Analysis on the inbound tourist source market in Fujian Province

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

YU, Tong

2017-06-01

The paper analyzes the development and structure of inbound tourism in Fujian Province by Excel software and conducts the cluster analysis on the inbound tourism market by SPSS 23.0 software based on the inbound tourism data of Fujian Province from 2006 to 2015. The results show: the rapid development of inbound tourism in Fujian Province and the diversified inbound tourist source countries indicate the stability of inbound tourism market; the inbound tourist source market in Fujian Province can be divided into four categories according to the cluster analysis, and tourists from the United States, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore are the key of inbound tourism in Fujian Province.

An Analysis of Second-Tier Arms Producing Countries’ Offset Policies: Technology Transfer and Defense Industrial Base Establishment

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-01

38  39  ......................... 40  ......................... 42  42  Offsets in the Global Arms Market ...The Global Arms Market Structure .................................................. Increasing Globalization of Defense Industry...109  Overcapacity of the Defense Industry in a Declining Market ........................... 109 Economies of Scale

An economic analysis of the limits of market based reforms in the English NHS.

PubMed

Allen, Pauline

2013-01-01

Over the past three decades, a limited range of market like mechanisms have been introduced into the hierarchically structured English National Health Service ('NHS'), which is a nationally tax funded, budget limited healthcare system, with access to care for all, producing structures known as a quasi market. Recently, the Health and Social Care Act 2012 ('HSCA') has been enacted, introducing further market elements. The paper examines the theory and effects of these market mechanisms. Using neo-classical economics as a primary theoretical framework, as well as new institutional economics and socio-legal theory, the paper first examines the fundamental elements of markets, comparing these with the operation of authority and resource allocation employed in hierarchical structures. Second, the paper examines the application of market concepts to the delivery of healthcare, drawing out the problems which economic and socio-legal theories predict are likely to be encountered. Third, the paper discusses the research evidence concerning the operation of the quasi market in the English NHS. This evidence is provided by research conducted in the UK which uses economic and socio-legal logic to investigate the operation of the economic aspects of the NHS quasi market. Fourth, the paper provides an analysis of the salient elements of the quasi market regime amended by the HSCA 2012. It is not possible to construct a market conforming to classical economic principles in respect of healthcare. Moreover, it is not desirable to do so, as goals which markets cannot deliver (such as fairness of access) are crucial in England. Most of the evidence shows that the quasi market mechanisms used in the English NHS do not appear to be effective either. This finding should be seen in the light of the fact that the operation of these mechanisms has been significantly affected by the national political (i.e. continuingly hierarchical) and budgetary context in which they are operating. The organisational structures of a hierarchy are more appropriate for the delivery of healthcare in the English NHS.

An economic analysis of the limits of market based reforms in the English NHS

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Over the past three decades, a limited range of market like mechanisms have been introduced into the hierarchically structured English National Health Service (‘NHS’), which is a nationally tax funded, budget limited healthcare system, with access to care for all, producing structures known as a quasi market. Recently, the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (‘HSCA’) has been enacted, introducing further market elements. The paper examines the theory and effects of these market mechanisms. Methods Using neo-classical economics as a primary theoretical framework, as well as new institutional economics and socio-legal theory, the paper first examines the fundamental elements of markets, comparing these with the operation of authority and resource allocation employed in hierarchical structures. Second, the paper examines the application of market concepts to the delivery of healthcare, drawing out the problems which economic and socio-legal theories predict are likely to be encountered. Third, the paper discusses the research evidence concerning the operation of the quasi market in the English NHS. This evidence is provided by research conducted in the UK which uses economic and socio-legal logic to investigate the operation of the economic aspects of the NHS quasi market. Fourth, the paper provides an analysis of the salient elements of the quasi market regime amended by the HSCA 2012. Results It is not possible to construct a market conforming to classical economic principles in respect of healthcare. Moreover, it is not desirable to do so, as goals which markets cannot deliver (such as fairness of access) are crucial in England. Most of the evidence shows that the quasi market mechanisms used in the English NHS do not appear to be effective either. This finding should be seen in the light of the fact that the operation of these mechanisms has been significantly affected by the national political (i.e. continuingly hierarchical) and budgetary context in which they are operating. Conclusion The organisational structures of a hierarchy are more appropriate for the delivery of healthcare in the English NHS. PMID:23734962

Study on spatial structure of retailing based on GIS in the city of Wuhan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Cheng-liang; Tian, Ying

2008-10-01

With the agility of market economy, the characteristic of market spatial structure becomes more complex since the reformation and open policy. The spatial structure has broken through the traditional framework which is non-equilibriums and scattered, and represented such modern development character as diversification, grade, network, and non-equilibrium. This paper chooses 200 stochastic retailing stores whose acreages all exceed 40m2 in the four circles of Wuhan city, after the analysis of spatial difference on acreages, number, population density, and manage forms with GIS spatial methods, and makes a conclusion that the retailing spatial structure of Wuhan city has took on figure of rating circle wholly and frame of centralization-diffusion and enchasing partially; as location is concerned, centralization and diffusion takes place simultaneously, has behaved that retailing concentrated in heartland of city with more favorable traffic and market location by the means of market infiltration, and distributed in suburb more dispersive by market monopoly.

An economic analysis of mine-timber marketing in West Virginia

Treesearch

Henry H. Webster

1956-01-01

Coal mines have long provided a major outlet for the timber products of West Virginia. Although the structure and operation of mine-timber markets is little understood, the efficiency of the marketing system undoubtedly affects the decisions of most of the 130,000 farm and other private timber-growing enterprises in the state.

Dependence structure of the commodity and stock markets, and relevant multi-spread strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Min Jae; Kim, Sehyun; Jo, Yong Hwan; Kim, Soo Yong

2011-10-01

Understanding the dependence structure between the commodity and stock markets is a crucial issue in constructing a portfolio. It can also help us to discover new opportunities to implement spread trading using multiple assets classified in the two different markets. This study analyzed the dependence structure of the commodity and stock markets using the random matrix theory technique and network analysis. Our results show that the stock and commodity markets must be handled as completely separated asset classes except for the oil and gold markets, so the performance enhancement of the mean-variance portfolio is significant as expected. In light of the fact that WTI 1 month futures and four oil-related stocks are strongly correlated, they were selected as basic ingredients to complement the multi-spread convergence trading strategy using a machine learning technique called the AdaBoost algorithm. The performance of this strategy for non-myopic investors, who can endure short-term loss, can be enhanced significantly on a risk measurement basis.

Market Correlation Structure Changes Around the Great Crash: A Random Matrix Theory Analysis of the Chinese Stock Market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Rui-Qi; Xie, Wen-Jie; Xiong, Xiong; Zhang, Wei; Zhou, Wei-Xing

The correlation structure of a stock market contains important financial contents, which may change remarkably due to the occurrence of financial crisis. We perform a comparative analysis of the Chinese stock market around the occurrence of the 2008 crisis based on the random matrix analysis of high-frequency stock returns of 1228 Chinese stocks. Both raw correlation matrix and partial correlation matrix with respect to the market index in two time periods of one year are investigated. We find that the Chinese stocks have stronger average correlation and partial correlation in 2008 than in 2007 and the average partial correlation is significantly weaker than the average correlation in each period. Accordingly, the largest eigenvalue of the correlation matrix is remarkably greater than that of the partial correlation matrix in each period. Moreover, each largest eigenvalue and its eigenvector reflect an evident market effect, while other deviating eigenvalues do not. We find no evidence that deviating eigenvalues contain industrial sectorial information. Surprisingly, the eigenvectors of the second largest eigenvalues in 2007 and of the third largest eigenvalues in 2008 are able to distinguish the stocks from the two exchanges. We also find that the component magnitudes of the some largest eigenvectors are proportional to the stocks’ capitalizations.

Decision making in quasi-markets: a pedagogic analysis.

PubMed

Jones, P R; Cullis, J G

1996-04-01

The objective of the 1991 NHS reforms was to reduce "excessive" vertical integration by constructing a quasi-market in which incentive structures and increased availability of information would enable decision makers make better use of resources. There is, however, no overall framework in which to consider the welfare gains which result from the introduction of a quasi-market or the welfare losses which arise from distortions in a quasi-market. This paper offers an analysis which can be applied to illustrate the difficulty of estimating the welfare loss from cream skimming and also to consider the impact of local monopoly.

A statistical analysis of UK financial networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, J.; Nadarajah, S.

2017-04-01

In recent years, with a growing interest in big or large datasets, there has been a rise in the application of large graphs and networks to financial big data. Much of this research has focused on the construction and analysis of the network structure of stock markets, based on the relationships between stock prices. Motivated by Boginski et al. (2005), who studied the characteristics of a network structure of the US stock market, we construct network graphs of the UK stock market using same method. We fit four distributions to the degree density of the vertices from these graphs, the Pareto I, Fréchet, lognormal, and generalised Pareto distributions, and assess the goodness of fit. Our results show that the degree density of the complements of the market graphs, constructed using a negative threshold value close to zero, can be fitted well with the Fréchet and lognormal distributions.

[Physiotherapeutic care marketing research: current state-of-the art].

PubMed

Babaskin, D V

2011-01-01

Successful introduction of modern technologies into the national health care systems strongly depends on the current pharmaceutical market situation. The present article is focused on the peculiarities of marketing research with special reference to physiotherapeutic services and commodities. Analysis of the structure and sequence of marketing research processes is described along with the methods applied for the purpose including their support by the use of Internet resources and technologies.

Statistical properties of the stock and credit market: RMT and network topology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, Kyuseong; Kim, Min Jae; Kim, Sehyun; Kim, Soo Yong

We analyzed the dependence structure of the credit and stock market using random matrix theory and network topology. The dynamics of both markets have been spotlighted throughout the subprime crisis. In this study, we compared these two markets in view of the market-wide effect from random matrix theory and eigenvalue analysis. We found that the largest eigenvalue of the credit market as a whole preceded that of the stock market in the beginning of the financial crisis and that of two markets tended to be synchronized after the crisis. The correlation between the companies of both markets became considerably stronger after the crisis as well.

[Healthcare marketing elements].

PubMed

Ameri, Cinzia; Fiorini, Fulvio

2014-01-01

Marketing puts its foundation on a few key concepts: need-demand, product-service, satisfaction, exchange, market, or business structure manufacturing / supply. The combination of these elements allows you to build an effective marketing strategy. Crucial in this respect is to remember the Porter matrix, which shows that for a correct analysis of the relevant market is necessary to refer to the "five forces at play", ie: customers, competitors, new entrants and substitutes threat. Another key lever for proper marketing oriented approach is the continuous and constant monitoring of the application, anticipating their dissatisfactions.

Structure of a financial cross-correlation matrix under attack

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, Gyuchang; Kim, SooYong; Kim, Junghwan; Kim, Pyungsoo; Kang, Yoonjong; Park, Sanghoon; Park, Inho; Park, Sang-Bum; Kim, Kyungsik

2009-09-01

We investigate the structure of a perturbed stock market in terms of correlation matrices. For the purpose of perturbing a stock market, two distinct methods are used, namely local and global perturbation. The former involves replacing a correlation coefficient of the cross-correlation matrix with one calculated from two Gaussian-distributed time series while the latter reconstructs the cross-correlation matrix just after replacing the original return series with Gaussian-distributed time series. Concerning the local case, it is a technical study only and there is no attempt to model reality. The term ‘global’ means the overall effect of the replacement on other untouched returns. Through statistical analyses such as random matrix theory (RMT), network theory, and the correlation coefficient distributions, we show that the global structure of a stock market is vulnerable to perturbation. However, apart from in the analysis of inverse participation ratios (IPRs), the vulnerability becomes dull under a small-scale perturbation. This means that these analysis tools are inappropriate for monitoring the whole stock market due to the low sensitivity of a stock market to a small-scale perturbation. In contrast, when going down to the structure of business sectors, we confirm that correlation-based business sectors are regrouped in terms of IPRs. This result gives a clue about monitoring the effect of hidden intentions, which are revealed via portfolios taken mostly by large investors.

Migration in a segmented labour market.

PubMed

Gordon, I

1995-01-01

"Current research in migration is moving on from neo-classical and behavioural perspectives to a more structural approach relating to wider processes, issues of power and the particular role of employers. Within this programme a key issue for investigation is the interaction between spatial mobility and the structuring of labour markets. This paper focuses on the significance of labour market segmentation--in terms both of job stability and gender--for migration, both theoretically and through an empirical analysis of data from the UK Labour Force Survey on sponsored and unsponsored moves." excerpt

Recurrence quantification analysis of global stock markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bastos, João A.; Caiado, Jorge

2011-04-01

This study investigates the presence of deterministic dependencies in international stock markets using recurrence plots and recurrence quantification analysis (RQA). The results are based on a large set of free float-adjusted market capitalization stock indices, covering a period of 15 years. The statistical tests suggest that the dynamics of stock prices in emerging markets is characterized by higher values of RQA measures when compared to their developed counterparts. The behavior of stock markets during critical financial events, such as the burst of the technology bubble, the Asian currency crisis, and the recent subprime mortgage crisis, is analyzed by performing RQA in sliding windows. It is shown that during these events stock markets exhibit a distinctive behavior that is characterized by temporary decreases in the fraction of recurrence points contained in diagonal and vertical structures.

Novel indexes based on network structure to indicate financial market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, Tao; Peng, Qinke; Wang, Xiao; Zhang, Jing

2016-02-01

There have been various achievements to understand and to analyze the financial market by complex network model. However, current studies analyze the financial network model but seldom present quantified indexes to indicate or forecast the price action of market. In this paper, the stock market is modeled as a dynamic network, in which the vertices refer to listed companies and edges refer to their rank-based correlation based on price series. Characteristics of the network are analyzed and then novel indexes are introduced into market analysis, which are calculated from maximum and fully-connected subnets. The indexes are compared with existing ones and the results confirm that our indexes perform better to indicate the daily trend of market composite index in advance. Via investment simulation, the performance of our indexes is analyzed in detail. The results indicate that the dynamic complex network model could not only serve as a structural description of the financial market, but also work to predict the market and guide investment by indexes.

D Geomarketing Segmentation: a Higher Spatial Dimension Planning Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suhaibah, A.; Uznir, U.; Rahman, A. A.; Anton, F.; Mioc, D.

2016-09-01

Geomarketing is a discipline which uses geographic information in the process of planning and implementation of marketing activities. It can be used in any aspect of the marketing such as price, promotion or geo targeting. The analysis of geomarketing data use a huge data pool such as location residential areas, topography, it also analyzes demographic information such as age, genre, annual income and lifestyle. This information can help users to develop successful promotional campaigns in order to achieve marketing goals. One of the common activities in geomarketing is market segmentation. The segmentation clusters the data into several groups based on its geographic criteria. To refine the search operation during analysis, we proposed an approach to cluster the data using a clustering algorithm. However, with the huge data pool, overlap among clusters may happen and leads to inefficient analysis. Moreover, geomarketing is usually active in urban areas and requires clusters to be organized in a three-dimensional (3D) way (i.e. multi-level shop lots, residential apartments). This is a constraint with the current Geographic Information System (GIS) framework. To avoid this issue, we proposed a combination of market segmentation based on geographic criteria and clustering algorithm for 3D geomarketing data management. The proposed approach is capable in minimizing the overlap region during market segmentation. In this paper, geomarketing in urban area is used as a case study. Based on the case study, several locations of customers and stores in 3D are used in the test. The experiments demonstrated in this paper substantiated that the proposed approach is capable of minimizing overlapping segmentation and reducing repetitive data entries. The structure is also tested for retrieving the spatial records from the database. For marketing purposes, certain radius of point is used to analyzing marketing targets. Based on the presented tests in this paper, we strongly believe that the structure is capable in handling and managing huge pool of geomarketing data. For future outlook, this paper also discusses the possibilities of expanding the structure.

Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Fitness Analysis of Global Oil Market: Based on Complex Network

PubMed Central

Wang, Minggang; Fang, Guochang; Shao, Shuai

2016-01-01

We study the overall topological structure properties of global oil trade network, such as degree, strength, cumulative distribution, information entropy and weight clustering. The structural evolution of the network is investigated as well. We find the global oil import and export networks do not show typical scale-free distribution, but display disassortative property. Furthermore, based on the monthly data of oil import values during 2005.01–2014.12, by applying random matrix theory, we investigate the complex spatiotemporal dynamic from the country level and fitness evolution of the global oil market from a demand-side analysis. Abundant information about global oil market can be obtained from deviating eigenvalues. The result shows that the oil market has experienced five different periods, which is consistent with the evolution of country clusters. Moreover, we find the changing trend of fitness function agrees with that of gross domestic product (GDP), and suggest that the fitness evolution of oil market can be predicted by forecasting GDP values. To conclude, some suggestions are provided according to the results. PMID:27706147

Structured Case Analysis: Developing Critical Thinking Skills in a Marketing Case Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klebba, Joanne M.; Hamilton, Janet G.

2007-01-01

Structured case analysis is a hybrid pedagogy that flexibly combines diverse instructional methods with comprehensive case analysis as a mechanism to develop critical thinking skills. An incremental learning framework is proposed that allows instructors to develop and monitor content-specific theory and the corresponding critical thinking skills.…

Market basket analysis visualization on a spherical surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Ming C.; Hsu, Meichun; Dayal, Umeshwar; Wei, Shu F.; Sprenger, Thomas; Holenstein, Thomas

2001-05-01

This paper discusses the visualization of the relationships in e-commerce transactions. To date, many practical research projects have shown the usefulness of a physics-based mass- spring technique to layout data items with close relationships on a graph. We describe a market basket analysis visualization system using this technique. This system is described as the following: (1) integrates a physics-based engine into a visual data mining platform; (2) use a 3D spherical surface to visualize the cluster of related data items; and (3) for large volumes of transactions, uses hidden structures to unclutter the display. Several examples of market basket analysis are also provided.

Micro-economic analysis of the physical constrained markets: game theory application to competitive electricity markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bompard, E.; Ma, Y. C.; Ragazzi, E.

2006-03-01

Competition has been introduced in the electricity markets with the goal of reducing prices and improving efficiency. The basic idea which stays behind this choice is that, in competitive markets, a greater quantity of the good is exchanged at a lower price, leading to higher market efficiency. Electricity markets are pretty different from other commodities mainly due to the physical constraints related to the network structure that may impact the market performance. The network structure of the system on which the economic transactions need to be undertaken poses strict physical and operational constraints. Strategic interactions among producers that game the market with the objective of maximizing their producer surplus must be taken into account when modeling competitive electricity markets. The physical constraints, specific of the electricity markets, provide additional opportunity of gaming to the market players. Game theory provides a tool to model such a context. This paper discussed the application of game theory to physical constrained electricity markets with the goal of providing tools for assessing the market performance and pinpointing the critical network constraints that may impact the market efficiency. The basic models of game theory specifically designed to represent the electricity markets will be presented. IEEE30 bus test system of the constrained electricity market will be discussed to show the network impacts on the market performances in presence of strategic bidding behavior of the producers.

Understanding congestion in China's medical market: an incentive structure perspective.

PubMed

Sun, Zesheng; Wang, Shuhong; Barnes, Stephen R

2016-04-01

Congestion has become one of the most important factors leading to patient dissatisfaction and doctor-patient conflicts in the medical market of China. In this study, we explore the causes and effects of structural congestion in the Chinese medical market from an incentive structure perspective. Our analysis reveals that prior medical system reforms with price regulation in China have induced hospitals to establish incentives for capital-intensive investments, while ignoring human capital, and have driven medical staff and patients to higher-level hospitals, reinforcing an incentive structure in which congestion in higher-level hospitals and idle resources in lower-level hospitals coexist. The existing incentive structure has led to cost increases and degradation of human capital and specific factor effects. Recent reforms to reduce congestion in the Chinese medical market were not effective. Most of them had no impact on and did not involve the existing distorted incentive structure. Future reforms should consider rebalancing expectations for medical quality, free flow of human capital and price regulation reforms to rebuild a new incentive structure. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Surfing the money tides: understanding the foreign exchange market through metaphors.

PubMed

Oberlechner, Thomas; Slunecko, Thomas; Kronberger, Nicole

2004-03-01

This study describes metaphorical conceptualizations of the foreign exchange market held by market participants and examines how these metaphors socially construct the financial market. Findings are based on 55 semi-structured interviews with senior foreign exchange experts at banks and at financial news providers in Europe. We analysed interview transcripts by metaphor analysis, a method based on cognitive linguistics. Results indicate that market participants' understanding of financial markets revolves around seven metaphors, namely the market as a bazaar, as a machine, as gambling, as sports, as war, as a living being and as an ocean. Each of these metaphors highlights and conceals certain aspects of the foreign exchange market and entails a different set of implications on crucial market dimensions, such as the role of other market participants and market predictability. A correspondence analysis supports our assumption that metaphorical thinking corresponds with implicit assumptions about market predictability. A comparison of deliberately generated and implicitly used metaphors reveals notable differences. In particular, implicit metaphors are predominantly organic rather than mechanical. In contrast to academic models, interactive and organic metaphors, and not the machine metaphor, dominate the market accounts of participants.

Market structure and competition in the healthcare industry : Results from a transition economy.

PubMed

Lábaj, Martin; Silanič, Peter; Weiss, Christoph; Yontcheva, Biliana

2018-02-14

The present paper provides first empirical evidence on the relationship between market size and the number of firms in the healthcare industry for a transition economy. We estimate market-size thresholds required to support different numbers of suppliers (firms) for three occupations in the healthcare industry in a large number of distinct geographic markets in Slovakia, taking into account the spatial interaction between local markets. The empirical analysis is carried out for three time periods (1995, 2001 and 2010) which characterise different stages of the transition process. Our results suggest that the relationship between market size and the number of firms differs both across industries and across periods. In particular, we find that pharmacies, as the only completely liberalised market in our dataset, experience the largest change in competitive behaviour during the transition process. Furthermore, we find evidence for correlation in entry decisions across administrative borders, suggesting that future market analysis should aim to capture these regional effects.

Using time series structural characteristics to analyze grain prices in food insecure countries

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davenport, Frank; Funk, Chris

2015-01-01

Two components of food security monitoring are accurate forecasts of local grain prices and the ability to identify unusual price behavior. We evaluated a method that can both facilitate forecasts of cross-country grain price data and identify dissimilarities in price behavior across multiple markets. This method, characteristic based clustering (CBC), identifies similarities in multiple time series based on structural characteristics in the data. Here, we conducted a simulation experiment to determine if CBC can be used to improve the accuracy of maize price forecasts. We then compared forecast accuracies among clustered and non-clustered price series over a rolling time horizon. We found that the accuracy of forecasts on clusters of time series were equal to or worse than forecasts based on individual time series. However, in the following experiment we found that CBC was still useful for price analysis. We used the clusters to explore the similarity of price behavior among Kenyan maize markets. We found that price behavior in the isolated markets of Mandera and Marsabit has become increasingly dissimilar from markets in other Kenyan cities, and that these dissimilarities could not be explained solely by geographic distance. The structural isolation of Mandera and Marsabit that we find in this paper is supported by field studies on food security and market integration in Kenya. Our results suggest that a market with a unique price series (as measured by structural characteristics that differ from neighboring markets) may lack market integration and food security.

Effects on U.S. Timber Outlook of Recent Economic Recession, Collapse in Housing Construction, and Wood Energy Trends

Treesearch

Peter J. Ince; Prakash Nepal

2012-01-01

This paper reviews recent trends and structural changes in U.S. forest product markets and projects their effects on the long-range U.S. timber market outlook. The analysis derives from the same U.S. and global economic model that produced 50-year projections for the 2010 RPA nationwide forest assessment, but analysis is revised to more accurately include the economic...

Ownership reform and the changing manufacturing landscape in Chinese cities: The case of Wuxi.

PubMed

Zhou, Lei; Yang, Shan; Wang, Shuguang; Xiong, Liyang

2017-01-01

Since the economic transition, manufacturing in China has undergone profound changes not only in number of enterprises, but also in ownership structure and intra-urban spatial distribution. Investigating the changing manufacturing landscape from the perspective of ownership structure is critical to a deep understanding of the changing role of market and government in re-shaping manufacturing location behavior. Through a case study of Wuxi, a city experiencing comprehensive ownership reform, this paper presents a detailed analysis of the intra-urban spatial shift of manufacturing, identifies the location discrepancies, and examines the underlying forces responsible for the geographical differentiations. Through zone- and district-based analysis, a distinctive trend of decentralization and suburbanization, as well as an uneven distribution of manufacturing, is unveiled. The results of Location Quotient analysis show that the distribution of manufacturing by ownership exhibits distinctive spatial patterns, which is characterized by a historically-based, market-led, and institutionally-created spatial variation. By employing Hot Spot analysis, the role of development zones in attracting manufacturing enterprises of different ownerships is established. Overall, the location behavior of the diversified manufacturing has been increasingly based on the forces of market since the land marketization began. A proactive role played by local governments has also guided the enterprise location decision through spatial planning and regulatory policies.

Ownership reform and the changing manufacturing landscape in Chinese cities: The case of Wuxi

PubMed Central

Zhou, Lei; Yang, Shan; Wang, Shuguang

2017-01-01

Since the economic transition, manufacturing in China has undergone profound changes not only in number of enterprises, but also in ownership structure and intra-urban spatial distribution. Investigating the changing manufacturing landscape from the perspective of ownership structure is critical to a deep understanding of the changing role of market and government in re-shaping manufacturing location behavior. Through a case study of Wuxi, a city experiencing comprehensive ownership reform, this paper presents a detailed analysis of the intra-urban spatial shift of manufacturing, identifies the location discrepancies, and examines the underlying forces responsible for the geographical differentiations. Through zone- and district-based analysis, a distinctive trend of decentralization and suburbanization, as well as an uneven distribution of manufacturing, is unveiled. The results of Location Quotient analysis show that the distribution of manufacturing by ownership exhibits distinctive spatial patterns, which is characterized by a historically-based, market-led, and institutionally-created spatial variation. By employing Hot Spot analysis, the role of development zones in attracting manufacturing enterprises of different ownerships is established. Overall, the location behavior of the diversified manufacturing has been increasingly based on the forces of market since the land marketization began. A proactive role played by local governments has also guided the enterprise location decision through spatial planning and regulatory policies. PMID:28278284

The geography of solar energy in the United States: Market definition, industry structure, and choice in solar PV adoption

DOE PAGES

O’Shaughnessy, Eric; Nemet, Gregory F.; Darghouth, Naïm

2018-01-30

The solar photovoltaic (PV) installation industry comprises thousands of firms around the world who collectively installed nearly 200 million panels in 2015. Spatial analysis of the emerging industry has received considerable attention from the literature, especially on the demand side concerning peer effects and adopter clustering. However this research area does not include similarly sophisticated spatial analysis on the supply side of the installation industry. The lack of understanding of the spatial structure of the PV installation industry leaves PV market research to rely on jurisdictional lines, such as counties, to define geographic PV markets. We develop an approach thatmore » uses the spatial distribution of installers' activity to define geographic boundaries for PV markets. Our method is useful for PV market research and applicable in the contexts of other industries. We use our approach to demonstrate that the PV industry in the United States is spatially heterogeneous. Despite the emergence of some national-scale PV installers, installers are largely local and installer communities are unique from one region to the next. The social implications of the spatial heterogeneity of the emerging PV industry involve improving understanding of issues such as market power, industry consolidation, and how much choice potential adopters have.« less

The geography of solar energy in the United States: Market definition, industry structure, and choice in solar PV adoption

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

O’Shaughnessy, Eric; Nemet, Gregory F.; Darghouth, Naïm

The solar photovoltaic (PV) installation industry comprises thousands of firms around the world who collectively installed nearly 200 million panels in 2015. Spatial analysis of the emerging industry has received considerable attention from the literature, especially on the demand side concerning peer effects and adopter clustering. However this research area does not include similarly sophisticated spatial analysis on the supply side of the installation industry. The lack of understanding of the spatial structure of the PV installation industry leaves PV market research to rely on jurisdictional lines, such as counties, to define geographic PV markets. We develop an approach thatmore » uses the spatial distribution of installers' activity to define geographic boundaries for PV markets. Our method is useful for PV market research and applicable in the contexts of other industries. We use our approach to demonstrate that the PV industry in the United States is spatially heterogeneous. Despite the emergence of some national-scale PV installers, installers are largely local and installer communities are unique from one region to the next. The social implications of the spatial heterogeneity of the emerging PV industry involve improving understanding of issues such as market power, industry consolidation, and how much choice potential adopters have.« less

Essays on energy derivatives pricing and financial risk management =

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madaleno, Mara Teresa da Silva

This thesis consists of an introductory chapter (essay I) and five more empirical essays on electricity markets and CO2 spot price behaviour, derivatives pricing analysis and hedging. Essay I presents the structure of the thesis and electricity markets functioning and characteristics, as well as the type of products traded, to be analyzed on the following essays. In the second essay we conduct an empirical study on co-movements in electricity markets resorting to wavelet analysis, discussing long-term dynamics and markets integration. Essay three is about hedging performance and multiscale relationships in the German electricity spot and futures markets, also using wavelet analysis. We concentrate the investigation on the relationship between coherence evolution and hedge ratio analysis, on a time-frequency-scale approach, between spot and futures which conditions the effectiveness of the hedging strategy. Essays four, five and six are interrelated between them and with the other two previous essays given the nature of the commodity analyzed, CO2 emission allowances, traded in electricity markets. Relationships between electricity prices, primary energy fuel prices and carbon dioxide permits are analyzed on essay four. The efficiency of the European market for allowances is examined taking into account markets heterogeneity. Essay five analyzes stylized statistical properties of the recent traded asset CO2 emission allowances, for spot and futures returns, examining also the relation linking convenience yield and risk premium, for the German European Energy Exchange (EEX) between October 2005 and October 2009. The study was conducted through empirical estimations of CO2 allowances risk premium, convenience yield, and their relation. Future prices from an ex-post perspective are examined to show evidence for significant negative risk premium, or else a positive forward premium. Finally, essay six analyzes emission allowances futures hedging effectiveness, providing evidence for utility gains increases with investor’s preference over risk. Deregulation of electricity markets has led to higher uncertainty in electricity prices and by presenting these essays we try to shed new lights about structuring, pricing and hedging in this type of markets.

Multifractal analysis of the Korean agricultural market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hongseok; Oh, Gabjin; Kim, Seunghwan

2011-11-01

We have studied the long-term memory effects of the Korean agricultural market using the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) method. In general, the return time series of various financial data, including stock indices, foreign exchange rates, and commodity prices, are uncorrelated in time, while the volatility time series are strongly correlated. However, we found that the return time series of Korean agricultural commodity prices are anti-correlated in time, while the volatility time series are correlated. The n-point correlations of time series were also examined, and it was found that a multifractal structure exists in Korean agricultural market prices.

75 FR 6402 - Board of Scientific Counselors, National Center for Health Marketing (BSC, NCHM)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-09

... and new ideas to implement and expand health marketing science at CDC. Agenda items are subject to... investigations and data collection, analysis, and distribution; conducting operational research aimed at..., goals and organizational structure of the new Office of Communications; discussions on program...

Television Programming, Monopolistic Competition and Welfare. Technical Report No. 159.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spence, Michael; Owen, Bruce

An economic analysis of television programing was conducted focusing on the public welfare implications of alternative market structures and policies in the broadcasting industry. Welfare was measured by the sum of producer's and consumer's surplus. It was demonstrated that any of the private market systems considered contain biases against…

A network model of the interbank market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shouwei; He, Jianmin; Zhuang, Yaming

2010-12-01

This work introduces a network model of an interbank market based on interbank credit lending relationships. It generates some network features identified through empirical analysis. The critical issue to construct an interbank network is to decide the edges among banks, which is realized in this paper based on the interbank’s degree of trust. Through simulation analysis of the interbank network model, some typical structural features are identified in our interbank network, which are also proved to exist in real interbank networks. They are namely, a low clustering coefficient and a relatively short average path length, community structures, and a two-power-law distribution of out-degree and in-degree.

Cap-and-Trade Modeling and Analysis: Congested Electricity Market Equilibrium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Limpaitoon, Tanachai

This dissertation presents an equilibrium framework for analyzing the impact of cap-and-trade regulation on transmission-constrained electricity market. The cap-and-trade regulation of greenhouse gas emissions has gained momentum in the past decade. The impact of the regulation and its efficacy in the electric power industry depend on interactions of demand elasticity, transmission network, market structure, and strategic behavior of firms. I develop an equilibrium model of an oligopoly electricity market in conjunction with a market for tradable emissions permits to study the implications of such interactions. My goal is to identify inefficiencies that may arise from policy design elements and to avoid any unintended adverse consequences on the electric power sector. I demonstrate this modeling framework with three case studies examining the impact of carbon cap-and-trade regulation. In the first case study, I study equilibrium results under various scenarios of resource ownership and emission targets using a 24-bus IEEE electric transmission system. The second and third case studies apply the equilibrium model to a realistic electricity market, Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) 225-bus system with a detailed representation of the California market. In the first and second case studies, I examine oligopoly in electricity with perfect competition in the permit market. I find that under a stringent emission cap and a high degree of concentration of non-polluting firms, the electricity market is subject to potential abuses of market power. Also, market power can occur in the procurement of non-polluting energy through the permit market when non-polluting resources are geographically concentrated in a transmission-constrained market. In the third case study, I relax the competitive market structure assumption of the permit market by allowing oligopolistic competition in the market through a conjectural variation approach. A short-term equilibrium analysis of the joint markets in the presence of market power reveals that strategic permit trading can play a vital role in determining economic outcomes in the electricity market. In particular, I find that a firm with more efficient technologies can employ strategic withholding of permits, which allows for its increase in output share in the electricity market at the expense of other less efficient firms. In addition, strategic permit trading can influence patterns of transmission congestion. These results illustrate that market structure and transmission congestion can have a significant impact on the market performance and environmental outcome of the regulation while the interactions of such factors can lead to unintended consequences. The proposed approach is proven useful as a tool for market monitoring purposes in the short run from the perspective of a system operator, whose responsibility has become indirectly intertwined with emission trading regulation.

Marketing information system online design for craftsmen small medium enterprises (case study: craftsmen ac)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fitriana, Rina; Kurniawan, Wawan; Barlianto, Anung; Adriansyah Putra, Rizki

2016-02-01

AC is small and medium enterprises which is engaged in the field of crafts. This SME (Small Medium Enterprise) didn't have an integrated information system for managing sales. This research aims to design a marketing Information system online as applications that built as web base. The integrated system is made to manage sales and expand its market share. This study uses a structured analysis and design in its approach to build systems and also implemented a marketing framework of STP (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning) and 4P (Price, Product, Place, Promotion) to obtain market analysis. The main market target customer craftsmen AC is women aged 13 years to 35 years. The products produced by AC are shoes, brooch, that are typical of the archipelago. The prices is range from Rp. 2000 until Rp. 400.000. Marketing information system online can be used as a sales transaction document, promoting the goods, and for customer booking products.

Marketing and clinical trials: a case study.

PubMed

Francis, David; Roberts, Ian; Elbourne, Diana R; Shakur, Haleema; Knight, Rosemary C; Garcia, Jo; Snowdon, Claire; Entwistle, Vikki A; McDonald, Alison M; Grant, Adrian M; Campbell, Marion K

2007-11-20

Publicly funded clinical trials require a substantial commitment of time and money. To ensure that sufficient numbers of patients are recruited it is essential that they address important questions in a rigorous manner and are managed well, adopting effective marketing strategies. Using methods of analysis drawn from management studies, this paper presents a structured assessment framework or reference model, derived from a case analysis of the MRC's CRASH trial, of 12 factors that may affect the success of the marketing and sales activities associated with clinical trials. The case study demonstrates that trials need various categories of people to buy in - hence, to be successful, trialists must embrace marketing strategies to some extent. The performance of future clinical trials could be enhanced if trialists routinely considered these factors.

Mapping of beef, sheep and goat food systems in Nairobi - A framework for policy making and the identification of structural vulnerabilities and deficiencies.

PubMed

Alarcon, Pablo; Fèvre, Eric M; Murungi, Maurice K; Muinde, Patrick; Akoko, James; Dominguez-Salas, Paula; Kiambi, Stella; Ahmed, Sohel; Häsler, Barbara; Rushton, Jonathan

2017-03-01

Nairobi is a large rapidly-growing city whose demand for beef, mutton and goat products is expected to double by 2030. The study aimed to map the Nairobi beef, sheep and goat systems structure and flows to identify deficiencies and vulnerabilities to shocks. Cross-sectional data were collected through focus group discussions and interviews with people operating in Nairobi ruminant livestock and meat markets and in the large processing companies. Qualitative and quantitative data were obtained about the type of people, animals, products and value adding activities in the chains, and their structural, spatial and temporal interactions. Mapping analysis was done in three different dimensions: people and product profiling (interactions of people and products), geographical (routes of animals and products) and temporal mapping (seasonal fluctuations). The results obtained were used to identify structural deficiencies and vulnerability factors in the system. Results for the beef food system showed that 44-55% of the city's beef supply flows through the 'local terminal markets', but that 54-64% of total supply is controlled by one 'meat market'. Numerous informal chains were identified, with independent livestock and meat traders playing a pivotal role in the functionality of these systems, and where most activities are conducted with inefficient quality control and under scarce and inadequate infrastructure and organisation, generating wastage and potential food safety risks in low quality meat products. Geographical and temporal analysis showed the critical areas influencing the different markets, with larger markets increasing their market share in the low season. Large processing companies, partly integrated, operate with high quality infrastructures, but with up to 60% of their beef supply depending on similar routes as the informal markets. Only these companies were involved in value addition activities, reaching high-end markets, but also dominating the distribution of popular products, such as beef sausages, to middle and low-end market. For the small ruminant food system, 73% of the low season supply flows through a single large informal market, Kiamaiko, located in an urban informal settlement. No grading is done for these animals or the meat produced. Large companies were reported to export up to 90% of their products. Lack of traceability and control of animal production was a common feature in all chains. The mapping presented provides a framework for policy makers and institutions to understand and design improvement plans for the Nairobi ruminant food system. The structural deficiencies and vulnerabilities identified here indicate the areas of intervention needed.

Shadow Labor: Work and Wages among Immigrant Hispanic Women in Durham, North Carolina.

PubMed

Flippen, Chenoa A

2016-07-01

Drawing on data collected in Durham, NC, this paper examines the forces shaping the labor supply and wages of immigrant Hispanic women in new destinations. The analysis evaluates the role of human capital and immigration characteristics (including legal status), family structure, and immigrant-specific labor market conditions, such as subcontracting, in shaping labor market outcomes. Findings indicate that the main determinants of labor supply among immigrant Hispanic women in Durham relate to family structure, with human capital playing a relatively minor role. Important variation is observed, however, in the degree of work-family conflict across occupations. For wages, human capital and immigration characteristics (including documentation) are more determinant than family structure. Results highlight the extremely precarious position of immigrant Hispanic women in Durham's low wage labor market, and multiple, overlapping sources of disadvantage, particularly relating to legal status and family structure.

Shadow Labor: Work and Wages among Immigrant Hispanic Women in Durham, North Carolina

PubMed Central

Flippen, Chenoa A.

2017-01-01

Drawing on data collected in Durham, NC, this paper examines the forces shaping the labor supply and wages of immigrant Hispanic women in new destinations. The analysis evaluates the role of human capital and immigration characteristics (including legal status), family structure, and immigrant-specific labor market conditions, such as subcontracting, in shaping labor market outcomes. Findings indicate that the main determinants of labor supply among immigrant Hispanic women in Durham relate to family structure, with human capital playing a relatively minor role. Important variation is observed, however, in the degree of work-family conflict across occupations. For wages, human capital and immigration characteristics (including documentation) are more determinant than family structure. Results highlight the extremely precarious position of immigrant Hispanic women in Durham’s low wage labor market, and multiple, overlapping sources of disadvantage, particularly relating to legal status and family structure. PMID:28603290

Analysis of the Pricing Process in Electricity Market using Multi-Agent Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimomura, Takahiro; Saisho, Yuichi; Fujii, Yasumasa; Yamaji, Kenji

Many electric utilities world-wide have been forced to change their ways of doing business, from vertically integrated mechanisms to open market systems. We are facing urgent issues about how we design the structures of power market systems. In order to settle down these issues, many studies have been made with market models of various characteristics and regulations. The goal of modeling analysis is to enrich our understanding of fundamental process that may appear. However, there are many kinds of modeling methods. Each has drawback and advantage about validity and versatility. This paper presents two kinds of methods to construct multi-agent market models. One is based on game theory and another is based on reinforcement learning. By comparing the results of the two methods, they can advance in validity and help us figure out potential problems in electricity markets which have oligopolistic generators, demand fluctuation and inelastic demand. Moreover, this model based on reinforcement learning enables us to consider characteristics peculiar to electricity markets which have plant unit characteristics, seasonable and hourly demand fluctuation, real-time regulation market and operating reserve market. This model figures out importance of the share of peak-load-plants and the way of designing operating reserve market.

STOCK Market Differences in Correlation-Based Weighted Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Youn, Janghyuk; Lee, Junghoon; Chang, Woojin

We examined the sector dynamics of Korean stock market in relation to the market volatility. The daily price data of 360 stocks for 5019 trading days (from January, 1990 to August, 2008) in Korean stock market are used. We performed the weighted network analysis and employed four measures: the average, the variance, the intensity, and the coherence of network weights (absolute values of stock return correlations) to investigate the network structure of Korean stock market. We performed regression analysis using the four measures in the seven major industry sectors and the market (seven sectors combined). We found that the average, the intensity, and the coherence of sector (subnetwork) weights increase as market becomes volatile. Except for the "Financials" sector, the variance of sector weights also grows as market volatility increases. Based on the four measures, we can categorize "Financials," "Information Technology" and "Industrials" sectors into one group, and "Materials" and "Consumer Discretionary" sectors into another group. We investigated the distributions of intrasector and intersector weights for each sector and found the differences in "Financials" sector are most distinct.

Default contagion risks in Russian interbank market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leonidov, A. V.; Rumyantsev, E. L.

2016-06-01

Systemic risks of default contagion in the Russian interbank market are investigated. The analysis is based on considering the bow-tie structure of the weighted oriented graph describing the structure of the interbank loans. A probabilistic model of interbank contagion explicitly taking into account the empirical bow-tie structure reflecting functionality of the corresponding nodes (borrowers, lenders, borrowers and lenders simultaneously), degree distributions and disassortativity of the interbank network under consideration based on empirical data is developed. The characteristics of contagion-related systemic risk calculated with this model are shown to be in agreement with those of explicit stress tests.

Mapping the Typology of Transition Systems in a Liberal Market Economy: The Case of Canada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arnold, Christine Helen; Wheelahan, Leesa; Moodie, Gavin; Beaulieu, Jacqueline; Taylor-Cline, Jean-Claude

2018-01-01

This research explores links between tertiary education institutions and between tertiary education and the labour market as determinants of provincial and national transition patterns in Canada. The study consists of a provincial analysis that maps the typology of transition systems across Canada's devolved federated tertiary education structure.…

Business Plan for the Southwest Regional Spaceport: Executive Summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

A proposal for a commercial, full-service launch, tracking, and recovery complex for Reusable Launch Vehicles in New Mexico is presented. Vision, mission, business definition, competitive advantages, and business approach are formulated. Management plan and team structure are detailed, and anticipated market is described. Finance and marketing plans are presented. Financial analysis is performed.

Structure and Connectivity Analysis of Financial Complex System Based on G-Causality Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Chuan-Ming; Yan, Yan; Zhu, Xiao-Wu; Li, Xiao-Teng; Chen, Xiao-Song

2013-11-01

The recent financial crisis highlights the inherent weaknesses of the financial market. To explore the mechanism that maintains the financial market as a system, we study the interactions of U.S. financial market from the network perspective. Applied with conditional Granger causality network analysis, network density, in-degree and out-degree rankings are important indicators to analyze the conditional causal relationships among financial agents, and further to assess the stability of U.S. financial systems. It is found that the topological structure of G-causality network in U.S. financial market changed in different stages over the last decade, especially during the recent global financial crisis. Network density of the G-causality model is much higher during the period of 2007-2009 crisis stage, and it reaches the peak value in 2008, the most turbulent time in the crisis. Ranked by in-degrees and out-degrees, insurance companies are listed in the top of 68 financial institutions during the crisis. They act as the hubs which are more easily influenced by other financial institutions and simultaneously influence others during the global financial disturbance.

Clustering stocks using partial correlation coefficients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Sean S.; Chang, Woojin

2016-11-01

A partial correlation analysis is performed on the Korean stock market (KOSPI). The difference between Pearson correlation and the partial correlation is analyzed and it is found that when conditioned on the market return, Pearson correlation coefficients are generally greater than those of the partial correlation, which implies that the market return tends to drive up the correlation between stock returns. A clustering analysis is then performed to study the market structure given by the partial correlation analysis and the members of the clusters are compared with the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS). The initial hypothesis is that the firms in the same GICS sector are clustered together since they are in a similar business and environment. However, the result is inconsistent with the hypothesis and most clusters are a mix of multiple sectors suggesting that the traditional approach of using sectors to determine the proximity between stocks may not be sufficient enough to diversify a portfolio.

Lessons for public health campaigns from analysing commercial food marketing success factors: a case study.

PubMed

Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica; Perez-Cueto, Federico J A; Niedzwiedzka, Barbara; Verbeke, Wim; Bech-Larsen, Tino

2012-02-21

Commercial food marketing has considerably shaped consumer food choice behaviour. Meanwhile, public health campaigns for healthier eating have had limited impact to date. Social marketing suggests that successful commercial food marketing campaigns can provide useful lessons for public sector activities. The aim of the present study was to empirically identify food marketing success factors that, using the social marketing approach, could help improve public health campaigns to promote healthy eating. In this case-study analysis, 27 recent and successful commercial food and beverage marketing cases were purposively sampled from different European countries. The cases involved different consumer target groups, product categories, company sizes and marketing techniques. The analysis focused on cases of relatively healthy food types, and nutrition and health-related aspects in the communication related to the food. Visual as well as written material was gathered, complemented by semi-structured interviews with 12 food market trend experts and 19 representatives of food companies and advertising agencies. Success factors were identified by a group of experts who reached consensus through discussion structured by a card sorting method. Six clusters of success factors emerged from the analysis and were labelled as "data and knowledge", "emotions", "endorsement", "media", "community" and "why and how". Each cluster subsumes two or three success factors and is illustrated by examples. In total, 16 factors were identified. It is argued that the factors "nutritional evidence", "trend awareness", "vertical endorsement", "simple naturalness" and "common values" are of particular importance in the communication of health with regard to food. The present study identified critical factors for the success of commercial food marketing campaigns related to the issue of nutrition and health, which are possibly transferable to the public health sector. Whether or not a particular factor contributes to future success depends on the specific context of use, the combination of factors and the environment. Consideration of the specific applicability of the success factors identified in this study during the design of marketing activities could benefit public sector food and health-related campaigns.

Lessons for public health campaigns from analysing commercial food marketing success factors: a case study

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Commercial food marketing has considerably shaped consumer food choice behaviour. Meanwhile, public health campaigns for healthier eating have had limited impact to date. Social marketing suggests that successful commercial food marketing campaigns can provide useful lessons for public sector activities. The aim of the present study was to empirically identify food marketing success factors that, using the social marketing approach, could help improve public health campaigns to promote healthy eating. Methods In this case-study analysis, 27 recent and successful commercial food and beverage marketing cases were purposively sampled from different European countries. The cases involved different consumer target groups, product categories, company sizes and marketing techniques. The analysis focused on cases of relatively healthy food types, and nutrition and health-related aspects in the communication related to the food. Visual as well as written material was gathered, complemented by semi-structured interviews with 12 food market trend experts and 19 representatives of food companies and advertising agencies. Success factors were identified by a group of experts who reached consensus through discussion structured by a card sorting method. Results Six clusters of success factors emerged from the analysis and were labelled as "data and knowledge", "emotions", "endorsement", "media", "community" and "why and how". Each cluster subsumes two or three success factors and is illustrated by examples. In total, 16 factors were identified. It is argued that the factors "nutritional evidence", "trend awareness", "vertical endorsement", "simple naturalness" and "common values" are of particular importance in the communication of health with regard to food. Conclusions The present study identified critical factors for the success of commercial food marketing campaigns related to the issue of nutrition and health, which are possibly transferable to the public health sector. Whether or not a particular factor contributes to future success depends on the specific context of use, the combination of factors and the environment. Consideration of the specific applicability of the success factors identified in this study during the design of marketing activities could benefit public sector food and health-related campaigns. PMID:22353342

Collective behavior of stock price movements in an emerging market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Raj Kumar; Sinha, Sitabhra

2007-10-01

To investigate the universality of the structure of interactions in different markets, we analyze the cross-correlation matrix C of stock price fluctuations in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India. We find that this emerging market exhibits strong correlations in the movement of stock prices compared to developed markets, such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). This is shown to be due to the dominant influence of a common market mode on the stock prices. By comparison, interactions between related stocks, e.g., those belonging to the same business sector, are much weaker. This lack of distinct sector identity in emerging markets is explicitly shown by reconstructing the network of mutually interacting stocks. Spectral analysis of C for NSE reveals that, the few largest eigenvalues deviate from the bulk of the spectrum predicted by random matrix theory, but they are far fewer in number compared to, e.g., NYSE. We show this to be due to the relative weakness of intrasector interactions between stocks, compared to the market mode, by modeling stock price dynamics with a two-factor model. Our results suggest that the emergence of an internal structure comprising multiple groups of strongly coupled components is a signature of market development.

