm oil industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roland Y H Silitonga

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this research is to develop a model that will explain the impact of government policies to the competitiveness of palm oil industry. The model involves two commodities in this industry, namely crude palm oil (CPO and refined palm oil (RPO, each has different added value. Design/methodology/approach: The model built will define the behavior of government in controlling palm oil industry, and their interactions with macro-environment, in order to improve the competitiveness of the industry. Therefore the first step was to map the main activities in this industry using value chain analysis. After that a conceptual model was built, where the output of the model is competitiveness of the industry based on market share. The third step was model formulation. The model is then utilized to simulate the policy mix given by government in improving the competitiveness of Palm Oil Industry. Research limitations/implications: The model was developed using only some policies which give direct impact to the competitiveness of the industry. For macro environment input, only price is considered in this model. Practical implications: The model can simulate the output of the industry for various government policies mix given to the industry. Originality/value: This research develops a model that can represent the structure and relationship between industry, government and macro environment, using value chain analysis and hierarchical multilevel system approach.

Relationship between neuronal network architecture and naming performance in temporal lobe epilepsy: A connectome based approach using machine learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Munsell, B C; Wu, G; Fridriksson, J; Thayer, K; Mofrad, N; Desisto, N; Shen, D; Bonilha, L

2017-09-09

Impaired confrontation naming is a common symptom of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). The neurobiological mechanisms underlying this impairment are poorly understood but may indicate a structural disorganization of broadly distributed neuronal networks that support naming ability. Importantly, naming is frequently impaired in other neurological disorders and by contrasting the neuronal structures supporting naming in TLE with other diseases, it will become possible to elucidate the common systems supporting naming. We aimed to evaluate the neuronal networks that support naming in TLE by using a machine learning algorithm intended to predict naming performance in subjects with medication refractory TLE using only the structural brain connectome reconstructed from diffusion tensor imaging. A connectome-based prediction framework was developed using network properties from anatomically defined brain regions across the entire brain, which were used in a multi-task machine learning algorithm followed by support vector regression. Nodal eigenvector centrality, a measure of regional network integration, predicted approximately 60% of the variance in naming. The nodes with the highest regression weight were bilaterally distributed among perilimbic sub-networks involving mainly the medial and lateral temporal lobe regions. In the context of emerging evidence regarding the role of large structural networks that support language processing, our results suggest intact naming relies on the integration of sub-networks, as opposed to being dependent on isolated brain areas. In the case of TLE, these sub-networks may be disproportionately indicative naming processes that are dependent semantic integration from memory and lexical retrieval, as opposed to multi-modal perception or motor speech production. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Multi-language naming game

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Jianfeng; Lou, Yang; Chen, Guanrong; Tang, Wallace K. S.

2018-04-01

Naming game is a simulation-based experiment used to study the evolution of languages. The conventional naming game focuses on a single language. In this paper, a novel naming game model named multi-language naming game (MLNG) is proposed, where the agents are different-language speakers who cannot communicate with each other without a translator (interpreter) in between. The MLNG model is general, capable of managing k different languages with k ≥ 2. For illustration, the paper only discusses the MLNG with two different languages, and studies five representative network topologies, namely random-graph, WS small-world, NW small-world, scale-free, and random-triangle topologies. Simulation and analysis results both show that: 1) using the network features and based on the proportion of translators the probability of establishing a conversation between two or three agents can be theoretically estimated; 2) the relationship between the convergence speed and the proportion of translators has a power-law-like relation; 3) different agents require different memory sizes, thus a local memory allocation rule is recommended for saving memory resources. The new model and new findings should be useful for further studies of naming games and for better understanding of languages evolution from a dynamical network perspective.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ORGANISATIONAL COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AND PERFORMANCE MODERATED BY THE AGE AND SIZE OF FIRMS

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Alimin Ismadi Ismail

2010-07-01

Full Text Available It has been argued that achieving a position of competitive advantage is a necessary precursor to a firm's significant performance. This paper will empirically examine the potential moderating variables that could affect the relationship between a firm's competitive advantage and performance, namely the firms' age and size. By examining the relative moderating effects of these variables, this paper delivers valuable information to firms, specifically with regard to strategic management directed toward performance and attaining a competitive advantage. This research was conducted among 127 manufacturers listed in the 2008 Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers Directory. A cross- sectional study was conducted using a structured questionnaire to obtain responses from the manufacturers. A two-way ANOVA shows that only the age of firms is a significant moderator in the relationship between competitive advantage and performance, and that this relationship is stronger for older firms. The size of firms does not significantly moderate the relationship between competitive advantage and performance. Despite the non-significant moderating effect of firms' size, overall, this study provides empirical support for the Resource-Based View (RBV of Malaysian manufacturers regarding the issue of competitive advantage.

Atypical neural responding to hearing one's own name in adults with ASD.

Science.gov (United States)

Nijhof, Annabel D; Dhar, Monica; Goris, Judith; Brass, Marcel; Wiersema, Jan R

2018-01-01

Diminished responding to hearing one's own name is one of the earliest and strongest predictors of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Here, we studied, for the first time, the neural correlates of hearing one's own name in ASD. Based on existing research, we hypothesized enhancement of late parietal positive activity specifically for the own name in neurotypicals, and for this effect to be reduced in adults with ASD. Source localization analyses were conducted to estimate group differences in brain regions underlying this effect. Twenty-one adults with ASD, and 21 age- and gender-matched neurotypicals were presented with 3 categories of names (own name, close other, unknown other) as task-irrelevant deviant stimuli in an auditory oddball paradigm while electroencephalogram was recorded. As expected, late parietal positivity was observed specifically for own names in neurotypicals, indicating enhanced attention to the own name. This preferential effect was absent in the ASD group. This group difference was associated with diminished activation in the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) in adults with ASD. Further, a familiarity effect was found for N1 amplitude, with larger amplitudes for familiar names (own name and close other). However, groups did not differ for this effect. These findings provide evidence of atypical neural responding to hearing one's own name in adults with ASD, suggesting a deficit in self-other distinction associated with rTPJ dysfunction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

COMPETITION ON THE WHOLESALE MEDICATION DISTRIBUTION MARKET IN ROMANIA

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Alina HAGIU

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Wholesale distribution of medicines in Romania was in the constant attention of the competition authority. In order to analyze the operation of the distribution system practiced in Romania, but also changes that may occur in this system on short and medium term, the Competition Council conducted a sector inquiry after which they found some malfunctioning mainly chained to distributors access to certain medications. Conducted on a sample of 23 pharmaceutical groups operating on the Romanian market and holding approximately 80% of the pharmaceutical market in Romania in 2009, the sector inquiry aimed at two objectives, namely: Legislation analysis with impact on the wholesale distribution of drugs; Market analysis of drug distribution.Following the findings of the high concentration of markets analyzed, due to significant market shares held by innovative drugs under investigation were analyzed also the penetration of generics in the market and the factors that led to this situation.

Mass Customization as Innovation Driver of International Competitiveness in Peripheral Regional SME Subcontractors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taps, Stig B.; Brunø, Thomas Ditlev; Nielsen, Kjeld

2014-01-01

practices that can be exploited as competitive capabilities. This paper suggests that an open network structure demands a transformation of peripheral-located SME subcontractor from traditional customized producer to mass customized producer. Mass customization as an instrument for the transformation...

THE COMPETITIVENESS OF HIGHER EDUCATION OF UKRAINE ACCORDING TO THE INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilona Tsarenko

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of research is evaluation of competitiveness of higher education of Ukraine in comparison with the foreign countries and under the influence of the globalization of market environment. The evaluation of the level of competitiveness of higher education in Ukraine on the modern stage under the influence of the globalization transformation and in the light of international comparisons is investigated insufficiently, which makes up for the purpose and objectives of this research. Methodology. The research is based on a comparison of the data, which are set out in the international reports about the competitiveness of countries in the world, in particular about the higher education. The analysis of the degree of researching the problem of competitiveness of higher education in the works of scientists is made in advance. Results of the research showed that the main components of pillar «High education and training» of the Global Competitiveness Index, namely: secondary education enrollment, tertiary education enrollment, quality of the education system, quality of math and science education, quality of management schools, internet access in schools, availability of research and training services and extent of staff training. The analysis of the dynamics of the indicator “Higher education and training” of Global Competitiveness Index is made for Ukraine and the other countries, which is showed the following: in the last five years the highest index of higher education and training belongs to Finland, the score of which, in the dynamics, significantly increases, concerning Ukraine, it among 132 countries takes 40th place, that is top 50 countries with the highest ranking of the competitiveness of higher education and training, this position for Ukraine is stable, with the exception of 2011, when the position was reduced to 51 in the rankings. Furthermore, in 2014 Ukraine’s rating has increased in comparison with other years. Then in

Socioeconomic determinants of first names

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bloothooft, G.; Onland, D.

2011-01-01

Modern naming practices in the Netherlands between 1982 and 2005 were studied on the basis of 1409 popular first names, divided into fourteen name groups determined by the common preferences of parents for the names involved. Socioeconomic variables such as family income, parents' level of

Local, Regional or Global?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Geisler Asmussen, Christian

to be consistent with models of internationalization that incorporate different assumptions about strategic choice and global competition. Preliminary results show that large multinationals follow home region oriented internationalization paths, although much of the regional effect reported by previous studies...