Visibility graph network analysis of natural gas price: The case of North American market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Mei; Wang, Yaqi; Gao, Cuixia

2016-11-01

Fluctuations in prices of natural gas significantly affect global economy. Therefore, the research on the characteristics of natural gas price fluctuations, turning points and its influencing cycle on the subsequent price series is of great significance. Global natural gas trade concentrates on three regional markets: the North American market, the European market and the Asia-Pacific market, with North America having the most developed natural gas financial market. In addition, perfect legal supervision and coordinated regulations make the North American market more open and more competitive. This paper focuses on the North American natural gas market specifically. The Henry Hub natural gas spot price time series is converted to a visibility graph network which provides a new direction for macro analysis of time series, and several indicators are investigated: degree and degree distribution, the average shortest path length and community structure. The internal mechanisms underlying price fluctuations are explored through the indicators. The results show that the natural gas prices visibility graph network (NGP-VGN) is of small-world and scale-free properties simultaneously. After random rearrangement of original price time series, the degree distribution of network becomes exponential distribution, different from the original ones. This means that, the original price time series is of long-range negative correlation fractal characteristic. In addition, nodes with large degree correspond to significant geopolitical or economic events. Communities correspond to time cycles in visibility graph network. The cycles of time series and the impact scope of hubs can be found by community structure partition.

Banking on Solar: An Analysis of Banking Opportunities in the U.S. Distributed Photovoltaic Market

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Feldman, D.; Lowder, T.

This report provides a high-level overview of the developing U.S. solar loan product landscape, from both a market and economic perspective. It covers current and potential U.S. solar lending institutions; currently available loan products; loan program structures and post-loan origination options; risks and uncertainties of the solar asset class as it pertains to lenders; and an economic analysis comparing loan products to third party-financed systems in California.

How the ownership structures cause epidemics in financial markets: A network-based simulation model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dastkhan, Hossein; Gharneh, Naser Shams

2018-02-01

Analysis of systemic risks and contagions is one of the main challenges of policy makers and researchers in the recent years. Network theory is introduced as a main approach in the modeling and simulation of financial and economic systems. In this paper, a simulation model is introduced based on the ownership network to analyze the contagion and systemic risk events. For this purpose, different network structures with different values for parameters are considered to investigate the stability of the financial system in the presence of different kinds of idiosyncratic and aggregate shocks. The considered network structures include Erdos-Renyi, core-periphery, segregated and power-law networks. Moreover, the results of the proposed model are also calculated for a real ownership network. The results show that the network structure has a significant effect on the probability and the extent of contagion in the financial systems. For each network structure, various values for the parameters results in remarkable differences in the systemic risk measures. The results of real case show that the proposed model is appropriate in the analysis of systemic risk and contagion in financial markets, identification of systemically important firms and estimation of market loss when the initial failures occur. This paper suggests a new direction in the modeling of contagion in the financial markets, in particular that the effects of new kinds of financial exposure are clarified. This paper's idea and analytical results may also be useful for the financial policy makers, portfolio managers and the firms to conduct their investment in the right direction.

Topological structures in the equities market network

PubMed Central

Leibon, Gregory; Pauls, Scott; Rockmore, Daniel; Savell, Robert

2008-01-01

We present a new method for articulating scale-dependent topological descriptions of the network structure inherent in many complex systems. The technique is based on “partition decoupled null models,” a new class of null models that incorporate the interaction of clustered partitions into a random model and generalize the Gaussian ensemble. As an application, we analyze a correlation matrix derived from 4 years of close prices of equities in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (NASDAQ). In this example, we expose (i) a natural structure composed of 2 interacting partitions of the market that both agrees with and generalizes standard notions of scale (e.g., sector and industry) and (ii) structure in the first partition that is a topological manifestation of a well-known pattern of capital flow called “sector rotation.” Our approach gives rise to a natural form of multiresolution analysis of the underlying time series that naturally decomposes the basic data in terms of the effects of the different scales at which it clusters. We support our conclusions and show the robustness of the technique with a successful analysis on a simulated network with an embedded topological structure. The equities market is a prototypical complex system, and we expect that our approach will be of use in understanding a broad class of complex systems in which correlation structures are resident.

Evidence of increment of efficiency of the Mexican Stock Market through the analysis of its variations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coronel-Brizio, H. F.; Hernández-Montoya, A. R.; Huerta-Quintanilla, R.; Rodríguez-Achach, M.

2007-07-01

It is well known that there exist statistical and structural differences between the stock markets of developed and emerging countries. In this work, and in order to find out if the efficiency of the Mexican Stock Market has been changing over time, we have performed and compared several analyses of the variations of the Mexican Stock Market index (IPC) and Dow Jones industrial average index (DJIA) for different periods of their historical daily data. We have analyzed the returns autocorrelation function (ACF) and used detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) to study returns variations. We also analyze the volatility, mean value and standard deviation of both markets and compare their evolution. We conclude from the overall result of these studies, that they show compelling evidence of the increment of efficiency of the Mexican Stock Market over time. The data samples analyzed here, correspond to daily values of the IPC and DJIA for the period 10/30/1978-02/28/2006.

Marketing and clinical trials: a case study

PubMed Central

Francis, David; Roberts, Ian; Elbourne, Diana R; Shakur, Haleema; Knight, Rosemary C; Garcia, Jo; Snowdon, Claire; Entwistle, Vikki A; McDonald, Alison M; Grant, Adrian M; Campbell, Marion K

2007-01-01

Background Publicly funded clinical trials require a substantial commitment of time and money. To ensure that sufficient numbers of patients are recruited it is essential that they address important questions in a rigorous manner and are managed well, adopting effective marketing strategies. Methods Using methods of analysis drawn from management studies, this paper presents a structured assessment framework or reference model, derived from a case analysis of the MRC's CRASH trial, of 12 factors that may affect the success of the marketing and sales activities associated with clinical trials. Results The case study demonstrates that trials need various categories of people to buy in – hence, to be successful, trialists must embrace marketing strategies to some extent. Conclusion The performance of future clinical trials could be enhanced if trialists routinely considered these factors. PMID:18028537

Efficiency in the United States electric industry: Transaction costs, deregulation, and governance structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, Carl

Transaction costs economics (TCE) posits that firms have an incentive to bypass the market mechanisms in situations where the cost of using the market is prohibitive. Vertical integration, among other governance mechanisms, can be used to minimize the transactions costs associated with the market mechanism. The study analyses different governance mechanisms, which range from complete vertical integration to the use of market mechanisms, for firms in the US electric sector. This sector has undergone tremendous change in the past decade including the introduction of retail competition in some jurisdictions. As a result of the push toward deregulation of the industry, vertically integration, while still significant in the sector, has steadily been replaced by alternative governance structures. Using a sample of 136 investor-owned electric utilities that reported data the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission between 1996 and 2002, this study estimates firm level efficiency using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and relates these estimates to governance structure and public policies. The analysis finds that vertical integration is positively related to firm efficiency, although in a non-linear fashion suggesting that hybrid governance structures tend to be associated with lower efficiency scores. In addition, while some evidence is found for negative short-term effects on firm efficiency from the choice to deregulate, this result is sensitive to DEA model choice. Further, competition in retail markets is found to be positively related to firm level efficiency, but the retreat from deregulation, which occurred after 2000, is negatively associated with firm-level efficiency. These results are important in the ongoing academic and public policy debates concerning deregulation of the electric section and indicate that vertical economies remain in the industry, but that competition has provided incentives for improving firm level efficiency.

Price regulation, new entry, and information shock on pharmaceutical market in Taiwan: a nationwide data-based study from 2001 to 2004

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as a case, we used Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) database, to empirically explore the association between policy interventions (price regulation, new drug entry, and an information shock) and drug expenditures, utilization, and market structure between 2001 and 2004. Methods All NSAIDs prescribed in ambulatory visits in the NHI system during our study period were included and aggregated quarterly. Segmented regression analysis for interrupted time series was used to examine the associations between two price regulations, two new drug entries (cyclooxygennase-2 inhibitors) and the rofecoxib safety signal and expenditures and utilization of all NSAIDs. Herfindahl index (HHI) was applied to further examine the association between these interventions and market structure of NSAIDs. Results New entry was the only variable that was significantly correlated with changes of expenditures (positive change, p = 0.02) and market structure of the NSAIDs market in the NHI system. The correlation between price regulation (first price regulation, p = 0.62; second price regulation, p = 0.26) and information shock (p = 0.31) and drug expenditure were not statistically significant. There was no significant change in the prescribing volume of NSAIDs per rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or osteoarthritis (OA) ambulatory visit during the observational period. The market share of NSAIDs had also been largely substituted by these new drugs up to 50%, in a three-year period and resulted in a more concentrated market structure (HHI 0.17). Conclusions Our empirical study found that new drug entry was the main driving force behind escalating drug spending, especially by altering the market share. PMID:20653979

Market power in electric power markets: Indications of competitiveness in spatial prices for wholesale electricity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Denton, Michael John

The issue of market delineation and power in the wholesale electric energy market is explored using three separate approaches: two of these are analyses of spatial pricing data to explore the functional size of the markets, and the third is a series of experimental tests of the effects of different cost structures and market mechanisms on oligopoly strength in those markets. An equilibrium model of spatial network competition is shown to yield linear relationships between spatial prices. A data set comprising two years of spatial weekly peak and off-peak prices and weather for 6 locations in the Western States Coordinating Council and the Southwest Power Pool is subjected to a pairwise cointegration analysis. The use of dummy variables to account the the flow directions is found to significantly improve model performance. The second analytical technique utilizes the extraction of principal components from a spatial price correlation matrix to identify the extent of natural markets. One year of daily price observations for eleven locations within the WSCC is compiled and eigenvectors are extracted and subjected to oblique rotation, each of which is then interpreted as representing a separate geographic market. The results show that two distinct natural markets, correlated at 84%, account for over 96% of the variation in the spatial prices in the WSSC. Together, the findings support the assertion that the wholesale electricity market in the Western U.S. is large and highly competitive. The experimental analysis utilizes a radial three node network in which suppliers located at the outer nodes sell to buyers located at the central node. The parameterization captures the salient characteristics of the existing bulk power markets, and includes cyclical demand, transmission losses, as well as fixed and avoidable fixed costs for all agents. Treatments varied the number of sellers, the avoidable fixed cost structures, and the trading mechanism. Results indicated that sealed bid markets greatly reduced the ability of sellers to exert market power. Overall the existence of higher avoidable fixed costs tended to ameliorate market power effects.

Changes in Transitions: The Role of Mobility, Class and Gender

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Douglas I.

2009-01-01

This paper provides an analysis of changing patterns of transition from before the second world to the end of the twentieth century. It examines the longer term changes in the occupational structure and the consequential transformation of the patterns of labour market entry for young people. It links labour market entry to subsequent early…

Work Integration of People with Disabilities in the Regular Labour Market: What Can We Do to Improve These Processes?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vila, Montserrat; Pallisera, Maria; Fullana, Judit

2007-01-01

Background: It is important to ensure that regular processes of labour market integration are available for all citizens. Method: Thematic content analysis techniques, using semi-structured group interviews, were used to identify the principal elements contributing to the processes of integrating people with disabilities into the regular labour…

Analysis of integrated healthcare networks' performance: a contingency-strategic management perspective.

PubMed

Lin, B Y; Wan, T T

1999-12-01

Few empirical analyses have been done in the organizational researches of integrated healthcare networks (IHNs) or integrated healthcare delivery systems. Using a contingency derived contact-process-performance model, this study attempts to explore the relationships among an IHN's strategic direction, structural design, and performance. A cross-sectional analysis of 100 IHNs suggests that certain contextual factors such as market competition and network age and tax status have statistically significant effects on the implementation of an IHN's service differentiation strategy, which addresses coordination and control in the market. An IHN's service differentiation strategy is positively related to its integrated structural design, which is characterized as integration of administration, patient care, and information system across different settings. However, no evidence supports that the development of integrated structural design may benefit an IHN's performance in terms of clinical efficiency and financial viability.

Multifractal analysis on international crude oil markets based on the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Rongbao; Chen, Hongtao; Wang, Yudong

2010-07-01

The multifractal nature of WTI and Brent crude oil markets is studied employing the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis. We find that two crude oil markets become more and more efficient for long-term and two Gulf Wars cannot change time scale behavior of crude oil return series. Considering long-term influence caused by Gulf Wars, we find such “turning windows” in generalized Hurst exponents obtained from three periods divided by two Gulf Wars so that WTI and Brent crude oil returns possess different properties above and below the windows respectively. Comparing with the results obtained from three periods we conclude that, before the First Gulf War, international crude oil markets possessed the highest multifractality degree, small-scope fluctuations presented the strongest persistence and large-scope fluctuations presented the strongest anti-persistence. We find that, for two Gulf Wars, the first one made a greater impact on international oil markets; for two markets, Brent was more influenced by Gulf Wars. In addition, we also verified that the multifractal structures of two markets’ indices are not only mainly attributed to the broad fat-tail distributions and persistence, but also affected by some other factors.

Market policy as an innovative element of marketing in the Romanian healthcare services - an approach focused on the patient.

PubMed

Coculescu, B I; Coculescu, E C; Radu, A; Petrescu, L; Purcărea, V L

2015-01-01

The orientation towards one of the marketing policies with a major impact in organizations providing healthcare services, requires a careful analysis of the needs and aspirations of customers, targeting those patients whose needs the service organization can achieve through the existing resources at the respective health facility, finding the most effective way of achieving benefits associated with reduced costs to maximizing profits, placing the offers for medical services required by the patients on the market, as well as promptly reacting and acting to the changes of health services market which is constantly evolving through a flexible organizing and functioning structure, connected to the financial needs of the patients.

Hierarchical cluster-tendency analysis of the group structure in the foreign exchange market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Xin-Ye; Zheng, Zhi-Gang

2013-08-01

A hierarchical cluster-tendency (HCT) method in analyzing the group structure of networks of the global foreign exchange (FX) market is proposed by combining the advantages of both the minimal spanning tree (MST) and the hierarchical tree (HT). Fifty currencies of the top 50 World GDP in 2010 according to World Bank's database are chosen as the underlying system. By using the HCT method, all nodes in the FX market network can be "colored" and distinguished. We reveal that the FX networks can be divided into two groups, i.e., the Asia-Pacific group and the Pan-European group. The results given by the hierarchical cluster-tendency method agree well with the formerly observed geographical aggregation behavior in the FX market. Moreover, an oil-resource aggregation phenomenon is discovered by using our method. We find that gold could be a better numeraire for the weekly-frequency FX data.

Using scenario analysis to determine managed care strategy.

PubMed

Krentz, S E; Gish, R S

2000-09-01

In today's volatile healthcare environment, traditional planning tools are inadequate to guide financial managers of provider organizations in developing managed care strategies. These tools often disregard the uncertainty surrounding market forces such as employee benefit structure, the future of Medicare managed care, and the impact of consumer behavior. Scenario analysis overcomes this limitation by acknowledging the uncertain healthcare environment and articulating a set of plausible alternative futures, thus supplying financial executives with the perspective to craft strategies that can improve the market position of their organizations. By being alert for trigger points that might signal the rise of a specific scenario, financial managers can increase their preparedness for changes in market forces.

Why home hemodialysis? A systematic "marketing" analysis.

PubMed

Piccoli, Giorgina Barbara; Ferraresi, Martina; Consiglio, Valentina; Scognamiglio, Stefania; Deagostini, Maria Chiara; Randone, Olga; Vigotti, Federica Neve; Calderale, Pasquale Mario

2012-01-01

Home hemodialysis (HHD) has met with alternating fortunes. The present revival of interest is due to lower costs and more frequent/efficient treatments. HHD is underdeveloped, and a marketing approach may help in defining development strategies. The aim of this study was to systematically review the recent literature (2000-2010) according to a marketing approach, defining the potential of HHD according to the classical marketing items: market size, growth rate, profitability, trends, keys for success, needs for structures and distribution channels. A Medline search was conducted for 2000-2010. The analysis took into account the recent trends in publication as a measure of interest, size and trends, while survival and costs were analyzed as keys for success. The issues of structures and distribution channels were arbitrarily considered as equivalent to the overall hemodialysis market. Interest in HHD is growing, as shown by the increasing number of published papers (9 in 2000, 52 in 2010); yet, clinical studies accounted for less than half of the papers. In the 138 clinical studies, quality of life (33 papers) and metabolism (16 papers) were the most studied topics. Survival and cost analyses were highly heterogeneous (the broad inclusion of nocturnal or quotidian dialysis has to be mentioned). Overall, survival was equal to, or better than, that for other modalities, including transplantation and peritoneal dialysis; costs compared favorably with hospital dialysis and were equivalent to those of peritoneal dialysis. The small "market" of HHD is increasing, with potential for further growth, the keys for success being equivalence or superiority of survival at equivalent or lower costs.

Electricity market reforms: Institutional developments, investment dynamics and game modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pineau, Pierre-Olivier

The reform trend of the 1990's in electricity markets recreates, to some extent, the institutional framework from which they developed one century ago. Although these reforms do not endeavor to completely remove regulation, the basic objectives of deregulation dwell on limiting central and governmental control over the industry in order to promote free competition at all possible levels. To assess whether the electricity industry is or is not moving back to a 19th century structure is not the goal of this thesis. We will rather try to understand on what grounds deregulation reforms stand and review how different countries and large utilities have reacted to this trend. The special nature of electricity (non-storable basic good, centrally produced) creates different obstacles in the restructuring of electricity markets, compared to other industries like the airline or telecommunication ones. For example, the dominant positions of some utilities, the production structure and the importance of electricity in modern life could transform these reforms in a threatening move for consumers. Another specific issue arising from deregulation, now that national energy policy goals no longer rule the behavior of utilities, is how investment will be coordinated in the new market. A key element to keep in sight is the competition level targeted by these reforms. To which extent full competition can really occur in electricity markets remains an unanswered question. Indeed, the oligopolistic structure of the market could prevent such an outcome. An investigation of the investment dynamics in such a context seems therefore appropriate, and this will be an important theme of the thesis. This work offers an analysis of deregulated electricity markets and studies the oligopolistic market dynamics that could prevail in the new structure. Two complementary approaches are used for these purposes. The first is institutional and presents a thorough illustration of the economic arguments advanced to support market reforms and an industry view of the actual strategic actions undertaken by important utilities. Legislative changes will be reviewed for different countries with a discussion on the assessment procedures for these reforms. A detailed example of the reform process in the Finnish electricity market is presented. The investment issue will emerge as an interesting challenge to focus on, due to its importance for the market. The second approach is more analytical and develops on the market equilibria that could result from the new structure. A dynamic model of investment for the electricity market is built and applied to the Finnish market. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Structure in Community College Career-Technical Programs: A Qualitative Analysis. CCRC Working Paper No. 50

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Noy, Michelle; Weiss, Madeline Joy; Jenkins, Davis; Barnett, Elisabeth A.; Wachen, John

2012-01-01

Using data obtained from interviews and program websites at Washington community and technical colleges, the authors of this study examine the structure of community college career-technical programs in allied health, business and marketing, computer and information studies, and mechanics and repair. A framework for structure with four…

A fuzzy set preference model for market share analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turksen, I. B.; Willson, Ian A.

1992-01-01

Consumer preference models are widely used in new product design, marketing management, pricing, and market segmentation. The success of new products depends on accurate market share prediction and design decisions based on consumer preferences. The vague linguistic nature of consumer preferences and product attributes, combined with the substantial differences between individuals, creates a formidable challenge to marketing models. The most widely used methodology is conjoint analysis. Conjoint models, as currently implemented, represent linguistic preferences as ratio or interval-scaled numbers, use only numeric product attributes, and require aggregation of individuals for estimation purposes. It is not surprising that these models are costly to implement, are inflexible, and have a predictive validity that is not substantially better than chance. This affects the accuracy of market share estimates. A fuzzy set preference model can easily represent linguistic variables either in consumer preferences or product attributes with minimal measurement requirements (ordinal scales), while still estimating overall preferences suitable for market share prediction. This approach results in flexible individual-level conjoint models which can provide more accurate market share estimates from a smaller number of more meaningful consumer ratings. Fuzzy sets can be incorporated within existing preference model structures, such as a linear combination, using the techniques developed for conjoint analysis and market share estimation. The purpose of this article is to develop and fully test a fuzzy set preference model which can represent linguistic variables in individual-level models implemented in parallel with existing conjoint models. The potential improvements in market share prediction and predictive validity can substantially improve management decisions about what to make (product design), for whom to make it (market segmentation), and how much to make (market share prediction).

Using the social structure of markets as a framework for analyzing vaccination debates: The case of emergency polio vaccination

PubMed Central

Connelly, Yaron; Ziv, Arnona; Goren, Uri; Tal, Orna; Kaplan, Giora; Velan, Baruch

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT The framework of the social structure of markets was used to analyze an online debate revolving around an emergency poliovirus vaccination campaign in Israel. Examination of a representative sample of 200 discussions revealed the activity of three parties: authoritative agents promoting vaccinations, alternative agents promoting anti-vaccination, both representing sellers, and the impartial agents, representing the customers—the general public deliberating whether to comply with vaccination or not. Both sellers interacted with consumers using mechanisms of luring and convincing. The authoritative agents conveyed their message by exhibiting professionalism, building trust and offering to share information. The alternative agents spread doubts and evoked negative emotions of distrust and fear. Among themselves, the alternative agents strived to discredit the authoritative agents, while the latter preferred to ignore the former. Content analysis of discussions conducted by the general public reveal reiteration of the messages conveyed by the sellers, implying that the transaction of pro and anti-vaccination ideas indeed took place. We suggest that the framework of the market as a social structure can be applied to the analysis of other vaccination debates, and thereby provide additional insights into vaccination polemics. PMID:27058586

Evolutions of fluctuation modes and inner structures of global stock markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Yan; Wang, Lei; Liu, Maoxin; Chen, Xiaosong

2016-09-01

The paper uses empirical data, including 42 globally main stock indices in the period 1996-2014, to systematically study the evolution of fluctuation modes and inner structures of global stock markets. The data are large in scale considering both time and space. A covariance matrix-based principle fluctuation mode analysis (PFMA) is used to explore the properties of the global stock markets. It has been ignored by previous studies that covariance matrix is more suitable than the correlation matrix to be the basis of PFMA. It is found that the principle fluctuation modes of global stock markets are in the same directions, and global stock markets are divided into three clusters, which are found to be closely related to the countries’ locations with exceptions of China, Russia and Czech Republic. A time-stable correlation network constructing method is proposed to solve the problem of high-level statistical uncertainty when the estimated periods are very short, and the complex dynamic network (CDN) is constructed to investigate the evolution of inner structures. The results show when the clusters emerge and how long the clusters exist. When the 2008 financial crisis broke out, the indices form one cluster. After these crises, only the European cluster still exists. These findings complement the previous studies, and can help investors and regulators to understand the global stock markets.

Anti-correlation and subsector structure in financial systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, X. F.; Zheng, B.

2012-02-01

With the random matrix theory, we study the spatial structure of the Chinese stock market, the American stock market and global market indices. After taking into account the signs of the components in the eigenvectors of the cross-correlation matrix, we detect the subsector structure of the financial systems. The positive and negative subsectors are anti-correlated with respect to each other in the corresponding eigenmode. The subsector structure is strong in the Chinese stock market, while somewhat weaker in the American stock market and global market indices. Characteristics of the subsector structures in different markets are revealed.

The dynamic correlation between policy uncertainty and stock market returns in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Miao; Jiang, Zhi-Qiang

2016-11-01

The dynamic correlation is examined between government's policy uncertainty and Chinese stock market returns in the period from January 1995 to December 2014. We find that the stock market is significantly correlated to policy uncertainty based on the results of the Vector Auto Regression (VAR) and Structural Vector Auto Regression (SVAR) models. In contrast, the results of the Dynamic Conditional Correlation Generalized Multivariate Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (DCC-MGARCH) model surprisingly show a low dynamic correlation coefficient between policy uncertainty and market returns, suggesting that the fluctuations of each variable are greatly influenced by their values in the preceding period. Our analysis highlights the understanding of the dynamical relationship between stock market and fiscal and monetary policy.

Market policy as an innovative element of marketing in the Romanian healthcare services – an approach focused on the patient

PubMed Central

Coculescu, BI; Coculescu, EC; Radu, A; Petrescu, L; Purcărea, VL

2015-01-01

The orientation towards one of the marketing policies with a major impact in organizations providing healthcare services, requires a careful analysis of the needs and aspirations of customers, targeting those patients whose needs the service organization can achieve through the existing resources at the respective health facility, finding the most effective way of achieving benefits associated with reduced costs to maximizing profits, placing the offers for medical services required by the patients on the market, as well as promptly reacting and acting to the changes of health services market which is constantly evolving through a flexible organizing and functioning structure, connected to the financial needs of the patients. PMID:26664466

Voluntary health insurance in the European Union: a critical assessment.

PubMed

Mossialos, Elias; Thomson, Sarah M S

2002-01-01

The authors examine the role and nature of the market for voluntary health insurance in the European Union and review the impact of public policy, at both the national and E.U. levels, on the development of this market in recent years. The conceptual framework, based on a model of industrial analysis, allows a wide range of policy questions regarding market structure, conduct, and performance. By analyzing these three aspects of the market for voluntary health insurance, the authors are also able to raise questions about the equity and efficiency of voluntary health insurance as a means of funding health care in the European Union. The analysis suggests that the market for voluntary health insurance in the European Union suffers from significant information failures that seriously limit its potential for competition or efficiency and also reduce equity. Substantial deregulation of the E.U. market for voluntary health insurance has stripped regulatory bodies of their power to protect consumers and poses interesting challenges for national regulators, particularly if the market is to expand in the future. In a deregulated environment, it is questionable whether this method of funding health care will encourage a more efficient and equitable allocation of resources.

An Empirical Examination of Reverse Auction Appropriateness in B2B Source Selection

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-01-01

Measures of Marketing Constructs," Journal of Marketing Research , Vol. 16, No.2, pp. 64 - 73. Cohn, L. (2000), "B2B: The Hottest Net Bet Yet...34 Psycholgical Bulletin, Vol. 103, No.3, pp. 411-423. Armstrong, J.S. and T.S. Overton (1977), "Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys," Journal of Marketing ... Research , Vol.14, No.3, pp. 396-402. Bagozzi, R. (1983), "Issues in the Application of Covariance Structure Analysis: A Further Comment," Journal of

Development of satellite telecommunications during the period 1990 - 2005

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, D.

1993-01-01

The evolution of the global telecommunications market is reviewed. The changes that take place are a result of advances in technology as well as three powerful and interconnected forces: privatization, globalization, and liberalization. The introduction of new technologies in the form of Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN's) and integrated terminal equipment resulted in the transformation of the telecommunications services market from a single service industry limited by technology constraints into a multiservice industry limited by applications. As a result of privatization and globalization, the former national telecommunications carriers are beginning to expand overseas in order to grow. The changes indicate a shift in traffic structure as well as in the global satellite market structure. The analysis shows that satellite telecommunications will grow over the next fifteen years.

Dissecting cross-impact on stock markets: an empirical analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benzaquen, M.; Mastromatteo, I.; Eisler, Z.; Bouchaud, J.-P.

2017-02-01

The vast majority of market impact studies assess each product individually, and the interactions between the different order flows are disregarded. This strong approximation may lead to an underestimation of trading costs and possible contagion effects. Transactions in fact mediate a significant part of the correlation between different instruments. In turn, liquidity shares the sectorial structure of market correlations, which can be encoded as a set of eigenvalues and eigenvectors. We introduce a multivariate linear propagator model that successfully describes such a structure, and accounts for a significant fraction of the covariance of stock returns. We dissect the various dynamical mechanisms that contribute to the joint dynamics of assets. We also define two simplified models with substantially less parameters in order to reduce overfitting, and show that they have superior out-of-sample performance.

The Complex Dynamics of Sponsored Search Markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robu, Valentin; La Poutré, Han; Bohte, Sander

This paper provides a comprehensive study of the structure and dynamics of online advertising markets, mostly based on techniques from the emergent discipline of complex systems analysis. First, we look at how the display rank of a URL link influences its click frequency, for both sponsored search and organic search. Second, we study the market structure that emerges from these queries, especially the market share distribution of different advertisers. We show that the sponsored search market is highly concentrated, with less than 5% of all advertisers receiving over 2/3 of the clicks in the market. Furthermore, we show that both the number of ad impressions and the number of clicks follow power law distributions of approximately the same coefficient. However, we find this result does not hold when studying the same distribution of clicks per rank position, which shows considerable variance, most likely due to the way advertisers divide their budget on different keywords. Finally, we turn our attention to how such sponsored search data could be used to provide decision support tools for bidding for combinations of keywords. We provide a method to visualize keywords of interest in graphical form, as well as a method to partition these graphs to obtain desirable subsets of search terms.

Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Performance: Do Organizational and Market Characteristics Matter?

PubMed

Spaulding, Aaron; Edwardson, Nick; Zhao, Mei

The hospital value-based purchasing (HVBP) program of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services challenges hospitals to deliver high-quality care or face a reduction in Medicare payments. How do different organizational structures and market characteristics enable or inhibit successful transition to this new model of value-based care? To address that question, this study employs an institutional theory lens to test whether certain organizational structures and market characteristics mediate hospitals' ability to perform across HVBP domains.Data from the 2014 American Hospital Association Annual Survey Database, Area Health Resource File, the Medicare Hospital Compare Database, and the association between external environment and hospital performance are assessed through multiple regression analysis. Results indicate that hospitals that belong to a system are more likely than independent hospitals to score highly on the domains associated with the HVBP incentive arrangement. However, varying and sometimes counterintuitive market influences bring different dimensions to the HVBP program. A hospital's ability to score well in this new value arrangement may be heavily based on the organization's ability to learn from others, implement change, and apply the appropriate amount of control in various markets.

Practices associated with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza spread in traditional poultry marketing chains: Social and economic perspectives.

PubMed

Paul, Mathilde; Baritaux, Virginie; Wongnarkpet, Sirichai; Poolkhet, Chaithep; Thanapongtharm, Weerapong; Roger, François; Bonnet, Pascal; Ducrot, Christian

2013-04-01

In developing countries, smallholder poultry production contributes to food security and poverty alleviation in rural areas. However, traditional poultry marketing chains have been threatened by the epidemics caused by the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) virus. The article presents a value chain analysis conducted on the traditional poultry marketing chain in the rural province of Phitsanulok, Thailand. The analysis is based on quantitative data collected on 470 backyard chicken farms, and on qualitative data collected on 28 poultry collectors, slaughterhouses and market retailers, using semi-structured interviews. The article examines the organization of poultry marketing chains in time and space, and shows how this may contribute to the spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 in the small-scale poultry sector. The article also discusses the practices and strategies developed by value chain actors facing poultry mortality, with their economic and social determinants. More broadly, this study also illustrates how value chain analysis can contribute to a better understanding of the complex mechanisms associated with the spread of epidemics in rural communities. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modeling the Structural Dynamic of Industrial Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilkinson, Ian F.; Wiley, James B.; Lin, Aizhong

Market systems consist of locally interacting agents who continuously pursue advantageous opportunities. Since the time of Adam Smith, a fundamental task of economics has been to understand how market systems develop and to explain their operation. During the intervening years, theory largely has stressed comparative statics analysis. Based on the assumptions of rational, utility or profit-maximizing agents, and negative, diminishing returns) feedback process, traditional economic analysis seeks to describe the, generally) unique state of an economy corresponding to an initial set of assumptions. The analysis is tatic in the sense that it does not describe the process by which an economy might get from one state to another.

The Growth of Social Work Education Programs, 1985-1999: Its Impact on Economic and Educational Factors Related to the Profession of Social Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karger, Howard Jacob; Stoesz, David

2003-01-01

Using a modified labor market analysis, examines the impact of growth of social work programs on educational standards, the human services labor market, and the salary structure of graduates. Suggests that a perceived surplus of social work education programs has been detrimental to the income potential of entry-level social workers, to the…

Research on the fractal structure in the Chinese stock market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuang, Xin-tian; Huang, Xiao-yuan; Sha, Yan-li

2004-02-01

Applying fractal theory, this paper probes and discusses self-similarity and scale invariance of the Chinese stock market. It analyses three kinds of scale indexes, i.e., autocorrelation index, Hurst index and the scale index on the basis of detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) algorithm and promotes DFA into a recursive algorithm. Using the three kinds of scale indexes, we conduct empirical research on the Chinese Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets. The results indicate that the rate of returns of the two stock markets does not obey the normal distribution. A correlation exists between the stock price indexes over time scales. The stock price indexes exhibit fractal time series. It indicates that the policy guide hidden at the back influences the characteristic of the Chinese stock market.

A network analysis of the Chinese stock market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Wei-Qiang; Zhuang, Xin-Tian; Yao, Shuang

2009-07-01

In many practical important cases, a massive dataset can be represented as a very large network with certain attributes associated with its vertices and edges. Stock markets generate huge amounts of data, which can be use for constructing the network reflecting the market’s behavior. In this paper, we use a threshold method to construct China’s stock correlation network and then study the network’s structural properties and topological stability. We conduct a statistical analysis of this network and show that it follows a power-law model. We also detect components, cliques and independent sets in this network. These analyses allows one to apply a new data mining technique of classifying financial instruments based on stock price data, which provides a deeper insight into the internal structure of the stock market. Moreover, we test the topological stability of this network and find that it displays a topological robustness against random vertex failures, but it is also fragile to intentional attacks. Such a network stability property would be also useful for portfolio investment and risk management.

Computerized Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

In 1966, MacNeal-Schwendler Corporation (MSC) was awarded a contract by NASA to develop a general purpose structural analysis program dubbed NASTRAN (NASA structural analysis). The first operational version was delivered in 1969. In 1982, MSC procured the rights to market their subsequent version of NASTRAN to industry as a problem solver for applications ranging from acoustics to heat transfer. Known today as MSC/NASTRAN, the program has thousands of users worldwide. NASTRAN is also distributed through COSMIC.

Chemical profiling: A tool to decipher the structure and organisation of illicit drug markets: An 8-year study in Western Switzerland.

PubMed

Broséus, Julian; Baechler, Simon; Gentile, Natacha; Esseiva, Pierre

2016-09-01

Illicit drug analyses usually focus on the identification and quantitation of questioned material to support the judicial process. In parallel, more and more laboratories develop physical and chemical profiling methods in a forensic intelligence perspective. The analysis of large databases resulting from this approach enables not only to draw tactical and operational intelligence, but may also contribute to the strategic overview of drugs markets. In Western Switzerland, the chemical analysis of illicit drug seizures is centralised in a laboratory hosted by the University of Lausanne. For over 8 years, this laboratory has analysed 5875 cocaine and 2728 heroin specimens, coming from respectively 1138 and 614 seizures operated by police and border guards or customs. Chemical (major and minor alkaloids, purity, cutting agents, chemical class), physical (packaging and appearance) as well as circumstantial (criminal case number, mass of drug seized, date and place of seizure) information are collated in a dedicated database for each specimen. The study capitalises on this extended database and defines several indicators to characterise the structure of drugs markets, to follow-up on their evolution and to compare cocaine and heroin markets. Relational, spatial, temporal and quantitative analyses of data reveal the emergence and importance of distribution networks. They enable to evaluate the cross-jurisdictional character of drug trafficking and the observation time of drug batches, as well as the quantity of drugs entering the market every year. Results highlight the stable nature of drugs markets over the years despite the very dynamic flows of distribution and consumption. This research work illustrates how the systematic analysis of forensic data may elicit knowledge on criminal activities at a strategic level. In combination with information from other sources, such knowledge can help to devise intelligence-based preventive and repressive measures and to discuss the impact of countermeasures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Market structures, socioeconomics, and tobacco usage patterns in Madagascar.

PubMed

Blecher, Evan; Liber, Alex C; Chaussard, Martine; Fedewa, Stacey

2014-01-01

The isolated island nation of Madagascar has substantial prevalence of both smoking and smokeless tobacco use, although not of dual use. Madagascar's tobacco market, much like its historical and cultural underpinnings, appears to have both Asian and African influences. Additionally, it has a unique market structure that plays an important role in influencing patterns of tobacco use. This study analyzes the determinants of smoking and smokeless tobacco use in Madagascar. We used the 2008 Madagascar Demographic and Health Survey to analyze both smoking tobacco and smokeless tobacco use, stratified by gender. Multivariate log binomial models were used to evaluate the relationship between tobacco use and age, residence (urban/rural), province, marital status, and education. Our analysis indicates that two distinctly different groups of people use two distinctly different tobacco products. Smoking is almost exclusively used by men and does not appear to be related to socioeconomic status. Conversely, smokeless tobacco is consumed by large proportions of both men and women, who are less educated and live in rural areas of the country. This disparate pattern in consumption is a reflection of the different market structures for smokeless tobacco (a cottage industry) and smoking tobacco (a near monopoly). Distinct market-based, geographic, and socioeconomic disparities in tobacco use are explored in order to begin the classification of Madagascar's tobacco epidemic as more African, more Asian, or as a distinctly different environment.

Analysis of Asymmetry by a Slide-Vector.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zielman, Berrie; Heiser, Willem J.

1993-01-01

An algorithm based on the majorization theory of J. de Leeuw and W. J. Heiser is presented for fitting the slide-vector model. It views the model as a constrained version of the unfolding model. A three-way variant is proposed, and two examples from market structure analysis are presented. (SLD)

Financial Markets during Highly Anxious Time: Multifractal Fluctuations in Asset Returns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siokis, Fotios M.

Building on the notion that systems and in particular complex systems such as stock exchange markets reveal their structure better when they are under stress, we analyze the multifractal character and nonlinear properties of four major stock market indices during financial meltdowns by means of the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA). The three distinct financial crises under investigation are the Black Monday, the Dot-Com and the Great Recession. Scaling and Hurst exponents are derived as well as the singularity spectra. The results show that all indices exhibit strong multifractal properties. The complexity of the markets is higher under the Black Monday event revealed by the width of the singularity spectrum and the higher α0 parameter.

Market Competitiveness Evaluation of Mechanical Equipment with a Pairwise Comparisons Hierarchical Model.

PubMed

Hou, Fujun

2016-01-01

This paper provides a description of how market competitiveness evaluations concerning mechanical equipment can be made in the context of multi-criteria decision environments. It is assumed that, when we are evaluating the market competitiveness, there are limited number of candidates with some required qualifications, and the alternatives will be pairwise compared on a ratio scale. The qualifications are depicted as criteria in hierarchical structure. A hierarchical decision model called PCbHDM was used in this study based on an analysis of its desirable traits. Illustration and comparison shows that the PCbHDM provides a convenient and effective tool for evaluating the market competitiveness of mechanical equipment. The researchers and practitioners might use findings of this paper in application of PCbHDM.

Analysis by the Residual Method for Estimate Market Value of Land on the Areas with Mining Exploitation in Subsoil under Future New Building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gwozdz-Lason, Monika

2017-12-01

This paper attempts to answer some of the following questions: what is the main selling advantage of a plot of land on the areas with mining exploitation? which attributes influence on market value the most? and how calculate the mining influence in subsoil under future new building as market value of plot with commercial use? This focus is not accidental, as the paper sets out to prove that the subsoil load bearing capacity, as directly inferred from the local geotechnical properties with mining exploitation, considerably influences the market value of this type of real estate. Presented in this elaborate analysis and calculations, are part of the ongoing development works which aimed at suggesting a new technology and procedures for estimating the value of the land belonging to the third category geotechnical. Analysed the question was examined both in terms of the theoretical and empirical. On the basis of the analysed code calculations in residual method, numerical, statistical and econometric defined results and final conclusions. A market analysis yielded a group of subsoil stabilization costs which depend on the mining operations interaction, subsoil parameters, type of the contemplated structure, its foundations, selected stabilization method, its overall area and shape.

Temporal evolution of financial-market correlations.

PubMed

Fenn, Daniel J; Porter, Mason A; Williams, Stacy; McDonald, Mark; Johnson, Neil F; Jones, Nick S

2011-08-01

We investigate financial market correlations using random matrix theory and principal component analysis. We use random matrix theory to demonstrate that correlation matrices of asset price changes contain structure that is incompatible with uncorrelated random price changes. We then identify the principal components of these correlation matrices and demonstrate that a small number of components accounts for a large proportion of the variability of the markets that we consider. We characterize the time-evolving relationships between the different assets by investigating the correlations between the asset price time series and principal components. Using this approach, we uncover notable changes that occurred in financial markets and identify the assets that were significantly affected by these changes. We show in particular that there was an increase in the strength of the relationships between several different markets following the 2007-2008 credit and liquidity crisis.

Temporal evolution of financial-market correlations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fenn, Daniel J.; Porter, Mason A.; Williams, Stacy; McDonald, Mark; Johnson, Neil F.; Jones, Nick S.

2011-08-01

We investigate financial market correlations using random matrix theory and principal component analysis. We use random matrix theory to demonstrate that correlation matrices of asset price changes contain structure that is incompatible with uncorrelated random price changes. We then identify the principal components of these correlation matrices and demonstrate that a small number of components accounts for a large proportion of the variability of the markets that we consider. We characterize the time-evolving relationships between the different assets by investigating the correlations between the asset price time series and principal components. Using this approach, we uncover notable changes that occurred in financial markets and identify the assets that were significantly affected by these changes. We show in particular that there was an increase in the strength of the relationships between several different markets following the 2007-2008 credit and liquidity crisis.

Models for electricity market efficiency and bidding strategy analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niu, Hui

This dissertation studies models for the analysis of market efficiency and bidding behaviors of market participants in electricity markets. Simulation models are developed to estimate how transmission and operational constraints affect the competitive benchmark and market prices based on submitted bids. This research contributes to the literature in three aspects. First, transmission and operational constraints, which have been neglected in most empirical literature, are considered in the competitive benchmark estimation model. Second, the effects of operational and transmission constraints on market prices are estimated through two models based on the submitted bids of market participants. Third, these models are applied to analyze the efficiency of the Electric Reliability Council Of Texas (ERCOT) real-time energy market by simulating its operations for the time period from January 2002 to April 2003. The characteristics and available information for the ERCOT market are considered. In electricity markets, electric firms compete through both spot market bidding and bilateral contract trading. A linear asymmetric supply function equilibrium (SFE) model with transmission constraints is proposed in this dissertation to analyze the bidding strategies with forward contracts. The research contributes to the literature in several aspects. First, we combine forward contracts, transmission constraints, and multi-period strategy (an obligation for firms to bid consistently over an extended time horizon such as a day or an hour) into the linear asymmetric supply function equilibrium framework. As an ex-ante model, it can provide qualitative insights into firms' behaviors. Second, the bidding strategies related to Transmission Congestion Rights (TCRs) are discussed by interpreting TCRs as linear combination of forwards. Third, the model is a general one in the sense that there is no limitation on the number of firms and scale of the transmission network, which can have asymmetric linear marginal cost structures. In addition to theoretical analysis, we apply our model to simulate the ERCOT real-time market from January 2002 to April 2003. The effects of forward contracts on the ERCOT market are evaluated through the results. It is shown that the model is able to capture features of bidding behavior in the market.

Assessing the viability of situationally driven segmentation opportunities in the health care market.

PubMed

Gehrt, K C; Pinto, M B

1993-01-01

The impact of situational factors has typically been investigated in the context of goods marketing. Very few studies have investigated the influence of situational factors on services marketing. This study demonstrates the importance of situational influence on services marketing by delineating a consumer-based, situationally characterized competitive market structure for health care services. The competitive structure of the health care market is delineated in terms of the similarity/substitutability of the three-factor, situational characterizations of ten health care alternatives. The general marketing implications of the market-structure delineation procedure and the health care-specific implications of the findings are discussed.

Features of the marketing strategy of oil and gas companies in exploration drilling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharf, I.; Malanina, V.; Kamynina, L.

2014-08-01

The implementation of national and regional programs for the development of new oil and gas provinces of Eastern Siberia poses the challenge of increasing geological exploration. The current drilling service companies' market structure, as well as the strategic task of search and exploration effectiveness requires qualitatively new approaches for choosing a contractor. The proposed strategy to select a contractor based on comprehensive analysis of certain groups of industrial, financial, infrastructural criteria allows not only to optimize the costs of exploration activities, but also to minimize preventively the risks of a poor geological exploration. The authors' SWOT- analysis of the marketing strategy of "Gazprom neft" for choosing a contractor outlined the problem of imperfection of the Russian legislation in the sphere of activities of service companies in the oil and gas sector.

The Structure of the University Network: From the Soviet to Russian "Master Plan"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuzminov, Ia. I.; Semenov, D. S.; Froumin, I. D.

2015-01-01

The authors discuss the underpinnings of structural analysis in the higher education system. The article justifies why it focuses on specific labor market segments and the nature of the university's basic product as grounds for proposing a typology and groups of institutions. A Soviet "master plan" is reconstructed on the basis of the…

Trend analysis of the pharmaceutical market in Iran; 1997–2010; policy implications for developing countries

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background So far, no detailed study of the Iranian pharmaceutical market has been conducted, and only a few studies have analyzed medicine consumption and expenditure in Iran. Pharmaceutical market trend analysis remains one of the most useful instruments to evaluate the pharmaceutical systems efficiency. An increase in imports of medicines, and a simultaneous decrease in domestic production prompted us to investigate the pharmaceutical expenditure structure. On the other hand, analyzing statistics provides a suitable method to assess the outcomes of national pharmaceutical policies and regulations. Methods This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study which investigates the Iranian pharmaceutical market over a 13-year period (1997–2010). This study used the Iranian pharmaceutical statistical datasheet published by the Iranian Ministry of Health. Systematic searches of the relevant Persian and English research literature were made. In addition, official government documents were analyzed as sources of both data and detailed statements of policy. Results Analysis of the Iranian pharmaceutical market in the 13-year period shows that medicine consumption sales value growth has been 28.38% annually. Determination of domestic production and import reveals that 9.3% and 42.3% annual growth, respectively, have been experienced. Conclusions The Iranian pharmaceutical market has undergone great growth in comparison with developing countries and the pharmerging group, and the market is expanding quickly while a major share goes to biotechnology drugs, which implies the need to commercialization activities in novel fields like pharmaceutical biotechnology. This market expansion has been in favor of imported medicine in sales terms, caused by the reinforcement of suspicious policies of policy makers that necessitates fundamental rearrangements. PMID:23805853

Analysis of Enrollment Scale of Chinese Specialty Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hao, Jinmei; Li, Suke

2017-01-01

With the adjustment of industrial structure of China in recent years, the market urgently needs different levels of professionals. Specialty education is an important part of higher education in China, has its unique advantages. Through the analysis of the history data of specialty education in our country, the result shows that the specialty…

Hospital compliance with a state unfunded mandate: the case of California's Earthquake Safety Law.

PubMed

McCue, Michael J; Thompson, Jon M

2012-01-01

Abstract In recent years, community hospitals have experienced heightened regulation with many unfunded mandates. The authors assessed the market, organizational, operational, and financial characteristics of general acute care hospitals in California that have a main acute care hospital building that is noncompliant with state requirements and at risk of major structural collapse from earthquakes. Using California hospital data from 2007 to 2009, and employing logistic regression analysis, the authors found that hospitals having buildings that are at the highest risk of collapse are located in larger population markets, possess smaller market share, have a higher percentage of Medicaid patients, and have less liquidity.

Institutional analysis of milkfish supply chain using interpretive structural modelling (ISM) (case study of UD. Bunda Foods, Sidoarjo District)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silalahi, R. L. R.; Mustaniroh, S. A.; Ikasari, D. M.; Sriulina, R. P.

2018-03-01

UD. Bunda Foods is an SME located in the district of Sidoarjo. UD. Bunda Foods has problems of maintaining its milkfish’s quality assurance and developing marketing strategies. Improving those problems enables UD. Bunda Foods to compete with other similar SMEs and to market its product for further expansion of their business. The objectives of this study were to determine the model of the institutional structure of the milkfish supply chain, to determine the elements, the sub-elements, and the relationship among each element. The method used in this research was Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM), involving 5 experts as respondents consisting of 1 practitioner, 1 academician, and 3 government organisation employees. The results showed that there were two key elements include requirement and goals elements. Based on the Drive Power-Dependence (DP-D) matrix, the key sub-elements of requirement element, consisted of raw material continuity, appropriate marketing strategy, and production capital, were positioned in the Linkage sector quadrant. The DP-D matrix for the key sub-elements of the goal element also showed a similar position. The findings suggested several managerial implications to be carried out by UD. Bunda Foods include establishing good relationships with all involved institutions, obtaining capital assistance, and attending the marketing training provided by the government.

Governance Structures for Open Innovation: A Preliminary Framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feller, Joseph; Finnegan, Patrick; Hayes, Jeremy; O'Reilly, Philip

This research-in-progress paper presents a preliminary framework of four open innovation governance structures. The study seeks to describe four distinct ways in which firms utilize hierarchical relationships, organizational intermediaries, and the market system to supply and acquire intellectual property and/or innovation capabilities from sources external to the firm. This paper reports on phase one of the study, which involved an analysis of six open innovation exemplars based on public data. This phase of the study reveals that governance structures for open innovation can be categorized based on whether they (1) are mediated or direct or (2) seek to acquire intellectual property or innovation capability. We analyze the differences in four governance structures along seven dimensions, and reveal the importance of knowledge dispersion and uncertainty to the use of open innovation hierarchies, brokerages, and markets. The paper concludes by examining the implications of the findings and outlining the next phase of the study.

Can we predict the property cycle? A study of securitized property market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hui, Eddie Chi-Man; Wang, Ziyou

2015-05-01

Academia takes interest in cyclicality of real estate market. Compared to various findings on housing cycles, no literature takes insight into the cycles of securitized property markets. To address the issue, a nonlinear model is developed to probe into the characteristics of cycles in global markets (US, UK, Australia, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong) over the last 23 years. The findings suggest that (a) cointegrating relationships influence the six markets in the long term and become stronger during bullish markets. (b) The short-term dynamics of each market is more likely to have a regime-switching structure. (c) The cyclical pattern shows differences between securitized property and housing markets, as well as between securitized property and general stock markets. Meanwhile, the cyclical pattern in developed markets is also different from that in developing markets. (d) The duration dependence shows a weak effect of the boom on predicting the occurrence of the upcoming bust. Instead, the magnitude of boom growth plays a significant role in predicting the duration of following bust. (e) The asymmetric analysis brings forward the "paralleling effect" which indicates that the asymmetry in returns is parallel with the movements of r. The methodology shall serve in providing detailed implications on the characters of cycle and duration forecast in securitized property markets for investors and governments.

Structural Change in Southern Softwood Stumpage Markets

Treesearch

Douglas R. Carter

1998-01-01

The potential for structural change in southern stumpage market models has impacts on not only our basic understanding of those markets, but also on harvest, inventory and price projections, and related policy. In this paper, we test for structural change in both sawtimber and pulpwood softwood stumpage markets in the U.S. South over the period 1950-1994. Test...

Unveiling correlations between financial variables and topological metrics of trading networks: Evidence from a stock and its warrant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ming-Xia; Jiang, Zhi-Qiang; Xie, Wen-Jie; Xiong, Xiong; Zhang, Wei; Zhou, Wei-Xing

2015-02-01

Traders develop and adopt different trading strategies attempting to maximize their profits in financial markets. These trading strategies not only result in specific topological structures in trading networks, which connect the traders with the pairwise buy-sell relationships, but also have potential impacts on market dynamics. Here, we present a detailed analysis on how the market behaviors are correlated with the structures of traders in trading networks based on audit trail data for the Baosteel stock and its warrant at the transaction level from 22 August 2005 to 23 August 2006. In our investigation, we divide each trade day into 48 rolling time windows with a length of 5 min, construct a trading network within each window, and obtain a time series of over 11,600 trading networks. We find that there are strongly simultaneous correlations between the topological metrics (including network centralization, assortative index, and average path length) of trading networks that characterize the patterns of order execution and the financial variables (including return, volatility, intertrade duration, and trading volume) for the stock and its warrant. Our analysis may shed new lights on how the microscopic interactions between elements within complex system affect the system's performance.

75 FR 28667 - Market Structure Roundtable

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-21

... views of investors, issuers, exchanges, alternative trading systems, financial services firms, high... roundtable will focus on market structure performance, including the events of May 6, metrics for evaluating market structure performance, high frequency trading, and undisplayed liquidity. The roundtable...

Competition in health insurance markets: limitations of current measures for policy analysis.

PubMed

Scanlon, Dennis P; Chernew, Michael; Swaminathan, Shailender; Lee, Woolton

2006-12-01

Health care reform proposals often rely on increased competition in health insurance markets to drive improved performance in health care costs, access, and quality. We examine a range of data issues related to the measures of health insurance competition used in empirical studies published from 1994-2004. The literature relies exclusively on market structure and penetration variables to measure competition. While these measures are correlated, the degree of correlation is modest, suggesting that choice of measure could influence empirical results. Moreover, certain measurement issues such as the lack of data on PPO enrollment, the treatment of small firms, and omitted market characteristics also could affect the conclusions in empirical studies. Importantly, other types of measures related to competition (e.g., the availability of information on price and outcomes, degree of entry barriers, etc.) are important from both a theoretical and policy perspective, but their impact on market outcomes has not been widely studied.

Multiscale recurrence quantification analysis of order recurrence plots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Mengjia; Shang, Pengjian; Lin, Aijing

2017-03-01

In this paper, we propose a new method of multiscale recurrence quantification analysis (MSRQA) to analyze the structure of order recurrence plots. The MSRQA is based on order patterns over a range of time scales. Compared with conventional recurrence quantification analysis (RQA), the MSRQA can show richer and more recognizable information on the local characteristics of diverse systems which successfully describes their recurrence properties. Both synthetic series and stock market indexes exhibit their properties of recurrence at large time scales that quite differ from those at a single time scale. Some systems present more accurate recurrence patterns under large time scales. It demonstrates that the new approach is effective for distinguishing three similar stock market systems and showing some inherent differences.

Health needs of street market saleswomen: access, connection and welcoming as integral practices.

PubMed

Magalhães, Ana Hirley Rodrigues; Parente, José Reginaldo Feijão; Silva, Maria Adelane Monteiro da; Pereira, Ivna de Holanda; Vasconcelos, Maristela Inês Osawa; Guimarães, Raquel Xavier

2017-06-05

To analyze the health needs of street market saleswomen of the Mercado Público (Public Market) of a municipality in Northeastern Brazil. Qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study, with fifteen saleswomen in a public market. Data production means included semi-structured interviews, April-May 2016. Data were analyzed using the analysis of technical content technique, from which the following theme category emerged: "Access needs to health services and professional humanized practices." The women in the study highlighted the guarantee of access, connection and welcoming as driving practices for the recognition of health needs confronting the health-disease process and comprehensive care. Being welcomed, identifying needs and producing a bond will contribute to these women recognizing themselves as subjects of their needs, strengthening their autonomy, empowerment and self-care.

The potential for accurately measuring behavioral and economic dimensions of consumption, prices, and markets for illegal drugs.

PubMed

Johnson, Bruce D; Golub, Andrew

2007-09-01

There are numerous analytic and methodological limitations to current measures of drug market activity. This paper explores the structure of markets and individual user behavior to provide an integrated understanding of behavioral and economic (and market) aspects of illegal drug use with an aim toward developing improved procedures for measurement. This involves understanding the social processes that structure illegal distribution networks and drug users' interactions with them. These networks are where and how social behaviors, prices, and markets for illegal drugs intersect. Our focus is upon getting an up close measurement of these activities. Building better measures of consumption behaviors necessitates building better rapport with subjects than typically achieved with one-time surveys in order to overcome withholding and underreporting and to get a comprehensive understanding of the processes involved. This can be achieved through repeated interviews and observations of behaviors. This paper also describes analytic advances that could be adopted to direct this inquiry including behavioral templates, and insights into the economic valuation of labor inputs and cash expenditures for various illegal drugs. Additionally, the paper makes recommendations to funding organizations for developing the mechanisms that would support behavioral scientists to weigh specimens and to collect small samples for laboratory analysis-by providing protection from the potential for arrest. The primary focus is upon U.S. markets. The implications for other countries are discussed.

Analyzing millet price regimes and market performance in Niger with remote sensing data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Essam, Timothy Michael

This dissertation concerns the analysis of staple food prices and market performance in Niger using remotely sensed vegetation indices in the form of normalized differenced vegetation index (NDVI). By exploiting the link between weather-related vegetation production conditions, which serve as a proxy for spatially explicit millet yields and thus millet availability, this study analyzes the potential causal links between NDVI outcomes and millet market performance and presents an empirical approach for predicting changes in market performance based on NDVI outcomes. Overall, the thesis finds that inter-market price spreads and levels of market integration can be reasonably explained by deviations in vegetation index outcomes from the growing season. Negative (positive) NDVI shocks are associated with better (worse) than expected market performance as measured by converging inter-market price spreads. As the number of markets affected by negatively abnormal vegetation production conditions in the same month of the growing season increases, inter-market price dispersion declines. Positive NDVI shocks, however, do not mirror this pattern in terms of the magnitude of inter-market price divergence. Market integration is also found to be linked to vegetation index outcomes as below (above) average NDVI outcomes result in more integrated (segmented) markets. Climate change and food security policies and interventions should be guided by these findings and account for dynamic relationships among market structures and vegetation production outcomes.

Marketing Norm Perception Among Medical Representatives in Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

PubMed Central

Nagashekhara, Molugulu; Agil, Syed Omar Syed; Ramasamy, Ravindran

2012-01-01

Study of marketing norm perception among medical representatives is an under-portrayed component that deserves further perusal in the pharmaceutical industry. The purpose of this study is to find out the perception of marketing norms among medical representatives. The research design is quantitative and cross sectional study with medical representatives as unit of analysis. Data is collected from medical representatives (n=300) using a simple random and cluster sampling using a structured questionnaire. Results indicate that there is no difference in the perception of marketing norms among male and female medical representatives. But there is a difference in opinion among domestic and multinational company’s medical representatives. Educational back ground of medical representatives also shows the difference in opinion among medical representatives. Degree holders and multinational company medical representatives have high perception of marketing norms compare to their counterparts. The researchers strongly believe that mandatory training on marketing norms is beneficial in decision making process during the dilemmas in the sales field. PMID:24826035

Fractal markets: Liquidity and investors on different time horizons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Da-Ye; Nishimura, Yusaku; Men, Ming

2014-08-01

In this paper, we propose a new agent-based model to study the source of liquidity and the “emergent” phenomenon in financial market with fractal structure. The model rests on fractal market hypothesis and agents with different time horizons of investments. What is interesting is that though the agent-based model reveals that the interaction between these heterogeneous agents affects the stability and liquidity of the financial market the real world market lacks detailed data to bring it to light since it is difficult to identify and distinguish the investors with different time horizons in the empirical approach. results show that in a relatively short period of time fractal market provides liquidity from investors with different horizons and the market gains stability when the market structure changes from uniformity to diversification. In the real world the fractal structure with the finite of horizons can only stabilize the market within limits. With the finite maximum horizons, the greater diversity of the investors and the fractal structure will not necessarily bring more stability to the market which might come with greater fluctuation in large time scale.

Labor Markets: Segments and Shelters. Conservation of Human Resources Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freedman, Marcia; Maclachlan, Gretchen

Utilizing Federal census data from 1960 and 1970, this study provides (1) an overview of the job structure of the entire American economy as of 1970, by arranging the jobs in a new occupational-industrial matrix and ranking them in terms of average annual earnings; and (2) an analysis of the structural factors that distinguish the better from the…

Spatial transferring of ecosystem services and property rights allocation of ecological compensation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Wujun; Xu, Geng; Wang, Xingjie

2011-09-01

Ecological compensation is an important means to maintain the sustainability and stability of ecosystem services. The property rights analysis of ecosystem services is indispensable when we implement ecological compensation. In this paper, ecosystem services are evaluated via spatial transferring and property rights analysis. Take the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) as an example, we attempt to classify the spatial structure of 31 categories of ecosystem services into four dimensions, i.e., local, regional, national and global ones, and divide the property rights structure into three types, i.e., private property rights, common property rights and state-owned property rights. Through the case study of forestry, farming industry, drainage area, development of mineral resources, nature reserves, functional areas, agricultural land expropriation, and international cooperation on ecological compensation, the feasible ecological compensation mechanism is illustrated under the spatial structure and property rights structure of the concerned ecosystem services. For private property rights, the ecological compensation mode mainly depends on the market mechanism. If the initial common property rights are "hidden," the implementation of ecological compensation mainly relies on the quota market transactions and the state investment under the state-owned property rights, and the fairness of property rights is thereby guaranteed through central administration.

Market-based control strategy for long-span structures considering the multi-time delay issue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hongnan; Song, Jianzhu; Li, Gang

2017-01-01

To solve the different time delays that exist in the control device installed on spatial structures, in this study, discrete analysis using a 2 N precise algorithm was selected to solve the multi-time-delay issue for long-span structures based on the market-based control (MBC) method. The concept of interval mixed energy was introduced from computational structural mechanics and optimal control research areas, and it translates the design of the MBC multi-time-delay controller into a solution for the segment matrix. This approach transforms the serial algorithm in time to parallel computing in space, greatly improving the solving efficiency and numerical stability. The designed controller is able to consider the issue of time delay with a linear controlling force combination and is especially effective for large time-delay conditions. A numerical example of a long-span structure was selected to demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented controller, and the time delay was found to have a significant impact on the results.

Long-range memory and multifractality in gold markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mali, Provash; Mukhopadhyay, Amitabha

2015-03-01

Long-range correlation and fluctuation in the gold market time series of the world's two leading gold consuming countries, namely China and India, are studied. For both the market series during the period 1985-2013 we observe a long-range persistence of memory in the sequences of maxima (minima) of returns in successive time windows of fixed length, but the series, as a whole, are found to be uncorrelated. Multifractal analysis for these series as well as for the sequences of maxima (minima) is carried out in terms of the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA) method. We observe a weak multifractal structure for the original series that mainly originates from the fat-tailed probability distribution function of the values, and the multifractal nature of the original time series is enriched into their sequences of maximal (minimal) returns. A quantitative measure of multifractality is provided by using a set of ‘complexity parameters’.

Oligopolistic competition in wholesale electricity markets: Large-scale simulation and policy analysis using complementarity models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Helman, E. Udi

This dissertation conducts research into the large-scale simulation of oligopolistic competition in wholesale electricity markets. The dissertation has two parts. Part I is an examination of the structure and properties of several spatial, or network, equilibrium models of oligopolistic electricity markets formulated as mixed linear complementarity problems (LCP). Part II is a large-scale application of such models to the electricity system that encompasses most of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, the Eastern Interconnection. Part I consists of Chapters 1 to 6. The models developed in this part continue research into mixed LCP models of oligopolistic electricity markets initiated by Hobbs [67] and subsequently developed by Metzler [87] and Metzler, Hobbs and Pang [88]. Hobbs' central contribution is a network market model with Cournot competition in generation and a price-taking spatial arbitrage firm that eliminates spatial price discrimination by the Cournot firms. In one variant, the solution to this model is shown to be equivalent to the "no arbitrage" condition in a "pool" market, in which a Regional Transmission Operator optimizes spot sales such that the congestion price between two locations is exactly equivalent to the difference in the energy prices at those locations (commonly known as locational marginal pricing). Extensions to this model are presented in Chapters 5 and 6. One of these is a market model with a profit-maximizing arbitrage firm. This model is structured as a mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC), but due to the linearity of its constraints, can be solved as a mixed LCP. Part II consists of Chapters 7 to 12. The core of these chapters is a large-scale simulation of the U.S. Eastern Interconnection applying one of the Cournot competition with arbitrage models. This is the first oligopolistic equilibrium market model to encompass the full Eastern Interconnection with a realistic network representation (using a DC load flow approximation). Chapter 9 shows the price results. In contrast to prior market power simulations of these markets, much greater variability in price-cost margins is found when using a realistic model of hourly conditions on such a large network. Chapter 10 shows that the conventional concentration indices (HHIs) are poorly correlated with PCMs. Finally, Chapter 11 proposes that the simulation models are applied to merger analysis and provides two large-scale merger examples. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Bank-firm credit network in Japan: an analysis of a bipartite network.

PubMed

Marotta, Luca; Miccichè, Salvatore; Fujiwara, Yoshi; Iyetomi, Hiroshi; Aoyama, Hideaki; Gallegati, Mauro; Mantegna, Rosario N

2015-01-01

We investigate the networked nature of the Japanese credit market. Our investigation is performed with tools of network science. In our investigation we perform community detection with an algorithm which is identifying communities composed of both banks and firms. We show that the communities obtained by directly working on the bipartite network carry information about the networked nature of the Japanese credit market. Our analysis is performed for each calendar year during the time period from 1980 to 2011. To investigate the time evolution of the networked structure of the credit market we introduce a new statistical method to track the time evolution of detected communities. We then characterize the time evolution of communities by detecting for each time evolving set of communities the over-expression of attributes of firms and banks. Specifically, we consider as attributes the economic sector and the geographical location of firms and the type of banks. In our 32-year-long analysis we detect a persistence of the over-expression of attributes of communities of banks and firms together with a slow dynamic of changes from some specific attributes to new ones. Our empirical observations show that the credit market in Japan is a networked market where the type of banks, geographical location of firms and banks, and economic sector of the firm play a role in shaping the credit relationships between banks and firms.

Bank-Firm Credit Network in Japan: An Analysis of a Bipartite Network

PubMed Central

Marotta, Luca; Miccichè, Salvatore; Fujiwara, Yoshi; Iyetomi, Hiroshi; Aoyama, Hideaki; Gallegati, Mauro; Mantegna, Rosario N.

2015-01-01

We investigate the networked nature of the Japanese credit market. Our investigation is performed with tools of network science. In our investigation we perform community detection with an algorithm which is identifying communities composed of both banks and firms. We show that the communities obtained by directly working on the bipartite network carry information about the networked nature of the Japanese credit market. Our analysis is performed for each calendar year during the time period from 1980 to 2011. To investigate the time evolution of the networked structure of the credit market we introduce a new statistical method to track the time evolution of detected communities. We then characterize the time evolution of communities by detecting for each time evolving set of communities the over-expression of attributes of firms and banks. Specifically, we consider as attributes the economic sector and the geographical location of firms and the type of banks. In our 32-year-long analysis we detect a persistence of the over-expression of attributes of communities of banks and firms together with a slow dynamic of changes from some specific attributes to new ones. Our empirical observations show that the credit market in Japan is a networked market where the type of banks, geographical location of firms and banks, and economic sector of the firm play a role in shaping the credit relationships between banks and firms. PMID:25933413

The Evolving Market Structure of the U.S. Residential Solar PV Installation Industry, 2000-2016

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

OShaughnessy, Eric J

Market structure refers to the number of firms and the distribution of market shares among firms within an industry. In The Evolving Market Structure of the U.S. Residential Solar PV Installation Industry, 2000-2016, we examine market structure in the context of residential solar PV. We find that over 8,000 companies have installed at least one residential PV system, with about 2,900 companies active in 2016. The majority of residential PV installers are relatively small companies, with about half of installers installing fewer than five systems. At the same time, a subset of high-volume installers accumulated market share, especially beginning aroundmore » 2010 with the emergence of alternative customer financing options.« less

Analysis of network clustering behavior of the Chinese stock market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Huan; Mai, Yong; Li, Sai-Ping

2014-11-01

Random Matrix Theory (RMT) and the decomposition of correlation matrix method are employed to analyze spatial structure of stocks interactions and collective behavior in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets in China. The result shows that there exists prominent sector structures, with subsectors including the Real Estate (RE), Commercial Banks (CB), Pharmaceuticals (PH), Distillers&Vintners (DV) and Steel (ST) industries. Furthermore, the RE and CB subsectors are mostly anti-correlated. We further study the temporal behavior of the dataset and find that while the sector structures are relatively stable from 2007 through 2013, the correlation between the real estate and commercial bank stocks shows large variations. By employing the ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) method, we show that this anti-correlation behavior is closely related to the monetary and austerity policies of the Chinese government during the period of study.

Structural Evolutions of STOCK Markets Controlled by Generalized Entropy Principles of Complex Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yi Jiao; Feng, Qing Yi; Chai, Li He

As one of the most important financial markets and one of the main parts of economic system, the stock market has become the research focus in economics. The stock market is a typical complex open system far from equilibrium. Many available models that make huge contribution to researches on market are strong in describing the market however, ignoring strong nonlinear interactions among active agents and weak in reveal underlying dynamic mechanisms of structural evolutions of market. From econophysical perspectives, this paper analyzes the complex interactions among agents and defines the generalized entropy in stock markets. Nonlinear evolutionary dynamic equation for the stock markets is then derived from Maximum Generalized Entropy Principle. Simulations are accordingly conducted for a typical case with the given data, by which the structural evolution of the stock market system is demonstrated. Some discussions and implications are finally provided.

Analysis of cross-correlations between financial markets after the 2008 crisis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sensoy, A.; Yuksel, S.; Erturk, M.

2013-10-01

We analyze the cross-correlation matrix C of the index returns of the main financial markets after the 2008 crisis using methods of random matrix theory. We test the eigenvalues of C for universal properties of random matrices and find that the majority of the cross-correlation coefficients arise from randomness. We show that the eigenvector of the largest deviating eigenvalue of C represents a global market itself. We reveal that high volatility of financial markets is observed at the same times with high correlations between them which lowers the risk diversification potential even if one constructs a widely internationally diversified portfolio of stocks. We identify and compare the connection and cluster structure of markets before and after the crisis using minimal spanning and ultrametric hierarchical trees. We find that after the crisis, the co-movement degree of the markets increases. We also highlight the key financial markets of pre and post crisis using main centrality measures and analyze the changes. We repeat the study using rank correlation and compare the differences. Further implications are discussed.

Evidence of fueling of the 2000 new economy bubble by foreign capital inflow: implications for the future of the US economy and its stock market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sornette, Didier; Zhou, Wei-Xing

2004-02-01

Previous analyses of a large ensemble of stock markets have demonstrated that a log-periodic power law (LPPL) behavior of the prices constitutes a qualifying signature of speculative bubbles that often land with a crash. We detect such a LPPL signature in the foreign capital inflow during the bubble on the US markets culminating in March 2000. We detect a weak synchronization and lag with the NASDAQ LPPL pattern. We propose to rationalize these observations by the existence of positive feedback loops between market-appreciation/increased-spending/increased-deficit-of-balance-of-payment/larger-foreign-surplus/increased-foreign-capital-inflows and so on. Our analysis suggests that foreign capital inflow has been following rather than causing the bubble. We then combine a macroeconomic analysis of feedback processes occurring between the economy and the stock market with a technical analysis of more than 200 years of the DJIA to investigate possible scenarios for the future, three years after the end of the bubble and deep into a bearish regime. We conclude that the low interest rates and depreciating dollar are the indispensable ingredients for a lower sustainable burden of the global US debt structure and for allowing the slow rebuilding of an internationally competitive economy. This will probably be accompanied by a weak stock market on the medium term as the growing Federal deficit is consuming a large part of the foreign surplus dollars and the stock market is remaining a very risky and unattractive investment. Notwithstanding strong surge of liquidity in recent months orchestrated by the Federal Reserve, this macroeconomic analysis which incorporates an element of collective behavior is in line with our recent analyses of the bearish market that started in 2000 in terms of a LPPL “anti-bubble”. We project this LPPL anti-bubble to continue at least for another year. On the short term, increased availability of liquidity (M1) and self-fulfilling bullish anticipations may hold the stock market for a while.

Quantitative model of price diffusion and market friction based on trading as a mechanistic random process.

PubMed

Daniels, Marcus G; Farmer, J Doyne; Gillemot, László; Iori, Giulia; Smith, Eric

2003-03-14

We model trading and price formation in a market under the assumption that order arrival and cancellations are Poisson random processes. This model makes testable predictions for the most basic properties of markets, such as the diffusion rate of prices (which is the standard measure of financial risk) and the spread and price impact functions (which are the main determinants of transaction cost). Guided by dimensional analysis, simulation, and mean-field theory, we find scaling relations in terms of order flow rates. We show that even under completely random order flow the need to store supply and demand to facilitate trading induces anomalous diffusion and temporal structure in prices.

Quantitative Model of Price Diffusion and Market Friction Based on Trading as a Mechanistic Random Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daniels, Marcus G.; Farmer, J. Doyne; Gillemot, László; Iori, Giulia; Smith, Eric

2003-03-01

We model trading and price formation in a market under the assumption that order arrival and cancellations are Poisson random processes. This model makes testable predictions for the most basic properties of markets, such as the diffusion rate of prices (which is the standard measure of financial risk) and the spread and price impact functions (which are the main determinants of transaction cost). Guided by dimensional analysis, simulation, and mean-field theory, we find scaling relations in terms of order flow rates. We show that even under completely random order flow the need to store supply and demand to facilitate trading induces anomalous diffusion and temporal structure in prices.

Determinants of Market Structure and the Airline Industry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Raduchel, W.

1972-01-01

The general economic determinants of market structure are outlined with special reference to the airline industry. Included are the following facets: absolute size of firms; distributions of firms by size; concentration; entry barriers; product and service differentiation; diversification; degrees of competition; vertical integration; market boundaries; and economies of scale. Also examined are the static and dynamic properties of market structure in terms of mergers, government policies, and economic growth conditions.

How Have Health Insurers Performed Financially Under the ACA' Market Rules?

PubMed

McCue, Michael J; Hall, Mark A

2017-10-01

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) transformed the market for individual health insurance, so it is not surprising that insurers' transition was not entirely smooth. Insurers, with no previous experience under these market conditions, were uncertain how to price their products. As a result, they incurred significant losses. Based on this experience, some insurers have decided to leave the ACA’s subsidized market, although others appear to be thriving. Examine the financial performance of health insurers selling through the ACA's marketplace exchanges in 2015--the market’s most difficult year to date. Analysis of financial data for 2015 reported by insurers from 48 states and D.C. to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Although health insurers were profitable across all lines of business, they suffered a 10 percent loss in 2015 on their health plans sold through the ACA's exchanges. The top quarter of the ACA exchange market was comfortably profitable, while the bottom quarter did much worse than the ACA market average. This indicates that some insurers were able to adapt to the ACA's new market rules much better than others, suggesting the ACA's new market structure is sustainable, if supported properly by administrative policy.

An analysis of long and medium-haul air passenger demand, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eriksen, S. E.

1978-01-01

A basic model was developed which is a two equation pair econometric system in which air passenger demand and airline level-of-service are the endogenous variables. The model aims to identify the relationship between each of these two variables and its determining factors, and to identify the interaction of demand and level-of-service with each other. The selected variable for the measure of air passenger traffic activity in a given pair market is defined as the number of passengers in a given time that originate in one region and fly to the other region for purposes other than to make a connection to a third region. For medium and long haul markets, the model seems to perform better for larger markets. This is due to a specification problem regarding the route structure variable. In larger markets, a greater percentage of nonlocal passengers are accounted for by this variable. Comparing the estimated fare elasticities of long and medium haul markets, it appears that air transportation demand is more price elastic in longer haul markets. Long haul markets demand will saturate with a fewer number of departures than will demand in medium haul markets.

Multifractal property of Chinese stock market in the CSI 800 index based on MF-DFA approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Huijian; Zhang, Weiguo

2018-01-01

CSI 800 index consists of CSI 500 index and CSI 300 index, aiming to reflect the performance of stocks with large, mid and small size of China A share market. In this paper we analyze the multifractal structure of Chinese stock market in the CSI 800 index based on the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA) method. We find that the fluctuation of the closing logarithmic returns have multifractal properties, the shape and width of multifractal spectrum are depended on the weighing order q. More interestingly, we observe a bigger market crash in June-August 2015 than the one in 2008 based on the local Hurst exponents. The result provides important information for further study on dynamic mechanism of return fluctuation and whether it would trigger a new financial crisis.

Supersonic Cruise Research 1979, part 2. [airframe structures and materials, systems integration, economic analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

Advances in airframe structure and materials technology for supersonic cruise aircraft are reported with emphasis on titanium and composite structures. The operation of the Concorde is examined as a baseline for projections into the future. A market survey of U.S. passenger attitudes and preferences, the impact of advanced air transport technology and the integration of systems for the advanced SST and for a smaller research/business jet vehicle are also discussed.

Reference pricing system and competition: case study from Portugal.

PubMed

Portela, Conceiçăo

2009-10-01

To characterize the patterns of competition for a sample of drugs in the Portuguese pharmaceutical market before (January 2002-March 2003) and after (April 2003-June 2003) the introduction of the reference pricing system (RPS). We performed a descriptive, retrospective, longitudinal analysis, with monthly observations from January 2002 until June 2003 of 15 homogeneous groups. The groups represented the upper limit of public pharmaceutical expenditure in the RPS segment in 2003 (n=270). Measures of competition were: 1) number of presentations; 2) prescriptions' concentration in the generic and originator (brand) segments, using Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI); and 3) dominant positions of market leader in the homogeneous group. A correlation analysis between the number of presentations, the HHI, and the dominant position of the market leader was performed using Pearson coefficient of correlation. The structure of the market changed with the introduction of RPS. We found an increasing number of generic presentations (from 4+/-3 to 7+/-4; mean+/-standard deviation) and a decrease in the HHI for the generics market segment (from 0.7+/-0.2 to 0.6+/-0.3). There was a negative correlation between those variables that increased after the introduction of RPS (from -0.6 to -0.8). The HHI for brands and the dominant positions remained unchanged. After the implementation of RPS, the increased competition was mainly driven by economic and social agents in the generics market segment but not in the brands market segment.

Alliance Building in the Information and Online Database Industry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alexander, Johanna Olson

2001-01-01

Presents an analysis of information industry alliance formation using environmental scanning methods. Highlights include why libraries and academic institutions should be interested; a literature review; historical context; industry and market structures; commercial and academic models; trends; and implications for information providers,…

From the 2008 to the 2014 Crisis: Response of the Labor Market of Russia's Largest Cities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khmeleva, Galina A.; Bulavko, Olga A.

2016-01-01

The model of shift share analysis was improved to show that the foundation of economy's transition to industrially innovational type of development is created at the local level in case of developing countries. Analysis of structural shifts in 28 large cities in 2008-2014 showed that the perspective of industrially innovational development is yet…

Photovoltaic technology for sustainability: An investigation of the distributed utility concept as a policy framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Letendre, Steven Emery

The U.S. electric utility sector in its current configuration is unsustainable. The majority of electricity in the United States is produced using finite fossil fuels. In addition, significant potential exists to improve the nation's efficient use of energy. A sustainable electric utility sector will be characterized by increased use of renewable energy sources and high levels of end-use efficiency. This dissertation analyzes two alternative policy approaches designed to move the U.S. electric utility sector toward sustainability. One approach is labeled incremental which involves maintaining the centralized structure of the electric utility sector but facilitating the introduction of renewable energy and efficiency into the electrical system through the pricing mechanism. A second policy approach was described in which structural changes are encouraged based on the emerging distributed utility (DU) concept. A structural policy orientation attempts to capture the unique localized benefits that distributed renewable resources and energy efficiency offer to electric utility companies and their customers. A market penetration analysis of PV in centralized energy supply and distributed peak-shaving applications is conducted for a case-study electric utility company. Sensitivity analysis was performed based on incremental and structural policy orientations. The analysis provides compelling evidence which suggests that policies designed to bring about structural change in the electric utility sector are needed to move the industry toward sustainability. Specifically, the analysis demonstrates that PV technology, a key renewable energy option likely to play an important role in a renewable energy future, will begin to penetrate the electrical system in distributed peak-shaving applications long before the technology is introduced as a centralized energy supply option. Most policies to date, which I term incremental, attempt to encourage energy efficiency and renewables through the pricing system. Based on past policy experience, it is unlikely that such an approach would allow PV to compete in Delaware as an energy supply option in the next ten to twenty years. Alternatively, a market-based, or green pricing, approach will not create significant market opportunities for PV as a centralized energy supply option. However, structural policies designed to encourage the explicit recognition of the localized benefits of distributed resources could result in PV being introduced into the electrical system early in the next century.

Correlation filtering in financial time series (Invited Paper)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aste, T.; Di Matteo, Tiziana; Tumminello, M.; Mantegna, R. N.

2005-05-01

We apply a method to filter relevant information from the correlation coefficient matrix by extracting a network of relevant interactions. This method succeeds to generate networks with the same hierarchical structure of the Minimum Spanning Tree but containing a larger amount of links resulting in a richer network topology allowing loops and cliques. In Tumminello et al.,1 we have shown that this method, applied to a financial portfolio of 100 stocks in the USA equity markets, is pretty efficient in filtering relevant information about the clustering of the system and its hierarchical structure both on the whole system and within each cluster. In particular, we have found that triangular loops and 4 element cliques have important and significant relations with the market structure and properties. Here we apply this filtering procedure to the analysis of correlation in two different kind of interest rate time series (16 Eurodollars and 34 US interest rates).

Sálvese Quien Pueda: Structural Adjustment and Emigration from Lima

PubMed Central

MASSEY, DOUGLAS S.; CAPOFERRO, CHIARA

2010-01-01

Beginning in 1987, Peru imposed a regime of structural adjustment to transform its economy along neoliberal lines. This analysis suggests that a shift resulted in the odds of international migration and the motivations for leaving among inhabitants of Peru’s largest labor market. Before 1987, under the regime of import substitution industrialization, jobs at wages capable of sustaining a basic standard of living were widely available; those few who left the country self-selected for higher human capital and moved abroad to improve their earnings. Under neoliberalism, however, both employment and wages fell to levels that made it difficult for families to sustain themselves. In response, households—with the assistance of friends and relatives with foreign experience—diversified their labor portfolios away from the local job market structural adjustment zones. The number of migrants then rose, the diversity of foreign destinations increased, and migration became less selective with respect to human capital. PMID:20824152

Multifractal analysis of Asian markets during 2007-2008 financial crisis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasan, Rashid; Mohammad, Salim M.

2015-02-01

2007-2008 US financial crisis adversely affected the stock markets all over the world. Asian markets also came under pressure and were differently affected. As markets under stress could reveal features that remain hidden under normal conditions, we use MF-DFA technique to investigate the multifractal structure of the US and seven Asian stock markets during the crisis period. The overall period of study, from 01 July 2002 to 31 December 2013, is divided into three sub-periods: pre-crisis period, crisis period and post-crisis period. We find during the crisis period markets of the US, Japan, Hong Kong, S. Korea and Indonesia show very strong non-linearity for positive values of the moment q. We calculate the singularity spectra, f(α) for the three sub-periods for all markets. During the crisis period, we observe that the peaks of the f(α) spectra shift to lower values of α and markets of the US, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Indonesia exhibit increased long range correlations of large fluctuations in index returns. We also study the impact of the crisis on the power law exponent in the tail region of the cumulative return distribution and find that by excluding the crisis period from the overall data sets, the tail exponent increases across all markets.

Nonlinear analysis and dynamic structure in the energy market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aghababa, Hajar

This research assesses the dynamic structure of the energy sector of the aggregate economy in the context of nonlinear mechanisms. Earlier studies have focused mainly on the price of the energy products when detecting nonlinearities in time series data of the energy market, and there is little mention of the production side of the market. Moreover, there is a lack of exploration about the implication of high dimensionality and time aggregation when analyzing the market's fundamentals. This research will address these gaps by including the quantity side of the market in addition to the price and by systematically incorporating various frequencies for sample sizes in three essays. The goal of this research is to provide an inclusive and exhaustive examination of the dynamics in the energy markets. The first essay begins with the application of statistical techniques, and it incorporates the most well-known univariate tests for nonlinearity with distinct power functions over alternatives and tests different null hypotheses. It utilizes the daily spot price observations on five major products in the energy market. The results suggest that the time series daily spot prices of the energy products are highly nonlinear in their nature. They demonstrate apparent evidence of general nonlinear serial dependence in each individual series, as well as nonlinearity in the first, second, and third moments of the series. The second essay examines the underlying mechanism of crude oil production and identifies the nonlinear structure of the production market by utilizing various monthly time series observations of crude oil production: the U.S. field, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), non-OPEC, and the world production of crude oil. The finding implies that the time series data of the U.S. field, OPEC, and the world production of crude oil exhibit deep nonlinearity in their structure and are generated by nonlinear mechanisms. However, the dynamics of the non-OPEC production time series data does not reveal signs of nonlinearity. The third essay explores nonlinear structure in the case of high dimensionality of the observations, different frequencies of sample sizes, and division of the samples into sub-samples. It systematically examines the robustness of the inference methods at various levels of time aggregation by employing daily spot prices on crude oil for 26 years as well as monthly spot price index on crude oil for 41 years. The daily and monthly samples are divided into sub-samples as well. All the tests detect strong evidence of nonlinear structure in the daily spot price of crude oil; whereas in monthly observations the evidence of nonlinear dependence is less dramatic, indicating that the nonlinear serial dependence will not be as intense when the time aggregation increase in time series observations.

Mesoscopic Community Structure of Financial Markets Revealed by Price and Sign Fluctuations.

PubMed

Almog, Assaf; Besamusca, Ferry; MacMahon, Mel; Garlaschelli, Diego

2015-01-01

The mesoscopic organization of complex systems, from financial markets to the brain, is an intermediate between the microscopic dynamics of individual units (stocks or neurons, in the mentioned cases), and the macroscopic dynamics of the system as a whole. The organization is determined by "communities" of units whose dynamics, represented by time series of activity, is more strongly correlated internally than with the rest of the system. Recent studies have shown that the binary projections of various financial and neural time series exhibit nontrivial dynamical features that resemble those of the original data. This implies that a significant piece of information is encoded into the binary projection (i.e. the sign) of such increments. Here, we explore whether the binary signatures of multiple time series can replicate the same complex community organization of the financial market, as the original weighted time series. We adopt a method that has been specifically designed to detect communities from cross-correlation matrices of time series data. Our analysis shows that the simpler binary representation leads to a community structure that is almost identical with that obtained using the full weighted representation. These results confirm that binary projections of financial time series contain significant structural information.

Time-localized wavelet multiple regression and correlation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernández-Macho, Javier

2018-02-01

This paper extends wavelet methodology to handle comovement dynamics of multivariate time series via moving weighted regression on wavelet coefficients. The concept of wavelet local multiple correlation is used to produce one single set of multiscale correlations along time, in contrast with the large number of wavelet correlation maps that need to be compared when using standard pairwise wavelet correlations with rolling windows. Also, the spectral properties of weight functions are investigated and it is argued that some common time windows, such as the usual rectangular rolling window, are not satisfactory on these grounds. The method is illustrated with a multiscale analysis of the comovements of Eurozone stock markets during this century. It is shown how the evolution of the correlation structure in these markets has been far from homogeneous both along time and across timescales featuring an acute divide across timescales at about the quarterly scale. At longer scales, evidence from the long-term correlation structure can be interpreted as stable perfect integration among Euro stock markets. On the other hand, at intramonth and intraweek scales, the short-term correlation structure has been clearly evolving along time, experiencing a sharp increase during financial crises which may be interpreted as evidence of financial 'contagion'.

Modular organization and hospital performance.

PubMed

Kuntz, Ludwig; Vera, Antonio

2007-02-01

The concept of modularization represents a modern form of organization, which contains the vertical disaggregation of the firm and the use of market mechanisms within hierarchies. The objective of this paper is to examine whether the use of modular structures has a positive effect on hospital performance. The empirical section makes use of multiple regression analyses and leads to the main result that modularization does not have a positive effect on hospital performance. However, the analysis also finds out positive efficiency effects of two central ideas of modularization, namely process orientation and internal market mechanisms.

An Analysis of the Factors Generating the Variance Between the Budgeted and Actual Operating Results of the Naval Aviation Depot at North Island, California

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

management structure employs free- market system principles and encourages business-like processes that are mission driven. Since no operating funds are...variable (Potvin, 2007). 2. Unit Cost Goal NWCFs use the unit cost goal ( UCG ) for planning purposes. The UCG is an estimate of what a unit of product...mission 6. Will not interfere with depot performance This section opens the depot to the private market . 53 Chapter 159 – Real Property

Leisure Today--Managing Leisure Services.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edginton, Christopher R., Ed.; And Others

1982-01-01

A series of 12 articles on managing leisure services focuses on the aspects of: (1) cooperative goal structuring; (2) management by objectives; (3) designing organizational charts; (4) labor relations; (5) cost effectiveness analysis; (6) fund accounting; (7) employee selection; (8) developing a marketing strategy; and (9) equitable distribution…

Strategic relatedness in mergers and financial performance: the case of the health maintenance organization industry in the United States.

PubMed

Weech-Maldonado, Robert

2002-11-01

Knowledge and identification of strategic factors associated with favourable post-acquisition performance can be of benefit to both managers and shareholders. From a management perspective, the identification of contextual factors that can influence postmerger performance is 'strategic' in nature, and should be considered in the analysis of future acquisitions. Within the context of the health maintenance organization (HMO) industry, this study examines the impact of strategic relatedness on postmerger financial performance. Strategic relatedness is conceptualized as similarity between the acquirer and target HMOs in terms of operational efficiency, marketing orientation, organizational structure and profit orientation. Regression analysis showed that similarity in operational efficiency and similarity in HMO structure were associated with better postmerger financial performance. However, marketing orientation similarity and profit orientation similarity were not significantly related to postmerger performance. This finding suggests that HMO mergers involving firms with similar strategic orientations and similar approaches to the delivery of care have greater strategic fit and experience better financial performance.

Network analysis of a financial market based on genuine correlation and threshold method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Namaki, A.; Shirazi, A. H.; Raei, R.; Jafari, G. R.

2011-10-01

A financial market is an example of an adaptive complex network consisting of many interacting units. This network reflects market’s behavior. In this paper, we use Random Matrix Theory (RMT) notion for specifying the largest eigenvector of correlation matrix as the market mode of stock network. For a better risk management, we clean the correlation matrix by removing the market mode from data and then construct this matrix based on the residuals. We show that this technique has an important effect on correlation coefficient distribution by applying it for Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). To study the topological structure of a network we apply the removing market mode technique and the threshold method to Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) as an example. We show that this network follows a power-law model in certain intervals. We also show the behavior of clustering coefficients and component numbers of this network for different thresholds. These outputs are useful for both theoretical and practical purposes such as asset allocation and risk management.

Dentistry as a free market in the context of leading policymaking.

PubMed

Franzon, Bengt; Englander, Magnus; Axtelius, Björn; Klinge, Björn

2018-12-01

The purpose of this study was to disclose the psychological meaning structure of dentistry as a free market within the context of leading Swedish policymaking. Following the criteria for the descriptive phenomenological psychological method data was collected from leading policy makers about the experiential aspects of dentistry as a free market within the context of a welfare state. The analysis showed that dentistry as a free market was experienced as a complex business relationship between buyers and sellers that transcended the traditional dentist and patient roles. The lived experience of the proposed business transaction was based on two inherently conflicting views: the belief in the individual's ability to make a free choice versus the understanding that all individuals in a society do not have the ability or the means necessary to make a free choice. Dentistry as a free market within a welfare state, such as Sweden, can thus be seen as a persistent attempt to hold on to a compromise between two very distinctive political ideologies.

Dentistry as a free market in the context of leading policymaking

PubMed Central

Franzon, Bengt; Englander, Magnus; Axtelius, Björn

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to disclose the psychological meaning structure of dentistry as a free market within the context of leading Swedish policymaking. Following the criteria for the descriptive phenomenological psychological method data was collected from leading policy makers about the experiential aspects of dentistry as a free market within the context of a welfare state. The analysis showed that dentistry as a free market was experienced as a complex business relationship between buyers and sellers that transcended the traditional dentist and patient roles. The lived experience of the proposed business transaction was based on two inherently conflicting views: the belief in the individual’s ability to make a free choice versus the understanding that all individuals in a society do not have the ability or the means necessary to make a free choice. Dentistry as a free market within a welfare state, such as Sweden, can thus be seen as a persistent attempt to hold on to a compromise between two very distinctive political ideologies. PMID:29912654

SMOKE ’EM IF YOU GOT ’EM: CIGARETTE BLACK MARKETS IN U.S. PRISONS AND JAILS

PubMed Central

LANKENAU, STEPHEN E.

2007-01-01

Since the mid-1980s, cigarette-smoking policies have become increasingly restrictive in jails and prisons across the United States. Cigarette black markets of various form and scale often emerge in jails and prisons where tobacco is prohibited or banned. Case studies of 16 jails and prisons were undertaken to understand the effects of cigarette bans versus restrictions on inmate culture and prison economies. This study describes how bans can transform largely benign cigarette “gray markets,” where cigarettes are used as a currency, into more problematic black markets, where cigarettes are a highly priced commodity. Analysis points to several structural factors that affected the development of cigarette black markets in the visited facilities: the architectural design, inmate movement inside and outside, officer involvement in smuggling cigarettes to inmates, and officer vigilance in enforcing the smoking policy. Although these factors affect the influx of other types of contraband into correctional facilities, such as illegal drugs, this study argues that the demand and availability of cigarettes creates a unique kind of black market. PMID:18064295

[Structure of nurse labor market and determinants of hospital nurse staffing levels].

PubMed

Park, Bohyun; Seo, Sukyung; Lee, Taejin

2013-02-01

To analyze the structure of Korean nurse labor market and examine its effect on hospital nurse staffing. Secondary data were obtained from Statistics Korea, Education Statistics, and Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service and Patient Survey. Intensity of monopsony in the nurse labor market was measured by Herfindahl Hirshman Index (HHI). Hospital nurse staffing level was divided into high and low. While controlling for confounding factors such as inpatient days and severity mix of patients, effects of characteristics of nurse labor markets on nurse staffing levels were examined using multi-level logistic regressions. For characteristics of nurse labor markets, metropolitan areas had high intensity of monopsony, while the capital area had competitive labor market and the unemployed nurse rate was higher than other areas. Among hospital characteristics, bed occupancy rate was significantly associated with nurse staffing levels. Among characteristics of nurse labor markets, the effect of HHI was indeterminable. The Korean nurse labor market has different structure between the capital and other metropolitan areas. But the effect of the structure of nurse labor market on nurse staffing levels is indeterminable. Characteristics such as occupancy rate and number of beds are significantly associated with nurse staffing levels. Further study in support of the effect of nurse labor market is needed.

Impact of Stock Market Structure on Intertrade Time and Price Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuen, Ainslie; Ivanov, Plamen Ch.

2005-08-01

The NYSE and NASDAQ stock markets have very different structures and there is continuing controversy over whether differences in stock price behaviour are due to market structure or company characteristics. As the influence of market structure on stock prices may be obscured by exogenous factors such as demand and supply, we hypothesize that modulation of the flow of transactions due to market operations may carry a stronger imprint of the internal market mechanism. We analyse times between consecutive transactions (ITT) for NYSE and NASDAQ stocks, and we relate the dynamical properties of the ITT with those of the corresponding price fluctuations. We find a robust scale-invariant temporal organisation in the ITT of stocks which is independent of individual company characteristics and industry sector, but which depends on market structure. We find that stocks registered on the NASDAQ exhibit stronger correlations in their transaction timing within a trading day, compared with NYSE stocks. Further, we find that companies that transfer from the NASDAQ to the NYSE show a reduction in the correlation strength of transaction timing within a trading day, after the move, suggesting influences of market structure. Surprisingly, we also observe that stronger power-law correlations in the ITT are coupled with stronger power-law correlations in absolute price returns and higher price volatility, suggesting a strong link between the dynamical properties of ITT and the corresponding price fluctuations over a broad range of time scales. Comparing the NYSE and NASDAQ, we demonstrate that the higher correlations we find in ITT for NASDAQ stocks are matched by higher correlations in absolute price returns and by higher volatility, suggesting that market structure may affect price behaviour through information contained in transaction timing.

Impact of a rural solar electrification project on the level and structure of women’s empowerment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burney, Jennifer; Alaofè, Halimatou; Naylor, Rosamond; Taren, Douglas

2017-09-01

Although development organizations agree that reliable access to energy and energy services—one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals—is likely to have profound and perhaps disproportionate impacts on women, few studies have directly empirically estimated the impact of energy access on women’s empowerment. This is a result of both a relative dearth of energy access evaluations in general and a lack of clarity on how to quantify gender impacts of development projects. Here we present an evaluation of the impacts of the Solar Market Garden—a distributed photovoltaic irrigation project—on the level and structure of women’s empowerment in Benin, West Africa. We use a quasi-experimental design (matched-pair villages) to estimate changes in empowerment for project beneficiaries after one year of Solar Market Garden production relative to non-beneficiaries in both treatment and comparison villages (n = 771). To create an empowerment metric, we constructed a set of general questions based on existing theories of empowerment, and then used latent variable analysis to understand the underlying structure of empowerment locally. We repeated this analysis at follow-up to understand whether the structure of empowerment had changed over time, and then measured changes in both the levels and likelihood of empowerment over time. We show that the Solar Market Garden significantly positively impacted women’s empowerment, particularly through the domain of economic independence. In addition to providing rigorous evidence for the impact of a rural renewable energy project on women’s empowerment, our work lays out a methodology that can be used in the future to benchmark the gender impacts of energy projects.