Elemental Etymology: What's in a Name?

Science.gov (United States)

Ball, David W.

1985-01-01

Examines the origin of the names (or etymologies) of the chemical elements. Includes tables listing elements: (1) with names of obscure origin; (2) named for colors; (3) named after real or mythical people; (4) named after places; (5) named after heavenly bodies; and (6) having names of miscellaneous origin. (JN)

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

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.

Quantification of competitive value of documents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavel Šimek

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The majority of Internet users use the global network to search for different information using fulltext search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, or Seznam. The web presentation operators are trying, with the help of different optimization techniques, to get to the top places in the results of fulltext search engines. Right there is a great importance of Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing, because normal users usually try links only on the first few pages of the fulltext search engines results on certain keywords and in catalogs they use primarily hierarchically higher placed links in each category. Key to success is the application of optimization methods which deal with the issue of keywords, structure and quality of content, domain names, individual sites and quantity and reliability of backward links. The process is demanding, long-lasting and without a guaranteed outcome. A website operator without advanced analytical tools do not identify the contribution of individual documents from which the entire web site consists. If the web presentation operators want to have an overview of their documents and web site in global, it is appropriate to quantify these positions in a specific way, depending on specific key words. For this purpose serves the quantification of competitive value of documents, which consequently sets global competitive value of a web site. Quantification of competitive values is performed on a specific full-text search engine. For each full-text search engine can be and often are, different results. According to published reports of ClickZ agency or Market Share is according to the number of searches by English-speaking users most widely used Google search engine, which has a market share of more than 80%. The whole procedure of quantification of competitive values is common, however, the initial step which is the analysis of keywords depends on a choice of the fulltext search engine.

Smart, connected products as a new competitive advantage: Challenges for Serbia

OpenAIRE

Savić, Nebojša; Pitić, Goran; Trbovich, Ana S.

2016-01-01

The current debate among scholars of innovation and competitiveness centres on the concept of smart connected products (SCP). In this review article, we attempt to engage Serbia in this global debate by explaining the core concepts and arguments, building on previous research, and demonstrating how the developments in Serbia's ICT sector exemplify the new theory. We present the cases of three companies engaged in the production of SCPs, namely Schneider Electric DMS NS, Strawberry Energy, and...

Competition in Japan

OpenAIRE

Michael E. Porter; Mariko Sakakibara

2004-01-01

This article examines competition in Japan and its link to postwar economic prosperity. While Japan's industrial structure and competition policy seem to indicate that competition in Japan has been less intense, the empirical evidence does not support this conclusion. The sectors in which competition was restricted prove to be those where Japan was not internationally successful. In the internationally successful sectors, internal competition in Japan was invariably fierce. While the level of...

Competitive bidding in Medicare: who benefits from competition?

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Zirui; Landrum, Mary Beth; Chernew, Michael E

2012-09-01

To conduct the first empirical study of competitive bidding in Medicare. We analyzed 2006-2010 Medicare Advantage data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services using longitudinal models adjusted for market and plan characteristics. A $1 increase in Medicare's payment to health maintenance organization (HMO) plans led to a $0.49 (P service plans included, higher Medicare payments increased bids less ($0.33 per dollar), suggesting more competition among these latter plans. As a market-based alternative to cost control through administrative pricing, competitive bidding relies on private insurance plans proposing prices they are willing to accept for insuring a beneficiary. However, competition is imperfect in the Medicare bidding market. As much as half of every dollar in increased plan payment went to higher bids rather than to beneficiaries. While having more insurers in a market lowered bids, the design of any bidding system for Medicare should recognize this shortcoming of competition.

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...

From cities and towns to urban networks in Germany – intra regional competition versus regional co-operation and inter regional competitiveness

OpenAIRE

Bernhard Mueller

2000-01-01

For many decades of the 20th century particular cities and towns were understood as integral parts of national and international urban systems. For many years the theory on central places and hierarchy of central places, first developed by Christaller and amended by Loesch, had a decisive influence on spatial research and regional development policies with guiding principles for urbanisation and the development of settlement patterns. However it is becoming ever more evident, that the planned...

MARKED PERSONAL NAMES: AN ANTROPONIMIC STUDY OF BALINESE STUDENTS’ NAMES IN DENPASAR

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Ni Made Iwan Indrawan

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The research aims to account for the Marked Balinese Students’ Personal Names. Four research problems are studied, namely (1 the criteria used to distinguish the marked names (NDMBmk and the unmarked ones (NDMTBmk, (2 the functions of the markedness, (3 the factors that influence it, and (4 the ideologies that operate behind it. The markedness of personal names reflect a relation between the arbitrariness in language uses and the extralinguistic factors influencing it. In the context of Balinese, the tradition, legal practices, and the globalisation may affect the arbitrariness. In order to determine NDMBmk, criteria of markedness was constructed. According to the criteria, structurally, NDMBmk consist of at least five elements, as Anak Agung Arim Kasunu Arya Penarungan. Behaviorally, they may consist of names not derived from Balinese and/or Sanskrit, such as Giovani on I Gede Adeyaka Giovani, adopt a foreign spelling system as Chrisna on Ni Putu Chrisna Wulandari, or use no markers of Balinese ethnics or caste as Yunisari Wira Putri. Out of 698 sampled names, NDMBmk are found 54. Besides denoting, the marked elements also function to distinguish personal identities, to shape the existence of the name holder, to connote particular perception, and to reflect the changing era. The factors influencing the markedness are the need to express something new, a wish to acculturate, to raise status or keep a distance socially, and to demonstrate a linguistic expertise, or when seeing from the concept of imagery, the factors are the imagery on something new and on social status or distancing. The ideologies behind the phenomenon are globalist, nationalist, and the casteless-Balinese.

MARKED PERSONAL NAMES: AN ANTROPONIMIC STUDY OF BALINESE STUDENTS’ NAMES IN DENPASAR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ni Made Iwan Indrawan

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The research aims to account for the Marked Balinese Students’ Personal Names. Four research problems are studied, namely (1 the criteria used to distinguish the marked names (NDMBmk and the unmarked ones (NDMTBmk, (2 the functions of the markedness, (3 the factors that influence it, and (4 the ideologies that operate behind it. The markedness of personal names reflect a relation between the arbitrariness in language uses and the extralinguistic factors influencing it. In the context of Balinese, the tradition, legal practices, and the globalisation may affect the arbitrariness. In order to determine NDMBmk, criteria of markedness was constructed. According to the criteria, structurally, NDMBmk consist of at least five elements, as Anak Agung Arim Kasunu Arya Penarungan. Behaviorally, they may consist of names not derived from Balinese and/or Sanskrit, such as Giovani on I Gede Adeyaka Giovani, adopt a foreign spelling system as Chrisna on Ni Putu Chrisna Wulandari, or use no markers of Balinese ethnics or caste as Yunisari Wira Putri. Out of 698 sampled names, NDMBmk are found 54. Besides denoting, the marked elements also function to distinguish personal identities, to shape the existence of the name holder, to connote particular perception, and to reflect the changing era. The factors influencing the markedness are the need to express something new, a wish to acculturate, to raise status or keep a distance socially, and to demonstrate a linguistic expertise, or when seeing from the concept of imagery, the factors are the imagery on something new and on social status or distancing. The ideologies behind the phenomenon are globalist, nationalist, and the casteless-Balinese.

Plan competitions reveal entrepreneurial talent

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Madison, Alison L.

2011-05-15

Monthly economic diversity column for Tri-City Herald business section. Excerpt below: There’s something to be said for gaining valuable real-world experience in a structured, nurturing environment. Take for instance learning to scuba dive in the comfort of my resort pool rather than immediately hanging out with sharks while I figure out little things like oxygen tanks and avoiding underwater panic attacks. Likewise, graduate students are getting some excellent, supportive real-world training through university business plan competitions. These competitions are places where smart minds, new technologies, months of preparation and coaching, and some healthy pre-presentation jitters collide to reveal not only solid new business ideas, but also some promising entrepreneurial talent. In fact, professionals from around our region descend upon college campuses every spring to judge these events, which help to bridge the gap between academics and the real technology and business-driven economy.