Hierarchical structure of stock price fluctuations in financial markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Ya-Chun; Cai, Shi-Min; Wang, Bing-Hong

2012-12-01

The financial market and turbulence have been broadly compared on account of the same quantitative methods and several common stylized facts they share. In this paper, the She-Leveque (SL) hierarchy, proposed to explain the anomalous scaling exponents deviating from Kolmogorov monofractal scaling of the velocity fluctuation in fluid turbulence, is applied to study and quantify the hierarchical structure of stock price fluctuations in financial markets. We therefore observed certain interesting results: (i) the hierarchical structure related to multifractal scaling generally presents in all the stock price fluctuations we investigated. (ii) The quantitatively statistical parameters that describe SL hierarchy are different between developed financial markets and emerging ones, distinctively. (iii) For the high-frequency stock price fluctuation, the hierarchical structure varies with different time periods. All these results provide a novel analogy in turbulence and financial market dynamics and an insight to deeply understand multifractality in financial markets.

Nanotechnology in medicine: from inception to market domination.

PubMed

Morigi, Valentina; Tocchio, Alessandro; Bellavite Pellegrini, Carlo; Sakamoto, Jason H; Arnone, Marco; Tasciotti, Ennio

2012-01-01

Born from the marriage of nanotechnology and medicine, nanomedicine is set to bring advantages in the fight against unmet diseases. The field is recognized as a global challenge, and countless worldwide research and business initiatives are in place to obtain a significant market position. However, nanomedicine belongs to those emerging sectors in which business development methods have not been established yet. Open issues include which type of business model best fits these companies and which strategies would lead them to sustained growth. This paper describes the financial and strategic decisions by nanomedicine start-ups to reach the market successfully, obtain a satisfactory market share, and build and maintain a competitive defendable advantage. Walking nanomedicine-product from the hands of the inventor to those of the doctor, we explored the technological transfer process, which connects laboratories or research institutions to the marketplace. The process involves detailed analysis to evaluate the potentials of end-products, and researches to identify market segment, size, structure, and competitors, to ponder a possible market entry and the market share that managers can realistically achieve at different time horizons. Attracting funds is crucial but challenging. However, investors are starting to visualize the potentials of this field, magnetized by the business of "nano."

Multi-Agent Market Modeling of Foreign Exchange Rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zimmermann, Georg; Neuneier, Ralph; Grothmann, Ralph

A market mechanism is basically driven by a superposition of decisions of many agents optimizing their profit. The oeconomic price dynamic is a consequence of the cumulated excess demand/supply created on this micro level. The behavior analysis of a small number of agents is well understood through the game theory. In case of a large number of agents one may use the limiting case that an individual agent does not have an influence on the market, which allows the aggregation of agents by statistic methods. In contrast to this restriction, we can omit the assumption of an atomic market structure, if we model the market through a multi-agent approach. The contribution of the mathematical theory of neural networks to the market price formation is mostly seen on the econometric side: neural networks allow the fitting of high dimensional nonlinear dynamic models. Furthermore, in our opinion, there is a close relationship between economics and the modeling ability of neural networks because a neuron can be interpreted as a simple model of decision making. With this in mind, a neural network models the interaction of many decisions and, hence, can be interpreted as the price formation mechanism of a market.

Gender differences in socioeconomic returns to family migration in Malaysia: the role of family decision making versus labor market stratification.

PubMed

Chattopadhyay, A

2000-01-01

In this article the author examines gender differences in the effect of family migration on socioeconomic attainment in Malaysia. The analysis discerns the relative importance of gender roles in household migration decisions, compared to gender stratification in the labor market. The Malaysian economy has undergone rapid industrialization and great structural changes which have opened up new economic opportunities, particularly for women. Despite the somewhat advantaged position of women compared to men in the Malaysian labor market, the author finds that men experience much greater socioeconomic gains than women from family migration. Hence indicating that family migration decisions in Malaysia, rather than optimizing family gains, compensate for the gender effect in the labor market. However, the gains of Malaysian men are more assured when they move alone. Data for the study come from the second round of the Malaysian Family Life Survey.

Market Analysis for Nondevelopmental Items

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-02-01

A252 287 S-muININu nIn Defense Standardization Program MARKET ANALYSIS FOR NONDEVELOPMENTAL ITEMS February 1992 This do-umcont has bee-n CiPPn*x.,d... market analysis, that task would be much more difficult. This bro- chure proposes a generic approach to market analysis that can be tailored to a wide...Statement A per telecon Greg Saunders OASD(P&L)PR/MM Washington, DC 20301-8000 NWW 6/30/92 Market Analysis for NDI WHY DO MARKET ANALYSIS? The

Modified DFA and DCCA approach for quantifying the multiscale correlation structure of financial markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Yi; Shang, Pengjian

2013-12-01

We use multiscale detrended fluctuation analysis (MSDFA) and multiscale detrended cross-correlation analysis (MSDCCA) to investigate auto-correlation (AC) and cross-correlation (CC) in the US and Chinese stock markets during 1997-2012. The results show that US and Chinese stock indices differ in terms of their multiscale AC structures. Stock indices in the same region also differ with regard to their multiscale AC structures. We analyze AC and CC behaviors among indices for the same region to determine similarity among six stock indices and divide them into four groups accordingly. We choose S&P500, NQCI, HSI, and the Shanghai Composite Index as representative samples for simplicity. MSDFA and MSDCCA results and average MSDFA spectra for local scaling exponents (LSEs) for individual series are presented. We find that the MSDCCA spectrum for LSE CC between two time series generally tends to be greater than the average MSDFA LSE spectrum for individual series. We obtain detailed multiscale structures and relations for CC between the four representatives. MSDFA and MSDCCA with secant rolling windows of different sizes are then applied to reanalyze the AC and CC. Vertical and horizontal comparisons of different window sizes are made. The MSDFA and MSDCCA results for the original window size are confirmed and some new interesting characteristics and conclusions regarding multiscale correlation structures are obtained.

Day-Ahead Crude Oil Price Forecasting Using a Novel Morphological Component Analysis Based Model

PubMed Central

Zhu, Qing; Zou, Yingchao; Lai, Kin Keung

2014-01-01

As a typical nonlinear and dynamic system, the crude oil price movement is difficult to predict and its accurate forecasting remains the subject of intense research activity. Recent empirical evidence suggests that the multiscale data characteristics in the price movement are another important stylized fact. The incorporation of mixture of data characteristics in the time scale domain during the modelling process can lead to significant performance improvement. This paper proposes a novel morphological component analysis based hybrid methodology for modeling the multiscale heterogeneous characteristics of the price movement in the crude oil markets. Empirical studies in two representative benchmark crude oil markets reveal the existence of multiscale heterogeneous microdata structure. The significant performance improvement of the proposed algorithm incorporating the heterogeneous data characteristics, against benchmark random walk, ARMA, and SVR models, is also attributed to the innovative methodology proposed to incorporate this important stylized fact during the modelling process. Meanwhile, work in this paper offers additional insights into the heterogeneous market microstructure with economic viable interpretations. PMID:25061614

Multifractality of stock markets based on cumulative distribution function and multiscale multifractal analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Aijing; Shang, Pengjian

2016-04-01

Considering the diverse application of multifractal techniques in natural scientific disciplines, this work underscores the versatility of multiscale multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MMA) method to investigate artificial and real-world data sets. The modified MMA method based on cumulative distribution function is proposed with the objective of quantifying the scaling exponent and multifractality of nonstationary time series. It is demonstrated that our approach can provide a more stable and faithful description of multifractal properties in comprehensive range rather than fixing the window length and slide length. Our analyzes based on CDF-MMA method reveal significant differences in the multifractal characteristics in the temporal dynamics between US and Chinese stock markets, suggesting that these two stock markets might be regulated by very different mechanism. The CDF-MMA method is important for evidencing the stable and fine structure of multiscale and multifractal scaling behaviors and can be useful to deepen and broaden our understanding of scaling exponents and multifractal characteristics.

A Global Overview of Male Escort Websites.

PubMed

Kumar, Navin; Minichiello, Victor; Scott, John; Harrington, Taylor

2017-01-01

This article details a preliminary dataset of global male escort sites to give insight into the scale of the online market. We conducted a content analysis of 499 Web sites and also measured traffic to these sites. Our analysis examined the structural characteristics of escort services, geographical and regulatory contexts, and resilience of such services. Results suggest that most sites are independent and not affiliated to escort agencies, and the majority cater to male escorts soliciting male clients, with a number of sites for female clientele and couples. These Web sites are dispersed globally, with Asian, European, and South American countries the major hubs in the market and a small number of large multinational sites based in the United States and Europe figuring as a major presence in markets. Although still subject to high levels of regulation in many parts of the world, the data suggest that male escorting is becoming more visible in diverse cultural contexts as measured by the number of Web sites appearing in public spaces.

Evolving dynamics of trading behavior based on coordination game in complex networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bian, Yue-tang; Xu, Lu; Li, Jin-sheng

2016-05-01

This work concerns the modeling of evolvement of trading behavior in stock markets. Based on the assumption of the investors' limited rationality, the evolution mechanism of trading behavior is modeled according to the investment strategy of coordination game in network, that investors are prone to imitate their neighbors' activity through comprehensive analysis on the risk dominance degree of certain investment behavior, the network topology of their relationship and its heterogeneity. We investigate by mean-field analysis and extensive simulations the evolution of investors' trading behavior in various typical networks under different risk dominance degree of investment behavior. Our results indicate that the evolution of investors' behavior is affected by the network structure of stock market and the effect of risk dominance degree of investment behavior; the stability of equilibrium states of investors' behavior dynamics is directly related with the risk dominance degree of some behavior; connectivity and heterogeneity of the network plays an important role in the evolution of the investment behavior in stock market.

Why are you draining your brain? Factors underlying decisions of graduating Lebanese medical students to migrate.

PubMed

Akl, Elie A; Maroun, Nancy; Major, Stella; Afif, Claude; Chahoud, Bechara; Choucair, Jacques; Sakr, Mazen; Schünemann, Holger J

2007-03-01

In the context of a worldwide physician brain drain phenomenon, Lebanon has the highest emigration factor in the Middle East and North Africa. In this manuscript we aim to identify and develop a conceptual framework for the factors underlying the decisions of graduating Lebanese medical students to train abroad. We conducted two focus groups and seven semi-structured individual interviews with 23 students. In the deductive analysis (based on the push-pull theory), students reported push factors in Lebanon and pull factors abroad related to five dimensions. They focused predominantly on how training abroad provides them with a competitive advantage in an oversaturated Lebanese job market. An inductive analysis revealed the following emerging concepts: repel factors abroad and retain factors locally; societal expectations that students should train abroad; marketing of abroad training; and an established culture of migration. The marketing of abroad training and the culture of migration are prevalent in the academic institutions.

Day-ahead crude oil price forecasting using a novel morphological component analysis based model.

PubMed

Zhu, Qing; He, Kaijian; Zou, Yingchao; Lai, Kin Keung

2014-01-01

As a typical nonlinear and dynamic system, the crude oil price movement is difficult to predict and its accurate forecasting remains the subject of intense research activity. Recent empirical evidence suggests that the multiscale data characteristics in the price movement are another important stylized fact. The incorporation of mixture of data characteristics in the time scale domain during the modelling process can lead to significant performance improvement. This paper proposes a novel morphological component analysis based hybrid methodology for modeling the multiscale heterogeneous characteristics of the price movement in the crude oil markets. Empirical studies in two representative benchmark crude oil markets reveal the existence of multiscale heterogeneous microdata structure. The significant performance improvement of the proposed algorithm incorporating the heterogeneous data characteristics, against benchmark random walk, ARMA, and SVR models, is also attributed to the innovative methodology proposed to incorporate this important stylized fact during the modelling process. Meanwhile, work in this paper offers additional insights into the heterogeneous market microstructure with economic viable interpretations.

The economics of subnational carbon policy interactions and integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahman, Fadli

An integrated, nationwide carbon policy is essential to achieve US environmental targets relating to carbon emissions. The carbon policy literature is loaded with qualitative analysis of the implications or mechanisms of an integrated emissions market across the US, but current quantitative studies do not offer solutions regarding the interactions of coexisting US regional emission markets and other policy instruments. Therefore, this dissertation attempts to answer three fundamental concerns about US carbon policy. The second chapter analyzes the welfare implications of different relative stringencies of cap-setting under a proposed integration of two emissions markets, considering the attributes relevant to each market. The third chapter extends this market integration analysis by adding an intertemporal feature to analyze the consequences of integrating existing emission markets in the US (i.e., California and RGGI). The fourth chapter examines the adverse economic implications of adopting several overlapping carbon policy instruments to regulate carbon emissions in a region. The second and third chapters employ a simple structural model with a stochastic variable to account for uncertainties in emissions. The fourth chapter utilizes a static general equilibrium framework based on IMPLAN data for California to comprehensively evaluate the reactions of the state-wide economy to various carbon policy settings. In general, the results show that integrating existing emissions markets could generate both positive and negative effects on economic welfare. The positive effects result from gains from trading permits, while negative results come from perverse second-best interactions. Policymakers are expected to carefully consider the factors and attributes of all regions prior to setting their policy targets and designing an integrated system of carbon reduction.

Insurer market structure and variation in commercial health care spending.

PubMed

McKellar, Michael R; Naimer, Sivia; Landrum, Mary B; Gibson, Teresa B; Chandra, Amitabh; Chernew, Michael

2014-06-01

To examine the relationship between insurance market structure and health care prices, utilization, and spending. Claims for 37.6 million privately insured employees and their dependents from the Truven Health Market Scan Database in 2009. Measures of insurer market structure derived from Health Leaders Inter study data. Regression models are used to estimate the association between insurance market concentration and health care spending, utilization, and price, adjusting for differences in patient characteristics and other market-level traits. Insurance market concentration is inversely related to prices and spending, but positively related to utilization. Our results imply that, after adjusting for input price differences, a market with two equal size insurers is associated with 3.9 percent lower medical care spending per capita (p = .002) and 5.0 percent lower prices for health care services relative to one with three equal size insurers (p < .001). Greater fragmentation in the insurance market might lead to higher prices and higher spending for care, suggesting some of the gains from insurer competition may be absorbed by higher prices for health care. Greater attention to prices and utilization in the provider market may need to accompany procompetitive insurance market strategies. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

State Clean Energy Policies Analysis (SCEPA): State Tax Incentives

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lantz, E.; Doris, E.

As a policy tool, state tax incentives can be structured to help states meet clean energy goals. Policymakers often use state tax incentives in concert with state and federal policies to support renewable energy deployment or reduce market barriers. This analysis used case studies of four states to assess the contributions of state tax incentives to the development of renewable energy markets. State tax incentives that are appropriately paired with complementary state and federal policies generally provide viable mechanisms to support renewable energy deployment. However, challenges to successful implementation of state tax incentives include serving project owners with limited statemore » tax liability, assessing appropriate incentive levels, and differentiating levels of incentives for technologies with different costs. Additionally, state tax incentives may result in moderately higher federal tax burdens. These challenges notwithstanding, state tax incentives that consider certain policy design characteristics can support renewable energy markets and state clean energy goals.The scale of their impact though is directly related to the degree to which they support the renewable energy markets for targeted sectors and technologies. This report highlights important policy design considerations for policymakers using state tax incentives to meet clean energy goals.« less

Welfare Impact of Virtual Trading on Wholesale Electricity Markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giraldo, Juan S.

Virtual bidding has become a standard feature of multi-settlement wholesale electricity markets in the United States. Virtual bids are financial instruments that allow market participants to take financial positions in the Day-Ahead (DA) market that are automatically reversed/closed in the Real-Time (RT) market. Most U.S. wholesale electricity markets only have two types of virtual bids: a decrement bid (DEC), which is virtual load, and an increment offer (INC), which is virtual generation. In theory, financial participants create benefits by seeking out profitable bidding opportunities through arbitrage or speculation. Benefits have been argued to take the form of increased competition, price convergence, increased market liquidity, and a more efficient dispatch of generation resources. Studies have found that price convergence between the DA and RT markets improved following the introduction of virtual bidding into wholesale electricity markets. The improvement in price convergence was taken as evidence that market efficiency had increased and many of the theoretical benefits realized. Persistent price differences between the DA and RT markets have led to calls to further expand virtual bidding as a means to address remaining market inefficiencies. However, the argument that price convergence is beneficial is extrapolated from the study of commodity and financial markets and the role of futures for increasing market efficiency in that context. This viewpoint largely ignores details that differentiate wholesale electricity markets from other commodity markets. This dissertation advances the understanding of virtual bidding by evaluating the impact of virtual bidding based on the standard definition of economic efficiency which is social welfare. In addition, an examination of the impacts of another type of virtual bid, up-to-congestion (UTC) transactions is presented. This virtual product significantly increased virtual bidding activity in the PJM interconnection market since it became available to be used by financial traders in September 2010. Stylized models are used to determine the optimal bidding strategy for the different virtual bids under different scenarios. The welfare analysis shows that the main impact of virtual bidding is surplus reallocation and that the impact on market efficiency is small by comparison. The market structure is such that it is more likely to see surplus transfers from consumers to producers. The results also show that outcomes with greater price convergence as a result of virtual bidding activity were not necessarily more efficient, nor do they always correct surplus distribution distortions that result from bias in the DA expectation of RT load. Compared to INCs and DECs, the UTC analysis showed that UTCs do not have the same self-corrective incentives towards price convergence and are less likely to lead to nodal price convergence or correct for surplus distribution distortions caused by uncertainty and bias in the DA expectation of RT load. Additionally, the analysis showed that UTCs allow financial traders to engage in low risk high volume trading strategies that, while profitable, may have little to no impact on price convergence or market efficiency.

Frequency aspects of information transmission in a network of three western equity markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidbauer, Harald; Rösch, Angi; Uluceviz, Erhan

2017-11-01

Cycles in the behavior of stock markets have been widely documented. There is an increasing body of literature on whether stock markets anticipate business cycles or its turning points. Several recent studies assert that financial integration impacts positively on business cycle comovements of economies. We consider three western equity markets, represented by their respective stock indices: DJIA (USA), FTSE 100 (UK), and Euro Stoxx 50 (euro area). Connecting these three markets together via vector autoregressive processes in index returns, we construct ;propagation values; to measure and trace, on a daily basis, the relative importance of a market as a volatility creator within the network, where volatility is due to a return shock in a market. A cross-wavelet analysis reveals the joint frequency structure of pairs of the propagation value series, in particular whether or not two series tend to move in the same direction at a given frequency. Our main findings are: (i) From 2001 onwards, the daily propagation values of markets have been fluctuating much less than before, and high frequencies have become less pronounced; (ii) the European markets are in phase at business cycle frequency, while the US market is not in phase with either European market; (iii) in 2008, the euro area has taken over the leading role. This approach not only provides new insight into the time-dependent interplay of equity markets, but it can also replicate certain findings of traditional business cycle research, and it has the advantage of using only readily available stock market data.

Investing in the Self: Structure, Agency and Identity in Graduates' Employability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tomlinson, Michael

2010-01-01

This article presents an alternative approach to the dominant analysis of graduate employability, through a consideration of the dynamic and socially mediated interaction that graduates have with labour market. This interaction is largely constitutive of their dispositions and identities as graduates, and entails a dynamic interplay between…

Comparative Economic Organization: The Analysis of Discrete Structural Alternatives.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williamson, Oliver E.

1991-01-01

Combines institutional economics with aspects of contract law and organization theory to identify and explicate the key differences distinguishing three generic forms of economic organization: market, hybrid, and hierarchy. These generic forms are distinguished by different coordinating and control mechanisms and by different abilities to adapt to…

Correlations and clustering in wholesale electricity markets

DOE PAGES

Cui, Tianyu; Caravelli, Francesco; Ududec, Cozmin

2017-11-24

We study the structure of locational marginal prices in day-ahead and real-time wholesale electricity markets. In particular, we consider the case of two North American markets and show that the price correlations contain information on the locational structure of the grid. We study various clustering methods and introduce a type of correlation function based on event synchronization for spiky time series, and another based on string correlations of location names provided by the markets. As a result, this allows us to reconstruct aspects of the locational structure of the grid.

Correlations and clustering in wholesale electricity markets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cui, Tianyu; Caravelli, Francesco; Ududec, Cozmin

We study the structure of locational marginal prices in day-ahead and real-time wholesale electricity markets. In particular, we consider the case of two North American markets and show that the price correlations contain information on the locational structure of the grid. We study various clustering methods and introduce a type of correlation function based on event synchronization for spiky time series, and another based on string correlations of location names provided by the markets. As a result, this allows us to reconstruct aspects of the locational structure of the grid.

Correlations and clustering in wholesale electricity markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Tianyu; Caravelli, Francesco; Ududec, Cozmin

2018-02-01

We study the structure of locational marginal prices in day-ahead and real-time wholesale electricity markets. In particular, we consider the case of two North American markets and show that the price correlations contain information on the locational structure of the grid. We study various clustering methods and introduce a type of correlation function based on event synchronization for spiky time series, and another based on string correlations of location names provided by the markets. This allows us to reconstruct aspects of the locational structure of the grid.

Identifying the structure of group correlation in the Korean financial market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahn, Sanghyun; Choi, Jaewon; Lim, Gyuchang; Cha, Kil Young; Kim, Sooyong; Kim, Kyungsik

2011-06-01

We investigate the structure of the cross-correlation in the Korean stock market. We analyze daily cross-correlations between price fluctuations of 586 different Korean stock entities for the 6-year time period from 2003 to 2008. The main purpose is to investigate the structure of group correlation and its stability by undressing the market-wide effect using the Markowitz multi-factor model and the network-based approach. We find the explicit list of significant firms in the few largest eigenvectors from the undressed correlation matrix. We also observe that each contributor is involved in the same business sectors. The structure of group correlation can not remain constant during each 1-year time period with different starting points, whereas only two largest eigenvectors are stable for 6 years 8-9 eigenvectors remain stable for half-year. The structure of group correlation in the Korean financial market is disturbed during a sufficiently short time period even though the group correlation exists as an ensemble for the 6-year time period in the evolution of the system. We verify the structure of group correlation by applying a network-based approach. In addition, we examine relations between market capitalization and businesses. The Korean stock market shows a different behavior compared to mature markets, implying that the KOSPI is a target for short-positioned investors.

Evaluation on Influence of Unstable Primary-Energy Price in a Deregulated Electric Power Market—Analysis based on a simulation model approach—

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maitani, Tatsuyuki; Tezuka, Tetsuo

The electric power market of Japan has been locally monopolized for a long time. But, like many countries, Japan is moving forward with the deregulation of its electric power industry so that any power generation company could sell electric power in the market. The power price, however, will fluctuate inevitably to balance the power supply and demand. A new appropriate market design is indispensable when introducing new market mechanisms in the electric power market to avoid undesirable results of the market. The first stage of deregulation will be the competition between an existing large-scaled power utility and a new power generation company. In this paper we have investigated the wholesale market with competition of these two power companies based on a simulation model approach. Under the competitive situation the effects of exogenous disturbance may bring serious results and we estimated the influence on the market when the price of fossil fuel rises. The conclusion of this study is that several types of Nash equilibriums have been found in the market: the larger the new power generation company becomes, the higher the electricity price under the Nash equilibriums rises. Because of the difference in their structure of generation capacity, the existing large-scaled power utility gets more profit while the new power generation company loses its profit when the price of fossil fuel rises.

Market organization and animal genetic resource management: a revealed preference analysis of sheep pricing.

PubMed

Tindano, K; Moula, N; Leroy, P; Traoré, A; Antoine-Moussiaux, N

2017-10-01

Farm animal genetic resources are threatened worldwide. Participation in markets, while representing a crucial way out of poverty for many smallholders, affects genetic management choices with associated sustainability concerns. This paper proposes a contextualized study of the interactions between markets and animal genetic resources management, in the case of sheep markets in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. It focusses on the organization of marketing chains and the valuation of genetic characteristics by value chain actors. Marketing chain characterization was tackled through semi-structured interviews with 25 exporters and 15 butchers, both specialized in sheep. Moreover, revealed preference methods were applied to analyse the impact of animals' attributes on market pricing. Data were collected from 338 transactions during three different periods: Eid al-Adha, Christmas and New Year period, and a neutral period. The neutral period is understood as a period not close to any event likely to influence the demand for sheep. The results show that physical characteristics such as live weight, height at withers and coat colour have a strong influence on the animals' prices. Live weight has also had an increasing marginal impact on price. The different markets (local butcher, feasts, export market, sacrifices) represent distinct demands for genetic characteristics, entailing interesting consequences for animal genetic resource management. Any breeding programme should therefore take this diversity into account to allow this sector to contribute better to a sustainable development of the country.

Lagged correlation networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Curme, Chester

Technological advances have provided scientists with large high-dimensional datasets that describe the behaviors of complex systems: from the statistics of energy levels in complex quantum systems, to the time-dependent transcription of genes, to price fluctuations among assets in a financial market. In this environment, where it may be difficult to infer the joint distribution of the data, network science has flourished as a way to gain insight into the structure and organization of such systems by focusing on pairwise interactions. This work focuses on a particular setting, in which a system is described by multivariate time series data. We consider time-lagged correlations among elements in this system, in such a way that the measured interactions among elements are asymmetric. Finally, we allow these interactions to be characteristically weak, so that statistical uncertainties may be important to consider when inferring the structure of the system. We introduce a methodology for constructing statistically validated networks to describe such a system, extend the methodology to accommodate interactions with a periodic component, and show how consideration of bipartite community structures in these networks can aid in the construction of robust statistical models. An example of such a system is a financial market, in which high frequency returns data may be used to describe contagion, or the spreading of shocks in price among assets. These data provide the experimental testing ground for our methodology. We study NYSE data from both the present day and one decade ago, examine the time scales over which the validated lagged correlation networks exist, and relate differences in the topological properties of the networks to an increasing economic efficiency. We uncover daily periodicities in the validated interactions, and relate our findings to explanations of the Epps Effect, an empirical phenomenon of financial time series. We also study bipartite community structures in networks composed of market returns and news sentiment signals for 40 countries. We compare the degrees to which markets anticipate news, and news anticipate markets, and use the community structures to construct a recommender system for inputs to prediction models. Finally, we complement this work with novel investigations of the exogenous news items that may drive the financial system using topic models. This includes an analysis of how investors and the general public may interact with these news items using Internet search data, and how the diversity of stories in the news both responds to and influences market movements.

Evaluation of wholesale electric power market rules and financial risk management by agent-based simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Nanpeng

As U.S. regional electricity markets continue to refine their market structures, designs and rules of operation in various ways, two critical issues are emerging. First, although much experience has been gained and costly and valuable lessons have been learned, there is still a lack of a systematic platform for evaluation of the impact of a new market design from both engineering and economic points of view. Second, the transition from a monopoly paradigm characterized by a guaranteed rate of return to a competitive market created various unfamiliar financial risks for various market participants, especially for the Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs) and Independent Power Producers (IPPs). This dissertation uses agent-based simulation methods to tackle the market rules evaluation and financial risk management problems. The California energy crisis in 2000-01 showed what could happen to an electricity market if it did not go through a comprehensive and rigorous testing before its implementation. Due to the complexity of the market structure, strategic interaction between the participants, and the underlying physics, it is difficult to fully evaluate the implications of potential changes to market rules. This dissertation presents a flexible and integrative method to assess market designs through agent-based simulations. Realistic simulation scenarios on a 225-bus system are constructed for evaluation of the proposed PJM-like market power mitigation rules of the California electricity market. Simulation results show that in the absence of market power mitigation, generation company (GenCo) agents facilitated by Q-learning are able to exploit the market flaws and make significantly higher profits relative to the competitive benchmark. The incorporation of PJM-like local market power mitigation rules is shown to be effective in suppressing the exercise of market power. The importance of financial risk management is exemplified by the recent financial crisis. In this dissertation, basic financial risk management concepts relevant for wholesale electric power markets are carefully explained and illustrated. In addition, the financial risk management problem in wholesale electric power markets is generalized as a four-stage process. Within the proposed financial risk management framework, the critical problem of financial bilateral contract negotiation is addressed. This dissertation analyzes a financial bilateral contract negotiation process between a generating company and a load-serving entity in a wholesale electric power market with congestion managed by locational marginal pricing. Nash bargaining theory is used to model a Pareto-efficient settlement point. The model predicts negotiation results under varied conditions and identifies circumstances in which the two parties might fail to reach an agreement. Both analysis and agent-based simulation are used to gain insight regarding how relative risk aversion and biased price estimates influence negotiated outcomes. These results should provide useful guidance to market participants in their bilateral contract negotiation processes.

Linking Supply Chain Governance and Biosecurity in the Context of HPAI Control in Western Java: A Value Chain Perspective

PubMed Central

Indrawan, Dikky; Rich, Karl M.; van Horne, Peter; Daryanto, Arief; Hogeveen, Henk

2018-01-01

Despite extensive efforts to control the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), it remains endemic in Western Java, Indonesia. To understand the limited effectiveness of HPAI control measures, it is important to map the complex structure of the poultry sector. The governance of the poultry value chain in particular, could play a pivotal role, yet there is limited information on the different chain governance structures and their impacts on HPAI control. This article uses value chain analysis (VCA), focusing on an in-depth assessment of governance structures as well as transaction cost economics and quantitative estimates of the market power of different chain actors, to establish a theoretical framework to examine biosecurity and HPAI control in the Western Java poultry chain. During the research, semi-structured interviews were conducted with key value-chain stakeholders, and the economic performance of identified actors was estimated. Results indicated the co-existence of four different poultry value chains in West Java: the integrator chain, the semi-automated slaughterhouse chain, the controlled slaughter-point chain, and the private slaughter-point chain. The integrator chain was characterized by the highest levels of coordination and a tight, hierarchical governance. In contrast, the other three types of value chains were less coordinated. The market power of the different actors within the four value chains also differed. In more integrated chains, slaughterhouses held considerable market power, while in more informal value chains, market power was in the hands of traders. The economic effects of HPAI and biosecurity measures also varied for the identified actors in the different value chains. Implementation of biosecurity and HPAI control measures was strongly related to the governance structure of the chain, with interactions between different chains and governance structures accentuating the risk of HPAI. Our findings highlight that a proper understanding of the chain governance structure is vital to improve the effectiveness of HPAI control measures, by making the interventions more specific and fit-for-purpose given the incentive structures present in different chains. PMID:29770325

Linking Supply Chain Governance and Biosecurity in the Context of HPAI Control in Western Java: A Value Chain Perspective.

PubMed

Indrawan, Dikky; Rich, Karl M; van Horne, Peter; Daryanto, Arief; Hogeveen, Henk

2018-01-01

Despite extensive efforts to control the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), it remains endemic in Western Java, Indonesia. To understand the limited effectiveness of HPAI control measures, it is important to map the complex structure of the poultry sector. The governance of the poultry value chain in particular, could play a pivotal role, yet there is limited information on the different chain governance structures and their impacts on HPAI control. This article uses value chain analysis (VCA), focusing on an in-depth assessment of governance structures as well as transaction cost economics and quantitative estimates of the market power of different chain actors, to establish a theoretical framework to examine biosecurity and HPAI control in the Western Java poultry chain. During the research, semi-structured interviews were conducted with key value-chain stakeholders, and the economic performance of identified actors was estimated. Results indicated the co-existence of four different poultry value chains in West Java: the integrator chain, the semi-automated slaughterhouse chain, the controlled slaughter-point chain, and the private slaughter-point chain. The integrator chain was characterized by the highest levels of coordination and a tight, hierarchical governance. In contrast, the other three types of value chains were less coordinated. The market power of the different actors within the four value chains also differed. In more integrated chains, slaughterhouses held considerable market power, while in more informal value chains, market power was in the hands of traders. The economic effects of HPAI and biosecurity measures also varied for the identified actors in the different value chains. Implementation of biosecurity and HPAI control measures was strongly related to the governance structure of the chain, with interactions between different chains and governance structures accentuating the risk of HPAI. Our findings highlight that a proper understanding of the chain governance structure is vital to improve the effectiveness of HPAI control measures, by making the interventions more specific and fit-for-purpose given the incentive structures present in different chains.

Structure, control and regulation of the formal market for medicinal plants' products in Nigeria.

PubMed

Oguntade, Adegboyega E; Oluwalana, Isaac B

2011-01-01

There are informal and formal markets for medicinal plants' products in Nigeria. The formal market is subject to the national regulatory framework for Food and Drug Administration and Control. It is relatively new and underdeveloped. This study was designed to appraise this market with special emphasis on the market participants, market structure, marketing functions performed, conduct of sellers in the market and; standards and regulations to which the market is subject. Information used for this study was collected through personal interviews and interactions with key participants in the market; especially the officials of regulatory agency. The market structure was analysed in terms of the share of market controlled by participants and product types. Concentration Ratios (CR2 and CR4) were used to assess the market share. Marketing functions being performed were described in terms of the exchange, physical and facilitating functions while the conduct was described in terms of pricing and promotional strategies. The regulatory framework under which the market operates was appraised. The market was highly concentrated with a CR2 and CR4 of 58.5% and 80.8 %; respectively. Imported products accounted for only 12.3% of the market. The predominant modes of presentation of the product were capsule (41.6%) and liquid (36.2%). About 20.77% of the products were classified as multivitamins, 13.85% were antibiotics while 10.77% addressed sexual dysfunctional problems. These products were regulated under the Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) decrees, 1993-1999. Only 2.3% of the products have received full registration status while the others were only listed.

Model of personal consumption under conditions of modern economy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rakhmatullina, D. K.; Akhmetshina, E. R.; Ignatjeva, O. A.

2017-12-01

In the conditions of the modern economy, in connection with the development of production, the expansion of the market for goods and services, its differentiation, active use of marketing tools in the sphere of sales, changes occur in the system of values and consumer needs. Motives that drive the consumer are transformed, stimulating it to activity. The article presents a model of personal consumption that takes into account modern trends in consumer behavior. The consumer, making a choice, seeks to maximize the overall utility from consumption, physiological and socio-psychological satisfaction, in accordance with his expectations, preferences and conditions of consumption. The system of his preferences is formed under the influence of factors of a different nature. It is also shown that the structure of consumer spending allows us to characterize and predict its further behavior in the market. Based on the proposed model and analysis of current trends in consumer behavior, conclusions and recommendations have been made that can be used by legislative and executive government bodies, business organizations, research centres and other structures to form a methodological and analytical tool for preparing a forecast model of consumption.

A Business Case for Home Performance Contracting

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baechler, Michael C.; Antonopoulos, Chrissi A.; Sevigny, Maureen

This report was prepared by PNNL for the DOE Building America program. The report provides information for businesses considering entering the home performance contracting industry. Metrics discussed include industry trends and drivers, specific points of entry, business models, startup costs, and marketing strategies. The report includes detailed analysis of eight businesses around the country that have successfully entered the home performance contracting industry. Data is provided on their financial structures, program participation, marketing efforts, and staff training. This report will be distributed via the DOE Building America website, www.buildingamerica.gov. Individual case studies will also be cleared separately.

Restructuring of the labour market and the role of third world migrations in Europe.

PubMed

Pugliese, E

1993-10-01

"This paper is an analysis of the way in which the changes in the labour market and in the occupational structure in Europe affect the situation and the role of Third World migrants." Changes in European labor migration patterns since the 1960s are first analyzed. The author notes that "intra-European migrations were industrial migrations because manufacturing and building industries were the most important and growing economic activities....Present-day migrations are postindustrial migrations. Immigrants work mostly in service activities and not infrequently in the informal economy. In any case migrant workers are located in the secondary labour market. The picture is made more complex by the fact than many immigrants are alegal or illegal because of the restrictive immigration policies in European countries." excerpt

Housing Archetype Analysis for Home Energy-Efficient Retrofit in the Great Lakes Region

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, S. K.; Mrozowski, T.; Harrell-Seyburn, A.

This project report details activities and results of the 'Market Characterization' project undertaken by the Cost Effective Energy Retrofit (CEER) team targeted toward the DOE goal of achieving 30%-50% reduction in existing building energy use. CEER consists of members from the Dow Chemical Company, Michigan State University, Ferris State University and Habitat for Humanity Kent County. The purpose of this market characterization project was to identify housing archetypes which are dominant within Great Lakes region and therefore offer significant potential for energy-efficient retrofit research and implementation due to the substantial number of homes possessing similar characteristics. Understanding the characteristics ofmore » housing groups referred to as 'archetypes' by vintage, style, and construction characteristics can allow research teams to focus their retrofit research and develop prescriptive solutions for those structure types which are prevalent and offer high potential uptake within a region or market. Key research activities included; literature review, statistical analysis of national and regional data of the American Housing Survey (AHS) collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, analysis of Michigan specific data, development of a housing taxonomy of architectural styles, case studies of two local markets (i.e., Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids in Michigan) and development of a suggested framework (or process) for characterizing local markets. In order to gain a high level perspective, national and regional data from the U.S. Census Bureau was analyzed using cross tabulations, multiple regression models, and logistic regression to characterize the housing stock and determine dominant house types using 21 variables.« less

Technology development status at McDonnell Douglas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rowe, W. T.

1981-01-01

The significant technology items of the Concorde and the conceptual MCD baseline advanced supersonic transport are compared. The four major improvements are in the areas of range performance, structures (materials), aerodynamics, and in community noise. Presentation charts show aerodynamic efficiency; the reoptimized wing; low scale lift/drag ratio; control systems; structural modeling and analysis; weight and cost comparisons for superplasticity diffusion bonded titanium sandwich structures and for aluminum brazed titanium honeycomb structures; operating cost reduction; suppressor nozzles; noise reduction and range; the bicone inlet; a market summary; environmental issues; high priority items; the titanium wing and fuselage test components; and technology validation.

A Survey of Undergraduate Marketing Programs: An Empirical Analysis of Knowledge Areas and Metaskills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finch, David; Nadeau, John; O'Reilly, Norm

2018-01-01

Scholars suggest that the dynamic nature of marketing has put both the marketing profession and marketing education at a crossroads. This study is an analysis of marketing programs by conceptual knowledge and metaskills. In a content analysis of course descriptions for 523 undergraduate marketing courses in Canada from 40 universities, the…

Complexity of major UK companies between 2006 and 2010: Hierarchical structure method approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ulusoy, Tolga; Keskin, Mustafa; Shirvani, Ayoub; Deviren, Bayram; Kantar, Ersin; Çaǧrı Dönmez, Cem

2012-11-01

This study reports on topology of the top 40 UK companies that have been analysed for predictive verification of markets for the period 2006-2010, applying the concept of minimal spanning tree and hierarchical tree (HT) analysis. Construction of the minimal spanning tree (MST) and the hierarchical tree (HT) is confined to a brief description of the methodology and a definition of the correlation function between a pair of companies based on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) index in order to quantify synchronization between the companies. A derivation of hierarchical organization and the construction of minimal-spanning and hierarchical trees for the 2006-2008 and 2008-2010 periods have been used and the results validate the predictive verification of applied semantics. The trees are known as useful tools to perceive and detect the global structure, taxonomy and hierarchy in financial data. From these trees, two different clusters of companies in 2006 were detected. They also show three clusters in 2008 and two between 2008 and 2010, according to their proximity. The clusters match each other as regards their common production activities or their strong interrelationship. The key companies are generally given by major economic activities as expected. This work gives a comparative approach between MST and HT methods from statistical physics and information theory with analysis of financial markets that may give new valuable and useful information of the financial market dynamics.

Mesoscopic Community Structure of Financial Markets Revealed by Price and Sign Fluctuations

PubMed Central

Almog, Assaf; Besamusca, Ferry; MacMahon, Mel; Garlaschelli, Diego

2015-01-01

The mesoscopic organization of complex systems, from financial markets to the brain, is an intermediate between the microscopic dynamics of individual units (stocks or neurons, in the mentioned cases), and the macroscopic dynamics of the system as a whole. The organization is determined by “communities” of units whose dynamics, represented by time series of activity, is more strongly correlated internally than with the rest of the system. Recent studies have shown that the binary projections of various financial and neural time series exhibit nontrivial dynamical features that resemble those of the original data. This implies that a significant piece of information is encoded into the binary projection (i.e. the sign) of such increments. Here, we explore whether the binary signatures of multiple time series can replicate the same complex community organization of the financial market, as the original weighted time series. We adopt a method that has been specifically designed to detect communities from cross-correlation matrices of time series data. Our analysis shows that the simpler binary representation leads to a community structure that is almost identical with that obtained using the full weighted representation. These results confirm that binary projections of financial time series contain significant structural information. PMID:26226226

Effects of internal marketing on nurse job satisfaction and organizational commitment: example of medical centers in Southern Taiwan.

PubMed

Chang, Ching-Sheng; Chang, Hsin-Hsin

2007-12-01

As nurses typically represent the largest percentage of employees at medical centers, their role in medical care is exceptionally important and becoming more so over time. The quality and functions of nurses impact greatly on medical care quality. The concept of internal marketing, with origins in the field of market research, argues that enterprises should value and respect their employees by treating them as internal customers. Such a marketing concept challenges traditional marketing methods, which focus on serving external customers only. The main objective of internal marketing is to help internal customers (employees) gain greater job satisfaction, which should promote job performance and facilitate the organization accomplishing its ultimate business objectives. A question in the medical service industry is whether internal marketing can similarly increase the job satisfaction of nurses and enhance their commitment to the organization. This study aimed to explore the relational model of nurse perceptions related to internal marketing, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment by choosing nurses from two medical centers in Southern Taiwan as research subjects. Of 450 questionnaire distributed, 300 valid questionnaires were returned, giving a response rate of 66.7%. After conducting statistical analysis and estimation using structural equation modeling, findings included: (1) job satisfaction has positive effects on organizational commitment; (2) nurse perceptions of internal marketing have positive effects on job satisfaction; and (3) nurse perceptions of internal marketing have positive effects on organizational commitment.

Insurer Market Structure and Variation in Commercial Health Care Spending

PubMed Central

McKellar, Michael R; Naimer, Sivia; Landrum, Mary B; Gibson, Teresa B; Chandra, Amitabh; Chernew, Michael

2014-01-01

Objective To examine the relationship between insurance market structure and health care prices, utilization, and spending. Data Sources Claims for 37.6 million privately insured employees and their dependents from the Truven Health Market Scan Database in 2009. Measures of insurer market structure derived from Health Leaders Inter study data. Methods Regression models are used to estimate the association between insurance market concentration and health care spending, utilization, and price, adjusting for differences in patient characteristics and other market-level traits. Results Insurance market concentration is inversely related to prices and spending, but positively related to utilization. Our results imply that, after adjusting for input price differences, a market with two equal size insurers is associated with 3.9 percent lower medical care spending per capita (p = .002) and 5.0 percent lower prices for health care services relative to one with three equal size insurers (p < .001). Conclusion Greater fragmentation in the insurance market might lead to higher prices and higher spending for care, suggesting some of the gains from insurer competition may be absorbed by higher prices for health care. Greater attention to prices and utilization in the provider market may need to accompany procompetitive insurance market strategies. PMID:24303879

Market Motivations for Voluntary Carbon Disclosure in Real Estate Industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ufere, Kalu Joseph; Alias, Buang; Godwin Uche, Aliagha

2016-07-01

Climate change mitigation in developing economies is a balancing act, between economic development and environmental sustainability. The need for market friendly determinants for low carbon economy, without compromising economic development is of essence. The aim of the study is to determine market friendly factors, which motivates voluntary carbon information disclosure, in the real estate industry. The study modeled economic factor with three variables and financial market factor with three variables against voluntary carbon information disclosure in the real estate industry. Structural equation modeling was used for the modeling and content analysis was used to collect data on the level of voluntary carbon information disclosure, from 2013 annual reports of 126 real estate sector companies listed in the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE). The model achieved a good fit, and was acceptable prediction. The results show that financial market factor has a significant predictive influence on voluntary carbon disclosure. The application of the result is that financial market factor is has a significantly positive influence on companies’ willingness to make voluntary carbon disclosure in the real estate industry. The result may be limited to the real estate industry that is highly leveraged on syndicated fund.

Job rotation and internal marketing for increased job satisfaction and organisational commitment in hospital nursing staff.

PubMed

Chen, Su-Yueh; Wu, Wen-Chuan; Chang, Ching-Sheng; Lin, Chia-Tzu

2015-04-01

To develop or enhance the job satisfaction and organisational commitment of nurses by implementing job rotation and internal marketing practices. No studies in the nursing management literature have addressed the integrated relationships among job rotation, internal marketing, job satisfaction and organisational commitment. This cross-sectional study included 266 registered nurses (response rate 81.8%) in two southern Taiwan hospitals. Software used for data analysis were SPSS 14.0 and AMOS 14.0 (structural equation modelling). Job rotation and internal marketing positively affect the job satisfaction and organisational commitment of nurses, and their job satisfaction positively affects their organisational commitment. Job rotation and internal marketing are effective strategies for improving nursing workforce utilisation in health-care organisations because they help to achieve the ultimate goals of increasing the job satisfaction of nurses and encouraging them to continue working in the field. This in turn limits the vicious cycle of high turnover and low morale in organisations, which wastes valuable human resources. Job rotation and internal marketing help nursing personnel acquire knowledge, skills and insights while simultaneously improving their job satisfaction and organisational commitment. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Local kernel nonparametric discriminant analysis for adaptive extraction of complex structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Quanbao; Wei, Fajie; Zhou, Shenghan

2017-05-01

The linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is one of popular means for linear feature extraction. It usually performs well when the global data structure is consistent with the local data structure. Other frequently-used approaches of feature extraction usually require linear, independence, or large sample condition. However, in real world applications, these assumptions are not always satisfied or cannot be tested. In this paper, we introduce an adaptive method, local kernel nonparametric discriminant analysis (LKNDA), which integrates conventional discriminant analysis with nonparametric statistics. LKNDA is adept in identifying both complex nonlinear structures and the ad hoc rule. Six simulation cases demonstrate that LKNDA have both parametric and nonparametric algorithm advantages and higher classification accuracy. Quartic unilateral kernel function may provide better robustness of prediction than other functions. LKNDA gives an alternative solution for discriminant cases of complex nonlinear feature extraction or unknown feature extraction. At last, the application of LKNDA in the complex feature extraction of financial market activities is proposed.

Canonical Sectors and Evolution of Firms in the US Stock Markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayden, Lorien; Chachra, Ricky; Alemi, Alexander; Ginsparg, Paul; Sethna, James

2015-03-01

In this work, we show how unsupervised machine learning can provide a more objective and comprehensive broad-level sector decomposition of stocks. Classification of companies into sectors of the economy is important for macroeconomic analysis, and for investments into the sector-specific financial indices and exchange traded funds (ETFs). Historically, these major industrial classification systems and financial indices have been based on expert opinion and developed manually. Our method, in contrast, produces an emergent low-dimensional structure in the space of historical stock price returns. This emergent structure automatically identifies ``canonical sectors'' in the market, and assigns every stock a participation weight into these sectors. Furthermore, by analyzing data from different periods, we show how these weights for listed firms have evolved over time. This work was partially supported by NSF Grants DMR 1312160, OCI 0926550 and DGE-1144153 (LXH).

Statistical properties of derivatives: A journey in term structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lautier, Delphine; Raynaud, Franck

2011-06-01

This article presents an empirical study of 13 derivative markets for commodities and financial assets. The study goes beyond statistical analysis by including the maturity as a variable for the daily returns of futures contracts from 1998 to 2010, and for delivery dates up to 120 months. We observe that the mean and variance of the commodities follow a scaling behavior in the maturity dimension with an exponent characteristic of the Samuelson effect. The comparison between the tails of the probability distribution according to the expiration dates shows that there is a segmentation in the fat tails exponent term structure above the Lévy stable region. Finally, we compute the average tail exponent for each maturity, and we observe two regimes of extreme events for derivative markets, reminiscent of a phase diagram with a sharp transition at the 18th delivery month.

Periodic benefit-risk assessment using Bayesian stochastic multi-criteria acceptability analysis

PubMed Central

Li, Kan; Yuan, Shuai Sammy; Wang, William; Wan, Shuyan Sabrina; Ceesay, Paulette; Heyse, Joseph F.; Mt-Isa, Shahrul; Luo, Sheng

2018-01-01

Benefit-risk (BR) assessment is essential to ensure the best decisions are made for a medical product in the clinical development process, regulatory marketing authorization, post-market surveillance, and coverage and reimbursement decisions. One challenge of BR assessment in practice is that the benefit and risk profile may keep evolving while new evidence is accumulating. Regulators and the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) recommend performing periodic benefit-risk evaluation report (PBRER) through the product's lifecycle. In this paper, we propose a general statistical framework for periodic benefit-risk assessment, in which Bayesian meta-analysis and stochastic multi-criteria acceptability analysis (SMAA) will be combined to synthesize the accumulating evidence. The proposed approach allows us to compare the acceptability of different drugs dynamically and effectively and accounts for the uncertainty of clinical measurements and imprecise or incomplete preference information of decision makers. We apply our approaches to two real examples in a post-hoc way for illustration purpose. The proposed method may easily be modified for other pre and post market settings, and thus be an important complement to the current structured benefit-risk assessment (sBRA) framework to improve the transparent and consistency of the decision-making process. PMID:29505866

Limited availability of psoriasis and phototherapy care: an analysis of advertisements.

PubMed

Hancox, John G; Balkrishnan, Rajesh; Battle, Jamila; Housman, Tam Salam; Fleischer, Alan B; Feldman, Steven R

2005-08-01

Because the number of dermatologists remains stable, patients with medical dermatologic conditions such as psoriasis may find it increasingly difficult to access dermatological treatment. Measuring the competition in the marketing of dermatologic care may provide insight into the availability of dermatology services. The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent dermatologists are using the Yellow Pages to advertise to patients with psoriasis. We performed a quantitative and qualitative assessment of dermatologists' Yellow Pages advertisements in small cities and the ten largest metropolitan regions in the country. Per capita, more advertisements were found in smaller markets than larger markets and a higher percentage was descriptive rather than just a name, address and phone number. Cosmetic and surgical advertisements were more common than psoriasis ads in both markets. Cosmetic ads were more prevalent in larger markets. In all regions, psoriasis and psoriasis treatment ads were least common. These findings raise the concern that incentive structures in the United States healthcare system do not adequately support delivery of dermatologic care for psoriasis. Efforts to promote psoriasis care should be encouraged.

A Structural Decomposition of Black-White Earnings Differentials.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaufman, Robert L.

1983-01-01

Two factors which create differences in Black-White earnings are: (1) differentials between Blacks and Whites within divisions of the labor market; and (2) differences between industries and occupations in earnings, combined with the differential distribution of Blacks and Whites across labor market divisions. The labor market structure is crucial…

Labor Market Structure and Salary Determination among Professional Basketball Players.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallace, Michael

1988-01-01

The author investigates the labor market structure and determinants of salaries for professional basketball players. An expanded version of the resource perspective is used. A three-tiered model of labor market segmentation is revealed for professional basketball players, but other variables also are important in salary determination. (Author/CH)

Nanotechnology in Medicine: From Inception to Market Domination

PubMed Central

Morigi, Valentina; Tocchio, Alessandro; Bellavite Pellegrini, Carlo; Sakamoto, Jason H.; Arnone, Marco; Tasciotti, Ennio

2012-01-01

Born from the marriage of nanotechnology and medicine, nanomedicine is set to bring advantages in the fight against unmet diseases. The field is recognized as a global challenge, and countless worldwide research and business initiatives are in place to obtain a significant market position. However, nanomedicine belongs to those emerging sectors in which business development methods have not been established yet. Open issues include which type of business model best fits these companies and which strategies would lead them to sustained growth. This paper describes the financial and strategic decisions by nanomedicine start-ups to reach the market successfully, obtain a satisfactory market share, and build and maintain a competitive defendable advantage. Walking nanomedicine-product from the hands of the inventor to those of the doctor, we explored the technological transfer process, which connects laboratories or research institutions to the marketplace. The process involves detailed analysis to evaluate the potentials of end-products, and researches to identify market segment, size, structure, and competitors, to ponder a possible market entry and the market share that managers can realistically achieve at different time horizons. Attracting funds is crucial but challenging. However, investors are starting to visualize the potentials of this field, magnetized by the business of “nano.” PMID:22506121

A case analysis of INFOMED: the Cuban national health care telecommunications network and portal.

PubMed

Séror, Ann C

2006-01-27

The Internet and telecommunications technologies contribute to national health care system infrastructures and extend global health care services markets. The Cuban national health care system offers a model to show how a national information portal can contribute to system integration, including research, education, and service delivery as well as international trade in products and services. The objectives of this paper are (1) to present the context of the Cuban national health care system since the revolution in 1959, (2) to identify virtual institutional infrastructures of the system associated with the Cuban National Health Care Telecommunications Network and Portal (INFOMED), and (3) to show how they contribute to Cuban trade in international health care service markets. Qualitative case research methods were used to identify the integrated virtual infrastructure of INFOMED and to show how it reflects socialist ideology. Virtual institutional infrastructures include electronic medical and information services and the structure of national networks linking such services. Analysis of INFOMED infrastructures shows integration of health care information, research, and education as well as the interface between Cuban national information networks and the global Internet. System control mechanisms include horizontal integration and coordination through virtual institutions linked through INFOMED, and vertical control through the Ministry of Public Health and the government hierarchy. Telecommunications technology serves as a foundation for a dual market structure differentiating domestic services from international trade. INFOMED is a model of interest for integrating health care information, research, education, and services. The virtual infrastructures linked through INFOMED support the diffusion of Cuban health care products and services in global markets. Transferability of this model is contingent upon ideology and interpretation of values such as individual intellectual property and confidentiality of individual health information. Future research should focus on examination of these issues and their consequences for global markets in health care.

A Case Analysis of INFOMED: The Cuban National Health Care Telecommunications Network and Portal

PubMed Central

2006-01-01

Background The Internet and telecommunications technologies contribute to national health care system infrastructures and extend global health care services markets. The Cuban national health care system offers a model to show how a national information portal can contribute to system integration, including research, education, and service delivery as well as international trade in products and services. Objective The objectives of this paper are (1) to present the context of the Cuban national health care system since the revolution in 1959, (2) to identify virtual institutional infrastructures of the system associated with the Cuban National Health Care Telecommunications Network and Portal (INFOMED), and (3) to show how they contribute to Cuban trade in international health care service markets. Methods Qualitative case research methods were used to identify the integrated virtual infrastructure of INFOMED and to show how it reflects socialist ideology. Virtual institutional infrastructures include electronic medical and information services and the structure of national networks linking such services. Results Analysis of INFOMED infrastructures shows integration of health care information, research, and education as well as the interface between Cuban national information networks and the global Internet. System control mechanisms include horizontal integration and coordination through virtual institutions linked through INFOMED, and vertical control through the Ministry of Public Health and the government hierarchy. Telecommunications technology serves as a foundation for a dual market structure differentiating domestic services from international trade. Conclusions INFOMED is a model of interest for integrating health care information, research, education, and services. The virtual infrastructures linked through INFOMED support the diffusion of Cuban health care products and services in global markets. Transferability of this model is contingent upon ideology and interpretation of values such as individual intellectual property and confidentiality of individual health information. Future research should focus on examination of these issues and their consequences for global markets in health care. PMID:16585025

The Effect of Physician and Hospital Market Structure on Medical Technology Diffusion.

PubMed

Karaca-Mandic, Pinar; Town, Robert J; Wilcock, Andrew

2017-04-01

To examine the influence of physician and hospital market structures on medical technology diffusion, studying the diffusion of drug-eluting stents (DESs), which became available in April 2003. Medicare claims linked to physician demographic data from the American Medical Association and to hospital characteristics from the American Hospital Association Survey. Retrospective claims data analyses. All fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries who received a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with a cardiac stent in 2003 or 2004. Each PCI record was joined to characteristics on the patient, the procedure, the cardiologist, and the hospital where the PCI was delivered. We accounted for the endogeneity of physician and hospital market structure using exogenous variation in the distances between patient, physician, and hospital locations. We estimated multivariate linear probability models that related the use of a DES in the PCI on market structure while controlling for patient, physician, and hospital characteristics. DESs diffused faster in markets where cardiology practices faced more competition. Conversely, we found no evidence that the structure of the hospital market mattered. Competitive pressure to maintain or expand PCI volume shares compelled cardiologists to adopt DESs more quickly. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

Relation between financial market structure and the real economy: comparison between clustering methods.

PubMed

Musmeci, Nicoló; Aste, Tomaso; Di Matteo, T

2015-01-01

We quantify the amount of information filtered by different hierarchical clustering methods on correlations between stock returns comparing the clustering structure with the underlying industrial activity classification. We apply, for the first time to financial data, a novel hierarchical clustering approach, the Directed Bubble Hierarchical Tree and we compare it with other methods including the Linkage and k-medoids. By taking the industrial sector classification of stocks as a benchmark partition, we evaluate how the different methods retrieve this classification. The results show that the Directed Bubble Hierarchical Tree can outperform other methods, being able to retrieve more information with fewer clusters. Moreover,we show that the economic information is hidden at different levels of the hierarchical structures depending on the clustering method. The dynamical analysis on a rolling window also reveals that the different methods show different degrees of sensitivity to events affecting financial markets, like crises. These results can be of interest for all the applications of clustering methods to portfolio optimization and risk hedging [corrected].

Factor structure of essential social skills to be salespersons in retail market: implications for psychiatric rehabilitation.

PubMed

Cheung, Leo C C; Tsang, Hector W H

2005-12-01

This study continued the effort to apply social skills training to increase vocational outcomes of people with severe mental illness. We planned to identify factor structure of essential social skills necessary for mental health consumers who have a vocational preference to work as salesperson in retail market. Exploratory factor analysis of the results of a 26-item questionnaire survey suggested a five-factor solution: social skills when interacting with customers, problem-solving skills, knowledge and attitudes, flexibility, and skills for conflict prevention, which accounted for 65.1% of the total variance. With the factor solution, we developed a job-specific social skills training program (JSST) to help consumers who want to be salespersons. The structure and session design followed the basic format of a typical social skills training program. The way this JSST is to be used with the work-related social skills training model previously developed by the corresponding author to produce better vocational outcomes of consumers is suggested.

Relation between Financial Market Structure and the Real Economy: Comparison between Clustering Methods

PubMed Central

Musmeci, Nicoló; Aste, Tomaso; Di Matteo, T.

2015-01-01

We quantify the amount of information filtered by different hierarchical clustering methods on correlations between stock returns comparing the clustering structure with the underlying industrial activity classification. We apply, for the first time to financial data, a novel hierarchical clustering approach, the Directed Bubble Hierarchical Tree and we compare it with other methods including the Linkage and k-medoids. By taking the industrial sector classification of stocks as a benchmark partition, we evaluate how the different methods retrieve this classification. The results show that the Directed Bubble Hierarchical Tree can outperform other methods, being able to retrieve more information with fewer clusters. Moreover, we show that the economic information is hidden at different levels of the hierarchical structures depending on the clustering method. The dynamical analysis on a rolling window also reveals that the different methods show different degrees of sensitivity to events affecting financial markets, like crises. These results can be of interest for all the applications of clustering methods to portfolio optimization and risk hedging. PMID:25786703

24 CFR 91.410 - Housing market analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Housing market analysis. 91.410... Development CONSOLIDATED SUBMISSIONS FOR COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS Consortia; Contents of Consolidated Plan § 91.410 Housing market analysis. Housing market analysis must be described in the...

Proposed Use of the Computer as a Tool to Aid Analysis of Properties of Materials in Fixators of Spine

PubMed Central

Santos, Antonio; Moreira, Fernando

2014-01-01

With objective of analyzing the mechanical behavior of the internal fixators of spine and of the bony structure, the pieces and the group were made (it structures bony x internal fixator) with the aid a software of solid modeling. The materials used in the rehearsals had been the titanium, now in the market and a castor oil polyurethane destined to the development of you implant bony. PMID:24825938

Analysis of Financial Markets' Fluctuation by Textual Information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Izumi, Kiyoshi; Goto, Takashi; Matsui, Tohgoroh

In this study, we proposed a new text-mining methods for long-term market analysis. Using our method, we analyzed monthly price data of financial markets; Japanese government bond market, Japanese stock market, and the yen-dollar market. First we extracted feature vectors from monthly reports of Bank of Japan. Then, trends of each market were estimated by regression analysis using the feature vectors. As a result, determination coefficients were over 75%, and market trends were explained well by the information that was extracted from textual data. We compared the predictive power of our method among the markets. As a result, the method could estimate JGB market best and the stock market is the second.

Negotiating markets for health: an exploration of physicians' engagement in dual practice in three African capital cities.

PubMed

Russo, Giuliano; McPake, Barbara; Fronteira, Inês; Ferrinho, Paulo

2014-09-01

Scarce evidence exists on the features, determinants and implications of physicians' dual practice, especially in resource-poor settings. This study considered dual practice patterns in three African cities and the respective markets for physician services, with the objective of understanding the influence of local determinants on the practice. Forty-eight semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted in the three cities to understand features of the practice and the respective markets. A survey was carried out in a sample of 331 physicians to explore their characteristics and decisions to work in public and private sectors. Descriptive analysis and inferential statistics were employed to explore differences in physicians' engagement in dual practice across the three locations. Different forms of dual practice were found to exist in the three cities, with public physicians engaging in private practice outside but also inside public facilities, in regulated as well as unregulated ways. Thirty-four per cent of the respondents indicated that they worked in public practice only, and 11% that they engaged exclusively in private practice. The remaining 55% indicated that they engaged in some form of dual practice, 31% 'outside' public facilities, 8% 'inside' and 16% both 'outside' and 'inside'. Local health system governance and the structure of the markets for physician services were linked to the forms of dual practice found in each location, and to their prevalence. Our analysis suggests that physicians' decisions to engage in dual practice are influenced by supply and demand factors, but also by how clearly separated public and private markets are. Where it is possible to provide little-regulated services within public infrastructure, less incentive seems to exist to engage in the formal private sector, with equity and efficiency implications for service provision. The study shows the value of analysing health markets to understand physicians' engagement in professional activities, and contributes to an evidence base for its regulation. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2013.

The Marketing Plan: An Integrative Device for Teaching Marketing Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berdine, W. R.; Petersen, James C.

1980-01-01

The importance of the marketing plan is stressed as an integrative device for teaching marketing management, and a structure is presented to assist students in designing a marketing plan. Components of this plan include marketing objectives, targeting market and buying motives, external environment and competition, product, price, and promotion.…

Examining Impacts of Organizational Capabilities in Information Security: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Jacqueline Huynh

2011-01-01

In today's modern business world, most organizations use information as a critical business asset to gain competitive advantage and create market value. Increasingly, an organization's ability to protect information assets plays a critical role in its ability to meet regulatory compliance requirements, increase customer trust, preserve brand…

A model of service quality perceptions and health care consumer behavior.

PubMed

O'Connor, S J; Shewchuk, R M; Bowers, M R

1991-01-01

Analysis of covariance structures (LISREL) was used to examine the influence of consumer held perceptions of service quality on consumer satisfaction and intentions to return. Results indicate that service quality is a significant predictor of consumer satisfaction which, in turn, predicts intention to return. Health care marketing implications are discussed.

From Higher Education to Work: Public and Professional Sector Employment in Germany and Britain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leuze, Kathrin

2010-01-01

Comparative analysis of the transition from higher education to work often focuses on cross-national variations of higher education systems to explain country-specific mobility patterns of higher education graduates. The structure of graduate labour markets, however, has received less attention, despite differences across countries. Variations in…

The Structure of the Library Market for Scientific Journals: The Case of Chemistry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bensman, Stephen J.

1996-01-01

An analysis of price and scientific value of chemistry journals concluded that scientific value does not play a role in the pricing of scientific journals and that consequently little relationship exists between scientific value and the prices charged libraries for journals. Describes a software package, Serials Evaluator, being developed at…

Piloting a European Employer Survey on Skill Needs: Illustrative Findings. Research Paper No 36

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sofroniou, Nicholas, Ed.; Zukersteinova, Alena, Ed.

2013-01-01

Today, information and data on skills development come mainly from household and employees surveys: trends in the labour market, demand and supply of skills, data on skill mismatch and skills obsolescence. Recurrent analysis of individual cross-sectional data and their extrapolation into the future indicates significant structural changes over…

Auction development for the price-based electric power industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dekrajangpetch, Somgiat

The restructuring of the electric power industry is to move away from the cost-based monopolistic environment of the past to the priced-based competitive environment. As the electric power industry is restructuring in many places, there are still many problems that need to be solved. The work in this dissertation contributes to solve some of the electric power auction problems. The majority of this work is aimed to help develop good markets. A LaGrangian relaxation (LR) Centralized Daily Commitment Auction (CDCA) has been implemented. It has been shown that the solution might not be optimal nor fair to some generation companies (GENCOs) when identical or similar generating units participate in a LR CDCA based auction. Supporting information for bidding strategies on how to change unit data to enhance the chances of bid acceptance has been developed. The majority of this work is based on Single Period Commodity Auction (SPCA). Alternative structures for the SPCA are outlined. Whether the optimal solution is degenerated is investigated. Good pricing criteria are summarized and the pricing method following good pricing criteria is developed. Electricity is generally considered as a homogeneous product. When availability level is used as additional characteristic to distinct electricity, electricity can be considered a heterogeneous product. The procedure to trade electricity as a heterogeneous product is developed. The SPCA is formulated as a linear program. The basic IPLP algorithm has been extended so that sensitivity analysis can be performed as in the simplex method. Sensitivity analysis is used to determine market reach. Additionally, sensitivity analysis is used in combination with the investigation of historical auction results to provide raw data for power system expansion. Market power is a critical issue in electric power deregulation. Firms with market power have an advantage over other competitor firms in terms of market reach. Various approaches to determine market power and market reach are to be investigated. How firms can acquire additional customers or additional transactions, given the auction results, is to be investigated. Additionally, how firms can utilize their market power to enhance their chances of success is to be investigated.

The Impact of Income and Taxation in a Price-Tiered Cigarette Market - findings from the ITC Bangladesh Surveys.

PubMed

Huq, Iftekharul; Nargis, Nigar; Lkhagvasuren, Damba; Hussain, Akm Ghulam; Fong, Geoffrey T

2018-04-25

Taxing tobacco is among the most effective measures of tobacco control. However, in a tiered market structure where multiple tiers of taxes coexist, the anticipated impact of tobacco taxes on consumption is complex. This paper investigates changing smoking behaviour in lieu of changing prices and changing income. The objective of the paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of change in prices (through taxes) and change in income in a price-tiered cigarette market. A panel dataset from the International Tobacco Control Bangladesh surveys is used for analysis. For preliminary analysis transition matrices are developed. Next, probit and multinomial logit regression models are used to identify the effects of changes in prices and changes in income along with other control variables. Transition matrices show significant movement of smokers across price tiers from one wave to another. Regression results show that higher income raises the probability to up-trade and decreases the probability to down-trade. Results also show that higher prices raises the probability to up-trade and reduces the probability to down-trade. Although not significant, there exists a negative relationship between the probability to down-trade and the probability to intend to quit. It is evident from the results that a price-tiered market provides smokers more opportunities to accommodate their smoking behaviour when faced with price and income change. Therefore, tiered structure of the tax system should be replaced with uniform taxes. Moreover, overall cigarette taxes need to be raised to an extent so that it off-sets any positive effects of income growth. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

The changing market for wood materials used in farm structures.

Treesearch

David C. Baumgartner

1971-01-01

This reports describes the number, type, and size of farm structures built in a 17-state area during the years 1963-1965, together with information relating to the use and marketing of wood materials in such structures.

Application of the Social Marketing Model to Unemployment Counseling: A Theoretical Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Englert, Paul; Sommerville, Susannah; Guenole, Nigel

2009-01-01

A. R. Andreasen's (1995) social marketing model (SMM) is applied to structure feedback counseling for individuals who are unemployed. The authors discuss techniques used in commercial marketing and how they are equally applicable to solving societal problems; SMM and its application to social interventions; and structured feedback that moves a…

17 CFR 38.651 - Protection of markets and market participants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... and the structure of the market to detect trade practice and market abuses and to discipline such... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Protection of markets and market participants. 38.651 Section 38.651 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING...

17 CFR 38.651 - Protection of markets and market participants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... and the structure of the market to detect trade practice and market abuses and to discipline such... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Protection of markets and market participants. 38.651 Section 38.651 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING...

Study on supply chain management in tourism e-commerce

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Yaodong; Wu, Shuyan; Ma, Haiyan

2009-07-01

On-line customer research has been conducted for European and American markets by marketers and academics. Whilst e-Commerce and tourism develop rapidly in China, and the fraud information in E-commerce market makes the conditions of information asymmetry becoming more seriously, understanding of Chinese internet travelers is required. This paper reviews current research on supply chain management (SCM) within the context of tourism. SCM in the manufacturing industry has attracted widespread research interest over the past two decades, whereas studies of SCM in the tourism e-commerce are very limited. The potential benefit of considering not only individual enterprises but also the tourism value chain becomes evident. This paper presents the model e-market structure and process analysis of tourism e-commerce, and also sets up tourism supply chain and tourism e-commerce system to probe how to apply tourism ecommerce to promote the sustainable development of tourism. The paper also identifies key research questions in TSCM worthy of future theoretical and empirical exploration.

Determinants of marketing performance: empirical study at National Commercial Bank in Jakarta Indonesia.

PubMed

Limakrisna, Nandan; Yoserizal, Syahril

2016-01-01

Indonesian banking industry has experienced up and down as can be seen after Pakto '88, in which the number of new banks grew rapidly, but after the 1997-1998 financial crisis, a lot of banks were liquidated due to the deteriorating financial condition and violation of the precautionary principles by bank management. The purpose of this research is to determine and analyze the effects of good corporate governance, information technology, HR competencies on competitive advantage and its implication on marketing performance. The method used in this research was a descriptive survey and explanatory survey with a sample size of 320 respondents, and the data analysis methods used are structural equation modeling. Based on the results of the research, the findings obtained from good corporate governance, information technology, HR competencies have a significant effect on competitive advantage on the performance of marketing. However, when seen in part, competitive advantage has a dominant effect on marketing performance.

Project Career REACH: Marketing Strategies for Effective Guidance Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bollendorf, Marsha; And Others

1990-01-01

Outlines the practical marketing strategies used to implement Project Career REACH, a career development program for high school freshmen. Marketing basics for guidance programs are discussed, including mission analysis, market analysis, resource analysis, strategic planning, and evaluation. (TE)

Analysis of the transmission characteristics of China's carbon market transaction price volatility from the perspective of a complex network.

PubMed

Jia, Jingjing; Li, Huajiao; Zhou, Jinsheng; Jiang, Meihui; Dong, Di

2018-03-01

Research on the price fluctuation transmission of the carbon trading pilot market is of great significance for the establishment of China's unified carbon market and its development in the future. In this paper, the carbon market transaction prices of Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenzhen, and Guangdong were selected from December 29, 2013 to March 26, 2016, as sample data. Based on the view of the complex network theory, we construct a price fluctuation transmission network model of five pilot carbon markets in China, with the purposes of analyzing the topological features of this network, including point intensity, weighted clustering coefficient, betweenness centrality, and community structure, and elucidating the characteristics and transmission mechanism of price fluctuation in China's five pilot cities. The results of point intensity and weighted clustering coefficient show that the carbon prices in the five markets remained unchanged and transmitted smoothly in general, and price fragmentation is serious; however, at some point, the price fluctuates with mass phenomena. The result of betweenness centrality reflects that a small number of price fluctuations can control the whole market carbon price transmission and price fluctuation evolves in an alternate manner. The study provides direction for the scientific management of the carbon price. Policy makers should take a positive role in promoting market activity, preventing the risks that may arise from mass trade and scientifically forecasting the volatility of trading prices, which will provide experience for the establishment of a unified carbon market in China.

Market structure and the role of consumer information in the physician services industry: an empirical test.

PubMed

Wong, H S

1996-04-01

This paper applies Panzar and Rosse's (1987) econometric test of market structure to examine two long-debated issues: What is the market structure for physician services? Do more physicians in a market area raise the search cost of obtaining consumer information and increase prices (Satterthwaite, 1979, 1985)? For primary care and general and family practice physicians, the monopolistically competitive model prevailed over the competing hypotheses--monopoly, perfect competition, and monopolistic competition characterized by consumer informational confusion. Although less conclisive, there is some evidence to support the monopolistically competitive model for surgeons and the consumer informational confusion model for internal medicine physicians.

Dynamic structure of stock communities: a comparative study between stock returns and turnover rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Li-Ling; Jiang, Xiong-Fei; Li, Sai-Ping; Zhong, Li-Xin; Ren, Fei

2017-07-01

The detection of community structure in stock market is of theoretical and practical significance for the study of financial dynamics and portfolio risk estimation. We here study the community structures in Chinese stock markets from the aspects of both price returns and turnover rates, by using a combination of the PMFG and infomap methods based on a distance matrix. An empirical study using the overall data set shows that for both returns and turnover rates the largest communities are composed of specific industrial or conceptional sectors and the correlation inside a sector is generally larger than the correlation between different sectors. However, the community structure for turnover rates is more complex than that for returns, which indicates that the interactions between stocks revealed by turnover rates may contain more information. This conclusion is further confirmed by the analysis of the changes in the dynamics of community structures over five sub-periods. Sectors like banks, real estate, health care and New Shanghai take turns to comprise a few of the largest communities in different sub-periods, and more interestingly several specific sectors appear in the communities with different rank orders for returns and turnover rates even in the same sub-period. To better understand their differences, a comparison between the evolution of the returns and turnover rates of the stocks from these sectors is conducted. We find that stock prices only had large changes around important events while turnover rates surged after each of these events relevant to specific sectors, which shows strong evidence that the turnover rates are more susceptible to exogenous shocks than returns and its measurement for community detection may contain more useful information about market structure.

Local and global analysis of a speculative housing market with production lag

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campisi, Giovanni; Naimzada, Ahmad K.; Tramontana, Fabio

2018-05-01

We extend the model of Dieci and Westerhoff [J. Evol. Econ. 22(2), 303-329 (2012)], where the authors analyse a speculative housing market populated by heterogeneous interacting agents described by a two dimensional nonlinear discrete time dynamical system. They show the emergence of complicated dynamics through the occurrence of bifurcations for particular parameter combinations. We enlarge their model in several ways. On one hand, we introduce time lag in the supply side and we consider two new scenarios characterised by agents' expectations formation. First, naive expectations instead of perfect foresight are considered, while in the second scenario, we study a mix between the model of Dieci and Westerhoff [J. Evol. Econ. 22(2), 303-329 (2012)] and the one we propose. As a consequence, we, analytically and numerically, explain the appearance of instability in the housing market providing conditions on the parameters that lead to a bifurcation. On the other hand, thanks to further numerical simulations, we conduct a global analysis providing the structure of the basin of attractions of the map showing coexistence of attractors.

Research on energy stock market associated network structure based on financial indicators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xi, Xian; An, Haizhong

2018-01-01

A financial market is a complex system consisting of many interacting units. In general, due to the various types of information exchange within the industry, there is a relationship between the stocks that can reveal their clear structural characteristics. Complex network methods are powerful tools for studying the internal structure and function of the stock market, which allows us to better understand the stock market. Applying complex network methodology, a stock associated network model based on financial indicators is created. Accordingly, we set threshold value and use modularity to detect the community network, and we analyze the network structure and community cluster characteristics of different threshold situations. The study finds that the threshold value of 0.7 is the abrupt change point of the network. At the same time, as the threshold value increases, the independence of the community strengthens. This study provides a method of researching stock market based on the financial indicators, exploring the structural similarity of financial indicators of stocks. Also, it provides guidance for investment and corporate financial management.

The effect of market structure on HMO premiums.

PubMed

Wholey, D; Feldman, R; Christianson, J B

1995-05-01

We examine the effects of HMO market structure on HMO premiums from 1988 to 1991. More competition, measured by the number of HMOs in the market area, reduces HMO premiums. Although this effect does not appear for IPAs before the highest level of competition is reached, it appears throughout the competitive range for Group HMOs. More market penetration, measured by the percent of the market area population enrolled in HMOs, reduces premiums for IPAs. Since the goal of managed competition is to reduce health care costs by creating competition among managed health care plans, our results offer encouragement for managed competition advocates.

On the topological properties of the cross-shareholding networks of listed companies in China: Taking shareholders’ cross-shareholding relationships into account

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Huajiao; An, Haizhong; Gao, Xiangyun; Huang, Jiachen; Xu, Qun

2014-07-01

Shareholders are the owners of listed companies, and their relationships can directly affect the structure of the stock market. In this paper, we analyze the topological properties and evolution of the cross-shareholding networks of listed companies in the past 5 years in China from 2007 to 2011, an infrequently considered topic, by taking shareholders' cross-shareholding relationships into account. This analysis arrives at a deeper insight into the inner characteristics of China's stock market. We find that the cross-shareholding networks of listed companies with shareholders' cross-shareholding relationships display statistical features that reveal the stock market's complex relationships more precisely. In particular, the results show that when the shareholders' cross-shareholding relationships are considered, first, the In-degree and Out-degree of the cross-shareholding networks follow power-law distribution and the R2 of the linear regression analysis of the cumulative degree distribution is relatively higher; second, the modularity of the communities is larger; finally, both the number of members of top-ranked communities and the number of communities that have a large number of members are larger than those of which only considering the relationships between shareholders and listed companies are taken into account. Such cross-shareholding networks analysis taking shareholders' cross-shareholding relations into account would be a helpful tool for supervisory departments and for stock market researchers to grasp the inner cross-shareholding relationships of listed companies in China, and it will be also helpful for the further researches about the "agent problems" in the stock markets from a whole point of view.

Explaining the present GM business strategy on the EU food market: the gatekeepers' perspective.

PubMed

Inghelbrecht, Linde; Dessein, Joost; Van Huylenbroeck, Guido

2015-01-25

The use of genetically modified (GM) crops and their applications is partially suppressed in European Union (EU) agriculture, even if one would expect otherwise given their complementarity with the neoliberal and industrialised EU agricultural regime in place. By applying a qualitative content analysis, this paper analyses how food manufacturers and retailers (referred to as gatekeepers in the food industry) explain and defend the exclusion of GM-labelled food products on the EU market. The study design places emphasis on the role of perceptions in the strategic behaviour of gatekeepers and on the role of interaction in this regard, as we assume that the way in which gatekeepers perceive the 'rules of the game' for commercialising GM crop applications on the EU food market will be influenced by their interaction with other agribusiness actors. In a first stage, the analysis determines thematic congruence in the (types of) perceptions that explain an agribusiness actor's overall interpretation of the EU business environment for GM crop applications. This perceived 'structuring arena' (SA) for GM crop applications - as conceptualised within our framework - contains areas of either internal and external tensions, that have a compelling or non-committal influence on the agribusiness actor's interpretation. In a second stage, the analysis particularly defines how gatekeepers in the food industry perceive and experience the SA for GM crop applications on the EU market, and how these perceptual tensions subsequently influence their strategic behaviour for GM-labelled products on the EU market. Finally, we highlight how these perceptions and actions (or inaction) suppress the main changes in practice that are necessary to manage this wicked problem. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DRUG MARKET RECONSTITUTION AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA: LESSONS FOR LOCAL DRUG ABUSE CONTROL INITIATIVES

PubMed Central

Bennett, Alex S.; Golub, Andrew; Dunlap, Eloise

2011-01-01

Hurricane Katrina accomplished what no law enforcement initiative could ever achieve: It completely eradicated the New Orleans drug market. However, Katrina did little to eliminate the demand for drugs. This article documents the process of the drug market reconstitution that occurred 2005–2008 based on in-depth interviews and focus groups with predominately low-income drug users and sellers. Before Katrina, the drug market was largely characterized by socially-bonded participants involved with corporate style distribution. After Katrina, a violent freelance market emerged. The conclusion draws recommendations for law enforcement for dealing with drug markets after a major disaster. This article uses New Orleans as a case study to chart the process of drug market reconstitution following an extreme disaster, namely Hurricane Katrina. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall and engulfed the New Orleans area, overwhelming levees and causing extensive flooding and destruction across the city. The storm generated 30- to 40-foot waves, which demolished many cities and small towns in Southern Mississippi and Alabama and caused considerable wind damage further inland. Although the hurricane eye missed central New Orleans by about 30 miles, the wave action in Lake Pontchartrain caused several levees to break and flood most of eastern New Orleans, which was under sea level. The storm had an impact on practically all New Orleans residents and almost destroyed New Orleans (Cooper & Block, 2006; Levitt & Whitaker, 2009; Lee, 2006). Our research focused on the impact of this storm on the drug markets in New Orleans. Katrina destroyed the physical environment and organizational structure that sustained the drug trade, yet drug use and sales did not disappear. During and soon after the storm, improvised sales and distribution organizations provided a wide range of illicit drugs to users (see Dunlap, Johnson, Kotarba, & Fackler, 2009; Dunlap & Golub, 2010; Dunlap, Johnson & Morse, 2007). This article examines the next historical period, the continuation of drug use among those returning to New Orleans and the rebuilding of drug market structures. The analysis provides a short review of drug markets before Katrina. Our main focus is the reconstitution process during the three years following the disaster. We pay special attention to street-level dealers and the end users’ lived experiences in primarily poorer neighborhoods, illustrating elements of continuity and change as various actors reconstituted New Orleans’ drug market. PMID:22582027

Electric power from vertical-axis wind turbines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Touryan, K. J.; Strickland, J. H.; Berg, D. E.

1987-12-01

Significant advancements have occurred in vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) technology for electrical power generation over the last decade; in particular, well-proven aerodynamic and structural analysis codes have been developed for Darrieus-principle wind turbines. Machines of this type have been built by at least three companies, and about 550 units of various designs are currently in service in California wind farms. Attention is presently given to the aerodynamic characteristics, structural dynamics, systems engineering, and energy market-penetration aspects of VAWTs.

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

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-28

... of market making on the ISE and increase the supply of available CMM trading rights, which will... that have a market making structure which is less limited as the ISE's current structure. As to broker... Appointments to Competitive Market Makers June 22, 2011. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities...

"We want to offer you peace of mind": Marketing of transnational commercial surrogacy services to intended parents.

PubMed

Gezinski, Lindsay B; Karandikar, Sharvari; Levitt, Alexis; Ghaffarian, Roxanne

2017-01-01

The purpose of this research study was to conduct a content analysis of commercial surrogacy websites to explore how surrogacy is marketed to intended parents. The researchers developed a template to code website data, and a total of 345 website pages were reviewed. Websites depicted surrogacy as a solution to a problem, privileged genetic parenthood, ignored the potential for exploitation, dismissed surrogates' capacity to bond with the fetuses they carry, emphasized that surrogacy arrangements are mutually beneficial, ignored structural inequalities, and depicted surrogates as conforming to strict gender roles. These framings introduce vulnerabilities to both intended parents and surrogate mothers.

The effectiveness of policy on consumer choices for private road passenger transport emissions reductions in six major economies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mercure, J.-F.; Lam, A.

2015-06-01

The effectiveness of fiscal policy to influence vehicle purchases for emissions reductions in private passenger road transport depends on its ability to incentivise consumers to make choices oriented towards lower emissions vehicles. However, car purchase choices are known to be strongly socially determined, and this sector is highly diverse due to significant socio-economic differences between consumer groups. Here, we present a comprehensive dataset and analysis of the structure of the 2012 private passenger vehicle fleet-years in six major economies across the World (UK, USA, China, India, Japan and Brazil) in terms of price, engine size and emissions distributions. We argue that choices and aggregate elasticities of substitution can be predicted using this data, enabling us to evaluate the effectiveness of potential fiscal and technological change policies on fleet-year emissions reductions. We provide tools to do so based on the distributive structure of prices and emissions in segments of a diverse market, both for conventional as well as unconventional engine technologies. We find that markets differ significantly between nations, and that correlations between engine sizes, emissions and prices exist strongly in some markets and not strongly in others. We furthermore find that markets for unconventional engine technologies have patchy coverages of varying levels. These findings are interpreted in terms of policy strategy.

Marketing analysis of a maternity service by a consumer.

PubMed

Crowley-Murphy, M

1996-07-01

Marketing analysis is a means of identifying consumer satisfaction, thus providing a means of exploiting weaknesses in competitors. As part of a graduate midwifery programme a small study was undertaken analysing marketing activities used by one competitor provider of maternity care services. The Marketing mix, Ansoff matrix and Gap analysis were the marketing tools used. Recommendations to midwifery service providers suggest using market research to identify consumer expectations and explore areas of both satisfaction and dissatisfaction.

The use of programme planning and social marketing models by a state public health agency: a case study.

PubMed

Kohr, J M; Strack, R W; Newton-Ward, M; Cooke, C H

2008-03-01

To investigate the use of planning models and social marketing planning principles within a state's central public health agency as a means for informing improved planning practices. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 key programme planners in selected division branches, and a quantitative survey was distributed to 63 individuals responsible for programme planning in 12 programme-related branches. Employees who have an appreciation of and support for structured programme planning and social marketing may be considered the 'low hanging fruit' or 'early adopters'. On the other hand, employees that do not support or understand either of the two concepts have other barriers to using social marketing when planning programmes. A framework describing the observed factors involved in programme planning on an individual, interpersonal and organizational level is presented. Understanding the individual and structural barriers and facilitators of structured programme planning and social marketing is critical to increase the planning capacity within public health agencies.

Political decision-making in health care: the Dutch case.

PubMed

Elsinga, E

1989-01-01

In many western countries health care is a subject of increasing importance on the political agenda. Issues such as aging, development of medical technologies, equity and efficiency of care, increasing costs, market elements, etc. are leading to a review of existing health care systems. In The Netherlands the government has proposed fundamental changes in the structure and financing of care, based on a report by the so-called Dekker Committee. The final result of a step-wise process of change should be the introduction of a new insurance scheme and the strengthening of market elements. After a short description of the government proposals, this article gives an analysis of the process of decision-making for a restructuring of health care in the Netherlands. The analysis is based on a bureaupolitical model, as originally described by Allison.

Energy futures: Trading opportunities for the 1980's

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Treat, J.E.; Cowie, S.; Davidson, F.E.

1984-01-01

This text gives a broad background in both theory and practice of energy futures trading. It details successful contract requirements. It analyzes fundamental and technical pricing and using both to manage risk and achieve trading objectives. Hedging strategy, financial aspects of trading, accounting procedures, internal control systems and tax implications are all expertly covered. The book concludes with the potential impact of futures trading on the structure of world markets. Contents: Energy futures: an overview; Exchanges and their contracts; Fundamental analysis and the theory of hedging; The principles of technical analysis; Putting it all together; Integrated trading strategies; Energy futures;more » Financing and exposure management in the oil industry; Accounting principles, taxation, and internal control; The potential impacts of trading in oil futures on the world oil market; Appendix; Glossary; Index.« less

DIY Solar Market Analysis Webinar Series: Top Solar Tools | State, Local,

Science.gov Websites

and Tribal Governments | NREL DIY Solar Market Analysis Webinar Series: Top Solar Tools DIY Solar Market Analysis Webinar Series: Top Solar Tools Wednesday, May 14, 2014 As part of a Do-It -Yourself Solar Market Analysis summer series, NREL's Solar Technical Assistance Team (STAT) presented a

7 CFR 29.2278 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its porosity. (See chart, § 29.2351.) ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.2278 Section 29.2278 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing...

7 CFR 29.3035 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its porosity or solidity. (See Elements... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.3035 Section 29.3035 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing...

7 CFR 29.3035 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.3035 Section 29.3035 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its porosity or solidity. (See Elements...

7 CFR 29.3035 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.3035 Section 29.3035 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its porosity or solidity. (See Elements...

7 CFR 29.3035 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.3035 Section 29.3035 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its porosity or solidity. (See Elements...

7 CFR 29.3035 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.3035 Section 29.3035 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its porosity or solidity. (See Elements...

The role of banks in the Brazilian interbank market: Does bank type matter?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cajueiro, Daniel O.; Tabak, Benjamin M.

2008-12-01

This paper analyzes the Brazilian interbank network structure using a complex network-based approach. Results suggest a weak evidence of community structure, high heterogeneity of the network and that this market is characterized by money centers having exposures to many banks. Furthermore, we go beyond the structure of the network using information about the characteristics of the nodes and a non-parametric test in order to understand the role of the banks in the interbanking market.

The Marketing Audit as a Method of the Evaluation of the Marketing Plan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaňa, Kamil; Černá, Ľubica

2012-12-01

The growing complexity of the current market environment needs a more systematic evaluation process of the organizational marketing performance to deal with the dynamic market. This paper deals with marketing audit as a comprehensive assessment of all angles of marketing operation in an organization and also deals with systematic evaluation of plans, objectives, strategies, activities and organizational structure as well as marketing staff.

78 FR 138 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Notice of Filing and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-02

... allow for further analysis of the Program and a determination of how the Program should be structured in... that the rules of an exchange be designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to... national market system, and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest. Additionally, the...

Evaluating Form and Function of Regional Partnerships: Applying Social Network Analysis to the "Network for a Healthy California", 2001-2007

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gregson, Jennifer; Sowa, Marcy; Flynn, Heather Kohler

2011-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the partnership structure of the "Network for a Healthy California" ("Network"), a social marketing program, from 2001-2007, to determine if California's program was able to establish and maintain partnerships that (1) provided access to a local audience, (2) facilitated regional collaboration, (3)…

Family Structure, Parental Perceptions, and Child Labor in Kenya: What Factors Determine Who Is Enrolled in School?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buchmann, Claudia

2000-01-01

Analysis of household survey data in Kenya revealed that children's enrollment in school was affected by parents' expectations for future financial help from children and (for girls) by parents' perceptions of labor market discrimination against women, but not by patriarchal norms or child labor. The results challenge traditional explanations of…

Marketing an Information Service: A Case Study of the OECS Economic Affairs Secretariat Documentation Centre.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evan-Wong, Sue; de Freitas, Claudette

1995-01-01

Presents a methodology for marketing an information service which focuses on including information users in the strategic marketing planning process. Identifies the following stages of a marketing planning process: analysis of the environment, information audit, information needs assessment, market opportunity analysis, tactical marketing program,…

Determinants of success in Shared Savings Programs: An analysis of ACO and market characteristics.

PubMed

Ouayogodé, Mariétou H; Colla, Carrie H; Lewis, Valerie A

2017-03-01

Medicare's Accountable Care Organization (ACO) programs introduced shared savings to traditional Medicare, which allow providers who reduce health care costs for their patients to retain a percentage of the savings they generate. To examine ACO and market factors associated with superior financial performance in Medicare ACO programs. We obtained financial performance data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); we derived market-level characteristics from Medicare claims; and we collected ACO characteristics from the National Survey of ACOs for 215 ACOs. We examined the association between ACO financial performance and ACO provider composition, leadership structure, beneficiary characteristics, risk bearing experience, quality and process improvement capabilities, physician performance management, market competition, CMS-assigned financial benchmark, and ACO contract start date. We examined two outcomes from Medicare ACOs' first performance year: savings per Medicare beneficiary and earning shared savings payments (a dichotomous variable). When modeling the ACO ability to save and earn shared savings payments, we estimated positive regression coefficients for a greater proportion of primary care providers in the ACO, more practicing physicians on the governing board, physician leadership, active engagement in reducing hospital re-admissions, a greater proportion of disabled Medicare beneficiaries assigned to the ACO, financial incentives offered to physicians, a larger financial benchmark, and greater ACO market penetration. No characteristic of organizational structure was significantly associated with both outcomes of savings per beneficiary and likelihood of achieving shared savings. ACO prior experience with risk-bearing contracts was positively correlated with savings and significantly increased the likelihood of receiving shared savings payments. In the first year, performance is quite heterogeneous, yet organizational structure does not consistently predict performance. Organizations with large financial benchmarks at baseline have greater opportunities to achieve savings. Findings on prior risk bearing suggest that ACOs learn over time under risk-bearing contracts. Given the lack of predictive power for organizational characteristics, CMS should continue to encourage diversity in organizational structures for ACO participants, and provide alternative funding and risk bearing mechanisms to continue to allow a diverse group of organizations to participate. III. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Determinants of Success in Shared Savings Programs: An Analysis of ACO and Market Characteristics

PubMed Central

Colla, Carrie H.; Lewis, Valerie A.

2016-01-01

Background Medicare’s Accountable Care Organization (ACO) programs introduced shared savings to traditional Medicare, which allow providers who reduce health care costs for their patients to retain a percentage of the savings they generate. Objective To examine ACO and market factors associated with superior financial performance in Medicare ACO programs. Methods We obtained financial performance data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); we derived market-level characteristics from Medicare claims; and we collected ACO characteristics from the National Survey of ACOs for 215 ACOs. We examined the association between ACO financial performance and ACO provider composition, leadership structure, beneficiary characteristics, risk bearing experience, quality and process improvement capabilities, physician performance management, market competition, CMS-assigned financial benchmark, and ACO contract start date. We examined two outcomes from Medicare ACOs’ first performance year: savings per Medicare beneficiary and earning shared savings payments (a dichotomous variable). Results When modeling the ACO ability to save and earn shared savings payments, we estimated positive regression coefficients for a greater proportion of primary care providers in the ACO, more practicing physicians on the governing board, physician leadership, active engagement in reducing hospital re-admissions, a greater proportion of disabled Medicare beneficiaries assigned to the ACO, financial incentives offered to physicians, a larger financial benchmark, and greater ACO market penetration. No characteristic of organizational structure was significantly associated with both outcomes of savings per beneficiary and likelihood of achieving shared savings. ACO prior experience with risk-bearing contracts was positively correlated with savings and significantly increased the likelihood of receiving shared savings payments. Conclusions In the first year performance is quite heterogeneous, yet organizational structure does not consistently predict performance. Organizations with large financial benchmarks at baseline have greater opportunities to achieve savings. Findings on prior risk bearing suggest that ACOs learn over time under risk-bearing contracts. Implications Given the lack of predictive power for organizational characteristics, CMS should continue to encourage diversity in organizational structures for ACO participants, and provide alternative funding and risk bearing mechanisms to continue to allow a diverse group of organizations to participate. Level of evidence III PMID:27687917

The importance of socio-economic context for social marketing models for improving reproductive health: evidence from 555 years of program experience.

PubMed

Meekers, Dominique; Rahaim, Stephen

2005-01-27

Over the past two decades, social marketing programs have become an important element of the national family planning and HIV prevention strategy in several developing countries. As yet, there has not been any comprehensive empirical assessment to determine which of several social marketing models is most effective for a given socio-economic context. Such an assessment is urgently needed to inform the design of future social marketing programs, and to avoid that programs are designed using an ineffective model. This study addresses this issue using a database of annual statistics about reproductive health oriented social marketing programs in over 70 countries. In total, the database covers 555 years of program experience with social marketing programs that distribute and promote the use of oral contraceptives and condoms. Specifically, our analysis assesses to what extent the model used by different reproductive health social marketing programs has varied across different socio-economic contexts. We then use random effects regression to test in which socio-economic context each of the models is most successful at increasing use of socially marketed oral contraceptives and condoms. The results show that there has been a tendency to design reproductive health social marketing program with a management structure that matches the local context. However, the evidence also shows that this has not always been the case. While socio-economic context clearly influences the effectiveness of some of the social marketing models, program maturity and the size of the target population appear equally important. To maximize the effectiveness of future social marketing programs, it is essential that more effort is devoted to ensuring that such programs are designed using the model or approach that is most suitable for the local context.

The importance of socio-economic context for social marketing models for improving reproductive health: Evidence from 555 years of program experience

PubMed Central

Meekers, Dominique; Rahaim, Stephen

2005-01-01

Background Over the past two decades, social marketing programs have become an important element of the national family planning and HIV prevention strategy in several developing countries. As yet, there has not been any comprehensive empirical assessment to determine which of several social marketing models is most effective for a given socio-economic context. Such an assessment is urgently needed to inform the design of future social marketing programs, and to avoid that programs are designed using an ineffective model. Methods This study addresses this issue using a database of annual statistics about reproductive health oriented social marketing programs in over 70 countries. In total, the database covers 555 years of program experience with social marketing programs that distribute and promote the use of oral contraceptives and condoms. Specifically, our analysis assesses to what extent the model used by different reproductive health social marketing programs has varied across different socio-economic contexts. We then use random effects regression to test in which socio-economic context each of the models is most successful at increasing use of socially marketed oral contraceptives and condoms. Results The results show that there has been a tendency to design reproductive health social marketing program with a management structure that matches the local context. However, the evidence also shows that this has not always been the case. While socio-economic context clearly influences the effectiveness of some of the social marketing models, program maturity and the size of the target population appear equally important. Conclusions To maximize the effectiveness of future social marketing programs, it is essential that more effort is devoted to ensuring that such programs are designed using the model or approach that is most suitable for the local context. PMID:15676068

Application of stochastic differential geometry to the term structure of interst rates in developed markets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Taranenko, Y.; Barnes, C.