Matching is not naming: a direct comparison of lexical manipulations in explicit and implicit reading tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Vogel, Alecia C; Petersen, Steven E; Schlaggar, Bradley L

2013-10-01

The neurobiological basis of reading is of considerable interest, yet analyzing data from subjects reading words aloud during functional MRI data collection can be difficult. Therefore, many investigators use surrogate tasks such as visual matching or rhyme matching to eliminate the need for spoken output. Use of these tasks has been justified by the presumption of "automatic activation" of reading-related neural processing when a word is viewed. We have tested the efficacy of using a nonreading task for studying "reading effects" by directly comparing blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) activity in subjects performing a visual matching task and an item naming task on words, pseudowords (meaningless but legal letter combinations), and nonwords (meaningless and illegal letter combinations). When compared directly, there is significantly more activity during the naming task in "reading-related" regions such as the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and supramarginal gyrus. More importantly, there are differing effects of lexicality in the tasks. A whole-brain task (matching vs. naming) by string type (word vs. pseudoword vs. nonword) by BOLD timecourse analysis identifies regions showing this three-way interaction, including the left IFG and left angular gyrus (AG). In the majority of the identified regions (including the left IFG and left AG), there is a string type × timecourse interaction in the naming but not the matching task. These results argue that the processing performed in specific regions is contingent on task, even in reading-related regions and is thus nonautomatic. Such differences should be taken into consideration when designing studies intended to investigate reading. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

On identifying name equivalences in digital libraries. Name equivalence, Surname matching, Author identification, Databases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dror G. Feitelson

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The services provided by digital libraries can be much improved by correctly identifying variants of the same name. For example, this will allow for better retrieval of all the works by a certain author. We focus on variants caused by abbreviations of first names, and show that significant achievements are possible by simple lexical analysis and comparison of names. This is done in two steps: first a pairwise matching of names is performed, and then these are used to find cliques of equivalent names. However, these steps can each be performed in a variety of ways. We therefore conduct an experimental analysis using two real datasets to find which approaches actually work well in practice. Interestingly, this depends on the size of the repository, as larger repositories may have many more similar names.

The Literature Review of a New Form of Competitiveness Called City Competitiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Osman EROĞLU

2014-06-01

Full Text Available With globalization, the rapid development of information technologies and the rapid changes in the economic structure, the country’s borders at a time increasingly depreciate and the importance of city competitiveness reveals. Although it is an ongoing debate around the world whether cities compete with each other, city competitiveness is a new form of competitiveness. Cities compete with each other to increase their competitiveness. City competitiveness is defined as having better values compared to other cities. In this study, a new form of competitiveness called city competitiveness is examined.

Temporal Features of the Differentiation between Self-Name and Religious Leader Name among Christians: An ERP Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruixue Xia

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Existing neuroimaging studies have shown that religion, as a subjective culture, can influence self-referential processing. However, the time course of this impact remains unclear. The present study examined how Christians process their own names, the name of their religious leader (i.e., Jesus, and a famous person’s name (i.e., Yao Ming. Behavioral and EEG data were recorded while the participants performed a name-color judgment task for these three names. The behavioral data showed no significant differences in reaction time or accuracy among the names. However, the ERP data showed that the P200 and P300 amplitudes elicited by the self-name and religious leader name were larger than those elicited by the famous name. Furthermore, the self-name also elicited a larger P300 amplitude than the religious leader name did. These results suggested that both the self-name and the religious leader name were processed preferentially due to their important social value for the self as compared to a generally famous name. Importantly, the dissociation between the self-name and the religious leader name was observed at a high-order cognitive stage, which might be attributed to their different roles in one’s self-concept.

Naming names: the first women taxonomists in mycology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara Maroske

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The transition from amateur to professional in natural history is generally regarded as having taken place in the nineteenth century, but landmark events such as the 1917 appointment of mycologist Johanna Westerdijk (1883–1961 as the first female professor in the Netherlands indicate that the pattern of change for women was more varied and delayed than for men. We investigate this transition in mycology, and identify only 43 women in the Western World who published scientific mycological literature pre-1900, of whom twelve published new fungal taxa. By charting the emergence of these women over time, and comparing the output of self-taught amateurs and university graduates, we establish the key role of access to higher education in female participation in mycology. Using a suite of strategies, six of the self-taught amateurs managed to overcome their educational disadvantages and name names — Catharina Dörrien (the first to name a fungal taxon, Marie-Anne Libert, Mary Elizabeth Banning, Élise-Caroline Bommer, Mariette Rousseau, and Annie Lorrain Smith. By 1900, the professional era for women in mycology was underway, and increasing numbers published new taxa. Parity with male colleagues in recognition and promotion, however, remains an ongoing issue. Key words: Amateurs, Fungi, Gender studies, History of science, Plant pathology

Estimating Trade Effects of the Competitive Devaluation Policy in East Asia’s Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yana Valeryevna Dyomina

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The paper examines the competitive devaluation policy effects on the East Asia’s trade for the period of 2000–2011. The author obtained quantitative estimation of the currency policy trade effects with the help of panel data regression analysis (using export and import data of the following countries: China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and the Republic of Korea. The article includes investigation of the following foreign trade flows: total, intra-regional and out- of-regional exports and imports of merchandise. The study reflects the fact that the competitive devaluation policy of ASEAN+3 countries negatively affects the out-of-regional exports and imports, as well as the total imports. Simultaneously such exchange rate policy measures have no effect on intra-regional trade

Competition within the energy sector and State regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larsen, A.; Jess Olsen, O.

1995-10-01

It is presumed that energy markets will be liberalized. Questions discussed are how the Danish electricity and gas sectors are to be re-regulated in order to ensure that this goal is reached in the most satisfactory manner (cheaper energy supply under competitive conditions) and whether there will be a conflict between the goal of liberalization and the environmental goals of clean technology and energy conservation. It is suggested that a compulsory splitting up of the two regional power associations in Denmark should not be necessary. Transmission and distribution must continue to be regulated as these are natural monopolies not compatible with competition. District heating will still be a monopoly and its prices must be closely regulated to prevent soaring. The opening up of the European gas market to competition will threaten Danish energy utilities. The increasing compulsory use of natural gas in cogeneration plants to politically determined high prices is not sustainable under competitive conditions. Energy saving activities should not be affected. Energy surcharges are attractive measures on a liberalized market. The regulation of competition ought to be incorporated explicitly as a restriction in the Ministry of Energy's energy policy regulation. Energy utilities could be excluded from participation in price setting. International regulation of competition will demand a clarification of the separation of regulatory competence between the member states and the European Commission. It will also be necessary to adjust the Danish regulation of the electricity sector to the future Scandinavian system. (AB) 77 refs

GEOGRAPHIC NAMES INFORMATION SYSTEM (GNIS) ...

Science.gov (United States)

The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN), contains information about physical and cultural geographic features in the United States and associated areas, both current and historical, but not including roads and highways. The database also contains geographic names in Antarctica. The database holds the Federally recognized name of each feature and defines the location of the feature by state, county, USGS topographic map, and geographic coordinates. Other feature attributes include names or spellings other than the official name, feature designations, feature class, historical and descriptive information, and for some categories of features the geometric boundaries. The database assigns a unique feature identifier, a random number, that is a key for accessing, integrating, or reconciling GNIS data with other data sets. The GNIS is our Nation's official repository of domestic geographic feature names information.

Developing the Cyber Defenders of Tomorrow with Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competitions (CCDC)

Science.gov (United States)

Carlin, Anna; Manson, Daniel P.; Zhu, Jake

2010-01-01

With the projected higher demand for Network Systems Analysts and increasing computer crime, network security specialists are an organization's first line of defense. The principle function of this paper is to provide the evolution of Collegiate Cyber Defense Competitions (CCDC), event planning required, soliciting sponsors, recruiting personnel…

Level set method for image segmentation based on moment competition

Science.gov (United States)

Min, Hai; Wang, Xiao-Feng; Huang, De-Shuang; Jin, Jing; Wang, Hong-Zhi; Li, Hai

2015-05-01

We propose a level set method for image segmentation which introduces the moment competition and weakly supervised information into the energy functional construction. Different from the region-based level set methods which use force competition, the moment competition is adopted to drive the contour evolution. Here, a so-called three-point labeling scheme is proposed to manually label three independent points (weakly supervised information) on the image. Then the intensity differences between the three points and the unlabeled pixels are used to construct the force arms for each image pixel. The corresponding force is generated from the global statistical information of a region-based method and weighted by the force arm. As a result, the moment can be constructed and incorporated into the energy functional to drive the evolving contour to approach the object boundary. In our method, the force arm can take full advantage of the three-point labeling scheme to constrain the moment competition. Additionally, the global statistical information and weakly supervised information are successfully integrated, which makes the proposed method more robust than traditional methods for initial contour placement and parameter setting. Experimental results with performance analysis also show the superiority of the proposed method on segmenting different types of complicated images, such as noisy images, three-phase images, images with intensity inhomogeneity, and texture images.

Localizing semantic interference from distractor sounds in picture naming: A dual-task study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mädebach, Andreas; Kieseler, Marie-Luise; Jescheniak, Jörg D

2017-10-13

In this study we explored the locus of semantic interference in a novel picture-sound interference task in which participants name pictures while ignoring environmental distractor sounds. In a previous study using this task (Mädebach, Wöhner, Kieseler, & Jescheniak, in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 43, 1629-1646, 2017), we showed that semantically related distractor sounds (e.g., BARKING dog ) interfere with a picture-naming response (e.g., "horse") more strongly than unrelated distractor sounds do (e.g., DRUMMING drum ). In the experiment reported here, we employed the psychological refractory period (PRP) approach to explore the locus of this effect. We combined a geometric form classification task (square vs. circle; Task 1) with the picture-sound interference task (Task 2). The stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between the tasks was systematically varied (0 vs. 500 ms). There were three central findings. First, the semantic interference effect from distractor sounds was replicated. Second, picture naming (in Task 2) was slower with the short than with the long task SOA. Third, both effects were additive-that is, the semantic interference effects were of similar magnitude at both task SOAs. This suggests that the interference arises during response selection or later stages, not during early perceptual processing. This finding corroborates the theory that semantic interference from distractor sounds reflects a competitive selection mechanism in word production.