1996-12-31

This paper deals with further developments of the new theory that applies stochastic differential geometry (SDG) to dynamics of interest rates. We examine mathematical constraints on the evolution of interest rate volatilities that arise from stochastic differential calculus under assumptions of an arbitrage free evolution of zero coupon bonds and developed markets (i.e., none of the party/factor can drive the whole market). The resulting new theory incorporates the Heath-Jarrow-Morton (HJM) model of interest rates and provides new equations for volatilities which makes the system of equations for interest rates and volatilities complete and self consistent. It results in much smallermore » amount of volatility data that should be guessed for the SDG model as compared to the HJM model. Limited analysis of the market volatility data suggests that the assumption of the developed market is violated around maturity of two years. Such maturities where the assumptions of the SDG model are violated are suggested to serve as boundaries at which volatilities should be specified independently from the model. Our numerical example with two boundaries (two years and five years) qualitatively resembles the market behavior. Under some conditions solutions of the SDG model become singular that may indicate market crashes. More detail comparison with the data is needed before the theory can be established or refuted.« less

Cigarette purchasing behaviour in Thailand and Malaysia: comparative analysis of a semi-monopolistic and a free-market structure.

PubMed

Ross, H; Driezen, P; Sirirassamee, B; Kin, F

2009-01-01

A wide range of cigarette prices can undermine the impact of tobacco tax policy when smokers switch to cheaper cigarettes instead of quitting. In order to better understand this behaviour, we study socio-economic determinants of price/brand choices in two different markets: a semi-monopolistic market in Thailand and a competitive market in Malaysia. The hypothesis that the factors affecting the price/brand choice are different in these two markets is analysed by employing a 2005 survey among smokers. This survey provides a unique perspective on market characteristics usually described only in business reports by the tobacco industry. We found that smokers in Thailand have fewer opportunities to trade down to save money on cigarettes, but pay lower prices than smokers in Malaysia, despite Thailand's higher tax rate. The Malaysian market, on the other hand, offers many possibilities to shop around for cheaper cigarettes. Higher income and education increase the price paid per cigarette in both countries, but the impact of these factors is larger in Malaysia. This has implications for sensitivity to cigarette prices. Using tax policy alone should be a more effective tobacco control measure in Thailand as compared to Malaysia. The effectiveness of a tax increase in Malaysia can be improved by adding programmes focusing on smoking cessation among low-income/low-educated smokers.

Cigarette purchasing behaviour in Thailand and Malaysia: Comparative analysis of a semi-monopolistic and a free-market structure

PubMed Central

Ross, H.; Driezen, P.; Sirirassamee, B.; Kin, F.

2016-01-01

A wide range of cigarette prices can undermine the impact of tobacco tax policy when smokers switch to cheaper cigarettes instead of quitting. In order to better understand this behaviour, we study socio-economic determinants of price/brand choices in two different markets: a semi-monopolistic market in Thailand and a competitive market in Malaysia. The hypothesis that the factors affecting the price/brand choice are different in these two markets is analysed by employing a 2005 survey among smokers. This survey provides a unique perspective on market characteristics usually described only in business reports by the tobacco industry. We found that smokers in Thailand have fewer opportunities to trade down to save money on cigarettes, but pay lower prices than smokers in Malaysia, despite Thailand’s higher tax rate. The Malaysian market, on the other hand, offers many possibilities to shop around for cheaper cigarettes. Higher income and education increase the price paid per cigarette in both countries, but the impact of these factors is larger in Malaysia. This has implications for sensitivity to cigarette prices. Using tax policy alone should be a more effective tobacco control measure in Thailand as compared to Malaysia. The effectiveness of a tax increase in Malaysia can be improved by adding programmes focusing on smoking cessation among low-income/low-educated smokers. PMID:19548160

Firm-Specific Marketing Capital and Job Satisfaction of Marketers: Evidence from Vietnam

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Tho D.; Nguyen, Trang T. M.

2011-01-01

Purpose: Based on the resource-based view of the firm, this study aims to examine antecedents and outcomes of firm-specific marketing capital pool invested by marketers in a transition market, Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach: A sample of 528 marketers in Ho Chi Minh City was surveyed to test the theoretical model. Structural equation…

Strategic marketing applications of conjoint analysis: an HMO perspective.

PubMed

Rosko, M D; DeVita, M; McKenna, W F; Walker, L R

1985-01-01

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how data from a conjoint analysis study can be used to help determine the most appropriate marketing mix for an operational HMO which is entering a new market--the geriatric population. Included are two features which are absent in previous articles on health care applications of conjoint analysis: external validation of results, and a demonstration of how conjoint analysis can be used to simulate market responses to changes in the provider's marketing mix.

Fargo-Moorhead Urban Study. Energy Conservation Appendix. Recycling, Thermography.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-05-01

1 II. PROJECT NEEDS AND OBJECTIVES 2 III. PROCEDURES 4 Recycling Committee 4 Selection of Marketing Consultants 5 Market Analysis 5 Marketing Strategy 7...the marketing strategy . o Monitoring and evaluation. The recycling committee operated in close cooperation with the representative of the St. Paul... Marketing Strategy : Upon the completion of the market analysis and the 71 determination that the marketing efforts would concentrate on newspaper

Reassessing policy paradigms: A comparison of the global tobacco and alcohol industries.

PubMed

Hawkins, Benjamin; Holden, Chris; Eckhardt, Jappe; Lee, Kelley

2018-01-01

Tobacco is widely considered to be a uniquely harmful product for human health. Since the mid-1990s, the strategies of transnational tobacco corporations to undermine effective tobacco control policy has been extensively documented through internal industry documents. Consequently, the sale, use and marketing of tobacco products are subject to extensive regulation and formal measures to exclude the industry from policy-making have been adopted in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. In contrast to tobacco, alcohol is subject to less stringent forms of regulation, and the alcohol industry continues to play a central role in policy-making in many countries and at the global level. This article examines whether there is a sufficient rationale for such different regulatory approaches, through a comparative analysis of the political economy of the tobacco and alcohol industries including the structure of the industries, and the market and political strategies they pursue. Despite some important differences, the extensive similarities which exist between the tobacco and alcohol industries in terms of market structure and strategy, and political strategy, call into question the rationale for both the relatively weak regulatory approach taken towards alcohol, and the continued participation of alcohol corporations in policy-making processes.

Dynamics of market correlations: Taxonomy and portfolio analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Onnela, J.-P.; Chakraborti, A.; Kaski, K.; Kertész, J.; Kanto, A.

2003-11-01

The time dependence of the recently introduced minimum spanning tree description of correlations between stocks, called the “asset tree” has been studied in order to reflect the financial market taxonomy. The nodes of the tree are identified with stocks and the distance between them is a unique function of the corresponding element of the correlation matrix. By using the concept of a central vertex, chosen as the most strongly connected node of the tree, an important characteristic is defined by the mean occupation layer. During crashes, due to the strong global correlation in the market, the tree shrinks topologically, and this is shown by a low value of the mean occupation layer. The tree seems to have a scale-free structure where the scaling exponent of the degree distribution is different for “business as usual” and “crash” periods. The basic structure of the tree topology is very robust with respect to time. We also point out that the diversification aspect of portfolio optimization results in the fact that the assets of the classic Markowitz portfolio are always located on the outer leaves of the tree. Technical aspects such as the window size dependence of the investigated quantities are also discussed.

Network Catastrophe: Self-Organized Patterns Reveal both the Instability and the Structure of Complex Networks

PubMed Central

Moon, Hankyu; Lu, Tsai-Ching

2015-01-01

Critical events in society or biological systems can be understood as large-scale self-emergent phenomena due to deteriorating stability. We often observe peculiar patterns preceding these events, posing a question of—how to interpret the self-organized patterns to know more about the imminent crisis. We start with a very general description — of interacting population giving rise to large-scale emergent behaviors that constitute critical events. Then we pose a key question: is there a quantifiable relation between the network of interactions and the emergent patterns? Our investigation leads to a fundamental understanding to: 1. Detect the system's transition based on the principal mode of the pattern dynamics; 2. Identify its evolving structure based on the observed patterns. The main finding of this study is that while the pattern is distorted by the network of interactions, its principal mode is invariant to the distortion even when the network constantly evolves. Our analysis on real-world markets show common self-organized behavior near the critical transitions, such as housing market collapse and stock market crashes, thus detection of critical events before they are in full effect is possible. PMID:25822423

Network Catastrophe: Self-Organized Patterns Reveal both the Instability and the Structure of Complex Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moon, Hankyu; Lu, Tsai-Ching

2015-03-01

Critical events in society or biological systems can be understood as large-scale self-emergent phenomena due to deteriorating stability. We often observe peculiar patterns preceding these events, posing a question of--how to interpret the self-organized patterns to know more about the imminent crisis. We start with a very general description -- of interacting population giving rise to large-scale emergent behaviors that constitute critical events. Then we pose a key question: is there a quantifiable relation between the network of interactions and the emergent patterns? Our investigation leads to a fundamental understanding to: 1. Detect the system's transition based on the principal mode of the pattern dynamics; 2. Identify its evolving structure based on the observed patterns. The main finding of this study is that while the pattern is distorted by the network of interactions, its principal mode is invariant to the distortion even when the network constantly evolves. Our analysis on real-world markets show common self-organized behavior near the critical transitions, such as housing market collapse and stock market crashes, thus detection of critical events before they are in full effect is possible.

Industry structures in private dental markets in Finland.

PubMed

Widström, E; Mikkola, H

2012-12-01

To use industrial organisation and organisational ecology research methods to survey industry structures and performance in the markets for private dental services and the effect of competition. Data on practice characteristics, performance, and perceived competition were collected from full-time private dentists (n = 1,121) using a questionnaire. The response rate was 59.6%. Cluster analysis was used to identify practice type based on service differentiation and process integration variables formulated from the questionnaire. Four strategic groups were identified in the Finnish markets: Solo practices formed one distinct group and group practices were classified into three clusters Integrated practices, Small practices, and Loosely integrated practices. Statistically significant differences were found in performance and perceived competitiveness between the groups. Integrated practices with the highest level of process integration and service differentiation performed better than solo and small practices. Moreover, loosely integrated and small practices outperformed solo practises. Competitive intensity was highest among small practices which had a low level of service differentiation and was above average among solo practises. Private dental care providers that had differentiated their services from public services and that had a high number of integrated service production processes enjoyed higher performance and less competitive pressures than those who had not.

Controlled trials to improve antibiotic utilization: a systematic review of experience, 1984-2004.

PubMed

Parrino, Thomas A

2005-02-01

To review the effectiveness of interventions designed to improve antibiotic prescribing patterns in clinical practice and to draw inferences about the most practical methods for optimizing antibiotic utilization in hospital and ambulatory settings. A literature search using online databases for the years 1975-2004 identified controlled trials of strategies for improving antibiotic utilization. Due to variation in study settings and design, quantitative meta-analysis was not feasible. Therefore, a qualitative literature review was conducted. Forty-one controlled trials met the search criteria. Interventions consisted of education, peer review and feedback, physician participation, rewards and penalties, administrative methods, and combined approaches. Social marketing directed at patients and prescribers was effective in varying contexts, as was implementation of practice guidelines. Authorization systems with structured order entry, formulary restriction, and mandatory consultation were also effective. Peer review and feedback were more effective when combined with dissemination of relevant information or social marketing than when used alone. Several practices were effective in improving antibiotic utilization: social marketing, practice guidelines, authorization systems, and peer review and feedback. Online systems providing clinical information, structured order entry, and decision support may be the most promising approach. Further studies, including economic analyses, are needed to confirm or refute this hypothesis.

Dynamics of market correlations: taxonomy and portfolio analysis.

PubMed

Onnela, J-P; Chakraborti, A; Kaski, K; Kertész, J; Kanto, A

2003-11-01

The time dependence of the recently introduced minimum spanning tree description of correlations between stocks, called the "asset tree" has been studied in order to reflect the financial market taxonomy. The nodes of the tree are identified with stocks and the distance between them is a unique function of the corresponding element of the correlation matrix. By using the concept of a central vertex, chosen as the most strongly connected node of the tree, an important characteristic is defined by the mean occupation layer. During crashes, due to the strong global correlation in the market, the tree shrinks topologically, and this is shown by a low value of the mean occupation layer. The tree seems to have a scale-free structure where the scaling exponent of the degree distribution is different for "business as usual" and "crash" periods. The basic structure of the tree topology is very robust with respect to time. We also point out that the diversification aspect of portfolio optimization results in the fact that the assets of the classic Markowitz portfolio are always located on the outer leaves of the tree. Technical aspects such as the window size dependence of the investigated quantities are also discussed.

Empirical studies of regulatory restructuring and incentives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knittel, Christopher Roland

This dissertation examines the actions of firms when faced with regulatory restructuring. Chapter I examines the equilibrium pricing behavior of local exchange telephone companies under a variety of market structures. In particular, the pricing behavior of three services are analyzed: residential local service, business local service, and intraLATA toll service. Beginning in 1984, a variety of market structure changes have taken place in the local telecommunications industry. I analyze differences in the method of price-setting regulation and the restrictions on entry. Specifically, the relative pricing behavior under rate of return and price cap regulation is analyzed, as well as the impact of entry in the local exchange and intraLATA toll service markets. In doing so, I estimate an empirical model that accounts for the stickiness of rates in regulated industries that is based on firm and regulator decision processes in the presence of adjustment costs. I find that, faced with competitive pressures that reduce rates in one service, incumbent firm rates increase in other services, thereby reducing the benefits from competition. In addition, the findings suggest that price cap regulation leads to higher rates relative to rate-of-return regulation. Chapter 2 analyzes the pricing and investment behavior of electricity firms. Electricity and natural gas markets have traditionally been serviced by one of two market structures. In some markets, electricity and natural gas are sold by a dual-product regulated monopolist, while in other markets, electricity and natural gas are sold by separate single-product regulated monopolies. This paper analyzes the relative pricing and investment decisions of electricity firms operating in the two market structures. The unique relationship between these two products imply that the relative incentives of single and dual-product firms are likely to differ. Namely electricity and natural gas are substitutes in consumption while natural gas is also an input into the generation of electricity. However because these firms are regulated, these differing incentives would only be acted upon if regulation is imperfect in some way. Chapter 2 analyzes these issues. In particular, I estimate equilibrium pricing and investment equations that capture the relative incentives of single and dual-product electricity firms. The results imply that both electricity prices and reliance on natural gas generation are higher in a dual-product setting, both suggesting that regulators respond to the relative incentives of electricity and natural gas firms. Chapter 3 analyzes electricity firm production incentives when regulated via performance based regulation. Although many electricity markets are currently considering adopting a competitive market for electricity generation, and still others have already done so, the vast majority of electricity markets remain tightly regulated. Within this traditional regulatory environment, the use of incentive regulation schemes in US electricity markets has grown during the past two decades. While every state has some program that it refers to as an incentive regulation program, these programs differ in both their goals and how they attempt to meet these goals. In this chapter, I discuss the wide array of programs that have been utilized to alter the incentives of US investor-owned utilities (IOUs). In addition, using stochastic frontier methods, I provide empirical analysis of the impact that a number of incentive regulation programs have on the efficiency of a large set of coal and natural gas generator units.

The evolving market structures of gambling: case studies modelling the socioeconomic assignment of gaming machines in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia.

PubMed

Marshall, David C; Baker, Robert G V

2002-01-01

The expansion of gambling industries worldwide is intertwined with the growing government dependence on gambling revenue for fiscal assignments. In Australia, electronic gaming machines (EGMs) have dominated recent gambling industry growth. As EGMs have proliferated, growing recognition has emerged that EGM distribution closely reflects levels of socioeconomic disadvantage. More machines are located in less advantaged regions. This paper analyses time-series socioeconomic distributions of EGMs in Melbourne, Australia, an immature EGM market, and then compares the findings with the mature market in Sydney. Similar findings in both cities suggest that market assignment of EGMs transcends differences in historical and legislative environments. This indicates that similar underlying structures are evident in both markets. Modelling the spatial structures of gambling markets provides an opportunity to identify regions most at risk of gambling related problems. Subsequently, policies can be formulated which ensure fiscal revenue from gambling can be better targeted towards regions likely to be most afflicted by excessive gambling-related problems.

7 CFR 29.6023 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... INSPECTION Standards Definitions § 29.6023 Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.6023 Section 29.6023 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing...

7 CFR 29.1030 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Type 92) § 29.1030 Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its porosity. (See... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.1030 Section 29.1030 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing...

7 CFR 29.3527 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Type 95) § 29.3527 Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its porosity. (See... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.3527 Section 29.3527 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing...

7 CFR 29.1030 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.1030 Section 29.1030 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Type 92) § 29.1030 Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its porosity. (See...

7 CFR 29.3527 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.3527 Section 29.3527 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Type 95) § 29.3527 Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its porosity. (See...

7 CFR 29.3527 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.3527 Section 29.3527 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Type 95) § 29.3527 Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its porosity. (See...

7 CFR 29.3527 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.3527 Section 29.3527 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Type 95) § 29.3527 Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its porosity. (See...

7 CFR 29.3527 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.3527 Section 29.3527 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Type 95) § 29.3527 Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its porosity. (See...

7 CFR 29.6023 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.6023 Section 29.6023 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... INSPECTION Standards Definitions § 29.6023 Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its...

7 CFR 29.1030 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.1030 Section 29.1030 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Type 92) § 29.1030 Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its porosity. (See...

7 CFR 29.6023 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.6023 Section 29.6023 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... INSPECTION Standards Definitions § 29.6023 Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its...

7 CFR 29.1030 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.1030 Section 29.1030 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Type 92) § 29.1030 Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its porosity. (See...

7 CFR 29.6023 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.6023 Section 29.6023 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... INSPECTION Standards Definitions § 29.6023 Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its...

7 CFR 29.6023 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.6023 Section 29.6023 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... INSPECTION Standards Definitions § 29.6023 Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its...

7 CFR 29.1030 - Leaf structure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Leaf structure. 29.1030 Section 29.1030 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Type 92) § 29.1030 Leaf structure. The cell development of a leaf as indicated by its porosity. (See...

Market Analysis Identifies Community and School Education Goals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindle, Jane C.

1989-01-01

Principals must realize the positive effects that marketing can have on improving schools and building support for them. Market analysis forces clarification of the competing needs and interests present in the community. The four marketing phases are needs assessment, analysis, goal setting, and public relations and advertising. (MLH)

41 CFR 101-29.220 - Market research and analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Market research and analysis. 101-29.220 Section 101-29.220 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property... PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS 29.2-Definitions § 101-29.220 Market research and analysis. Market research and...

41 CFR 101-29.220 - Market research and analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Market research and analysis. 101-29.220 Section 101-29.220 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property... PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS 29.2-Definitions § 101-29.220 Market research and analysis. Market research and...

41 CFR 101-29.220 - Market research and analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2014-07-01 2012-07-01 true Market research and analysis. 101-29.220 Section 101-29.220 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property... PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS 29.2-Definitions § 101-29.220 Market research and analysis. Market research and...

A marketing matrix for health care organizations.

PubMed

Weaver, F J; Gombeski, W R; Fay, G W; Eversman, J J; Cowan-Gascoigne, C

1986-06-01

Irrespective of the formal marketing structure successful marketing for health care organizations requires the input on many people. Detailed here is the Marketing Matrix used at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio. This Matrix is both a philosophy and a tool for clarifying and focusing the organization's marketing activities.

Geographic Correlation Between Large-Firm Commercial Spending and Medicare Spending

PubMed Central

Chernew, Michael E.; Sabik, Lindsay M.; Chandra, Amitabh; Gibson, Teresa B.; Newhouse, Joseph P.

2012-01-01

Objective To investigate the correlation between geographic variation in inpatient days, total spending, and spending growth in traditional Medicare versus the large-firm commercial sector. Study Design Retrospective descriptive analysis. Methods Medicare spending data at the hospital referral region (HRR) level were obtained from the Dartmouth Atlas. Commercial claims data from large employers were obtained from Thomson Reuters MarketScan Database for 1996-2006 and aggregated to the HRR level. County-level data on inpatient days per capita and market characteristics were obtained from the Area Resource File. We computed correlations between Medicare and commercial spending and spending growth, as well as Medicare and non-Medicare inpatient days, and examined traits of high- and low-spending HRRs in both sectors. Results We found a positive correlation between inpatient days per capita across counties, but a small inverse correlation between measures of commercial and Medicare spending across HRRs. Spending growth was weakly positively correlated across HRRs. Markets in the upper third of commercial spending had more concentrated hospital markets than markets in the lower third of commercial spending. The reverse was true for Medicare spending. Conclusions The positive correlation in utilization and lack of correlation in spending implies an inverse correlation in prices. This is consistent with evidence that the differences appear to be, at least partially, related to aspects of the market structure. If private markets are to work better to reduce cost, stronger efforts are needed to reduce provider market concentration and promote competitive pricing for healthcare services. PMID:20148618

Geographic correlation between large-firm commercial spending and Medicare spending.

PubMed

Chernew, Michael E; Sabik, Lindsay M; Chandra, Amitabh; Gibson, Teresa B; Newhouse, Joseph P

2010-02-01

To investigate the correlation between geographic variation in inpatient days, total spending, and spending growth in traditional Medicare versus the large-firm commercial sector. Retrospective descriptive analysis. Medicare spending data at the hospital referral region (HRR) level were obtained from the Dartmouth Atlas. Commercial claims data from large employers were obtained from Thomson Reuters MarketScan Database for 1996-2006 and aggregated to the HRR level. County-level data on inpatient days per capita and market characteristics were obtained from the Area Resource File. We computed correlations between Medicare and commercial spending and spending growth, as well as Medicare and non-Medicare inpatient days, and examined traits of high- and low-spending HRRs in both sectors. We found a positive correlation between inpatient days per capita across counties, but a small inverse correlation between measures of commercial and Medicare spending across HRRs. Spending growth was weakly positively correlated across HRRs. Markets in the upper third of commercial spending had more concentrated hospital markets than markets in the lower third of commercial spending. The reverse was true for Medicare spending. The positive correlation in utilization and lack of correlation in spending implies an inverse correlation in prices. This is consistent with evidence that the differences appear to be, at least partially, related to aspects of the market structure. If private markets are to work better to reduce cost, stronger efforts are needed to reduce provider market concentration and promote competitive pricing for healthcare services.

Midscale Commercial Solar Market | Solar Research | NREL

Science.gov Websites

analysis to expand the midscale solar market. The midscale market for solar photovoltaics (PV), loosely than other PV market segments in recent years. Featured Analysis Midmarket Solar Policies in the United Midscale Commercial Solar Market Midscale Commercial Solar Market NREL experts are providing

Wood Products Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

Structural Reliability Consultants' computer program creates graphic plots showing the statistical parameters of glue laminated timbers, or 'glulam.' The company president, Dr. Joseph Murphy, read in NASA Tech Briefs about work related to analysis of Space Shuttle surface tile strength performed for Johnson Space Center by Rockwell International Corporation. Analysis led to a theory of 'consistent tolerance bounds' for statistical distributions, applicable in industrial testing where statistical analysis can influence product development and use. Dr. Murphy then obtained the Tech Support Package that covers the subject in greater detail. The TSP became the basis for Dr. Murphy's computer program PC-DATA, which he is marketing commercially.

Extraction of phase information in daily stock prices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujiwara, Yoshi; Maekawa, Satoshi

2000-06-01

It is known that, in an intermediate time-scale such as days, stock market fluctuations possess several statistical properties that are common to different markets. Namely, logarithmic returns of an asset price have (i) truncated Pareto-Lévy distribution, (ii) vanishing linear correlation, (iii) volatility clustering and its power-law autocorrelation. The fact (ii) is a consequence of nonexistence of arbitragers with simple strategies, but this does not mean statistical independence of market fluctuations. Little attention has been paid to temporal structure of higher-order statistics, although it contains some important information on market dynamics. We applied a signal separation technique, called Independent Component Analysis (ICA), to actual data of daily stock prices in Tokyo and New York Stock Exchange (TSE/NYSE). ICA does a linear transformation of lag vectors from time-series to find independent components by a nonlinear algorithm. We obtained a similar impulse response for these dataset. If it were a Martingale process, it can be shown that impulse response should be a delta-function under a few conditions that could be numerically checked and as was verified by surrogate data. This result would provide information on the market dynamics including speculative bubbles and arbitrating processes. .

Strategic hospital alliances: do the type and market structure of strategic hospital alliances matter?

PubMed

McCue, M J; Clement, J P; Luke, R D

1999-10-01

Throughout the 1990s, hospitals formed local alliances to defend against increasingly powerful hospital rivals and to improve their market positions relative to aggressive and consolidating managed-care organizations. An important consequence of hospitals combining or aligning horizontally at the local level is a significant consolidation of hospital markets. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the type of the local strategic hospital alliances (SHAs), market, environment, and operational factors with financial performance. The study is a cross-sectional analysis of the financial performance across SHAs in all metropolitan statistical areas in 1995. SHAs with dominant or dominant for-profit (FP) hospitals are not more financially successful than other SHAs. SHAs in markets with high health maintenance organization (HMO) or SHA penetration have lower revenues per case-mix adjusted discharge. The operational characteristics, proportion of teaching members in the SHA, and SHA bed size, result in higher revenues and expenses, whereas greater SHA technical efficiency results in lower costs. Health care organizations are centralizing their operations and governance. This study shows that this trend has not added financial value to hospital collectives, at least at this point in their development.

Periodic benefit-risk assessment using Bayesian stochastic multi-criteria acceptability analysis.

PubMed

Li, Kan; Yuan, Shuai Sammy; Wang, William; Wan, Shuyan Sabrina; Ceesay, Paulette; Heyse, Joseph F; Mt-Isa, Shahrul; Luo, Sheng

2018-04-01

Benefit-risk (BR) assessment is essential to ensure the best decisions are made for a medical product in the clinical development process, regulatory marketing authorization, post-market surveillance, and coverage and reimbursement decisions. One challenge of BR assessment in practice is that the benefit and risk profile may keep evolving while new evidence is accumulating. Regulators and the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) recommend performing periodic benefit-risk evaluation report (PBRER) through the product's lifecycle. In this paper, we propose a general statistical framework for periodic benefit-risk assessment, in which Bayesian meta-analysis and stochastic multi-criteria acceptability analysis (SMAA) will be combined to synthesize the accumulating evidence. The proposed approach allows us to compare the acceptability of different drugs dynamically and effectively and accounts for the uncertainty of clinical measurements and imprecise or incomplete preference information of decision makers. We apply our approaches to two real examples in a post-hoc way for illustration purpose. The proposed method may easily be modified for other pre and post market settings, and thus be an important complement to the current structured benefit-risk assessment (sBRA) framework to improve the transparent and consistency of the decision-making process. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A dynamic network model for interbank market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Tao; He, Jianmin; Li, Shouwei

2016-12-01

In this paper, a dynamic network model based on agent behavior is introduced to explain the formation mechanism of interbank market network. We investigate the impact of credit lending preference on interbank market network topology, the evolution of interbank market network and stability of interbank market. Experimental results demonstrate that interbank market network is a small-world network and cumulative degree follows the power-law distribution. We find that the interbank network structure keeps dynamic stability in the network evolution process. With the increase of bank credit lending preference, network clustering coefficient increases and average shortest path length decreases monotonously, which improves the stability of the network structure. External shocks are main threats for the interbank market and the reduction of bank external investment yield rate and deposits fluctuations contribute to improve the resilience of the banking system.

Towards a Sociology of Teacher Labour Markets.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Philip

1982-01-01

There is very little discussion of the structure of the teaching profession and the implications of that structure for the teacher's professional identity. A model of the teacher labor market is of importance to a theoretical understanding and to an appreciation of structural changes that face teachers in the future. (CJ)

Making Democracy Work Better: Mediating Structures, Social Capital, and the Democratic Prospect.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Couto, Richard A.

This book explores relationships among democracy, social capital, and community-based mediating structures, focusing on Appalachia because of the obvious failures of market capitalism there. It suggests that mediating structures protect communities from the savage side of market capitalism and promote the democratic prospect by increasing and…

Intersectionality at Work: Determinants of Labor Supply among Immigrant Latinas.

PubMed

Flippen, Chenoa

2014-06-01

This article borrows from the intersectionality literature to investigate how legal status, labor market position, and family characteristics structure the labor supply of immigrant Latinas in Durham, NC, a new immigrant destination. The analysis takes a broad view of labor force participation, analyzing the predictors of whether or not women work; whether and how the barriers to work vary across occupations; and variation in hours and weeks worked among the employed. I also explicitly investigate the extent to which family constraints interact with other social characteristics, especially legal status, in shaping women's labor market position. Results highlight that immigrant Latinas experience multiple, interrelated constraints on employment owing to their position as low-skill workers in a labor market highly segregated by gender and nativity, to their status as members of a largely undocumented population, and as wives and mothers in an environment characterized by significant work-family conflict.

Intersectionality at Work: Determinants of Labor Supply among Immigrant Latinas1

PubMed Central

Flippen, Chenoa

2015-01-01

This article borrows from the intersectionality literature to investigate how legal status, labor market position, and family characteristics structure the labor supply of immigrant Latinas in Durham, NC, a new immigrant destination. The analysis takes a broad view of labor force participation, analyzing the predictors of whether or not women work; whether and how the barriers to work vary across occupations; and variation in hours and weeks worked among the employed. I also explicitly investigate the extent to which family constraints interact with other social characteristics, especially legal status, in shaping women’s labor market position. Results highlight that immigrant Latinas experience multiple, interrelated constraints on employment owing to their position as low-skill workers in a labor market highly segregated by gender and nativity, to their status as members of a largely undocumented population, and as wives and mothers in an environment characterized by significant work-family conflict. PMID:26843783

Politics of policy learning: Evaluating an experiment on free pricing arrangements in Dutch dental care

PubMed Central

Felder, Martijn; van de Bovenkamp, Hester; de Bont, Antoinette

2018-01-01

In Dutch healthcare, new market mechanisms have been introduced on an experimental basis in an attempt to contain costs and improve quality. Informed by a constructivist approach, we demonstrate that such experiments are not neutral testing grounds. Drawing from semi-structured interviews and policy texts, we reconstruct an experiment on free pricing in dental care that turned into a critical example of market failure, influencing developments in other sectors. Our analysis, however, shows that (1) different market logics and (2) different experimental logics were reproduced simultaneously during the course of the experiment. We furthermore reveal how (3) evaluation and political life influenced which logics were reproduced and became taken as the lessons learned. We use these insights to discuss the role of evaluation in learning from policy experimentation and close with four questions that evaluators could ask to better understand what is learned from policy experiments, how, and why. PMID:29568225

Housing Archetype Analysis for Home Energy-Efficient Retrofit in the Great Lakes Region

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, S. -K.; Mrozowski, T.; Harrell-Seyburn, A.

This project report details activities and results of the "Market Characterization" project undertaken by the Cost Effective Energy Retrofit (CEER) team targeted toward the DOE goal of achieving 30%-50% reduction in existing building energy use. CEER consists of members from the Dow Chemical Company, Michigan State University, Ferris State University, and Habitat for Humanity Kent County. The purpose of this market characterization project was to identify housing archetypes which are dominant within the Great Lakes region and therefore offer significant potential for energy-efficient retrofit research and implementation due to the substantial number of homes possessing similar characteristics. Understanding the characteristicsmore » of housing groups referred to as "archetypes" by vintage, style, and construction characteristics can allow research teams to focus their retrofit research and develop prescriptive solutions for those structure types which are prevalent and offer high potential uptake within a region or market.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

The Performance Prototype Trough (PPT) Concentrating Collector consists of four 80-foot modules in a 320-foot row. The collector was analyzed, including cost estimates and manufacturing processes to produce collectors in volumes from 100 to 100,000 modules per year. The four different reflector concepts considered were the sandwich reflector structure, sheet metal reflector structure, molded reflector structure, and glass laminate structure. The sheet metal and glass laminate structures are emphasized with their related structure concepts. A preliminary manufacturing plan is offered that includes: documentation of the manufacturing process with production flow diagrams; labor and material costs at various production levels; machinerymore » and equipment requirements including preliminary design specifications; and capital investment costs for a new plant. Of five reflector designs considered, the two judged best and considered at length are thin annealed glass and steel laminate on steel frame panel and thermally sagged glass. Also discussed are market considerations, costing and selling price estimates, design cost analysis and make/buy analysis. (LEW)« less

Positioning marketing in the hospital's power structure.

PubMed

Beckham, D

1984-08-01

Although hospitals are increasingly recognizing the importance of marketing, many have difficulty assimilating what has been primarily an industrial concern into a health care environment. The author explains the function of marketing in health care, the outlook and expectations of a good marketing executive, and why hospital management and the medical staff may have difficulty accepting marketing and the expectations of the marketing executive.

Identifying States of a Financial Market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Münnix, Michael C.; Shimada, Takashi; Schäfer, Rudi; Leyvraz, Francois; Seligman, Thomas H.; Guhr, Thomas; Stanley, H. Eugene

2012-09-01

The understanding of complex systems has become a central issue because such systems exist in a wide range of scientific disciplines. We here focus on financial markets as an example of a complex system. In particular we analyze financial data from the S&P 500 stocks in the 19-year period 1992-2010. We propose a definition of state for a financial market and use it to identify points of drastic change in the correlation structure. These points are mapped to occurrences of financial crises. We find that a wide variety of characteristic correlation structure patterns exist in the observation time window, and that these characteristic correlation structure patterns can be classified into several typical ``market states''. Using this classification we recognize transitions between different market states. A similarity measure we develop thus affords means of understanding changes in states and of recognizing developments not previously seen.

Identifying states of a financial market.

PubMed

Münnix, Michael C; Shimada, Takashi; Schäfer, Rudi; Leyvraz, Francois; Seligman, Thomas H; Guhr, Thomas; Stanley, H Eugene

2012-01-01

The understanding of complex systems has become a central issue because such systems exist in a wide range of scientific disciplines. We here focus on financial markets as an example of a complex system. In particular we analyze financial data from the S&P 500 stocks in the 19-year period 1992-2010. We propose a definition of state for a financial market and use it to identify points of drastic change in the correlation structure. These points are mapped to occurrences of financial crises. We find that a wide variety of characteristic correlation structure patterns exist in the observation time window, and that these characteristic correlation structure patterns can be classified into several typical "market states". Using this classification we recognize transitions between different market states. A similarity measure we develop thus affords means of understanding changes in states and of recognizing developments not previously seen.

Investor structure and the price-volume relationship in a continuous double auction market: An agent-based modeling perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wei; Bi, Zhengzheng; Shen, Dehua

2017-02-01

This paper investigates the impact of investor structure on the price-volume relationship by simulating a continuous double auction market. Connected with the underlying mechanisms of the price-volume relationship, i.e., the Mixture of Distribution Hypothesis (MDH) and the Sequential Information Arrival Hypothesis (SIAH), the simulation results show that: (1) there exists a strong lead-lag relationship between the return volatility and trading volume when the number of informed investors is close to the number of uninformed investors in the market; (2) as more and more informed investors entering the market, the lead-lag relationship becomes weaker and weaker, while the contemporaneous relationship between the return volatility and trading volume becomes more prominent; (3) when the informed investors are in absolute majority, the market can achieve the new equilibrium immediately. Therefore, we can conclude that the investor structure is a key factor in affecting the price-volume relationship.

41 CFR 101-29.220 - Market research and analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2011-07-01 2007-07-01 true Market research and... PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS 29.2-Definitions § 101-29.220 Market research and analysis. Market research and... to determine whether they meet user needs and to identify the market practices of firms engaged in...

Impact of stock market structure on intertrade time and price dynamics.

PubMed

Ivanov, Plamen Ch; Yuen, Ainslie; Perakakis, Pandelis

2014-01-01

We analyse times between consecutive transactions for a diverse group of stocks registered on the NYSE and NASDAQ markets, and we relate the dynamical properties of the intertrade times with those of the corresponding price fluctuations. We report that market structure strongly impacts the scale-invariant temporal organisation in the transaction timing of stocks, which we have observed to have long-range power-law correlations. Specifically, we find that, compared to NYSE stocks, stocks registered on the NASDAQ exhibit significantly stronger correlations in their transaction timing on scales within a trading day. Further, we find that companies that transfer from the NASDAQ to the NYSE show a reduction in the correlation strength of transaction timing on scales within a trading day, indicating influences of market structure. We also report a persistent decrease in correlation strength of intertrade times with increasing average intertrade time and with corresponding decrease in companies' market capitalization-a trend which is less pronounced for NASDAQ stocks. Surprisingly, we observe that stronger power-law correlations in intertrade times are coupled with stronger power-law correlations in absolute price returns and higher price volatility, suggesting a strong link between the dynamical properties of intertrade times and the corresponding price fluctuations over a broad range of time scales. Comparing the NYSE and NASDAQ markets, we demonstrate that the stronger correlations we find in intertrade times for NASDAQ stocks are associated with stronger correlations in absolute price returns and with higher volatility, suggesting that market structure may affect price behavior through information contained in transaction timing. These findings do not support the hypothesis of universal scaling behavior in stock dynamics that is independent of company characteristics and stock market structure. Further, our results have implications for utilising transaction timing patterns in price prediction and risk management optimization on different stock markets.

Impact of Stock Market Structure on Intertrade Time and Price Dynamics

PubMed Central

Ivanov, Plamen Ch.; Yuen, Ainslie; Perakakis, Pandelis

2014-01-01

We analyse times between consecutive transactions for a diverse group of stocks registered on the NYSE and NASDAQ markets, and we relate the dynamical properties of the intertrade times with those of the corresponding price fluctuations. We report that market structure strongly impacts the scale-invariant temporal organisation in the transaction timing of stocks, which we have observed to have long-range power-law correlations. Specifically, we find that, compared to NYSE stocks, stocks registered on the NASDAQ exhibit significantly stronger correlations in their transaction timing on scales within a trading day. Further, we find that companies that transfer from the NASDAQ to the NYSE show a reduction in the correlation strength of transaction timing on scales within a trading day, indicating influences of market structure. We also report a persistent decrease in correlation strength of intertrade times with increasing average intertrade time and with corresponding decrease in companies' market capitalization–a trend which is less pronounced for NASDAQ stocks. Surprisingly, we observe that stronger power-law correlations in intertrade times are coupled with stronger power-law correlations in absolute price returns and higher price volatility, suggesting a strong link between the dynamical properties of intertrade times and the corresponding price fluctuations over a broad range of time scales. Comparing the NYSE and NASDAQ markets, we demonstrate that the stronger correlations we find in intertrade times for NASDAQ stocks are associated with stronger correlations in absolute price returns and with higher volatility, suggesting that market structure may affect price behavior through information contained in transaction timing. These findings do not support the hypothesis of universal scaling behavior in stock dynamics that is independent of company characteristics and stock market structure. Further, our results have implications for utilising transaction timing patterns in price prediction and risk management optimization on different stock markets. PMID:24699376

The Evolving Market Structure of the U.S. Residential Solar PV Installation Industry, 2000-2016

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

OShaughnessy, Eric J.

This study uses data on over 900,000 solar PV installations to summarize the evolving market structure of the U.S. residential solar PV installation industry. Over 8,000 companies have installed residential PV systems in the United States. The vast majority of these installers are small local companies. At the same time, a subset of national-scale high-volume PV installation companies hold high market shares. This study examines the factors behind these trends in market concentration, including the role of customer financing options.

On mining complex sequential data by means of FCA and pattern structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buzmakov, Aleksey; Egho, Elias; Jay, Nicolas; Kuznetsov, Sergei O.; Napoli, Amedeo; Raïssi, Chedy

2016-02-01

Nowadays data-sets are available in very complex and heterogeneous ways. Mining of such data collections is essential to support many real-world applications ranging from healthcare to marketing. In this work, we focus on the analysis of "complex" sequential data by means of interesting sequential patterns. We approach the problem using the elegant mathematical framework of formal concept analysis and its extension based on "pattern structures". Pattern structures are used for mining complex data (such as sequences or graphs) and are based on a subsumption operation, which in our case is defined with respect to the partial order on sequences. We show how pattern structures along with projections (i.e. a data reduction of sequential structures) are able to enumerate more meaningful patterns and increase the computing efficiency of the approach. Finally, we show the applicability of the presented method for discovering and analysing interesting patient patterns from a French healthcare data-set on cancer. The quantitative and qualitative results (with annotations and analysis from a physician) are reported in this use-case which is the main motivation for this work.

Clustering and Dimensionality Reduction to Discover Interesting Patterns in Binary Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palumbo, Francesco; D'Enza, Alfonso Iodice

The attention towards binary data coding increased consistently in the last decade due to several reasons. The analysis of binary data characterizes several fields of application, such as market basket analysis, DNA microarray data, image mining, text mining and web-clickstream mining. The paper illustrates two different approaches exploiting a profitable combination of clustering and dimensionality reduction for the identification of non-trivial association structures in binary data. An application in the Association Rules framework supports the theory with the empirical evidence.

Deregulation of the California electric power industry: An analysis of electric and natural gas corporate mergers and their effect on the California electric power market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hornbuckle, James Dixon

Deregulation of the electric utility industry in California is moving in a direction that places greater reliance on the market forces of competition. Investor owned utilities (IOU's) are using mergers and acquisitions to improve their ability to compete in this new environment. Two large mergers were proposed in 1996 that could affect the California market. The first is between Enron Corporation, a large power marketer and Portland General Corporation, owner of Portland General Electric. The second is between Pacific Enterprises Inc., owner of Southern California Gas Company, the largest natural gas utility in the U. S., and Enova Corporation, owner of San Diego Gas and Electric Company. Understanding the impact of these mergers on the California electric power market is the focus of this study. This study examines hypotheses dealing with: (1) Merger Strategy, (2) Efficiency, and (3) Market Power. Using the Miles and Snow (1978) typology, I develop a strategic orientation model for the merger participants and their competitors. The results suggest a two-stage strategic orientation: (1) regulated core business stage, where the firms follow a Defender strategy, and (2) unregulated business stage, where the firms follow a Prospector strategy. Further, the results show the mergers are consistent with the strategy of Enron and Pacific Enterprises. Event study methodology, dollar gains/losses and market value weighted returns are used to determine if the mergers support the efficiency hypothesis. The evidence suggests the mergers lead to increased competitive advantage through improved efficiency for the participants. The results also suggest the mergers do not harm the rivals. The results of structural changes made by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in deregulation of the California market and analysis of the mergers by the CPUC and the Public Utility Commission of Oregon suggest that the exercise of market power is not a significant issue. Finally, the likely winners in the deregulated environment in California are the broad-based IOU firms, which use a combination Defender/Prospector strategy and do not over-commit resources to mergers or acquisitions.

Strategies and practices in off-label marketing of pharmaceuticals: a retrospective analysis of whistleblower complaints.

PubMed

Kesselheim, Aaron S; Mello, Michelle M; Studdert, David M

2011-04-01

Despite regulatory restrictions, off-label marketing of pharmaceutical products has been common in the US. However, the scope of off-label marketing remains poorly characterized. We developed a typology for the strategies and practices that constitute off-label marketing. We obtained unsealed whistleblower complaints against pharmaceutical companies filed in US federal fraud cases that contained allegations of off-label marketing (January 1996-October 2010) and conducted structured reviews of them. We coded and analyzed the strategic goals of each off-label marketing scheme and the practices used to achieve those goals, as reported by the whistleblowers. We identified 41 complaints arising from 18 unique cases for our analytic sample (leading to US$7.9 billion in recoveries). The off-label marketing schemes described in the complaints had three non-mutually exclusive goals: expansions to unapproved diseases (35/41, 85%), unapproved disease subtypes (22/41, 54%), and unapproved drug doses (14/41, 34%). Manufacturers were alleged to have pursued these goals using four non-mutually exclusive types of marketing practices: prescriber-related (41/41, 100%), business-related (37/41, 90%), payer-related (23/41, 56%), and consumer-related (18/41, 44%). Prescriber-related practices, the centerpiece of company strategies, included self-serving presentations of the literature (31/41, 76%), free samples (8/41, 20%), direct financial incentives to physicians (35/41, 85%), and teaching (22/41, 54%) and research activities (8/41, 20%). Off-label marketing practices appear to extend to many areas of the health care system. Unfortunately, the most common alleged off-label marketing practices also appear to be the most difficult to control through external regulatory approaches.

Strategies and Practices in Off-Label Marketing of Pharmaceuticals: A Retrospective Analysis of Whistleblower Complaints

PubMed Central

Kesselheim, Aaron S.; Mello, Michelle M.; Studdert, David M.

2011-01-01

Background Despite regulatory restrictions, off-label marketing of pharmaceutical products has been common in the US. However, the scope of off-label marketing remains poorly characterized. We developed a typology for the strategies and practices that constitute off-label marketing. Methods and Findings We obtained unsealed whistleblower complaints against pharmaceutical companies filed in US federal fraud cases that contained allegations of off-label marketing (January 1996–October 2010) and conducted structured reviews of them. We coded and analyzed the strategic goals of each off-label marketing scheme and the practices used to achieve those goals, as reported by the whistleblowers. We identified 41 complaints arising from 18 unique cases for our analytic sample (leading to US$7.9 billion in recoveries). The off-label marketing schemes described in the complaints had three non–mutually exclusive goals: expansions to unapproved diseases (35/41, 85%), unapproved disease subtypes (22/41, 54%), and unapproved drug doses (14/41, 34%). Manufacturers were alleged to have pursued these goals using four non–mutually exclusive types of marketing practices: prescriber-related (41/41, 100%), business-related (37/41, 90%), payer-related (23/41, 56%), and consumer-related (18/41, 44%). Prescriber-related practices, the centerpiece of company strategies, included self-serving presentations of the literature (31/41, 76%), free samples (8/41, 20%), direct financial incentives to physicians (35/41, 85%), and teaching (22/41, 54%) and research activities (8/41, 20%). Conclusions Off-label marketing practices appear to extend to many areas of the health care system. Unfortunately, the most common alleged off-label marketing practices also appear to be the most difficult to control through external regulatory approaches. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary PMID:21483716

Predictability and Prediction for an Experimental Cultural Market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colbaugh, Richard; Glass, Kristin; Ormerod, Paul

Individuals are often influenced by the behavior of others, for instance because they wish to obtain the benefits of coordinated actions or infer otherwise inaccessible information. In such situations this social influence decreases the ex ante predictability of the ensuing social dynamics. We claim that, interestingly, these same social forces can increase the extent to which the outcome of a social process can be predicted very early in the process. This paper explores this claim through a theoretical and empirical analysis of the experimental music market described and analyzed in [1]. We propose a very simple model for this music market, assess the predictability of market outcomes through formal analysis of the model, and use insights derived through this analysis to develop algorithms for predicting market share winners, and their ultimate market shares, in the very early stages of the market. The utility of these predictive algorithms is illustrated through analysis of the experimental music market data sets [2].

A Business Case Analysis of the M4/AR-15 Market

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

release; distribution is unlimited 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE A 13. ABSTRACT This research provides a business case analysis of the M4/AR-15... research provides a business case analysis of the M4/AR-15 market. The market analysis was conducted to fill missing gaps on the M4/AR-15 market...2  B.  PROBLEM STATEMENT .............................................................................3  C.  RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

Marketing Across the Board.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lauer, Larry D.

1999-01-01

Outlines an eight-step approach to launching an integrated college or university marketing/fund-raising program: finding a visionary campus leader; getting presidential support; assembling a three-tier marketing structure; considering new ways of defining quality; developing a marketing "blueprint"; selling the program on campus; embracing…

Does bargaining affect Medicare prescription drug plan reimbursements to independent pharmacies?

PubMed

Tang, Yuexin; Xie, Yang; Urmie, Julie M; Doucette, William R

2011-01-01

To examine how pharmacy bargaining activities affect reimbursement rates in Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (PDP) contracts, controlling for pharmacy quality attributes, market structures, and area socioeconomic status. Cross-sectional study. Six Medicare regions throughout the United States between October and December 2009. Random sample of 1,650 independent pharmacies; 321 returned surveys containing sufficient responses for analysis. Pharmacies were surveyed regarding PDP reimbursement rates, costs, and cash prices of two popular prescription drugs (atorvastatin calcium [Lipitor-Pfizer] and lisinopril, 1-month supply of a common strength), as well as pharmacy bargaining activities and quality attributes. Data also were used from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs pharmacy database, the 2000 U. S. Census, and the 2006 Economic Census on local market structures and area socio-economic status. PDP reimbursement rates. For the brand-name drug atorvastatin calcium, the PDP reimbursement was positively related to a pharmacy's request for a contract change (β = 0.887, P < 0.05), whereas other bargaining activities were not significantly related to PDP reimbursement. However, for the generic drug lisinopril, no bargaining activities were found to be significantly related to the PDP reimbursement. Pharmacy request for a contract change was associated with higher reimbursement rates for the brand-name drug atorvastatin calcium in PDP contracts, after controlling for pharmacy quality attributes, local market structures, and area socioeconomic status; this finding likely applies to other brand-name drugs because of the structure of the contracts. Our results suggest that independent pharmacies are more likely to acquire higher reimbursement rates by engaging in active bargaining with third-party payers.