On streamlining the Ukrainian names of plants. Information 7. Spelling the names of plant varieties.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

В. М. Меженський

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To analyse the practice of transliteration of the Ukrainian cultivar names and rendering foreign names by means of the Ukrainian language, as well as special aspects of cultivar names spelling in special literature. Results. Cultivar names as a special category require preservation of primary graphics or sound type in the other language. This can be achieved by direct inclusion of the original name to the Ukrainian text or by practical transcribing, but not by transliteration or translation. Otherwise, Ukrainian names should be transliterated for inclusion to the texts in Latin characters. Transcription/transliteration in both directions is performed from the source language, though, as practice shows, in some Ukrainian publications the Russian is wrongly used as an intermediary language. Some national scientific publications ignore the recommendations of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants that is not conducive to the success of scientific communication in the globalized world. Conclusions. The foreign names of plant varieties should be entered into the Ukrainian text keeping the original spelling or by means of practical transcription. The loan of foreign names is performed by transcribing directly from the source language; if the language doesn’t have the Latin alphabet, Latinized name transcription is acceptable. Recommendations of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants that concern graphic highlighting of the cultivar names in the text enclosing them in single quotation marks and writing each word of a cultivar name with a capital letter should necessarily be applied in the foreign-language publications and extended to the Ukrainian special literature, at least, in terms of the use of single quotation marks. Ukrainian names should be transliterated only in accordance with the regulations.

Productive and Unproductive Competition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guerra, Alice; Luppi, Barbara; Parisi, Francesco

Conventional theories of competition classify contests as being either “productive,” when the competitive efforts generate a surplus for society, or “unproductive,” when competition generates no social surplus and merely distributes already existing resources. These two discrete categories of com...... and socially optimal levels of competition in the full range of intermediate cases, as well as in the extremum cases of destructive and super-productive competition.......Conventional theories of competition classify contests as being either “productive,” when the competitive efforts generate a surplus for society, or “unproductive,” when competition generates no social surplus and merely distributes already existing resources. These two discrete categories...... of competition create a division of real-world situations into analytical categories that fails to recognize the entire spectrum of competitive activities. Taking the existing models of productive and unproductive competition as benchmark idealizations, this paper explores the relationship between the privately...

The Name Game.

Science.gov (United States)

Crawley, Sharon J.

Described is a game which provides a method for teaching students to locate cities and towns on a map. Students are provided with a list of descriptive phrases which stand for the name of a city, e.g., hot weather town (Summerville, Georgia); a chocolate candy bar (Hershey, Pennsylvania). Using a map, students must then try to find the name of a…

Creation of the competition's profile of Serbia as a tourism destination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ubavić Predrag

2015-01-01

Full Text Available During the last several decades tourism has more and more significant role in economic and social development of other countries, as well as in everyday life of a contemporary man. The Republic of Serbia, also, tends to use valorization of its touristic potentials to realize numerous objectives of its economic and general social development. Number of destinations that offer their tourist products on the tourist market increases, leading to intensified competition. Competitiveness is emphasized as a crucial issue in contemporary tourism, as destinations strive to be better than competitors. Observed from today's perspective we can come to a general conclusion that Serbia as a touristic destination, still hasn't taken adequate competitive position regarding other tourist destinations in the region. The aim of this paper is to point out the necessity of repositioning the present competitive position of Serbia to make it, within as short time period as possible, an attractive tourist destination on the regional and international tourist market. With adequate implementation of theoretical concepts and chosen research methods this paper is expected to enrich domestic professional literature from this field, also to point out new possibilities of Serbian tourism development to creators and those who carry out such economic and touristic politics.

Mixing, entropy and competition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klimenko, A Y

2012-01-01

Non-traditional thermodynamics, applied to random behaviour associated with turbulence, mixing and competition, is reviewed and analysed. Competitive mixing represents a general framework for the study of generic properties of competitive systems and can be used to model a wide class of non-equilibrium phenomena ranging from turbulent premixed flames and invasion waves to complex competitive systems. We demonstrate consistency of the general principles of competition with thermodynamic description, review and analyse the related entropy concepts and introduce the corresponding competitive H-theorem. A competitive system can be characterized by a thermodynamic quantity—competitive potential—which determines the likely direction of evolution of the system. Contested resources tend to move between systems from lower to higher values of the competitive potential. There is, however, an important difference between conventional thermodynamics and competitive thermodynamics. While conventional thermodynamics is constrained by its zeroth law and is fundamentally transitive, the transitivity of competitive thermodynamics depends on the transitivity of the competition rules. Intransitivities are common in the real world and are responsible for complex behaviour in competitive systems. This work follows ideas and methods that have originated from the analysis of turbulent combustion, but reviews a much broader scope of issues linked to mixing and competition, including thermodynamic characterization of complex competitive systems with self-organization. The approach presented here is interdisciplinary and is addressed to the general educated readers, whereas the mathematical details can be found in the appendices. (comment)

Feeling-of-knowing for proper names.

Science.gov (United States)

Izaute, Marie; Chambres, Patrick; Larochelle, Serge

2002-12-01

The main objective of the presented study was to study feeling-of-knowing (FOK) in proper name retrieval. Many studies show that FOK can predict performance on a subsequent criterion test. Although feeling-of-knowing studies involve questions about proper names, none make this distinction between proper names and common names. Nevertheless, the specific character of proper names as a unique label referring to a person should allow participants to target precisely the desired verbal label. Our idea here was that the unique character of proper name information should result in more accurate FOK evaluations. In the experiment, participants evaluated feeling-of-knowing for proper and common name descriptions. The study demonstrates that FOK judgments are more accurate for proper names than for common names. The implications of the findings for proper names are briefly discussed in terms of feeling-of-knowing hypotheses.

Dancing in the Dark: Competition over the "Meaning of Competition"

OpenAIRE

Metcalfe John Stanley

2009-01-01

Competing concepts of competition provide a sharp divide between theories of economic order and theories of economic transformation. The shift from competition as a state of affairs and competition as a creative process provides the divergence of perspective that is the topic of this paper. We link the Smith Marshall approach of rivalry and open competition to the more modern evolutionary view based on variation cum selection perspectives on innovation and the adaptive role of market processe...

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.

Never forget a name: white matter connectivity predicts person memory

Science.gov (United States)

Metoki, Athanasia; Alm, Kylie H.; Wang, Yin; Ngo, Chi T.; Olson, Ingrid R.

2018-01-01

Through learning and practice, we can acquire numerous skills, ranging from the simple (whistling) to the complex (memorizing operettas in a foreign language). It has been proposed that complex learning requires a network of brain regions that interact with one another via white matter pathways. One candidate white matter pathway, the uncinate fasciculus (UF), has exhibited mixed results for this hypothesis: some studies have shown UF involvement across a range of memory tasks, while other studies report null results. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the UF supports associative memory processes and that this tract can be parcellated into subtracts that support specific types of memory. Healthy young adults performed behavioral tasks (two face-name learning tasks, one word pair memory task) and underwent a diffusion-weighted imaging scan. Our results revealed that variation in UF microstructure was significantly associated with individual differences in performance on both face-name tasks, as well as the word association memory task. A UF sub-tract, functionally defined by its connectivity between face-selective regions in the anterior temporal lobe and orbitofrontal cortex, selectively predicted face-name learning. In contrast, connectivity between the fusiform face patch and both anterior face patches had no predictive validity. These findings suggest that there is a robust and replicable relationship between the UF and associative learning and memory. Moreover, this large white matter pathway can be subdivided to reveal discrete functional profiles. PMID:28646241

COMPETITIVENESS THROUGH INFORMATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raluca Daniela RIZEA

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Intelligence competitiveness has already started to build its road in the company’s long term strategies. Nonetheless, business executives continue to look for ways to apply information technology strategically to their businesses. Using information managers manage to communicate, to convey their knowledge about markets, competitors, products, services and operations. Even if data and information are all over there are few amounts of managers that realize the importance of them to the success of the business. This article will review competitive forces and competitive information systems strategies for gaining competitive advantages, explain concepts of value chain, value co-opetition (competition and cooperation, and discuss innovation strategy. Co-opetition is a strategy whereby companies cooperate and compete at the same time with their competitors, complementors (i.e. hardware and software businesses, customers, suppliers. The article discuss an important dimension of information system, identifies competitive advantages and enhancing competitive strategies thought information systems.

Injuries and overuse syndromes in competitive and elite bodybuilding.

Science.gov (United States)

Siewe, J; Marx, G; Knöll, P; Eysel, P; Zarghooni, K; Graf, M; Herren, C; Sobottke, R; Michael, J

2014-10-01

Competitive bodybuilding is a weightlifting sport similar to powerlifting, strongman competition and Olympic weightlifting, which aims to increase muscle mass, symmetry, and body definition. Although data regarding rates of injury, overuse syndromes and pain during routine training is available for these other disciplines, it is rare for competitive bodybuilding. The aim of this study was to investigate rates of injury, pain during workouts and/or overuse syndromes, as well as the influence of particular intrinsic and external factors. Data was collected using questionnaires from 71 competitive and elite bodybuilders. The information included training routines and prior injuries. Participants were recruited from bodybuilding clubs in Germany. 45.1% of athletes reported symptoms while training. The overall injury rate was computed to be 0.12 injuries per bodybuilder per year (0.24 injuries per 1 000 h of bodybuilding). Athletes over 40 exhibited higher rates of injury (p=0.029). Other investigated parameters showed no effects. Most injuries occurred in the shoulder, elbow, lumbar spine and knee regions. A large proportion of bodybuilders complained of pain not resulting in interruptions of training/competition. The injury rate is low compared to other weightlifting disciplines such as powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting or strongman competition. In comparison to team or contact sports the injury rate is minimal. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Putting competition into perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, L. III.

1993-01-01

This paper examines the current level of competition in the electric industry in the context of the history of the industry and the development of electric markets in other counties. The topics of the paper include competition in the history of the American electric industry, the current state of competition, the competitive situation in Texas, competition in other electric markets, and competitive changes in the US market

East-Asia nuclear/fossil power plant competitiveness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braun, Ch.

1996-01-01

The competitiveness of a new nuclear plant vs. a new oil or gas fired combined cycle plant or a coal fired plant in East-Asia, is reviewed in the paper. Both the nuclear and the fossil fired plants are evaluated as either utility financed or independent power producer (IPP) financed. Two types of advanced light water reactors (ALWRs) are considered in this paper, namely evolutionary ALWRs (1200 MWe size) and passive ALWRs (600 MWe class). A range of capital and total generation costs for each plant type is reported here. The comparison centers on three elements of overall competitiveness: generation costs, hard currency requirements, and employment requirements. Each of these aspects is considered perspective. Year-by-Year generation cost history over the plant lifetime is shown in some cases. It is found here that a utility financed evolutionary and passive ALWRs are broadly competitive with an IPP financed gas fired combined cycle plant and are more economic than oil fired combined cycle or a coal fired plant. A single unit evolutionary ALWR may have a 12 - 15 % capital cost advantage over a single passive ALWR then adjusted on a per KWe basis. Front-end hard currency requirements of a passive ALWR are 2.5 times higher than for a combined plant and evolutionary ALWRs requires 3.6 times higher up-front cost. However, on a lifetime basis, passive ALWR net hard currency requirements are two times lower than for a combined cycle plant. Evolutionary ALWR net hard currency requirements are three times over than those of a combined cycle plant. The effects of domestic vs. world price of fossil fuels on relative nuclear competitiveness are reviewed in this nuclear competitiveness paper. Employment requirements in an ALWR during both the construction period and lifetime operation, exceed the requirements for oil or gas fired plants by a factor of five. While contributing to overall plant cost, employment requirements can also be viewed as opportunity to increase national

27 CFR 9.47 - Hudson River Region.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Hudson River Region. 9.47... Hudson River Region. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural area described in this section is “Hudson River Region.” (b) Approved maps. The approved maps for determining the boundaries of Hudson River...

A Doctor's Name as a Brand: A Nationwide Survey on Registered Clinic Names in Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Feng-Yuan; Dai, Ying-Xiu; Liu, Jui-Yao; Chen, Tzeng-Ji; Chou, Li-Fang; Hwang, Shinn-Jang

2018-06-01

In countries where the private clinics of physicians can be freely named, registering a clinic with a physician's name is one way to make patients familiar with the physician. No previous study had investigated how clinics make use of this method of personal branding. Therefore, the current study analyzed 10,847 private physician Western medicine clinics in Taiwan. Of those clinics, 31.0% ( n = 3363) were named with a physician's full name, 8.9% ( n = 960) with a surname, and 8.1% ( n = 884) with a given name. The proportion of clinics registered with a physician's name was lower in rural areas (37.3%) than in urban (48.5%) and suburban areas (49.2%), respectively. Among clinics with only one kind of specialist, a physician's name was used most frequently in clinics of obstetrics and gynecology (64.9%), otorhinolaryngology (64.1%), and dermatology (63.4%). In Taiwan, fewer than half of clinics used a physician's name as a brand. The sociocultural or strategic factors and real benefits of doing so could be further studied in the future for a better understanding of healthcare services management.

Algorithm of developing competitive strategies and the trends of realizing them for agricultural enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viktoriia Boiko

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The paper specifies basic stages of developing and realizing the strategy of enhancing competitiveness of enterprises and represents an appropriate algorithm. The study analyzes the economic indexes and results of the activity of the agrarian enterprises in Kherson region and provides competitive strategies of efficient development of agrarian enterprises with different levels of competitiveness and specifies the ways of realizing them which will contribute to the optimal use of the available strategic potential

Estimation of the banking sector competition in the CEE countries: The Panzar-Rosse approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arben Mustafa

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Competitive conditions in the banking sectors in the light of transition process in the Central and Eastern Europe countries (CEE has been subject of interest for researchers and policy-makers, especially upon entry of foreign banks and concentrated markets. In this paper the Panzar-Rosse approach is used to assess competition of banking sectors in CEE. By using General Method of Moments on the panel data for 300 banks for the period 1999-2009, empirical evidence indicates that banks operating in the CEE exert monopoly behaviour. From the methodological point of view, the findings suggest that using a price equation or controlling for total assets in a Panzar-Rosse approach produces upwards biased and invalid estimates of the H-statistic. Therefore, further support is provided for maintaining a reducedform revenue equation when estimating a Panzar-Rosse model. The findings also suggest that banks operating in the non-EU countries of the CEE region have exerted stronger market power compared to the banks operating in the EU countries of this region. Policy-makers should improve competitive conditions and general ‘enabling’ environment for the banking sectors, especially the non-EU countries of the CEE region, while balancing competition-stability trade-off.

Last name analysis of mobility, gender imbalance, and nepotism across academic systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Grilli, Jacopo; Allesina, Stefano

2017-07-18

In biology, last names have been used as proxy for genetic relatedness in pioneering studies of neutral theory and human migrations. More recently, analyzing the last name distribution of Italian academics has raised the suspicion of nepotism, with faculty hiring their relatives for academic posts. Here, we analyze three large datasets containing the last names of all academics in Italy, researchers from France, and those working at top public institutions in the United States. Through simple randomizations, we show that the US academic system is geographically well-mixed, whereas Italian academics tend to work in their native region. By contrasting maiden and married names, we can detect academic couples in France. Finally, we detect the signature of nepotism in the Italian system, with a declining trend. The claim that our tests detect nepotism as opposed to other effects is supported by the fact that we obtain different results for the researchers hired after 2010, when an antinepotism law was in effect.

Does the EU Funding Increase Competitiveness of Firms by Supporting Organisational Changes?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martinez Felipe

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Competitive firms with a good economic performance contribute to social development and quality of life. Countries and regions support competitiveness of firms through public policies and public funds. The research concerns question whether financial support from public funds actually helped to increase competitiveness in firms through organisational changes. This paper explores the relationship between competitiveness of firms (measured by sales divided by employment with organisational structure changes and the amount of financial resources from the EU Structural Funds. The data were collected from the Czech Statistical Office and a survey among Czech firms. The estimates provide us with conclusion that only the European Social Funds assistance had a positive effect on productivity, but not organisational changes in firms.

The List of Available Names (LAN): A new generation for stable taxonomic names in zoology?

Science.gov (United States)

Alonso-Zarazaga, Miguel A; Fautin, Daphne Gail; Michel, Ellinor

2016-01-01

The List of Available Names in Zoology (LAN) is an inventory of names with specific scope in time and content, presented and approved in parts, and constituted as a cumulative index of names available for use in zoological nomenclature. It was defined in Article 79 in the fourth edition of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. The LAN is likely to gain importance with the development of the online Official Registry for Zoological Nomenclature (ZooBank) as it is potentially a source of many nomenclaturally certified names. Article 79 describes the deliberative process for adding large numbers of names to the LAN simultaneously, detailing steps and chronology for submission of a candidate Part to the LAN and consideration of a candidate Part by the public and Commission, but it is largely mute about the contents of a candidate Part. It does make clear that a name within the scope of a Part but not on the LAN has no nomenclatural standing, even if it had previously been considered available, thereby preventing long-forgotten names from displacing accepted ones and the accumulation of nomina dubia. Thus, for taxa on the LAN, nomenclatural archaeology - the resurrecting of old unused names to replace by priority names in current usage - will not be worthwhile. Beyond that, it has been unclear if Article 79 is intended to document every available name known within the scope of the Part, or if its intention is to pare the inventory of available names within the scope of the Part. Consideration by the Commission and two committees to deal with the LAN have defined steps to implement Article 79 with the latter intent. Procedures for consideration of a candidate Part are defined in a manual, published as an appendix in this volume.