Training Approaches in Manufacturing SMEs: Measuring the Influence of Ownership, Structure and Markets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Macpherson, Allan; Jayawarna, Dilani

2007-01-01

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the influence of a range of contingent factors that moderate the approaches to training in manufacturing SMEs. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on a regression analysis of data from a survey of 198 manufacturing SMEs. Findings: The findings suggest that there will be times when formal training…

Internal Staff Allocation and the Changing Workload of Japanese Professoriate: A Multilevel Statistical Analysis with Simulations. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.1.13

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watanabe, Satoshi; Murasawa, Masataka; Abe, Yasumi

2013-01-01

The increasingly competitive and globalizing environment of today's higher education market has compelled many colleges and universities around the world to revamp their academic programs and organizational structures by responsively addressing various contemporary issues raised by internal as well as external stakeholders. It is no exception that…

Structural model for fluctuations in financial markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anand, Kartik; Khedair, Jonathan; Kühn, Reimer

2018-05-01

In this paper we provide a comprehensive analysis of a structural model for the dynamics of prices of assets traded in a market which takes the form of an interacting generalization of the geometric Brownian motion model. It is formally equivalent to a model describing the stochastic dynamics of a system of analog neurons, which is expected to exhibit glassy properties and thus many metastable states in a large portion of its parameter space. We perform a generating functional analysis, introducing a slow driving of the dynamics to mimic the effect of slowly varying macroeconomic conditions. Distributions of asset returns over various time separations are evaluated analytically and are found to be fat-tailed in a manner broadly in line with empirical observations. Our model also allows us to identify collective, interaction-mediated properties of pricing distributions and it predicts pricing distributions which are significantly broader than their noninteracting counterparts, if interactions between prices in the model contain a ferromagnetic bias. Using simulations, we are able to substantiate one of the main hypotheses underlying the original modeling, viz., that the phenomenon of volatility clustering can be rationalized in terms of an interplay between the dynamics within metastable states and the dynamics of occasional transitions between them.

Modeling the consumer’s perception of experiential marketing in the Romanian private ophthalmologic services

PubMed Central

Gheorghe, Consuela-Mădălina; Gheorghe, Iuliana-Raluca; Purcărea, Victor Lorin

2017-01-01

Introduction. The importance of experience in marketing grew, as the concept itself is very personal and difficult to measure. Experience turns out to be complicated but once placed in a context it gets significant features. As the health care competitive environment increases, marketers are looking for new and effective methods of engaging consumers by using experiential marketing strategies. Moreover, little is known about the consumers’ perceptions related to ophthalmologic services. Aim. The objective of this paper was to measure the consumer’s perception of experiential marketing in the Romanian private ophthalmologic services by using structural equation modeling. Materials and Methods. The Experiential Marketing model consisted of the following components: Sense Experience, Feel Experience, Think Experience, Act Experience and Relate Experience as well as the consequences of applying Experiential Marketing in the form of willingness to purchase a service, generating word-of-mouth communication and building consumer loyalty. The sampling method was non-probabilistic, using the snowball technique and the sample was made up of 190 people who wore eyeglasses for more than 3 years. The instrument for data collection was a self-administered questionnaire, which consisted of 2 parts: the first section contained several demographic questions and the second section encompassed closed end questions related to the perception of private ophthalmologic services from an experiential marketing perspective. All the second section questions were measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 with Strongly Disagree to 5 to Strongly Agree. The data analysis was conducted in SPSS and the structural equation modeling was performed in WarpPLS version 6.0. Findings. There were 71.05% respondents, who appreciated the application of experiential marketing in private ophthalmologic services, followed by 18.95%, who were confused. The demographic profile of respondents encompassed the following features: females with the ages between 36 and 45, from the rural area and with a middle level of education, their private ophthalmologic consultation frequency was at every 3 months and they also declared having a stable physician. Going further with the analysis, 89.63% of the respondents admitted they were willing to buy a private ophthalmologic service based on the experiential marketing application strategies. The design of a model containing both the constituent elements of the experimental marketing and its consequences in ophthalmologic services was conducted by modeling with structural equations in WarpPLS version 6.0 software. Thus, the validity of the model was assessed with the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, Composite reliability values, as well as with the Average Variance Extracted coefficients, and the fitness of the model was determined by using the ARS, APC, and AVIF values, respectively. According to the beta coefficients and levels of statistical significance (p<0.05), some hypotheses have been rejected or negative relationships have been established between dependent and independent variables. Conclusions. Sense experience had a negative impact on WOM and consumer loyalty, Think Experience had a negative influence on the WOM, Relate Experience had a negative impact on consumer Loyalty, as well as Relate Experience had a negative impact on willingness to purchase an ophthalmologic service. In contrast, the following positive relationships were established: Feel Experience established a positive relationship with WOM and consumer loyalty, Think Experience presented a positive impact both on consumer loyalty and on willingness to purchase an ophthalmologic service, Act Experience presented a positive impact on WOM and willingness to purchase and last, willingness to purchase an ophthalmologic service presented a positive influence on consumer loyalty and WOM. However, managers in Ophthalmology can successfully use experimental marketing strategies if they promote a story, meaning a life experience. PMID:29450402

Modeling the consumer's perception of experiential marketing in the Romanian private ophthalmologic services.

PubMed

Gheorghe, Consuela-Mădălina; Gheorghe, Iuliana-Raluca; Purcărea, Victor Lorin

2017-01-01

Introduction. The importance of experience in marketing grew, as the concept itself is very personal and difficult to measure. Experience turns out to be complicated but once placed in a context it gets significant features. As the health care competitive environment increases, marketers are looking for new and effective methods of engaging consumers by using experiential marketing strategies. Moreover, little is known about the consumers' perceptions related to ophthalmologic services. Aim. The objective of this paper was to measure the consumer's perception of experiential marketing in the Romanian private ophthalmologic services by using structural equation modeling. Materials and Methods. The Experiential Marketing model consisted of the following components: Sense Experience, Feel Experience, Think Experience, Act Experience and Relate Experience as well as the consequences of applying Experiential Marketing in the form of willingness to purchase a service, generating word-of-mouth communication and building consumer loyalty. The sampling method was non-probabilistic, using the snowball technique and the sample was made up of 190 people who wore eyeglasses for more than 3 years. The instrument for data collection was a self-administered questionnaire, which consisted of 2 parts: the first section contained several demographic questions and the second section encompassed closed end questions related to the perception of private ophthalmologic services from an experiential marketing perspective. All the second section questions were measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 with Strongly Disagree to 5 to Strongly Agree. The data analysis was conducted in SPSS and the structural equation modeling was performed in WarpPLS version 6.0. Findings. There were 71.05% respondents, who appreciated the application of experiential marketing in private ophthalmologic services, followed by 18.95%, who were confused. The demographic profile of respondents encompassed the following features: females with the ages between 36 and 45, from the rural area and with a middle level of education, their private ophthalmologic consultation frequency was at every 3 months and they also declared having a stable physician. Going further with the analysis, 89.63% of the respondents admitted they were willing to buy a private ophthalmologic service based on the experiential marketing application strategies. The design of a model containing both the constituent elements of the experimental marketing and its consequences in ophthalmologic services was conducted by modeling with structural equations in WarpPLS version 6.0 software. Thus, the validity of the model was assessed with the Cronbach's alpha coefficients, Composite reliability values, as well as with the Average Variance Extracted coefficients, and the fitness of the model was determined by using the ARS, APC, and AVIF values, respectively. According to the beta coefficients and levels of statistical significance (p<0.05), some hypotheses have been rejected or negative relationships have been established between dependent and independent variables. Conclusions. Sense experience had a negative impact on WOM and consumer loyalty, Think Experience had a negative influence on the WOM, Relate Experience had a negative impact on consumer Loyalty, as well as Relate Experience had a negative impact on willingness to purchase an ophthalmologic service. In contrast, the following positive relationships were established: Feel Experience established a positive relationship with WOM and consumer loyalty, Think Experience presented a positive impact both on consumer loyalty and on willingness to purchase an ophthalmologic service, Act Experience presented a positive impact on WOM and willingness to purchase and last, willingness to purchase an ophthalmologic service presented a positive influence on consumer loyalty and WOM. However, managers in Ophthalmology can successfully use experimental marketing strategies if they promote a story, meaning a life experience.

Understanding Electricity Market Frameworks & Policies

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Toolbox for Renewable Energy Project Development's Understanding Electricity Market Frameworks and Policies page provides an overview of regulated and deregulated electric utility market structures and how they impact project development.

Analysis of illicit drugs in wastewater - Is there an added value for law enforcement?

PubMed

Been, F; Esseiva, P; Delémont, O

2016-09-01

Assessing illicit drug use through the analysis of wastewater is progressively being integrated into existing methods used to monitor the epidemiology of drug use. However, the approach's potential to deliver pertinent information for law enforcement has been discussed only limitedly. Thus, this work focuses on evaluating the added value of the approach from the perspective of law enforcement. Results from wastewater analysis carried out in two cities in Switzerland were scrutinised, taking into account intelligence derived from the work of drug enforcement in the area. Focus was set on three substances, namely cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. Findings show that results from wastewater analysis can be used by law enforcement to assess the market share held by criminal groups. Combined with intelligence resulting from police work (e.g., investigations and informants), wastewater analysis can contribute to deciphering the structure of drug markets, as well as the local organisation of trafficking networks. The results presented here constitute valuable pieces of information, which can be used by law enforcement to guide decisions at strategic and/or operational levels. Furthermore, intelligence gathered through investigations and surveillance constitutes an alternative viewpoint to evaluate results of wastewater analysis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis on the inbound tourist source market in Jiangxi based on geographic concentration index and market competition status

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Tong; Ye, Yue-li

2018-05-01

In accordance with the related data of Statistical Yearbook of Jiangxi (2007—2016), conduct analysis on the development situation of inbound tourist source market in Jiangxi based on geographic concentration index and market competition status. The result shows: when the geographic concentration index of the inbound tourism market in Jiangxi presents an increasing decline trend, the tourism-generating countries of the inbound tourism in Jiangxi are getting more and more disperse, the tourist markets present the diversified feature and the inbound tourism market tends to be stable; besides, the analysis result of the market competition status shows that the inbound tourism development in Jiangxi has transformed from the rapid development to stable development.

An approach to market analysis for lighter than air transportation of freight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, P. O.; Marcus, H. S.; Pollock, J. H.

1975-01-01

An approach is presented to marketing analysis for lighter than air vehicles in a commercial freight market. After a discussion of key characteristics of supply and demand factors, a three-phase approach to marketing analysis is described. The existing transportation systems are quantitatively defined and possible roles for lighter than air vehicles within this framework are postulated. The marketing analysis views the situation from the perspective of both the shipper and the carrier. A demand for freight service is assumed and the resulting supply characteristics are determined. Then, these supply characteristics are used to establish the demand for competing modes. The process is then iterated to arrive at the market solution.

The market for wood picnic structures.

Treesearch

Jerry A. Sesco

1969-01-01

Most of the picnic structures in six north-central states studied were constructed of wood. Service life of structure varied greatly. Vandalism and decay were the major reasons for repairing and replacing picnic tables. More than half the tables were made by the recreation agencies themselves. These results describe a market that existing and potential wood...

Solar Market Research and Analysis Email Updates | Solar Research | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Analysis Email Updates Solar Market Research and Analysis Email Updates NREL's Solar Market email updates, please provide and submit the following information. Email Address

Promoting physical activity in Iranian women: A qualitative study using social marketing

PubMed Central

Tabatabaei, Seyed Vahid Ahmadi; Ardabili, Hassan Eftekhar; Haghdoost, Ali Akbar; Nakhaee, Nouzar; Shams, Mohsen

2017-01-01

Background and aim In social marketing, at the center of the program is consumer perception. The objective of this study was to explore the viewpoints of Iranian women for tailoring interventions so as to increase physical activity. Methods The social marketing model served as the framework of the study. Qualitative data were collected via six semi-structured focus group discussions (FGDs), in 2014 in Iran. Participants were 51 women, 20 to 60 years old, selected by purposive sampling, with a maximum diversity. Qualitative content analysis of the data was conducted by researchers. Results After data analysis and extracting initial codes, they were all categorized in four predefined categories of social marketing model (product, price, place and promotion) and related sub-categories. Most of the participants were inactive. Price was addressed by women as the dominant category of this study. The majority of participants emphasized the benefits of prevention of chronic diseases, fitness, staying young, and improving family relations. Most women preferred to do physical activity in a secure and enclosed female environment. And the majority of participants considered radio, television, face to face training, texting, and advertising billboards as promotional strategies. Conclusion This study provides a unique insight into consumers’ values and motivations that affect consumers’ decisions to adopt physical activity, in Iran. It could also help researchers to design and implement intervention programs to increase physical activity. PMID:29038710

Promoting physical activity in Iranian women: A qualitative study using social marketing.

PubMed

Tabatabaei, Seyed Vahid Ahmadi; Ardabili, Hassan Eftekhar; Haghdoost, Ali Akbar; Nakhaee, Nouzar; Shams, Mohsen

2017-09-01

In social marketing, at the center of the program is consumer perception. The objective of this study was to explore the viewpoints of Iranian women for tailoring interventions so as to increase physical activity. The social marketing model served as the framework of the study. Qualitative data were collected via six semi-structured focus group discussions (FGDs), in 2014 in Iran. Participants were 51 women, 20 to 60 years old, selected by purposive sampling, with a maximum diversity. Qualitative content analysis of the data was conducted by researchers. After data analysis and extracting initial codes, they were all categorized in four predefined categories of social marketing model (product, price, place and promotion) and related sub-categories. Most of the participants were inactive. Price was addressed by women as the dominant category of this study. The majority of participants emphasized the benefits of prevention of chronic diseases, fitness, staying young, and improving family relations. Most women preferred to do physical activity in a secure and enclosed female environment. And the majority of participants considered radio, television, face to face training, texting, and advertising billboards as promotional strategies. This study provides a unique insight into consumers' values and motivations that affect consumers' decisions to adopt physical activity, in Iran. It could also help researchers to design and implement intervention programs to increase physical activity.

Content Analysis of Assessment Data in Marketing Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vowles, Nicole; Hutto, Alexandra; Miller, Peter Max M.

2017-01-01

This study analyzes a sample of students' writing to assess their understanding of marketing concepts in the context of a Principles of Marketing course. Content analysis of pre- and post-essays was used to assess student knowledge of marketing concepts. The data was collected in Principles of Marketing classes. and highlight that many students…

A Good Beginning Makes a Good Market: The Effect of Different Market Opening Structures on Market Quality

PubMed Central

Hinterleitner, Gernot; Leopold-Wildburger, Ulrike

2015-01-01

This paper deals with the market structure at the opening of the trading day and its influence on subsequent trading. We compare a single continuous double auction and two complement markets with different call auction designs as opening mechanisms in a unified experimental framework. The call auctions differ with respect to their levels of transparency. We find that a call auction not only improves market efficiency and liquidity at the beginning of the trading day when compared to the stand-alone continuous double auction, but also causes positive spillover effects on subsequent trading. Concerning the design of the opening call auction, we find no significant differences between the transparent and nontransparent specification with respect to opening prices and liquidity. In the course of subsequent continuous trading, however, market quality is slightly higher after a nontransparent call auction. PMID:26351653

Evolution of microbial markets.

PubMed

Werner, Gijsbert D A; Strassmann, Joan E; Ivens, Aniek B F; Engelmoer, Daniel J P; Verbruggen, Erik; Queller, David C; Noë, Ronald; Johnson, Nancy Collins; Hammerstein, Peter; Kiers, E Toby

2014-01-28

Biological market theory has been used successfully to explain cooperative behavior in many animal species. Microbes also engage in cooperative behaviors, both with hosts and other microbes, that can be described in economic terms. However, a market approach is not traditionally used to analyze these interactions. Here, we extend the biological market framework to ask whether this theory is of use to evolutionary biologists studying microbes. We consider six economic strategies used by microbes to optimize their success in markets. We argue that an economic market framework is a useful tool to generate specific and interesting predictions about microbial interactions, including the evolution of partner discrimination, hoarding strategies, specialized versus diversified mutualistic services, and the role of spatial structures, such as flocks and consortia. There is untapped potential for studying the evolutionary dynamics of microbial systems. Market theory can help structure this potential by characterizing strategic investment of microbes across a diversity of conditions.

Planning and managing market research: Electric utility market research monograph series: Monograph 1

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Whitelaw, R.W.

1987-01-01

The market research techniques available now to the electric utility industry have evolved over the last thirty years into a set of sophisticated tools that permit complex behavioral analyses that earlier had been impossible. The marketing questions facing the electric utility industry now are commensurately more complex than ever before. This document was undertaken to present the tools and techniques needed to start or improve the usefulness of market research activities within electric utilities. It describes proven planning and management techniques as well as decision criteria for structuring effective market research functions for each utility's particular needs. The monograph establishesmore » the parameters of sound utility market research given trade-offs between highly centralized or decentralized organizations, research focus, involvement in decision making, and personnel and management skills necessary to maximize the effectiveness of the structure chosen.« less

A Good Beginning Makes a Good Market: The Effect of Different Market Opening Structures on Market Quality.

PubMed

Hinterleitner, Gernot; Leopold-Wildburger, Ulrike; Mestel, Roland; Palan, Stefan

2015-01-01

This paper deals with the market structure at the opening of the trading day and its influence on subsequent trading. We compare a single continuous double auction and two complement markets with different call auction designs as opening mechanisms in a unified experimental framework. The call auctions differ with respect to their levels of transparency. We find that a call auction not only improves market efficiency and liquidity at the beginning of the trading day when compared to the stand-alone continuous double auction, but also causes positive spillover effects on subsequent trading. Concerning the design of the opening call auction, we find no significant differences between the transparent and nontransparent specification with respect to opening prices and liquidity. In the course of subsequent continuous trading, however, market quality is slightly higher after a nontransparent call auction.

Evolution of microbial markets

PubMed Central

Werner, Gijsbert D. A.; Strassmann, Joan E.; Ivens, Aniek B. F.; Engelmoer, Daniel J. P.; Verbruggen, Erik; Queller, David C.; Noë, Ronald; Johnson, Nancy Collins; Hammerstein, Peter; Kiers, E. Toby

2014-01-01

Biological market theory has been used successfully to explain cooperative behavior in many animal species. Microbes also engage in cooperative behaviors, both with hosts and other microbes, that can be described in economic terms. However, a market approach is not traditionally used to analyze these interactions. Here, we extend the biological market framework to ask whether this theory is of use to evolutionary biologists studying microbes. We consider six economic strategies used by microbes to optimize their success in markets. We argue that an economic market framework is a useful tool to generate specific and interesting predictions about microbial interactions, including the evolution of partner discrimination, hoarding strategies, specialized versus diversified mutualistic services, and the role of spatial structures, such as flocks and consortia. There is untapped potential for studying the evolutionary dynamics of microbial systems. Market theory can help structure this potential by characterizing strategic investment of microbes across a diversity of conditions. PMID:24474743

Multi-agent electricity market modeling with EMCAS.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

North, M.; Macal, C.; Conzelmann, G.

2002-09-05

Electricity systems are a central component of modern economies. Many electricity markets are transitioning from centrally regulated systems to decentralized markets. Furthermore, several electricity markets that have recently undergone this transition have exhibited extremely unsatisfactory results, most notably in California. These high stakes transformations require the introduction of largely untested regulatory structures. Suitable tools that can be used to test these regulatory structures before they are applied to real systems are required. Multi-agent models can provide such tools. To better understand the requirements such as tool, a live electricity market simulation was created. This experience helped to shape the developmentmore » of the multi-agent Electricity Market Complex Adaptive Systems (EMCAS) model. To explore EMCAS' potential, several variations of the live simulation were created. These variations probed the possible effects of changing power plant outages and price setting rules on electricity market prices.« less

An analysis of stock market efficiency: Developed vs Islamic stock markets using MF-DFA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rizvi, Syed Aun R.; Dewandaru, Ginanjar; Bacha, Obiyathulla I.; Masih, Mansur

An efficient market has been theoretically proven to be a key component for effective and efficient resource allocation in an economy. This paper incorporates econophysics with Efficient Market Hypothesis to undertake a comparative analysis of Islamic and developed countries’ markets by extending the understanding of their multifractal nature. By applying the Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (MFDFA) we calculated the generalized Hurst exponents, multifractal scaling exponents and generalized multifractal dimensions for 22 broad market indices. The findings provide a deeper understanding of the markets in Islamic countries, where they have traces of highly efficient performance particularly in crisis periods. A key finding is the empirical evidence of the impact of the ‘stage of market development’ on the efficiency of the market. If Islamic countries aim to improve the efficiency of resource allocation, an important area to address is to focus, among others, on enhancing the stage of market development.

Characterization of the Bread Made with Durum Wheat Semolina Rendered Gluten Free by Sourdough Biotechnology in Comparison with Commercial Gluten-Free Products.

PubMed

Rizzello, Carlo Giuseppe; Montemurro, Marco; Gobbetti, Marco

2016-09-01

Durum wheat semolina was fermented with sourdough lactic acid bacteria and fungal proteases aiming at a complete gluten hydrolysis. The gluten-free (GF) semolina, added with naturally GF ingredients and structuring agents, was used to produce bread (rendered GF bread; rGFB) at industrial level. An integrated approach including the characterization of the main chemical, nutritional, structural, and sensory features was used to compare rGFB to a gluten-containing bread and to 5 commercial naturally GF breads. High-performance liquid chromatography was used for free amino acids (FAAs), organic acids, and ethanol analysis. A methanolic extract was used for determining total phenols and antioxidant activity. The bread characterization also included the analysis of dietary fibers, mycotoxins, vitamins, and heavy metals. Beyond chemical analysis, nutritional profile was evaluated considering the in vitro protein digestibility and the predicted glycemic index, while the instrumental texture profile analysis was performed to investigate the structure and the physical/mechanical properties of the baked goods. Beyond the huge potential of market expansion, the main advantages of durum wheat semolina rendered GF can be resumed in the high availability of FAAs, the high protein digestibility, the low starch hydrolysis index, and the better technological properties of bread compared to the commercial GF products currently present on the market. Vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber profiles are comparable to those of gluten-containing wheat bread. Also the sensory profile, determined by a panel test, can be considered the most similar to those of conventional baked goods, showing all the sourdough bread classic attributes. © 2016 Institute of Food Technologists®

Patterns of Twitter Behavior Among Networks of Cannabis Dispensaries in California

PubMed Central

Chew, Robert F; Hsieh, Yuli P; Bieler, Gayle S; Bobashev, Georgiy V; Siege, Christopher; Zarkin, Gary A

2017-01-01

Background Twitter represents a social media platform through which medical cannabis dispensaries can rapidly promote and advertise a multitude of retail products. Yet, to date, no studies have systematically evaluated Twitter behavior among dispensaries and how these behaviors influence the formation of social networks. Objectives This study sought to characterize common cyberbehaviors and shared follower networks among dispensaries operating in two large cannabis markets in California. Methods From a targeted sample of 119 dispensaries in the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles, we collected metadata from the dispensary accounts using the Twitter API. For each city, we characterized the network structure of dispensaries based upon shared followers, then empirically derived communities with the Louvain modularity algorithm. Principal components factor analysis was employed to reduce 12 Twitter measures into a more parsimonious set of cyberbehavioral dimensions. Finally, quadratic discriminant analysis was implemented to verify the ability of the extracted dimensions to classify dispensaries into their derived communities. Results The modularity algorithm yielded three communities in each city with distinct network structures. The principal components factor analysis reduced the 12 cyberbehaviors into five dimensions that encompassed account age, posting frequency, referencing, hyperlinks, and user engagement among the dispensary accounts. In the quadratic discriminant analysis, the dimensions correctly classified 75% (46/61) of the communities in the San Francisco Bay Area and 71% (41/58) in Greater Los Angeles. Conclusions The most centralized and strongly connected dispensaries in both cities had newer accounts, higher daily activity, more frequent user engagement, and increased usage of embedded media, keywords, and hyperlinks. Measures derived from both network structure and cyberbehavioral dimensions can serve as key contextual indicators for the online surveillance of cannabis dispensaries and consumer markets over time. PMID:28676471

Multifractals of investor behavior in stock market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Gabjin

2017-07-01

In this paper, we analyze the nonlinear properties of investor activity using the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA) method. Using the aggregated trading volumes of buying, selling, and normalized net investor trading (NIT) to quantify the characteristics of trader behavior in the KOSPI market, we find that the cumulative distribution functions of all NIT time series, except for individual traders, follow a power-law distribution with an exponent in the range of 2.92 ≤ γ ≤ 3.87. To observe the nonlinear features of investor activity, we also calculate the multifractal spectra for the buyer, seller, and NIT data sets and find that a multifractal structure exists in all of the data, regardless of the investor type studied.

Hospital marketing: characterization of marketing actions in private hospitals in the city of São Paulo - Brazil.

PubMed

Leiderman, Eduardo Blay; Padovan, Jorge Luis; Zucchi, Paola

2010-01-01

Characterize the marketing actions in private hospitals in the city of São Paulo, the organizational structure of the marketing area, the target public of marketing actions and the media used. Exploratory cross-sectional study, carried out by a survey made with hospital administrators. The hospitals studied were clearly divided in two groups whose differentials are statistically significant: 1. good infrastructure and equipment, with a well-defined investment policy in marketing; 2. worse infrastructure and less equipment, with lower proportional investment in marketing. 1. The actions most used are the evaluation of patients/caregivers satisfaction, web site and dissemination of the hospital services. 2. The hospital administrators attribute a level of significant importance to the application of hospital marketing concepts. 3. There is a marketing structure in most of the hospitals studied. 4. The hospitals consider as extremely or very important publics: patients and relatives, doctors, collaborators, health plans and community. 5. The media most used are the most simple and of lower cost. 6. There is a statistically significant correlation between the higher investment in marketing and the best infrastructure. 7. The studied hospitals apply the concept of marketing in a restricted way.

Starting a sleep center.

PubMed

Epstein, Lawrence J; Valentine, Paul S

2010-05-01

The demand for sleep medicine services has grown tremendously during the last decade and will likely continue. To date, growth in demand has been met by growth in the number of new sleep centers. The need for more new centers will be dependent on market drivers that include increasing regulatory requirements, personnel shortages, integration of home sleep testing, changes in reimbursement, a shift in emphasis from diagnostics to treatment, and an increased consumer focus on sleep. The decision to open a new center should be based on understanding the market dynamics, completing a market analysis, and developing a business plan. The business plan should include an overview of the facility, a personnel and organizational structure, an evaluation of the business environment, a financial plan, a description of services provided, and a strategy for obtaining, managing, and extending a referral base. Implementation of the business plan and successful operation require ongoing planning and monitoring of operational parameters. The need for new sleep centers will likely continue, but the shifting market dynamics indicate a greater need for understanding the marketplace and careful planning.

Clinical trials in "emerging markets": regulatory considerations and other factors.

PubMed

Singh, Romi; Wang, Ouhong

2013-11-01

Clinical studies are being placed in emerging markets as part of global drug development programs to access large pool of eligible patients and to benefit from a cost effective structure. However, over the last few years, the definition of "emerging markets" is being revisited, especially from a regulatory perspective. For purposes of this article, countries outside US, EU and the traditional "western countries" are discussed. Multiple factors are considered for placement of clinical studies such as adherence to Good Clinical Practice (GCP), medical infrastructure & standard of care, number of eligible patients, etc. This article also discusses other quantitative factors such as country's GDP, patent applications, healthcare expenditure, healthcare infrastructure, corruption, innovation, etc. These different factors and indexes are correlated to the number of clinical studies ongoing in the "emerging markets". R&D, healthcare expenditure, technology infrastructure, transparency, and level of innovation, show a significant correlation with the number of clinical trials being conducted in these countries. This is the first analysis of its kind to evaluate and correlate the various other factors to the number of clinical studies in a country. © 2013.

Segments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zemsky, Robert; Shaman, Susan; Shapiro, Daniel B.

2001-01-01

Presents a market taxonomy for higher education, including what it reveals about the structure of the market, the model's technical attributes, and its capacity to explain pricing behavior. Details the identification of the principle seams separating one market segment from another and how student aspirations help to organize the market, making…

The role of marketing in transplantation.

PubMed

Thomson, Art

2007-06-01

Although marketing has a well-established role in healthcare, few publications on the role of marketing in transplantation exist. In addition, the field of organ transplantation presents some unique marketing challenges because of the limited availability of organs. Marketing is essential to the success of transplantation services. An effective market planning process includes several steps: an assessment of the current program; analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; a competitive analysis; the identification of target audiences; setting of marketing goals, strategies, and tactics; and developing methods for tracking and evaluation. Two often overlooked needs are to assess readiness for marketing and internal marketing.

Outpatient imaging center valuations: do you need a fair-market value analysis?

PubMed

Koonsman, G S

2001-01-01

Typically, outpatient diagnostic imaging centers are formed as partnerships between radiologists, radiologists and hospitals, and/or radiologists and diagnostic imaging center management companies. As a result of these partnership structures, the question of equity valuation frequently arises. It is not only important to understand when an independent valuation would be required, but also what "type" of valuation needs to be performed. The type of valuation may vary based upon the use of the valuation. In partnerships that involve hospitals and physicians, the federal anti-kickback statutes (fraud and abuse laws) require that all transactions between referring physicians and hospitals be consummated at fair-market value. In addition, tax-exempt hospitals that enter into partnerships with physicians are required to enter into those transactions at fair-market value or risk losing their tax-exempt status. Fair-market value is also typically the standard of value that all partnerships strive to conduct equity transactions with shareholders. Qualifications required by those who perform independent fair-market value opinions include: Proper business valuation training and focus on valuations as a primary business Focus on the healthcare industry and specifically on the valuation of diagnostic imaging centers In order to perform a reasonable business valuation analysis, the appraiser must have access to a significant amount of financial, operational and legal information. The analyst must be able to understand the history of the imaging center as well as the projected future of the center. Ultimately, a valuation is a measurement of the estimated future cash flows of the center--risk adjusted--in order to quantify the present value of those cash flows.

Retrospective View of North American Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Breeding in the 20th and 21st Centuries

PubMed Central

Hirsch, Candice N.; Hirsch, Cory D.; Felcher, Kimberly; Coombs, Joseph; Zarka, Dan; Van Deynze, Allen; De Jong, Walter; Veilleux, Richard E.; Jansky, Shelley; Bethke, Paul; Douches, David S.; Buell, C. Robin

2013-01-01

Cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), a vegetatively propagated autotetraploid, has been bred for distinct market classes, including fresh market, pigmented, and processing varieties. Breeding efforts have relied on phenotypic selection of populations developed from intra- and intermarket class crosses and introgressions of wild and cultivated Solanum relatives. To retrospectively explore the effects of potato breeding at the genome level, we used 8303 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers to genotype a 250-line diversity panel composed of wild species, genetic stocks, and cultivated potato lines with release dates ranging from 1857 to 2011. Population structure analysis revealed four subpopulations within the panel, with cultivated potato lines grouping together and separate from wild species and genetic stocks. With pairwise kinship estimates clear separation between potato market classes was observed. Modern breeding efforts have scarcely changed the percentage of heterozygous loci or the frequency of homozygous, single-dose, and duplex loci on a genome level, despite concerted efforts by breeders. In contrast, clear selection in less than 50 years of breeding was observed for alleles in biosynthetic pathways important for market class-specific traits such as pigmentation and carbohydrate composition. Although improvement and diversification for distinct market classes was observed through whole-genome analysis of historic and current potato lines, an increased rate of gain from selection will be required to meet growing global food demands and challenges due to climate change. Understanding the genetic basis of diversification and trait improvement will allow for more rapid genome-guided improvement of potato in future breeding efforts. PMID:23589519

Retrospective view of North American potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) breeding in the 20th and 21st centuries.

PubMed

Hirsch, Candice N; Hirsch, Cory D; Felcher, Kimberly; Coombs, Joseph; Zarka, Dan; Van Deynze, Allen; De Jong, Walter; Veilleux, Richard E; Jansky, Shelley; Bethke, Paul; Douches, David S; Buell, C Robin

2013-06-21

Cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), a vegetatively propagated autotetraploid, has been bred for distinct market classes, including fresh market, pigmented, and processing varieties. Breeding efforts have relied on phenotypic selection of populations developed from intra- and intermarket class crosses and introgressions of wild and cultivated Solanum relatives. To retrospectively explore the effects of potato breeding at the genome level, we used 8303 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers to genotype a 250-line diversity panel composed of wild species, genetic stocks, and cultivated potato lines with release dates ranging from 1857 to 2011. Population structure analysis revealed four subpopulations within the panel, with cultivated potato lines grouping together and separate from wild species and genetic stocks. With pairwise kinship estimates clear separation between potato market classes was observed. Modern breeding efforts have scarcely changed the percentage of heterozygous loci or the frequency of homozygous, single-dose, and duplex loci on a genome level, despite concerted efforts by breeders. In contrast, clear selection in less than 50 years of breeding was observed for alleles in biosynthetic pathways important for market class-specific traits such as pigmentation and carbohydrate composition. Although improvement and diversification for distinct market classes was observed through whole-genome analysis of historic and current potato lines, an increased rate of gain from selection will be required to meet growing global food demands and challenges due to climate change. Understanding the genetic basis of diversification and trait improvement will allow for more rapid genome-guided improvement of potato in future breeding efforts.

Techno-Economic, Sustainability, and Market Analysis | Bioenergy | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Techno-Economic, Sustainability, and Market Analysis Techno-Economic, Sustainability, and Market Analysis NREL conducts techno-economic analyses (TEAs) for algal biofuels, thermochemical conversion, and agitating the liquid as it flows around. Algal Biofuels Techno-Economic Analysis NREL's Algae Techno

Market niche analysis in the casino gaming industry.

PubMed

Dandurand, L

1990-03-01

This article discusses the nature of market niche analysis in the casino gaming industry. It presents four approaches for conducting market niche analysis. An an example of one approach, the Las Vegas Visitor Profile Study is used to identify a premium niche in the Las Vegas Slot Target Market. A detailed examination of the premium niche profile provides a description of the typical premium slot player. The description of the typical premium player leads to hypotheses regarding needs (the unique preference set) of the premium player. An analysis of the unique preference set suggests an appropriate enhanced marketing program.

A phenomenological study of business graduates' employment experiences in the changing economy.

PubMed

Campbell, Throy Alexander

2018-01-01

This study explores the perspectives of business college graduates, how technology has shaped the structures of their jobs, and the role of non-technical skills as they navigate the changing career path. Three overlapping themes emerged from the data analysis: (1) influence of increased technology capabilities on job structures and careers; (2) participation in job-related training and formal education as means of adapting to the new work environment; and (3) the role of non-technical skills in the workplace amidst the intensification of technology change. This research provides higher education practitioners and labor market researchers qualitative perspectives on work structure changes.

Foreign-Born Out-Migration from New Destinations: Onward or Back to the Enclave?1

PubMed Central

Kritz, Mary M.; Gurak, Douglas T.; Lee, Min-Ah

2012-01-01

Immigrants have a markedly higher likelihood of migrating internally if they live in new destinations. This paper looks at why that pattern occurs and at how immigrants’ out-migration to new versus traditional destinations responds to their labor market economic and industrial structure, nativity origins and concentration, geographic region, and 1995 labor market type. Confidential data from the 2000 and 1990 decennial censuses are used for the analysis. Metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas are categorized into 741 local labor markets and classified as new or traditional based on their nativity concentrations of immigrants from the largest Asian, Caribbean and Latin American origins. The analysis showed that immigrants were less likely to migrate to new destinations if they lived in areas of higher nativity concentration, foreign-born population growth, and wages but more likely to make that move if they were professionals, agricultural or blue collar workers, highly educated, fluent in English, and lived in other new destinations. While most immigrants are more likely to migrate to new rather than traditional destinations that outcome differs sharply for immigrants from different origins and for some immigrants, particularly those from the Caribbean, the dispersal process to new destinations has barely started. PMID:23347493

An Analysis of the Expediency Social Media for Culinary Products Marketing on Micro and Middle Enterprise in Pekanbaru City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arisandi, Diki; Sukri

2017-12-01

Today, there are many culinary business can be found Pekanbaru city. To increase the benefit, the culinary entrepreneurs are using social media such as Facebook, twitter, instagram, whatsapp and others. This research discussed about the expediency of social media analysis for culinary products marketing on micro and middle enterprise in Pekanbaru by using structural equation modeling method. The Variables were used in this research are the selection of social media, updating information, response to costumers, quality and price as variable x to culinary business marketing as variable y. Data retrieval comes from a questionnaire filled by culinary entrepreneurs who are using social media to sell their product to customer in Pekanbaru. The result of this research displayed that the value of validity to the questionnaire was minimum = 0.083 and maximum = 0.547, RMSEA = 0.08, AGFI = 0.705, CMIN / DF = 1.834, TLI = 0.813 and CFI = 0.843. From the results of these measurements can be concluded that six of seven components of the measurement value can be avowed as acceptable, so the final result in this research is all the x variables have a positive influence on y variable.

Hidden cross-correlation patterns in stock markets based on permutation cross-sample entropy and PCA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Aijing; Shang, Pengjian; Zhong, Bo

2014-12-01

In this article, we investigate the hidden cross-correlation structures in Chinese stock markets and US stock markets by performing PCSE combined with PCA approach. It is suggested that PCSE can provide a more faithful and more interpretable description of the dynamic mechanism between time series than cross-correlation matrix. We show that this new technique can be adapted to observe stock markets especially during financial crisis. In order to identify and compare the interactions and structures of stock markets during financial crisis, as well as in normal periods, all the samples are divided into four sub-periods. The results imply that the cross-correlations between Chinese group are stronger than the US group in the most sub-periods. In particular, it is likely that the US stock markets are more integrated with each other during global financial crisis than during Asian financial crisis. However, our results illustrate that Chinese stock markets are not immune from the global financial crisis, although less integrated with other markets if they are compared with US stock markets.

Atmospherics, the marketing concept, and a marketing tool for hospitals.

PubMed

Fugate, D L

1991-01-01

Researchers have demonstrated that the conscious use of atmospheric structuring can induce marketer-desired behaviors in service consumers. This may be particularly relevant to marketers of hospital care since consumer judgments often depend upon peripheral rather than core evidences of quality and satisfaction. Under these circumstances, health care marketers have an obligation to explore the phenomenon of atmospherics and its practical implications in the health care marketing mix.

Risk and markets for ecosystem services.

PubMed

Bendor, Todd K; Riggsbee, J Adam; Doyle, Martin

2011-12-15

Market-based environmental regulations (e.g., cap and trade, "payments for ecosystem services") are increasingly common. However, few detailed studies of operating ecosystem markets have lent understanding to how such policies affect incentive structures for improving environmental quality. The largest U.S. market stems from the Clean Water Act provisions requiring ecosystem restoration to offset aquatic ecosystems damaged during development. We describe and test how variations in the rules governing this ecosystem market shift risk between regulators and entrepreneurs to promote ecological restoration. We analyze extensive national scale data to assess how two critical aspects of market structure - (a) the geographic scale of markets and (b) policies dictating the release of credits - affect the willingness of entrepreneurs to enter specific markets and produce credits. We find no discernible relationship between policies attempting to ease market entry and either the number of individual producers or total credits produced. Rather, market entry is primarily related to regional geography (the prevalence of aquatic ecosystems) and regional economic growth. Any improvements to policies governing ecosystem markets require explicit evaluation of the interplay between policy and risk elements affecting both regulators and entrepreneurial credit providers. Our findings extend to emerging, regulated ecosystem markets, including proposed carbon offset mechanisms, biodiversity banking, and water quality trading programs.

A comparative analysis of generics markets in five European countries.

PubMed

Garattini, L; Tediosi, F

2000-04-01

A generic medicine is a faithful copy of a mature drug--no longer under patent marketed with the chemical name of the active ingredient. This article analyses generics markets in five European countries: France, Germany Italy, The Netherlands and the U.K. The study investigate all the main issues--patent, approval to market, pricing and reimbursement, prescription and distribution--which affect the life cycle of a pharmaceutical product. The situation in the five countries varied widely. Because of European harmonization, patent legislation and approval procedures no longer affect much the development of generics. Only national legislation on patent protection approved before the EU directive came into force still plays a role. Approval differences seem to be due mainly to common practice, rather than to the regulations themselves. None of the countries have an efficient public information system on patent expiry. Generics have had more success in countries with more flexible pricing policies. Reimbursement has not yet been used widely to discriminate between generics and proprietary drugs. Financial incentives are based more on physicians' prescribing behaviour than on pharmacists. The freedom of pharmacy ownership and the consequent possibility of dispensing pharmaceuticals through different channels affects dramatically the structure of generics markets. A free market of wholesalers and retailers can enhance a comparative market, through horizontal and vertical integration all along the distribution chain. Such an environment has stimulate the success of unbranded generics by delegating strong purchasing power to distributors.

Small rural hospitals: an example of market segmentation analysis.

PubMed

Mainous, A G; Shelby, R L

1991-01-01

In recent years, market segmentation analysis has shown increased popularity among health care marketers, although marketers tend to focus upon hospitals as sellers. The present analysis suggests that there is merit to viewing hospitals as a market of consumers. Employing a random sample of 741 small rural hospitals, the present investigation sought to determine, through the use of segmentation analysis, the variables associated with hospital success (occupancy). The results of a discriminant analysis yielded a model which classifies hospitals with a high degree of predictive accuracy. Successful hospitals have more beds and employees, and are generally larger and have more resources. However, there was no significant relationship between organizational success and number of services offered by the institution.

Does pop music exist? Hierarchical structure in phonographic markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buda, Andrzej

2012-11-01

I find a topological arrangement of assets traded in phonographic markets which has associated a meaningful economic taxonomy. I continue using the Minimal Spanning Tree and the correlations between assets, but now outside the stock markets. This is the first attempt to use these methods on phonographic markets where we have artists instead of stocks. The value of an artist is defined by record sales. The graph is obtained starting from the matrix of correlation coefficients computed between the world’s most popular 30 artists by considering the synchronous time evolution of the difference of the logarithm of weekly record sales. This method provides the hierarchical structure of the phonographic market and information on which music genre is meaningful according to customers. Statistical properties (including the Hurst exponent) of weekly record sales in the phonographic market are also discussed.

The analysis of market knowledge competence effect and research & development (R&D) toward the policy making of new product development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Purwanggono, Bambang; Sesuko, Agung; Budiawan, Wiwik

2017-11-01

The increasing mobility of people without adequate provision of mass transportation infrastructures makes people choose private transportation like motorcycles. Such circumstances lead the motorcycle manufacturers in Indonesia competing to develop their products to meet the needs of customers. In addition, the new regulation of Central Bank of Indonesia dealing with the credit advances has raised the intense competition of motorcycles industries in Indonesia. One of the ways to win the competition is by developing new and improved products. In developing and improving the products, companies need to consider resource utilization. In this research, researcher utilizes the resources that exist both inside and outside the enterprise such as customer demands, intensity of competition, perception of the importance of market knowledge, importance of market competence, and internal R&D as well as external R&D is expected to develop new products that are superior. The study involved 150 employees as respondents. The method used in the study is Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with AMOS 20.0 statistical software. The result shows that the demands of the customers and the intensity of competition lead to a positive effect on market knowledge competence, while the perception of the market knowledge importance does not influence the development of new products, and market knowledge competence, internal R&D and external R&D have positive effect on the development of new products.

Fractal geometry as a new approach for proving nanosimilarity: a reflection note.

PubMed

Demetzos, Costas; Pippa, Natassa

2015-04-10

Nanosimilars are considered as new medicinal outcomes combining the generic drugs and the nanocarrier as an innovative excipient, in order to evaluate them as final products. They belong to the grey area - concerning the evaluation process - between generic drugs and biosimilar medicinal products. Generic drugs are well documented and a huge number of them are in market, replacing effectively the off-patent drugs. The scientific approach for releasing them to the market is based on bioequivalence studies, which are well documented and accepted by the regulatory agencies. On the other hand, the structural complexity of biological/biotechnology-derived products demands a new approach for the approval process taking into consideration that bioequivalence studies are not considered as sufficient as in generic drugs, and new clinical trials are needed to support their approval process of the product to the market. In proportion, due to technological complexity of nanomedicines, the approaches for proving the statistical identity or the similarity for generic and biosimilar products, respectively, with those of prototypes, are not considered as effective for nanosimilar products. The aim of this note is to propose a complementary approach which can provide realistic evidences concerning the nanosimilarity, based on fractal analysis. This approach is well fit with the structural complexity of nanomedicines and smooths the difficulties for proving the similarity between off-patent and nanosimilar products. Fractal analysis could be considered as the approach that completely characterizes the physicochemical/morphological characteristics of nanosimilar products and could be proposed as a start point for a deep discussion on nanosimilarity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dependence of credit spread and macro-conditions based on an alterable structure model.

PubMed

Xie, Yun; Tian, Yixiang; Xiao, Zhuang; Zhou, Xiangyun

2018-01-01

The fat-tail financial data and cyclical financial market makes it difficult for the fixed structure model based on Gaussian distribution to characterize the dynamics of corporate bonds spreads. Using a flexible structure model based on generalized error distribution, this paper focuses on the impact of macro-level factors on the spreads of corporate bonds in China. It is found that in China's corporate bonds market, macroeconomic conditions have obvious structural transformational effects on bonds spreads, and their structural features remain stable with the downgrade of bonds ratings. The impact of macroeconomic conditions on spreads is significant for different structures, and the differences between the structures increase as ratings decline. For different structures, the persistent characteristics of bonds spreads are obviously stronger than those of recursive ones, which suggest an obvious speculation in bonds market. It is also found that the structure switching of bonds with different ratings is not synchronous, which indicates the shift of investment between different grades of bonds.

Dependence of credit spread and macro-conditions based on an alterable structure model

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

The fat-tail financial data and cyclical financial market makes it difficult for the fixed structure model based on Gaussian distribution to characterize the dynamics of corporate bonds spreads. Using a flexible structure model based on generalized error distribution, this paper focuses on the impact of macro-level factors on the spreads of corporate bonds in China. It is found that in China's corporate bonds market, macroeconomic conditions have obvious structural transformational effects on bonds spreads, and their structural features remain stable with the downgrade of bonds ratings. The impact of macroeconomic conditions on spreads is significant for different structures, and the differences between the structures increase as ratings decline. For different structures, the persistent characteristics of bonds spreads are obviously stronger than those of recursive ones, which suggest an obvious speculation in bonds market. It is also found that the structure switching of bonds with different ratings is not synchronous, which indicates the shift of investment between different grades of bonds. PMID:29723295

The use of cognitive ability measures as explanatory variables in regression analysis.

PubMed

Junker, Brian; Schofield, Lynne Steuerle; Taylor, Lowell J

2012-12-01

Cognitive ability measures are often taken as explanatory variables in regression analysis, e.g., as a factor affecting a market outcome such as an individual's wage, or a decision such as an individual's education acquisition. Cognitive ability is a latent construct; its true value is unobserved. Nonetheless, researchers often assume that a test score , constructed via standard psychometric practice from individuals' responses to test items, can be safely used in regression analysis. We examine problems that can arise, and suggest that an alternative approach, a "mixed effects structural equations" (MESE) model, may be more appropriate in many circumstances.

Prediction Markets and Beliefs about Climate: Results from Agent-Based Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilligan, J. M.; John, N. J.; van der Linden, M.

2015-12-01

Climate scientists have long been frustrated by persistent doubts a large portion of the public expresses toward the scientific consensus about anthropogenic global warming. The political and ideological polarization of this doubt led Vandenbergh, Raimi, and Gilligan [1] to propose that prediction markets for climate change might influence the opinions of those who mistrust the scientific community but do trust the power of markets.We have developed an agent-based simulation of a climate prediction market in which traders buy and sell future contracts that will pay off at some future year with a value that depends on the global average temperature at that time. The traders form a heterogeneous population with different ideological positions, different beliefs about anthropogenic global warming, and different degrees of risk aversion. We also vary characteristics of the market, including the topology of social networks among the traders, the number of traders, and the completeness of the market. Traders adjust their beliefs about climate according to the gains and losses they and other traders in their social network experience. This model predicts that if global temperature is predominantly driven by greenhouse gas concentrations, prediction markets will cause traders' beliefs to converge toward correctly accepting anthropogenic warming as real. This convergence is largely independent of the structure of the market and the characteristics of the population of traders. However, it may take considerable time for beliefs to converge. Conversely, if temperature does not depend on greenhouse gases, the model predicts that traders' beliefs will not converge. We will discuss the policy-relevance of these results and more generally, the use of agent-based market simulations for policy analysis regarding climate change, seasonal agricultural weather forecasts, and other applications.[1] MP Vandenbergh, KT Raimi, & JM Gilligan. UCLA Law Rev. 61, 1962 (2014).

Alcohol marketing receptivity, marketing-specific cognitions, and underage binge drinking.