Multinationals and Institutional Competitiveness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hull Kristensen, Peer; Morgan, Glenn

This article discusses how institutional competitiveness and multinationals are mutually enriching concepts. Seen from the perspective of Multinationals, institutional competitiveness becomes expressed at two levels. At the level of corporate HQs institutional competitiveness proves itself...... competitiveness of Liberal Market Economies and Coordinated Markets Economies under the current competitive regime....

Color Naming Experiment in Mongolian Language

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nandin-Erdene Osorjamaa

2015-11-01

Full Text Available There are numerous researches on color terms and names in many languages. In Mongolian language there are few doctoral theses on color naming. Cross cultural studies of color naming have demonstrated Semantic relevance in French and Mongolian color name Gerlee Sh. (2000; Comparisons of color naming across English and Mongolian Uranchimeg B. (2004; Semantic comparison between Russian and Mongolian idioms Enhdelger O. (1996; across symbolism Dulam S. (2007 and few others. Also a few articles on color naming by some Mongolian scholars are Tsevel, Ya. (1947, Baldan, L. (1979, Bazarragchaa, M. (1997 and others. Color naming studies are not sufficiently studied in Modern Mongolian. Our research is considered to be the first intended research on color naming in Modern Mongolian, because it is one part of Ph.D dissertation on color naming. There are two color naming categories in Mongolian, basic color terms and non- basic color terms. There are seven basic color terms in Mongolian. This paper aims to consider how Mongolian color names are derived from basic colors by using psycholinguistics associative experiment. It maintains the students and researchers to acquire the specific understanding of the differences and similarities of color naming in Mongolian and  English languages from the psycho-linguistic aspect.

Competitive energy markets. The effective route to improving the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swinden, D.J.

1996-01-01

Market forces, operating in an increasingly competitive energy market, are a preferred route to achieving environmental and energy efficiency benefits, than those which can be achieved through a managed approach adopted by many governments. It is shown, through examples, how electricity is a catalyst for change at several levels in business, the community and the general economy. Experience in the United Kingdom indicates that free market forces and inter-energy competition not only help improve the regional and therefore national economy, but they offer a very effective way of introducing improvements in energy efficiency and the environment. Governments should establish the framework for competition and regulation but not attempt to manage an industry, which is invariably done more effectively by those who run them. (author)

Local Competition-Based Superpixel Segmentation Algorithm in Remote Sensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jiayin; Tang, Zhenmin; Cui, Ying; Wu, Guoxing

2017-06-12

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.

Improved vocabulary production after naming therapy in aphasia: can gains in picture naming generalize to connected speech?

Science.gov (United States)

Conroy, Paul; Sage, Karen; Ralph, Matt Lambon

2009-01-01

Naming accuracy for nouns and verbs in aphasia can vary across different elicitation contexts, for example, simple picture naming, composite picture description, narratives, and conversation. For some people with aphasia, naming may be more accurate to simple pictures as opposed to naming in spontaneous, connected speech; for others, the opposite pattern may be evident. These differences have, in some instances, been related to word class (for example, noun or verb) as well as aphasia subtype. Given that the aim of picture-naming therapies is to improve word-finding in general, these differences in naming accuracy across contexts may have important implications for the potential functional benefits of picture-naming therapies. This study aimed to explore single-word therapy for both nouns and verbs, and to answer the following questions. (1) To what extent does an increase in naming accuracy after picture-naming therapy (for both nouns and verbs) predict accurate naming of the same items in less constrained spontaneous connected speech tasks such as composite picture description and retelling of a narrative? (2) Does the word class targeted in therapy (verb or noun) dictate whether there is 'carry-over' of the therapy item to connected speech tasks? (3) Does the speed at which the picture is named after therapy predict whether it will also be used appropriately in connected speech tasks? Seven participants with aphasia of varying degrees of severity and subtype took part in ten therapy sessions over five weeks. A set of potentially useful items was collected from control participant accounts of the Cookie Theft Picture Description and the Cinderella Story from the Quantitative Production Analysis. Twenty-four of these words (twelve verbs and twelve nouns) were collated for each participant, on the basis that they had failed to name them in either simple picture naming or connected speech tasks (picture-supported narrative and unsupported retelling of a narrative

27 CFR 5.34 - Brand names.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Brand names. 5.34 Section... Spirits § 5.34 Brand names. (a) Misleading brand names. No label shall contain any brand name, which... officer finds that such brand name (when appropriately qualified if required) conveys no erroneous...

CREATING COMPETITIVE ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY USING THE FUNNEL METHOD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lidija Stefanovska

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In the highly competitive environment of the 21st century, organizations must be able to effectively change through the application of effective strategies, quickly and in a way that the competitors will be unable to imitate. Therefore, the essential question in any organization is how to achieve and maintain competitive advantage. In this regard, strategic leaders should first logically consider what will bring a substantial advantage to the organization in a long-term, and then start with the process of creating the strategy. To achieve this, researchers in the field of managerial issues offer a concept of continuous process that begins by looking at the customers pattern, through defining the competitive environment and the place of business in it and finally categorizing several strategic business conditions, as a precondition for election and creation of a competitive strategy. This process can be presented as the “funnel for selection of competitive strategy”, in whose widest part we can put the customer matrix, in the middle part we can place definitions of the business outlook of the business and the position of the organization in those perspectives. In order to implement the "Funnel method" of strategic planning teams we need accurate, timely and relevant information based on which we can bring appropriate organizational strategy. The subject of this paper is displaying the Funnel method for selection of the competitive strategy, and presentation of the situation in some of the organizations in the Pelagonija region, related to the way and the information used to create organizational strategies through the Funnel method.

Can Your Institution's Name Influence Constituent Response? An Initial Assessment of Consumer Response to College Names.

Science.gov (United States)

Treadwell, D. F.

2003-01-01

Presents names of college and universities unfamiliar to potential students. Finds that one cluster of respondents had a clear preference for geographic or aspirational names while a second cluster had a preference for proper names. Notes that there was an overall preference for proper names. (SG)

Competition effects of mergers: An event study of the German electricity market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keller, Andreas

2010-01-01

This paper investigates the competition effects of the entry of Vattenfall into the German electricity market. While the competition authorities supported the entry by approving Vattenfall's acquisition of three regional utilities, other market participants raised concerns over the emergence of an upcoming oligopoly in the German market for power generation. We contrast the efficiency hypothesis postulating pro-competitive effects of mergers with the market power hypothesis postulating anti-competitive effects. For the analysis of the two opposing hypotheses, we use an event study approach to the stock prices of Vattenfall's competitors in the German market. While we find no empirical evidence for increased market power in the German electricity market due to Vattenfall's mergers, there is some indication for efficiency increases. We therefore cannot oppose the view of the competition authorities predicting an overall positive effect for consumers as a result of Vattenfall's entry into the German electricity market.

What’s In Your Name? Associated Meanings of the Common Filipino Names Among Young Filipinos

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shaira G. Castillo

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Name is important in knowing someone’s identity. By a person’s name someone can know his or her character. It is also possible that they bear a particular name because of their background and other factors that can lead to something important. This study aimed to find out the associative meanings of the most common Filipino male and female names among the Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Sta. Mesa students. Different factors such as character traits, physical appearance, and skills/talents were considered in determining meanings of the names. The study used quantitative and qualitative research approach, specifically the descriptive method, to analyze the gathered data. A selfadministered survey was distributed to 400 randomly selected respondents. General findings revealed that the respondents associated the most common Filipino male names in the same way regarding character traits and skills/talents. However, they have different associations to the male names in terms of physical appearance. On the other hand, the respondents associated the most common Filipino female names into similar character traits and physical appearance but associated them with different skills/talents. Results also revealed that the most common factors that influence the respondents’ associated meanings were relationships, experiences, popularity, and perception. The results imply that while young Filipinos associate similar character traits, physical appearances and skills to common Filipino names, they have different reasons in giving meanings to them.

Tpm implementation impact in companies´s competitivity in the metropolitan region of aburra’s valley and near east

OpenAIRE

Arango Serna, Martin Dario; Zapata Cortes, Julian Andrés; Alzate Lopez, Juan Felipe

2012-01-01

Best practices methodologies have been used by different companies as competitive growing tools in a globalized market. In Colombia, particularly at Aburra’s Valley Metropolitan Area (AMVA) and near east can be noticed that TPM (Total Productive Management) had been adopted as a competitive support tool. This article evaluates the TPM implementation impact in different competitiveness variables for the companies that are working on it at the AMVA and near east, finding that there is not a cle...

Evaluating the Competitive Ability of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L. Cultivars against Tumble Pigweed (Amaranthus albus L. in Birjand Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

mohammad javad babaie zarch

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction Using crop species and cultivars with high competitive ability against weeds is one of the effective strategies for sustainable weed management. Emergence rate, rapid root growth, seed vigor, development rate of leaves, rapid root and shoot biomass accumulation, rapid canopy closure and plant height are important traits in relation to the competitiveness between different cultivars of crops. Competitive ability is measured using two indices including the weed growth prevention ability or weed biomass reduction index and crop tolerance to weed or yield reduction preventing index. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the competitive ability of six oilseed sunflower (Helianthus annuus L. cultivars and also introducing the most important morpho-physiological attributes affecting their competitive ability with tumble pigweed (Amaranthus albus L. in Birjand. Materials and methods This experiment was carried out as factorial layout based on randomized complete block design with three replications at the Agricultural Research Station, University of Birjand in 2012. Treatments were included six sunflower oilseed cultivars (Azargol, Jame esfehan, Farrokh, Syrna, Progress, Euroflor and tumble pigweed densities in four levels (zero (control, 5, 10 and 15 plants per square meter. The number of days and cumulative degree days were recorded from sowing to emergence. Plant height, leaf area and dry matter were recorded at four stages from emergence to 75 days after it. Sunflower seeds were harvested after physiological maturity. Preventing indices were used to evaluate the competitive ability of cultivars, competitive tolerance (Watson et al., 2002 and weed biomass. Data were analyzed with the SAS software and cluster analysis was performed using SPSS software. FLSD test was employed for comparison of the means at the 5% significance level. The graphs were prepared by Excel. Results and Discussion Analysis of variance showed that there was a

What's in a Name ?The Effect of an Artist's Name on Aesthetic Judgements

OpenAIRE

Cleeremans, Axel; Ginsburgh, Victor; Klein, Olivier; Noury, Abdul Ghafar

2016-01-01

Both economists and art historians suggest that the name of the artist is important and belongs with the work. We carried out an experiment to explore the influence that the presence and knowledge of an artist’s name exert on aesthetic judgments. Forty participants (20 students majoring in psychology and 20 in art history) were asked to rank twelve works painted by different artists, some of which bore the name of their actual creators, others not. The results demonstrated that the presence o...

Fictional names and fictional discourse

OpenAIRE

Panizza, Chiara

2017-01-01

[eng] In this dissertation I present a critical study of fiction, focusing on the semantics of fictional names and fictional discourse. I am concerned with the issue of whether fictional names need to refer, and also with the related issue of whether fictional characters need to exist, in order to best account for our linguistic practices involving fictional names. Fictional names like ‘Sherlock Holmes’, ‘Anna Karenina’, ‘Emma Woodhouse’ and ‘Don Quixote of La Mancha’ ordinarily occur in diff...

Telerobotic Excavator Designed to Compete in NASA's Lunabotics Mining Competition

Science.gov (United States)

Nash, Rodney; Santin, Cara; Yousef, Ahmed; Nguyen, Thien; Helferty, John; Pillapakkam, Shriram

2011-01-01

The second annual NASA Lunabotics Mining competition is to be held in May 23-28, 2011. The goal of the competition is for teams of university level students to design, build, test and compete with a fully integrated lunar excavator on a simulated lunar surface. Our team, named Lunar Solutions I, will be representing Temple University's College of Engineering in the competition. The team's main goal was to build a robot which is able to compete with other teams, and ultimately win the competition. The main challenge of the competition was to build a wireless robot that can excavate and collect a minimum of 10 kilograms of the regolith material within 15 minutes. The robot must also be designed to operate in conditions similar to those found on the lunar surface. The design of the lunar excavator is constrained by a set of requirements determined by NASA and detailed in the competition's rulebook. The excavator must have the ability to communicate with the "main base" wirelessly, and over a Wi-Fi network. Human operators are located at a remote site approximately 60 meters away from the simulated lunar surface upon which the robot must excavate the lunar regolith surface. During the competition, the robot will operate in a separate area from the control room in an area referred to as the "Lunarena." From the control room, the operators will have to control the robot using visual feedback from cameras placed both within the arena and on the robot. Using this visual feedback the human operators control the robots movement using both keyboard and joystick commands. In order to place in the competition, a minimum of 10 kg of regolith material has to be excavated, collected, and dumped into a specific location. For that reason, the robot must be provided with an effective and powerful excavation system. Our excavator uses tracks for the drive system. After performing extensive research and trade studies, we concluded that tracks would be the most effective method for

Can You Say My Name?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Erz, Antonia; Christensen, Bo T.

Whereas brand name research has focused on the semantic meaning or sounds of names, processing fluency lends further support to the idea that meaning goes beyond semantics. Extant research has shown that phonological fluency, i.e., the ease or difficulty with which people pronounce names, can...

EDITORIAL: Physics competitions Physics competitions

Science.gov (United States)

Jordens, H.; Mathelitsch, L.

2011-07-01

International tests on competences, such as TIMSS or PISA, and knowledge of young students have revealed low average scores in many countries, often unexpectedly. One effective measure to increase the average standard of a population is to bring the last third of the group to a higher level. Therefore, many nations put some effort into this activity. This brings the danger that not enough attention is paid to students at the other end, those who are talented. Indeed, it is a very difficult task for a teacher to support the less able and at the same time challenge the gifted students, to lead them to the limits of their abilities and provide for a smooth transition to university study. Physics competitions have been proven to fulfil these last demands to a large degree, and therefore are an important additional and, to some extent, complementary tool for the promotion of talented students. This third special section on physics competitions in European Journal of Physics contains three papers, each dealing with a different form of science contest. The first continues the series of presentations of tasks performed at the International Young Physicists' Tournament, which was held in Vienna in 2011. First place went to the team from Singapore, and they have put their investigation on vertical oscillations of coupled magnets into written form (not required by the tournament, where an oral presentation and a defence and discussion are the central aspects). Their paper shows how rich in physics this problem is, and what level of solutions high-school students can already achieve. Sadly, those responsible for the organization of last year's International Physics Olympiad did not provide us with a report on this competition. This is unfortunate, since the Olympiad in Zagreb was very successful and, in particular, the experimental tasks were creative and demanding. Very similar to the aims and the execution of the Physics Olympiad is the International Olympiad on Astronomy

27 CFR 7.23 - Brand names.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Brand names. 7.23 Section... Beverages § 7.23 Brand names. (a) General. The product shall bear a brand name, except that if not sold under a brand name, then the name of the person required to appear on the brand label shall be deemed a...

Brand Reputation and the Cost of Capital: Evidence of Adopting a Brand Name as the Corporate Name

OpenAIRE

YiLin Wu

2011-01-01

This paper studies how the capital market perceives brand name adoption. I distinguish between brand adoption and radical type of corporate name change. A brand adoption name change occurs when the firm adopts one of its well-established brands as its new corporate name and a radical type occurs when the new name is semantically unrelated to firm history. Improved profitability and increased net investment accompany brand name adoption. After controlling for changes in the competing informati...

Exploring an Age Difference in Preschool Children's Competitiveness Following a Competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yu; Zhu, Yi

2018-01-01

Literature suggests that resource acquisition compels competition in young children. However, little is still known about the development of preschool children's competitiveness. In this preliminary study, 166 children (aged 2-4 and 5-6 years) engaged in a dyadic competition which resulted in a winning and a losing group (in a control/non-competition group, participants engaged in a similar task which did not lead to winning/losing outcome), and then experimenters tracked their decisions to compete again with a rival (i.e., an individual they interacted in the previous competition task) and a non-rival competitor (i.e., an anonymous classmate they did not interact in the previous competition task) for a reward, respectively. As expected, results showed an age-related decreasing trend in the percentage of choices to compete with a competitor. However, this age difference was only significant in the control group when participants played with the partner with whom they interacted in the previous game and in the losing group when participants competed with a non-rival competitor. This study contributes to our knowledge of how competitiveness develop in preschool childhood, and calls for further research on the roles of motivation and cognitive control in children's competitiveness.

The effect of swimming on oral health status: competitive versus non-competitive athletes

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Simonetta D’ERCOLE

2016-04-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Young swimmers are particularly susceptible to the onset of oral diseases. Objective To evaluate the oral health status in young competitive and non-competitive swimmers, involving an assessment of salivary cariogenic bacteria and secretory IgA (S-IgA concentration. Material and Methods Before training sessions (T1, 54 competitive and 69 non-competitive swimmers had the following parameters assessed: decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT, Plaque Index (PlI, and Gingival Index (GI. At T1 and after training sessions (T2, stimulated saliva was collected and microbiological and immunological analyses were performed. Results Competitive swimmers trained 2.02±0.09 hours 5 times a week, while non-competitive swimmers trained 2.03±0.18 hours a week. A total of 14.7% of competitive swimmers suffered dental trauma related to sports. Only 11.76% of the competitive swimmers took a daily dose of fluoride, against 32.65% of non-competitive swimmers (p=0.029. Neither group followed an established diet or presented statistically significant differences in terms of nutritional supplement drink and chocolate intake. There were statistically significant differences in terms of oral hygiene. No significant difference in clinical indexes (DMFT, PlI, and GI was present. S. mutans was harbored by 18.6% of competitive and the 32.2% of non-competitive swimmers. S. sobrinus was detected in 22.03% of competitive and 91.6% of non-competitive swimmers (p<0.05. S. sanguinis was found only in the saliva of competitive swimmers. The average S-IgA of competitive swimmers decreased significantly at T2 (p<0.05. The pool water had a daily average pH of 7.22. Conclusions Microbial markers, immune status and sporting characteristics are important for establishing guidelines for management of training load in order to minimize physical stress and the risk of oral infection.

Ultra advanced projects. ; Naming hyper-hightech projects. (Cho) no tsuku project. ; Naming no shikumi

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goto, Y. (Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Tokyo (Japan))

1992-10-05

Significance of using 'super' for naming a project of technological development is discussed. Functions of naming are classified into (1) recognition, (2) display and (3) sales-promotion, whereby mechanism of naming of merchandise that is developed through the technique of 3 is considered. Further, the mechanism of naming is discussed in relation to marketing. It is pointed out that naming of merchandise is determined on the basis of (1) concept of planned goods and (2) marketing-mixes composed of goods, price, sales-roots and sales-promotion. The same mechanism works also in a project for technological development. Technical trends are caught and projects are targetted by taking supposed regimes into account, thereby the most suitable mix is formed. The mix in the technological development is assumed to be composed of purpose, specification, regime and sales-promotion. Two examples of the governmental projects by Ministry of International Trade and Industry, 'the big regime for research and development on industrial technologies' and 'the regime for development of the fundamental technologies in the next generation' are introduced and the significance of their naming is described. 2 tabs.

Cognitive components of picture naming.

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Johnson, C J; Paivio, A; Clark, J M

1996-07-01

A substantial research literature documents the effects of diverse item attributes, task conditions, and participant characteristics on the case of picture naming. The authors review what the research has revealed about 3 generally accepted stages of naming a pictured object: object identification, name activation, and response generation. They also show that dual coding theory gives a coherent and plausible account of these findings without positing amodal conceptual representations, and they identify issues and methods that may further advance the understanding of picture naming and related cognitive tasks.

“Alexander von Humboldt” als Name für Forschungsschiffe vor dem Hintergrund seiner meereskundlichen Arbeiten

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Gerhard Kortum

2002-10-01

Full Text Available Article in German, Abstract in English. A. v. Humboldt as a Name of Research VesselsA number of special purpose vessels in the world carried or carry the name of Alexander von Humboldt, who had substantial interests in oceanography. However, most of his marine texts are scattered over his major works, and he never finished his manuscript on ocean circulation. But there is a general agreement that A. v. Humboldt was one of the pioneers of marine sciences. He made his own observations on the sailing vessels he used on his expedition to the Neotropics, mainly concerning sea surface temperatures. In 2002 there was a discussion in Germany about the name of a new research vessel which is going to be commissioned in the summer of 2004. It was suggested by the science community to take the name of „Alexander von Humboldt“ again, as the new vessel is replacing a medium-sized ship with this name operated now by the Baltic Sea Research Institute in Rostock-Warnemünde. This vessel has been in service from 1970 to 1990 for the Academy of Sciences of the former German Democratic Republic. The first German research vessel „Alexander von Humboldt“ was a fishing trawler (1939. Furthermore, Peru and Mexico operate research vessels bearing Humboldt’s name. The best known „Alexander von Humboldt“ is an ocean going sailing ship of the International Sail Training Association, based in Bremen. She is engaged in educational programmes and went the South America in 1999 following Humboldt’s route. Thus, Humboldt’s marine legacy is preserved. The proposal to use the undisputed name of this great all-round scientist for the new German vessel under construction now was not successful. A high-ranking jury decided to prefer “Maria Sibylla Merian” (1647-1717, which was suggested by a young student in a nation-wide competition to find a name. As Humboldt 100 years later, she went to South America to study plants and other fields of natural history.

When Two of the Same Are Needed: A Multilevel Model of Intragroup Ethnic Party Competition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bochsler, Daniel

2012-01-01

diversification of minority groups. In states with multiple levels of governments, intra-ethnic rival parties emerge if minorities are local majorities in certain regions. Intra-ethnic party competition is limited, however, through the national electoral system, and especially high legal thresholds can restrict......Parties of ethno-regional minorities have been created in a large number of ethnically diverse countries, but sometimes one such party is not enough. While previous work has investigated the consequences of intragroup party competition, this study looks at the causes of internal political...

Research of Competitive Orientation Among Secondary School Seniour Students: Current Trends and Prospects for Nurturing (Case Study of Tyumen Region

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Gennady F. Shafranov-Kutsev

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction: the priorities of socio-economic development facing our country set new requirements to secondary education; a graduate should not only have a certain amount of knowledge, but also be able to build an effective communication strategy, to be prepared for constant professional self-development, to take the initiative, to interact under conditions of rivalry, in other words, to be competitive. Addressing these issues will contribute to the creation of conditions in which objective requirements of the social system would have found understanding among secondary school students, therefore it is necessary to form competitive thinking. The aim of the study was to consider the factors enabling secondary school students to accept knowledge, values and skills of a competitive person needed for further su stainable development. Materials and Methods: a questionnaire survey of high school students was selected for its reliability and validity in studying competitive skills. The design of the questionnaire was developed by the team of the Sociological Laboratory of the Chair of General and Economic Sociology at Tyumen State University. IBM SPSS Statistics 23 software product was used to process and ana lyse the obtained data. Results: the research provides important insights into the dynamics of the social well-being of secondary school students, defines the main determinants of the formation of skills in competitive environment. The results of this study highlight obstacles to this process as well. Discussion and Conclusions: this paper argues that self-dependent decision-making, critical perception of information, willingness to compete enable to form a competitive personality. The findings from this study have significant potential implications for future educational practice. These research materials are relevant for improving the methods and skills of teaching activities and for development of youth policy. Possible areas for further

The Position of Slovakia in Competitiveness Ranking – the Causes, Impacts and Prospects

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Lucia Stredná

2012-06-01

Full Text Available A country’s competitiveness could be translated as its ability to successfully compete within international comparison also as a prosperity which is expressed by productivity growth of economy and living standards. Is Slovakia competitive? What are its strengths and weaknesses? What are the leading countries of the European Union in competitiveness ranking? In what aspects is Slovakia falling behind countries of V4? Strengthening of which competitive advantages is perspective for the Slovak Republic? We will try to find answers to these questions in an analysis of competitiveness based on the Global Competitiveness Reports. This thesis focuses on definition of the competitiveness in general, apprises of measuring methodology based on multicriterial evaluation and summarises pros and cons of this benchmark. The main focus is on the Slovak Republic and its position in the international ranking. In detail we will focus on comparison of the Slovak Republic with countries of V4 region. It is the authors’ ambition to bring critical view on position of the Slovak Republic in the international comparison and to formulate recommendations for the future that could contribute to strengthening of competitiveness and success of our country.

The neural dynamics of competition resolution for language production in the prefrontal cortex.

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Bourguignon, Nicolas J; Ohashi, Hiroki; Nguyen, Don; Gracco, Vincent L

2018-03-01

Previous research suggests a pivotal role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in word selection during tasks of confrontation naming (CN) and verb generation (VG), both of which feature varying degrees of competition between candidate responses. However, discrepancies in prefrontal activity have also been reported between the two tasks, in particular more widespread and intense activation in VG extending into (left) ventrolateral PFC, the functional significance of which remains unclear. We propose that these variations reflect differences in competition resolution processes tied to distinct underlying lexico-semantic operations: Although CN involves selecting lexical entries out of limited sets of alternatives, VG requires exploration of possible semantic relations not readily evident from the object itself, requiring prefrontal areas previously shown to be recruited in top-down retrieval of information from lexico-semantic memory. We tested this hypothesis through combined independent component analysis of functional imaging data and information-theoretic measurements of variations in selection competition associated with participants' performance in overt CN and VG tasks. Selection competition during CN engaged the anterior insula and surrounding opercular tissue, while competition during VG recruited additional activity of left ventrolateral PFC. These patterns remained after controlling for participants' speech onset latencies indicative of possible task differences in mental effort. These findings have implications for understanding the neural-computational dynamics of cognitive control in language production and how it relates to the functional architecture of adaptive behavior. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Competition-colonization trade-offs, competitive uncertainty, and the evolutionary assembly of species.

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Pradeep Pillai

Full Text Available We utilize a standard competition-colonization metapopulation model in order to study the evolutionary assembly of species. Based on earlier work showing how models assuming strict competitive hierarchies will likely lead to runaway evolution and self-extinction for all species, we adopt a continuous competition function that allows for levels of uncertainty in the outcome of competition. We then, by extending the standard patch-dynamic metapopulation model in order to include evolutionary dynamics, allow for the coevolution of species into stable communities composed of species with distinct limiting similarities. Runaway evolution towards stochastic extinction then becomes a limiting case controlled by the level of competitive uncertainty. We demonstrate how intermediate competitive uncertainty maximizes the equilibrium species richness as well as maximizes the adaptive radiation and self-assembly of species under adaptive dynamics with mutations of non-negligible size. By reconciling competition-colonization tradeoff theory with co-evolutionary dynamics, our results reveal the importance of intermediate levels of competitive uncertainty for the evolutionary assembly of species.

Estimating a theoretical model of state banking competition using a dynamic panel: the Brazilian case