PubMed

McClure, Auden C; Stoolmiller, Mike; Tanski, Susanne E; Engels, Rutger C M E; Sargent, James D

2013-01-01

Exposure to alcohol marketing is prevalent and is associated with both initiation and progression of alcohol use in underage youth. The mechanism of influence is not well understood, however. This study tests a model that proposes alcohol-specific cognitions as mediators of the relation between alcohol marketing and problematic drinking among experimental underage drinkers. This study describes a cross-sectional analysis of 1,734 U.S. 15- to 20-year-old underage drinkers, recruited for a national study of media and substance use. Subjects were queried about a number of alcohol marketing variables including TV time, Internet time, favorite alcohol ad, ownership of alcohol-branded merchandise (ABM), and exposure to alcohol brands in movies. The relation between these exposures and current (30-day) binge drinking was assessed, as were proposed mediators of this relation, including marketing-specific cognitions (drinker identity and favorite brand to drink), favorable alcohol expectancies, and alcohol norms. Paths were tested in a structural equation model that controlled for sociodemographics, personality, and peer drinking. Almost one-third of this sample of ever drinkers had engaged in 30-day binge drinking. Correlations between mediators were all statistically significant (range 0.16 to 0.47), and all were significantly associated with binge drinking. Statistically significant mediation was found for the association between ABM ownership and binge drinking through both drinker identity and having a favorite brand to drink, which also mediated the path between movie brand exposure and binge drinking. Peer drinking and sensation seeking were associated with binge drinking in paths through all mediators. Associations between alcohol marketing and binge drinking were mediated through marketing-specific cognitions that assess drinker identity and brand allegiance, cognitions that marketers aim to cultivate in the consumer. Copyright © 2012 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Alcohol Marketing Receptivity, Marketing-specific Cognitions and Underage Binge Drinking

PubMed Central

McClure, Auden C.; Stoolmiller, Mike; Tanski, Susanne E.; Engels, Rutger C. M. E.; Sargent, James D.

2012-01-01

Background Exposure to alcohol marketing is prevalent and is associated with both initiation and progression of alcohol use in underage youth. The mechanism of influence is not well understood, however. This study tests a model that proposes alcohol-specific cognitions as mediators of the relation between alcohol marketing and problematic drinking among experimental underage drinkers. Methods This paper describes a cross-sectional analysis of 1734 U.S. 15–20 year old underage drinkers, recruited for a national study of media and substance use. Subjects were queried about a number of alcohol marketing variables including television time, internet time, favorite alcohol ad, ownership of alcohol branded merchandise (ABM), and exposure to alcohol brands in movies. The relation between these exposures and current (30 day) binge drinking was assessed, as were proposed mediators of this relation, including marketing-specific cognitions (drinker identity and favorite brand to drink), favorable alcohol expectancies and alcohol norms. Paths were tested in a structural equation model that controlled for socio-demographics, personality and peer drinking. Results Almost one-third of this sample of ever drinkers had engaged in 30 day binge drinking. Correlations among mediators were all statistically significant (range 0.16 – 0.47) and all were significantly associated with binge drinking. Statistically significant mediation was found for the association between ABM ownership and binge drinking through both drinker identity and having a favorite brand, which also mediated the path between movie brand exposure and binge drinking. Peer drinking and sensation seeking were associated with binge drinking in paths through all mediators. Conclusions Associations between alcohol marketing and binge drinking were mediated through marketing-specific cognitions that assess drinker identity and brand allegiance, cognitions that marketers aim to cultivate in the consumer. PMID:23256927

Market assessment overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Habib-Agahi, H.

1981-01-01

Market assessment, refined with analysis disaggregated from a national level to the regional level and to specific market applications, resulted in more accurate and detailed market estimates. The development of an integrated set of computer simulations, coupled with refined market data, allowed progress in the ability to evaluate the worth of solar thermal parabolic dish systems. In-depth analyses of both electric and thermal market applications of these systems are described. The following market assessment studies were undertaken: (1) regional analysis of the near term market for parabolic dish systems; (2) potential early market estimate for electric applications; (3) potential early market estimate for industrial process heat/cogeneration applications; and (4) selection of thermal and electric application case studies for fiscal year 1981.

Understanding Market Concentration: Internet-Based Applications from the Banking Industry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hays, Fred H.; Ward, Sidne Gail

2011-01-01

Market structure is an essential topic in economics and finance courses, including bank management as well as many other business school courses, for example marketing, human resources and strategic management. Instructors explain the virtues of perfect competition and the evils of monopoly along with alternative market models. Often conversations…

Online Stock Market Games for High Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lopus, Jane; Placone, Dennis

2002-01-01

Identifies a Web site providing information about stock market simulations for high school economics courses. Divides the information into two tables: (1) the structure of online stock market games; and (2) the determination of portfolio values of online stock market games. States that changes and updates are available at Web sites. (JEH)

Improved structural pricing model for the fair market price of Sukuk Ijarah in Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosadi, D.; Muslim

2017-12-01

Shariah financial products are currently developing in Indonesia financial market. One of the most important products is called as Sukuk which is commonly referred to as "sharia compliant" bonds. The type of Sukuk that have been widely traded in Indonesia until now are Sukuk Ijarah and Sukuk Mudharabah. In [1], we discuss various models for the price of the fixed-non-callable Sukuk Ijarah and provide the empirical studies using data from Indonesia Bonds market. We found that the structural model considered in [1] cannot model the market price empirically well. In this paper, we consider the improved model and show that it performs well for modelling the fair market price of Sukuk Ijarah.

U.S. stock market interaction network as learned by the Boltzmann machine

DOE PAGES

Borysov, Stanislav S.; Roudi, Yasser; Balatsky, Alexander V.

2015-12-07

Here, we study historical dynamics of joint equilibrium distribution of stock returns in the U.S. stock market using the Boltzmann distribution model being parametrized by external fields and pairwise couplings. Within Boltzmann learning framework for statistical inference, we analyze historical behavior of the parameters inferred using exact and approximate learning algorithms. Since the model and inference methods require use of binary variables, effect of this mapping of continuous returns to the discrete domain is studied. The presented results show that binarization preserves the correlation structure of the market. Properties of distributions of external fields and couplings as well as themore » market interaction network and industry sector clustering structure are studied for different historical dates and moving window sizes. We demonstrate that the observed positive heavy tail in distribution of couplings is related to the sparse clustering structure of the market. We also show that discrepancies between the model’s parameters might be used as a precursor of financial instabilities.« less

Scaling and predictability in stock markets: a comparative study.

PubMed

Zhang, Huishu; Wei, Jianrong; Huang, Jiping

2014-01-01

Most people who invest in stock markets want to be rich, thus, many technical methods have been created to beat the market. If one knows the predictability of the price series in different markets, it would be easier for him/her to make the technical analysis, at least to some extent. Here we use one of the most basic sold-and-bought trading strategies to establish the profit landscape, and then calculate the parameters to characterize the strength of predictability. According to the analysis of scaling of the profit landscape, we find that the Chinese individual stocks are harder to predict than US ones, and the individual stocks are harder to predict than indexes in both Chinese stock market and US stock market. Since the Chinese (US) stock market is a representative of emerging (developed) markets, our comparative study on the markets of these two countries is of potential value not only for conducting technical analysis, but also for understanding physical mechanisms of different kinds of markets in terms of scaling.

Volatility-constrained multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis: Cross-correlation among Mainland China, US, and Hong Kong stock markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Guangxi; Zhang, Minjia; Li, Qingchen

2017-04-01

This study focuses on multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis of the different volatility intervals of Mainland China, US, and Hong Kong stock markets. A volatility-constrained multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis (VC-MF-DCCA) method is proposed to study the volatility conductivity of Mainland China, US, and Hong Kong stock markets. Empirical results indicate that fluctuation may be related to important activities in real markets. The Hang Seng Index (HSI) stock market is more influential than the Shanghai Composite Index (SCI) stock market. Furthermore, the SCI stock market is more influential than the Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market. The conductivity between the HSI and SCI stock markets is the strongest. HSI was the most influential market in the large fluctuation interval of 1991 to 2014. The autoregressive fractionally integrated moving average method is used to verify the validity of VC-MF-DCCA. Results show that VC-MF-DCCA is effective.

Scaling and Predictability in Stock Markets: A Comparative Study

PubMed Central

Zhang, Huishu; Wei, Jianrong; Huang, Jiping

2014-01-01

Most people who invest in stock markets want to be rich, thus, many technical methods have been created to beat the market. If one knows the predictability of the price series in different markets, it would be easier for him/her to make the technical analysis, at least to some extent. Here we use one of the most basic sold-and-bought trading strategies to establish the profit landscape, and then calculate the parameters to characterize the strength of predictability. According to the analysis of scaling of the profit landscape, we find that the Chinese individual stocks are harder to predict than US ones, and the individual stocks are harder to predict than indexes in both Chinese stock market and US stock market. Since the Chinese (US) stock market is a representative of emerging (developed) markets, our comparative study on the markets of these two countries is of potential value not only for conducting technical analysis, but also for understanding physical mechanisms of different kinds of markets in terms of scaling. PMID:24632944

Contraceptive social marketing: a continuous cycle of planning, testing and evaluating.

PubMed

1985-01-01

This article outlines the contraceptive marketing process used by the Social Marketing for Change (SOMARC) project. The 1st stage of the process involves analysis of the market, the consumer, and the social marketing organization's capabilities. In the 2nd stage, planning, data collected in the analysis stage are used to define objectives, segment target markets, and devise strategies for each element in the marketing mix. In the 3rd stage, all the elements in the marketing mix are developed and tested (e.g. product concepts, pricing, packaging, communication messages) and refined on the basis of test results. In stage 4, the action plan is implemented and marketing progress and institutional performance are monitored. Stage 5 includes an assessment of in-market effectiveness in terms of responses from consumers, retailers, and health professionals. The last stage feeds back to the 1st. All the reviewed data are recycled into analysis to begin again the continuous process of refinement and improvement.

Life-Cycle Analysis of Aircraft Turbine Engines

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-11-01

actual experience. Mixed but promisng results were obtained in modeling ownership costs for military engines. Depot maintenance costs were more...Acquisition Experience, The Rand Corporation, RM-6072-PR, November 1969. System Acquisition Stategies , The Rand Corporation, R-733-PR/ARPA, June 1971. 98...Paris, 1971I. Phillips. Almarin, Technology and Market Structure, IA•xington Books, D.C. Heath and Company, Lexington, Mass.. 1971. A Position Paper on

Business Strategic Management and the U.S. Marine Corps: An Analysis of the Applicability of Selected Concepts

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-12-01

strategies that lead to sustained competitive advantage (set of factors or capabilities that allows firms to consistently outperform their rivals). This...a strategy-supportive culture, creating an effective organizational structure, redirecting marketing efforts, preparing budgets, developing and...evaluates if strategies are working well. This is important since external and internal factors are constantly changing. Three fundamental strategy

Software Project Management

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-07-01

incorporated into the sys- Kotler88 tem. Several interesting concepts are presented, but Kotler , P. Marketing Planning: Analysis, Planning, the bulk of the...Metzger87 Mantei, M. "The Effect of Programming Team Metzger, Philip W. Managing Programming Structures on Programming Tasks." Comm. ACM People: A Personal... Philips . Software Engi- Classic approach in organization theory. neering. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1988. Shannon75 An industrial approach

Books as Culture/Books as Commerce: An Analysis of the Text and Format of the "New York Times Book Review."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haugland, Ann

The oldest of the mass communication technologies, books, needs to be examined in mass communication research. Accordingly a study analyzed the structure and format of the "New York Times Book Review" to identify its dual roles: evaluating books and providing information crucial to book marketing. Also explored was how the text of the…

24 CFR 972.224 - Necessary conditions for HUD approval of conversion.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... and market value analysis. (2) Benefit to residents, PHA, and the community. (i) The benefit to residents, the PHA, and the community may be demonstrated in the rental market analysis, the analysis of the impact on the neighborhood, the market value analysis, and the proposed future use of the development. In...

Currency co-movement and network correlation structure of foreign exchange market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mai, Yong; Chen, Huan; Zou, Jun-Zhong; Li, Sai-Ping

2018-02-01

We study the correlations of exchange rate volatility in the global foreign exchange(FX) market based on complex network graphs. Correlation matrices (CM) and the theoretical information flow method (Infomap) are employed to analyze the modular structure of the global foreign exchange network. The analysis demonstrates that there exist currency modules in the network, which is consistent with the geographical nature of currencies. The European and the East Asian currency modules in the FX network are most significant. We introduce a measure of the impact of individual currency based on its partial correlations with other currencies. We further incorporate an impact elimination method to filter out the impact of core nodes and construct subnetworks after the removal of these core nodes. The result reveals that (i) the US Dollar has prominent global influence on the FX market while the Euro has great impact on European currencies; (ii) the East Asian currency module is more strongly correlated than the European currency module. The strong correlation is a result of the strong co-movement of currencies in the region. The co-movement of currencies is further used to study the formation of international monetary bloc and the result is in good agreement with the consideration based on international trade.

Measuring market performance in restructured electricity markets: An empirical analysis of the PJM energy market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tucker, Russell Jay

2002-09-01

Today the electric industry in the U.S. is transitioning to competitive markets for wholesale electricity. Independent system operators (ISOs) now manage broad regional markets for electrical energy in several areas of the U.S. A recent rulemaking by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) encourages the development of regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and restructured competitive wholesale electricity markets nationwide. To date, the transition to competitive wholesale markets has not been easy. The increased reliance on market forces coupled with unusually high electricity demand for some periods have created conditions amenable to market power abuse in many regions throughout the U.S. In the summer of 1999, hot and humid summer conditions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia pushed peak demand in the PJM Interconnection to record levels. These demand conditions coincided with the introduction of market-based pricing in the wholesale electricity market. Prices for electricity increased on average by 55 percent, and reached the $1,000/MWh range. This study examines the extent to which generator market power raised prices above competitive levels in the PJM Interconnection during the summer of 1999. It simulates hourly market-clearing prices assuming competitive market behavior and compares these prices with observed market prices in computing price markups over the April 1-August 31, 1999 period. The results of the simulation analysis are supported with an examination of actual generator bid data of incumbent generators. Price markups averaged 14.7 percent above expected marginal cost over the 5-month period for all non-transmission-constrained hours. The evidence presented suggests that the June and July monthly markups were strongly influenced by generator market power as price inelastic peak demand approached the electricity generation capacity constraint of the market. While this analysis of the performance of the PJM market finds evidence of market power, the measured markups are markedly less than estimates from prior analysis of the PJM market.

Capacity withholding in wholesale electricity markets: The experience in England and Wales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quinn, James Arnold

This thesis examines the incentives wholesale electricity generators face to withhold generating capacity from centralized electricity spot markets. The first chapter includes a brief history of electricity industry regulation in England and Wales and in the United States, including a description of key institutional features of England and Wales' restructured electricity market. The first chapter also includes a review of the literature on both bid price manipulation and capacity bid manipulation in centralized electricity markets. The second chapter details a theoretical model of wholesale generator behavior in a single price electricity market. A duopoly model is specified under the assumption that demand is non-stochastic. This model assumes that duopoly generators offer to sell electricity at their marginal cost, but can withhold a continuous segment of their capacity from the market. The Nash equilibrium withholding strategy of this model involves each duopoly generator withholding so that it produces the Cournot equilibrium output. A monopoly model along the lines of the duopoly model is specified and simulated under the assumption that demand is stochastic. The optimal strategy depends on the degree of demand uncertainty. When there is a moderate degree of demand uncertainty, the optimal withholding strategy involves production inefficiencies. When there is a high degree of demand uncertainty, the optimal monopoly quantity is greater than the optimal output level when demand is non-stochastic. The third chapter contains an empirical examination of the behavior of generators in the wholesale electricity market in England and Wales in the early 1990's. The wholesale market in England and Wales is analyzed because the industry structure in the early 1990's created a natural experiment, which is described in this chapter, whereby one of the two dominant generators had no incentive to behave non-competitively. This chapter develops a classification methodology consistent with the equilibrium identified in the second chapter. The availability of generating units owned by the two dominant generators is analyzed based on this classification system. This analysis includes the use of sample statistics as well as estimates from a dynamic random effects probit model. The analysis suggests a minimal degree of capacity withholding.

Pathways linking drug use and labour market trajectories: the role of catastrophic events.

PubMed

Richardson, Lindsey; Small, Will; Kerr, Thomas

2016-01-01

People affected by substance use disorders often experience sub-optimal employment outcomes. The role of drug use in processes that produce and entrench labour market precarity among people who inject drugs (PWID) have not, however, been fully described. We recruited 22 PWID from ongoing prospective cohort studies in Vancouver, Canada, with whom we conducted semi-structured retrospective interviews and then employed a thematic analysis that drew on concepts from life course theory to explore the mechanisms and pathways linking drug use and labour market trajectories. The participants' narratives identified processes corresponding to causation, whereby suboptimal employment outcomes led to harmful drug use; direct selection, where impairment, health complications or drug-seeking activities selected individuals out of employment; and indirect selection, where external factors, such as catastrophic events, marked the initiation or intensification of substance use concurrent with sudden changes in capacities for employment. Catastrophic events linking negative transitions in both drug use and labour market trajectories were of primary importance, demarcating critical initiation and transitional events in individual risk trajectories. These results challenge conventional assumptions about the primacy of drug use in determining employment outcomes among PWID and suggest the importance of multidimensional support to mitigate the initiation, accumulation and entrenchment of labour market and drug-related disadvantage. © 2015 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.

Pathways linking drug use and labour market trajectories: the role of catastrophic events

PubMed Central

Richardson, Lindsey; Small, Will; Kerr, Thomas

2015-01-01

People affected by substance use disorders often experience sub-optimal employment outcomes. The role of drug use in processes that produce and entrench labour market precarity among people who inject drugs (PWID) have not, however, been fully described. We recruited 22 PWID from ongoing prospective cohort studies in Vancouver, Canada and conducted semi-structured retrospective interviews and employed a thematic analysis that draws on concepts from life course theory to explore mechanisms and pathways linking drug use and labour market trajectories. Narratives identified processes corresponding to: causation, whereby suboptimal employment outcomes led to harmful drug use; direct selection, where impairment, health complications or drug seeking activities selected individuals out of employment; and indirect selection, where external factors, such as catastrophic events, marked the initiation or intensification of substance use concurrent with sudden changes in capacities for employment. Catastrophic events linking negative transitions in both drug use and labour market trajectories were of primary importance, demarcating critical initiation and transitional events in individual risk trajectories. These results challenge conventional assumptions about the primacy of drug use in determining employment outcomes among PWID, and suggest the importance of multi-dimensional supports to mitigate the initiation, accumulation and entrenchment of labour market and drug-related disadvantage. PMID:26358407

Supply and demand in physician markets: a panel data analysis of GP services in Australia.

PubMed

McRae, Ian; Butler, James R G

2014-09-01

To understand the trends in any physician services market it is necessary to understand the nature of both supply and demand, but few studies have jointly examined supply and demand in these markets. This study uses aggregate panel data on general practitioner (GP) services at the Statistical Local Area level in Australia spanning eight years to estimate supply and demand equations for GP services. The structural equations of the model are estimated separately using population-weighted fixed effects panel modelling with the two stage least squares formulation of the generalised method of moments approach (GMM (2SLS)). The estimated price elasticity of demand of [Formula: see text] is comparable with other studies. The direct impact of GP density on demand, while significant, proves almost immaterial in the context of near vertical supply curves. Supply changes are therefore due to shifts in the position of the curves, partly determined by a time trend. The model is validated by comparing post-panel model predictions with actual market outcomes over a period of three years and is found to provide surprisingly accurate projections over a period of significant policy change. The study confirms the need to jointly consider supply and demand in exploring the behaviour of physician services markets.

Emergence and temporal structure of Lead-Lag correlations in collective stock dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Lisi; You, Daming; Jiang, Xin; Chen, Wei

2018-07-01

Understanding the correlations among stock returns is crucial for reducing the risk of investment in stock markets. As an important stylized correlation, lead-lag effect plays a major role in analyzing market volatility and deriving trading strategies. Here, we explore historical lead-lag relationships among stocks in the Chinese stock market. Strongly positive lagged correlations can be empirically observed. We demonstrate this lead-lag phenomenon is not constant but temporally emerges during certain periods. By introducing moving time window method, we transform the lead-lag dynamics into a series of asymmetric lagged correlation matrices. Dynamic lead-lag structures are uncovered in the form of temporal network structures. We find that the size of lead-lag group experienced a rapid drop during the year 2012, which signaled a re-balance of the stock market. On the daily timescale, we find the lead-lag structure exhibits several persistent patterns, which can be characterized by the Jaccard matrix. We show significant market events can be distinguished in the Jaccard matrix diagram. Taken together, we study an integration of all the temporal networks and identify several leading stock sectors, which are in accordance with the common Chinese economic fundamentals.

The long tail of a demon drug: The 'bath salts' risk environment.

PubMed

Elliott, Luther; Benoit, Ellen; Campos, Stephanie; Dunlap, Eloise

2018-01-01

Using the case of synthetic cathinones (commonly referred to as 'bath salts' in the US context), this paper analyses structural factors surrounding novel psychoactive substances (NPS) as contributing to the unique risk environment surrounding their use. Drawing on interviews with 39 people who use bath salts from four U.S. cities and analysis of the infrastructural, social, economic, and policy contexts, we document the unique harms related to changing contexts for illicit drug regulation, manufacture, and consumption. Findings suggest that NPS and designer drug markets, which are highly reliant upon the internet, share characteristics of the entertainment industry which has come to rely more heavily upon profits derived from the 'long tail' of myriad lesser-known products and the diminished centrality of 'superstars' and 'hits'. Findings point toward increased theoretical and policy attention to changing drug market structures, more rigorous evaluations of drug 'analogues' legislation and greater involvement with NPS education and testing by harm reduction agencies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The dynamics of consumer behaviour. On habit, discontent, and other fish to fry.

PubMed

Scholderer, Joachim; Trondsen, Torbjørn

2008-11-01

Recent research has drawn attention to the role of past behaviour and habit in the overall structure of consumer behaviour. We argue that in cross-sectional data past behaviour and habit must be confounded with present beliefs and attitudes when the behaviour in question has been enacted numerous times before. To disentangle the effects, longitudinal data were collected from a large panel of Norwegian consumers (effective N=4184) in 1996, 2000, and 2004. Cross-lagged panel analysis indicated that higher consumption of traditional seafood led to increasingly negative evaluations of the product supply. These negative evaluations, in turn, prompted substitution of traditional seafood with newly available, processed seafood products and an increasing dominance of aqua-cultured species. The theoretical discussion focuses on the inability of static models of consumer behaviour (in particular, the theory of planned behaviour) to capture such dynamic effects. Marketing and policy implications related to the changing structure of the seafood market are outlined.

Information diffusion in structured online social networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Pei; Zhang, Yini; Qiao, Fengcai; Wang, Hui

2015-05-01

Nowadays, due to the word-of-mouth effect, online social networks have been considered to be efficient approaches to conduct viral marketing, which makes it of great importance to understand the diffusion dynamics in online social networks. However, most research on diffusion dynamics in epidemiology and existing social networks cannot be applied directly to characterize online social networks. In this paper, we propose models to characterize the information diffusion in structured online social networks with push-based forwarding mechanism. We introduce the term user influence to characterize the average number of times that messages are browsed which is incurred by a given type user generating a message, and study the diffusion threshold, above which the user influence of generating a message will approach infinity. We conduct simulations and provide the simulation results, which are consistent with the theoretical analysis results perfectly. These results are of use in understanding the diffusion dynamics in online social networks and also critical for advertisers in viral marketing who want to estimate the user influence before posting an advertisement.

[Current status and future of telemonitoring : Scenarios for telemedical care in 2025].

PubMed

Zippel-Schultz, Bettina; Schultz, Carsten; Helms, Thomas M

2017-09-01

Telemonitoring is an already realized implementation of digital transformation in the healthcare system. It has the potential to support and secure a sustainable and comprehensive provision of healthcare for a rising number of chronically ill patients, e. g. patients with chronic heart failure. Remote regions in particular can profit from the benefits of telemonitoring; however, so far telemonitoring services have not become truly established in the German healthcare market. Together with experts from politics, science and practice, a scenario analysis "Health Care System 2025 - A Place for Telemonitoring?" was carried out with the aim to examine the future development of the healthcare market and to draw conclusions for providers of telemonitoring services or devices. The scenario analysis contained two workshops and an expert survey and was supported by a scenario software. The current drivers and barriers of the diffusion of telemonitoring were identified and the most relevant factors that influence the future development of the healthcare market were discussed. Based on those influencing factors, three different scenarios were determined: (1) administrating rather than shaping, (2) safely into the future and (3) interconnected and digital world. In the subsequent consequence analysis activities were defined, which describe the necessary infrastructure, software instruments, organizational structures and provision of services and discuss possible activities, which prepare telemonitoring solutions for the future.

Marketing Analysis and Strategy for a Small Business in the Beekeeping Industry.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-08-18

segment has opportunities associated with it that may be profitably 2Philip Kotler , "Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, and Control," Prentice...I I I162 I I BIBLIOGRAPHY IB Abel, Derek and John Hammond. Strategic Market Planning. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice- Hall, Inc., 1979. Kotler ... Philip . Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, and Control. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1976. Ott, Hyman. Introduction to Statistical

Marketing Higher Education to Adults.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Diana K.

With fewer recent high school graduates available to attend college, colleges need to increase their efforts to attract adults. If colleges want to attract more adult students, they must develop a comprehensive marketing plan. The marketing process entails a thorough marketing study that includes a detailed institutional analysis, an analysis of…

18 CFR 35.37 - Market power analysis required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Market power analysis required. 35.37 Section 35.37 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY... Wholesale Sales of Electric Energy, Capacity and Ancillary Services at Market-Based Rates § 35.37 Market...

Northeast Heating Fuel Market The, Assessment and Options

EIA Publications

2000-01-01

In response to the President's request, this study examines how the distillate fuel oil market (and related energy markets) in the Northeast behaved in the winter of 1999-2000, explains the role played by residential, commercial, industrial, and electricity generation sector consumers in distillate fuel oil markets and describes how that role is influenced by the structure of the energy markets in the Northeast

Renewable generation technology choice and policies in a competitive electricity supply industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarkar, Ashok

Renewable energy generation technologies have lower externality costs but higher private costs than fossil fuel-based generation. As a result, the choice of renewables in the future generation mix could be affected by the industry's future market-oriented structure because market objectives based on private value judgments may conflict with social policy objectives toward better environmental quality. This research assesses how renewable energy generation choices would be affected in a restructured electricity generation market. A multi-period linear programming-based model (Resource Planning Model) is used to characterize today's electricity supply market in the United States. The model simulates long-range (2000-2020) generation capacity planning and operation decisions under alternative market paradigms. Price-sensitive demand is used to simulate customer preferences in the market. Dynamically changing costs for renewables and a two-step load duration curve are used. A Reference Case represents the benchmark for a socially-optimal diffusion of renewables and a basis for comparing outcomes under alternative market structures. It internalizes externality costs associated with emissions of sulfur dioxide (SOsb2), nitrous oxides (NOsbx), and carbon dioxide (COsb2). A Competitive Case represents a market with many generation suppliers and decision-making based on private costs. Finally, a Market Power Case models the extreme case of market power: monopoly. The results suggest that the share of renewables would decrease (and emissions would increase) considerably in both the Competitive and the Market Power Cases with respect to the Reference Case. The reduction is greater in the Market Power Case due to pricing decisions under existing supply capability. The research evaluates the following environmental policy options that could overcome market failures in achieving an appropriate level of renewable generation: COsb2 emissions tax, SOsb2 emissions cap, renewable portfolio standards (RPS), and enhanced research and development (R&D). RPS would best ensure an appropriate share of renewables, whereas SOsb2 emissions caps would not support a shift to renewables in an era of inexpensive natural gas. The effectiveness of the policies are dependent on the market structure. If market power exists, the analyses indicate that generally higher levels of intervention would be necessary to achieve a shift to renewables.

Commercial activities and subsistence utilization of mangrove forests around the Wouri estuary and the Douala-Edea reserve (Cameroon).

PubMed

Atheull, Adolphe Nfotabong; Din, Ndongo; Longonje, Simon N; Koedam, Nico; Dahdouh-Guebas, Farid

2009-11-17

Worldwide there is growing research interest in the ethnobiology of mangrove forests. Notwithstanding that, little information has been published about ethnobiology of mangrove forests in Cameroon. The aims of this study were a) to analyze the harvesting methods and the local selling of mangrove wood products by loggers in the vicinity of Wouri estuary and b) to investigate the patterns of subsistence uses of mangrove wood products around the Douala-Edea reserve. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 120 active mangrove loggers in 23 Douala wood markets and 103 households located in three villages (Mbiako, Yoyo I and Yoyo II) close to Douala-Edea reserve. In each of the three densely populated villages, every second household was chosen for sampling while in all markets, mangrove loggers were chosen randomly. In addition, log diameters were measured in each market using a wooden foldable tape measure. A post hoc analysis (Newman-Keuls test) was performed in order to detect the common wood class diameter sold in the Douala wood markets. The analysis of the loggers' survey data has shown that large logs of Rhizophora with diameter greater than 40 cm were common in the Douala wood markets and were more closely associated with loggers who used chainsaws. In addition to the general mangroves wood products selling, the analysis on a subsistence level (households' survey) suggests the local population's dependence on mangroves, with multiple uses of Rhizophora racemosa Meyer, R. harrisonii Leechman, Avicennia germinans L. Stearn., Laguncularia racemosa Gaertn. f. and Conocarpus erectus L. timbers for furniture, fences, smoking fish, and fuelwood. Finally, Nypa fruticans (Thunb.) Wurmb. leaves were used as thatching material for house walls and roofs. Our findings revealed that big logs of Rhizophora were commonly sold by the loggers. A majority of loggers (60%) reported that mangrove marketed wood constitute a principal source of income. Most of the villagers (85.83%) often depend on mangroves for subsistence needs and for them there is no substitute for mangrove wood. Therefore, more efforts should be undertaken at the national level to implement conservation, management and sustainable use of these coastal forests.

Commercial activities and subsistence utilization of mangrove forests around the Wouri estuary and the Douala-Edea reserve (Cameroon)

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background Worldwide there is growing research interest in the ethnobiology of mangrove forests. Notwithstanding that, little information has been published about ethnobiology of mangrove forests in Cameroon. The aims of this study were a) to analyze the harvesting methods and the local selling of mangrove wood products by loggers in the vicinity of Wouri estuary and b) to investigate the patterns of subsistence uses of mangrove wood products around the Douala-Edea reserve. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 120 active mangrove loggers in 23 Douala wood markets and 103 households located in three villages (Mbiako, Yoyo I and Yoyo II) close to Douala-Edea reserve. In each of the three densely populated villages, every second household was chosen for sampling while in all markets, mangrove loggers were chosen randomly. In addition, log diameters were measured in each market using a wooden foldable tape measure. A post hoc analysis (Newman-Keuls test) was performed in order to detect the common wood class diameter sold in the Douala wood markets. Results The analysis of the loggers' survey data has shown that large logs of Rhizophora with diameter greater than 40 cm were common in the Douala wood markets and were more closely associated with loggers who used chainsaws. In addition to the general mangroves wood products selling, the analysis on a subsistence level (households' survey) suggests the local population's dependence on mangroves, with multiple uses of Rhizophora racemosa Meyer, R. harrisonii Leechman, Avicennia germinans L. Stearn., Laguncularia racemosa Gaertn. f. and Conocarpus erectus L. timbers for furniture, fences, smoking fish, and fuelwood. Finally, Nypa fruticans (Thunb.) Wurmb. leaves were used as thatching material for house walls and roofs. Conclusion Our findings revealed that big logs of Rhizophora were commonly sold by the loggers. A majority of loggers (60%) reported that mangrove marketed wood constitute a principal source of income. Most of the villagers (85.83%) often depend on mangroves for subsistence needs and for them there is no substitute for mangrove wood. Therefore, more efforts should be undertaken at the national level to implement conservation, management and sustainable use of these coastal forests. PMID:19919680

ITS technology adoption and observed market trends from ITS deployment tracking.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-08-03

This report examines the market dynamics and benefits associated with the deployment and diffusion of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technologies across the United States. For several ITS technologies, the current market structure, events t...

A Marketing Case History Profile

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weirick, Margaret C.

1978-01-01

A current marketing plan from Temple University illustrates many marketing techniques, including those dealing with enrollment objectives, market objectives, demographic characteristics of Temple students, market share analysis, and the marketing plan. Specific guidelines are provided. (LBH)

75 FR 63237 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-14

... proposed rule change reflects a competitive pricing structure designed to incent market participants to... these rate changes will enable it to maintain a competitive position with regards to other away market... notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in which market participants can readily direct...

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

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-10

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

Mind Map Marketing: A Creative Approach in Developing Marketing Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eriksson, Lars Torsten; Hauer, Amie M.

2004-01-01

In this conceptual article, the authors describe an alternative course structure that joins learning key marketing concepts to creative problem solving. The authors describe an approach using a convergent-divergent-convergent (CDC) process: key concepts are first derived from case material to be organized in a marketing matrix, which is then used…

Viewing the Curriculum as a Product: Implications from a Marketing Research Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Franzak, Frank J.; Cowles, Deborah L.

1993-01-01

From a marketing perspective, the curriculum is an important product of the college or university. A study using survey research and target marketing investigated what the business community wants this product to be. Implications for structuring the curriculum as preparation for employment of marketing graduates are examined. (Author/MSE)

Characterisation of trials where marketing purposes have been influential in study design: a descriptive study.

PubMed

Barbour, Virginia; Burch, Druin; Godlee, Fiona; Heneghan, Carl; Lehman, Richard; Perera, Rafael; Ross, Joseph S; Schroter, Sara

2016-01-21

Analysis of trial documentation has revealed that some industry-funded trials may be done more for marketing purposes than scientific endeavour. We aimed to define characteristics of drug trials that appear to be influenced by marketing considerations and estimate their prevalence. We examined reports of randomised controlled trials of drugs published in six general medical journals in 2011. Six investigators independently reviewed all publications, characterising them as YES/MAYBE/NO suspected marketing trials, and then met to reach consensus. Blinded researchers then extracted key trial characteristics. We used blinded cluster analysis to determine if key variables could characterise the categories of trials (YES/MAYBE/NO). 41/194 (21 %) trials were categorised as YES, 14 (7 %) as MAYBE, 139 (72 %) as NO. All YES and MAYBE trials were funded by the manufacturer, compared with 37 % of NO trials (p < 0.001). A higher proportion of YES trials had authors or contributors from the manufacturer involved in study design (83 % vs. 19 %), data analysis (85 % vs.15 %) and reporting (81 % vs. 15 %) than NO trials (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between groups in the median number of participants screened (p = 0.49), but the median number of centres recruiting participants was higher for YES compared with NO trials (171 vs. 13, p < 0.001). YES trials were not more likely to use a surrogate (42 % vs. 30 %; p = 0.38) or composite primary outcome measure (34 % vs. 19 %; p = 0.14) than NO trials. YES trials were often better reported in terms of blinding, safety outcomes and adverse events than NO trials. YES trials more frequently included speculation that might encourage clinicians to use the intervention outside of the study population compared to NO trials (59 % vs.37 %, p = 0.03). Cluster analysis based on study characteristics did not identify a clear variable structure that accurately characterised YES/MAYBE/NO trials. We reached consensus that a fifth of drug trials published in the highest impact general medical journals in 2011 had features that were suggestive of being designed for marketing purposes. Each of the marketing trials appeared to have a unique combination of features reported in the journal publications.

Assessing market competition and vendors' size and scope on AlphaBay.

PubMed

Paquet-Clouston, Masarah; Décary-Hétu, David; Morselli, Carlo

2018-04-01

Since 2011, drug market participants have traded illegal drugs through cryptomarkets, a user-friendly infrastructure in which drug market participants can conduct business transactions. This study assesses market competition and the size and scope of drug vendors' activities on one of the largest cryptomarkets, AlphaBay, in order to better understand the challenges that drug vendors face when selling on this venue. Relying on data collected from AlphaBay, we calculate the degree of competition within the drug market using the Herfindhal-Hirshmann Index (HHI). We then follow a micro analytical approach and assess the size and scope of vendors' accounts. This is done by evaluating each vendor's market share over time using a group-based trajectory model (GBTM). Results from the GBTM are then used to assess vendors' exposure, diversity and experience based on their selling position in the market. The HHI scores demonstrate that cryptomarkets offer a highly competitive environment that fits in a top-heavy market structure. However, the distribution of vendors' market share trajectories shows that only a small portion of vendors (referred to as high-level vendors) succeed in generating regular sales, whereas the majority of vendors are relegated to being mere market spectators with almost zero sales. This inequality is exacerbated by the aggressive advertising of high-level vendors who post many listings. Overall, product diversity and experience is limited for all market participants regardless of their level of success. We interpret these results through Reuter's work on traditional illegal markets, e-commerce studies and the growing field of cryptomarket research. We conclude that, while offering a new venue for illegal drug transactions, in many ways, the economics of cryptomarkets for drug dealing are consistent with Reuter's classic assessment of illegal markets and the consequences of product illegality that underlie it. Cryptomarkets conflicting features, a relatively open setting with relatively high barriers to entry and sales, shape the competitive, yet top-heavy market that emerges from our analysis. This creates a challenging environment for cryptomarket drug dealers. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structural changes and out-of-sample prediction of realized range-based variance in the stock market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, Xu; Lin, Boqiang

2018-03-01

This paper aims to examine the effects of structural changes on forecasting the realized range-based variance in the stock market. Considering structural changes in variance in the stock market, we develop the HAR-RRV-SC model on the basis of the HAR-RRV model. Subsequently, the HAR-RRV and HAR-RRV-SC models are used to forecast the realized range-based variance of S&P 500 Index. We find that there are many structural changes in variance in the U.S. stock market, and the period after the financial crisis contains more structural change points than the period before the financial crisis. The out-of-sample results show that the HAR-RRV-SC model significantly outperforms the HAR-BV model when they are employed to forecast the 1-day, 1-week, and 1-month realized range-based variances, which means that structural changes can improve out-of-sample prediction of realized range-based variance. The out-of-sample results remain robust across the alternative rolling fixed-window, the alternative threshold value in ICSS algorithm, and the alternative benchmark models. More importantly, we believe that considering structural changes can help improve the out-of-sample performances of most of other existing HAR-RRV-type models in addition to the models used in this paper.

Fragrances and other materials in deodorants: search for potentially sensitizing molecules using combined GC-MS and structure activity relationship (SAR) analysis.

PubMed

Rastogi, S C; Lepoittevin, J P; Johansen, J D; Frosch, P J; Menné, T; Bruze, M; Dreier, B; Andersen, K E; White, I R

1998-12-01

Deodorants are one of the most frequently-used types of cosmetics and are a source of allergic contact dermatitis. Therefore, a gas chromatography - mass spectrometric analysis of 71 deodorants was performed for identification of fragrance and non-fragrance materials present in marketed deodorants. Futhermore, the sensitizing potential of these molecules was evaluated using structure activity relationships (SARs) analysis. This was based on the presence of 1 or more chemically reactive site(s), in the chemical structure, associated with sensitizing potential. Among the many different substances used to formulate cosmetic products (over 3500), 226 chemicals were identified in a sample of 71 deodorants. 84 molecules were found to contain at least 1 structural alert, and 70 to belong to, or be susceptible to being metabolized into, the chemical group of aldehydes, ketones and alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes, ketone or esters. The combination of GC-MS and SARs analysis could be helpful in the selection of substances for supplementary investigations regarding sensitizing properties. Thus, it may be a valuable tool in the management of contact allergy to deodorants and for producing new deodorants with decreased propensity to cause contact allergy.

Problem analysis: application in the development of market strategies for health care organizations.

PubMed

Martin, J

1988-03-01

The problem analysis technique is an approach to understanding salient customer needs that is especially appropriate under complex market conditions. The author demonstrates the use of the approach in segmenting markets and conducting competitive analysis for positioning strategy decisions in health care.

Marketing approaches for OTC analgesics in Bulgaria

PubMed Central

Petkova, Valentina; Valchanova, Velislava; Ibrahim, Adel; Nikolova, Irina; Benbasat, Niko; Dimitrov, Milen

2014-01-01

The marketing management includes analysis of market opportunities, selection of target markets, planning, developing and implementing of marketing strategies, monitoring and result control. The object of the present study was to analyse the marketing approaches applied for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in Bulgaria. The performed SWOT(planning method used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis for one of the leading Bulgarian manufacturers marked the complex corporative strategy for stimulating the sales of NSAIDs. The study results show that the legislation frame in the country gives an opportunity for regulation of the NSAID market in order that incorrect marketing approaches such as disloyal competition are avoided. PMID:26019521

Marketing approaches for OTC analgesics in Bulgaria.

PubMed

Petkova, Valentina; Valchanova, Velislava; Ibrahim, Adel; Nikolova, Irina; Benbasat, Niko; Dimitrov, Milen

2014-03-04

The marketing management includes analysis of market opportunities, selection of target markets, planning, developing and implementing of marketing strategies, monitoring and result control. The object of the present study was to analyse the marketing approaches applied for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in Bulgaria. The performed SWOT(planning method used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis for one of the leading Bulgarian manufacturers marked the complex corporative strategy for stimulating the sales of NSAIDs. The study results show that the legislation frame in the country gives an opportunity for regulation of the NSAID market in order that incorrect marketing approaches such as disloyal competition are avoided.

Structure and dynamics of stock market in times of crisis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Longfeng; Li, Wei; Cai, Xu

2016-02-01

Daily correlations among 322 S&P 500 constituent stocks are investigated by means of correlation-based (CB) network. By using the heterogeneous time scales, we identify global expansion and local clustering market behaviors during crises, which are mainly caused by community splits and inter-sector edge number decreases. The CB networks display distinctive community and sector structures. Graph edit distance is applied to capturing the dynamics of CB networks in which drastic structure reconfigurations can be observed during crisis periods. Edge statistics reveal the power-law nature of edges' duration time distribution. Despite the networks' strong structural changes during crises, we still find some long-duration edges that serve as the backbone of the stock market. Finally the dynamical change of network structure has shown its capability in predicting the implied volatility index (VIX).

Life comparative analysis of energy consumption and CO₂ emissions of different building structural frame types.

PubMed

Kim, Sangyong; Moon, Joon-Ho; Shin, Yoonseok; Kim, Gwang-Hee; Seo, Deok-Seok

2013-01-01

The objective of this research is to quantitatively measure and compare the environmental load and construction cost of different structural frame types. Construction cost also accounts for the costs of CO₂ emissions of input materials. The choice of structural frame type is a major consideration in construction, as this element represents about 33% of total building construction costs. In this research, four constructed buildings were analyzed, with these having either reinforced concrete (RC) or steel (S) structures. An input-output framework analysis was used to measure energy consumption and CO₂ emissions of input materials for each structural frame type. In addition, the CO₂ emissions cost was measured using the trading price of CO₂ emissions on the International Commodity Exchange. This research revealed that both energy consumption and CO₂ emissions were, on average, 26% lower with the RC structure than with the S structure, and the construction costs (including the CO₂ emissions cost) of the RC structure were about 9.8% lower, compared to the S structure. This research provides insights through which the construction industry will be able to respond to the carbon market, which is expected to continue to grow in the future.

Solar industrial process heat: A study of applications and attitudes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, V.

1981-04-01

Data were gathered through site visits to 100 industrial plants. The site specific data suggests several possible near term market opportunities for solar thermal energy systems. Plants using electricity as their primary fuel for industrial process heat were identified, on the basis of their high fuel prices, as attractive early entry markets for solar energy. Additional opportunities were reflected in plants that had accomplished much of their conservation plans, or bad sizeable percentages of their operating budgets committed to energy expenses. A suitability analysis identified eleven industrial plants as highly suitable for solar thermal applications, they included producers of fluid milk, pottery, canned and bottled soft drinks, fabricated structural metal, refined petroleum, aluminum cans, chrome and nickel plating and stamped frame metal and metal finishings.

Reconsidering the Rhizome: A Textual Analysis of Web Search Engines as Gatekeepers of the Internet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hess, A.

Critical theorists have often drawn from Deleuze and Guattari's notion of the rhizome when discussing the potential of the Internet. While the Internet may structurally appear as a rhizome, its day-to-day usage by millions via search engines precludes experiencing the random interconnectedness and potential democratizing function. Through a textual analysis of four search engines, I argue that Web searching has grown hierarchies, or "trees," that organize data in tracts of knowledge and place users in marketing niches rather than assist in the development of new knowledge.

Hospice and nursing homes.

PubMed

Castle, N G

1999-01-01

In this article a descriptive analysis of nursing homes with special care hospice units is provided. These are compared to nursing homes with other special care units and to nursing homes without any special care units. An analysis of the determinants of nursing homes with special care hospice units is also provided. Factors such as ownership, staffing levels, having other special care units, case-mix intensity, competitiveness of the nursing home market, and the state Medicaid reimbursement rate structure are examined. Finally, the influence of policies on hospice care in nursing homes is discussed.

A geographical analysis of trafficking on a popular darknet market.

PubMed

Broséus, Julian; Rhumorbarbe, Damien; Morelato, Marie; Staehli, Ludovic; Rossy, Quentin

2017-08-01

Cryptomarkets are online marketplaces, located on the darknet, that facilitate the trading of a variety of illegal goods, mostly drugs. While the literature essentially focus on drugs, various other goods and products related to financial or identity fraud, firearms, counterfeit goods, as well as doping products are also offered on these marketplaces. Through the analysis of relevant data collected on a popular marketplace in 2014-2015, Evolution, this research provides an analysis of the structure of trafficking (types and proportions of products, number of vendors and shipping countries). It also aims at highlighting geographical patterns in the trafficking of these products (e.g. trafficking flows, specialisation of vendors and assessment of their role in the distribution chain). The analysis of the flow of goods between countries emphasises the role of specific countries in the international and domestic trafficking, potentially informing law enforcement agencies to target domestic mails or international posts from specific countries. The research also highlights the large proportion of licit and illicit drug listings and vendors on Evolution, followed by various fraud issues (in particular, financial fraud), the sharing of knowledge (tutorials) and finally goods, currencies and precious metals (principally luxury goods). Looking at the shipping country, there seems to be a clear division between digital and physical products, with more specific information for physical goods. This reveals that the spatial analysis of trafficking is particularly meaningful in the case of physical products (such as illicit drugs) and to a lesser extent for digital products. Finally, the geographical analysis reveals that spatial patterns on Evolution tend to reflect the structure of the traditional illicit market. However, regarding illicit drugs, country-specificity has been observed and are presented in this article. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Market-Based Multirobot Coordination: A Survey and Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-04-01

observe new information about their surroundings. Market -based approaches can often seamlessly incorporate online tasks by auctioning new tasks as they... Market -Based Multirobot Coordination: A Survey and Analysis M. Bernardine Dias, Robert Zlot, Nidhi Kalra, and Anthony Stentz CMU-RI-TR-05-13 April...00-00-2005 to 00-00-2005 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Market -Based Multirobot Coordination: A Survey and Analysis 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER

Industry sector analysis: The profile of the market for water and wastewater pollution control systems (the Philippines). Export trade information

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miranda, A.L.

1990-11-01

The market survey covers the water and wastewater pollution control systems market in the Philippines. The analysis contains statistical and narrative information on projected market demand, end-users; receptivity of Philippine consumers to U.S. products; the competitive situation, and market access (tariffs, non-tariff barriers, standards, taxes, distribution channels). It also contains key contact information.

Analysis of Regional Effects on Market Segment Production

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

REGIONAL EFFECTS ON MARKET SEGMENT PRODUCTION by James D. Moffitt June 2016 Thesis Advisor: Lyn R. Whitaker Co-Advisor: Jonathan K. Alt...REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED Master’s thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE ANALYSIS OF REGIONAL EFFECTS ON MARKET SEGMENT PRODUCTION 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6...accessions in Potential Rating Index Zip Code Market New Evolution (PRIZM NE) market segments. This model will aid USAREC G2 analysts involved in

Status and Trends in U.S. Compliance and Voluntary Renewable Energy Certificate Markets (2010 Data)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Heeter, J.; Bird, L.

2011-10-01

This report documents the status and trends of 'compliance'--renewable energy certificate (REC) markets used to meet state renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requirements--and 'voluntary' markets--those in which consumers and institutions purchase renewable energy to match their electricity needs on a voluntary basis. Today, 29 states and the District of Columbia have an RPS, more than half of all U.S. electricity customers have an option to purchase some type of green power product directly from a retail electricity provider, and all consumers have the option to purchase RECs. This report documents REC activities and trends in the United States. The compliance RECmore » market analysis includes analysis of REC trading, regional REC markets, REC tracking systems, types of compliance RECs, compliance REC pricing trends, and an overview of compliance with RPS polices. The voluntary REC analysis presents data and analysis on voluntary market sales and customer participation, products and premiums, green pricing marketing and administrative expenses, voluntary REC pricing, and the voluntary carbon offsets market. The report concludes with a discussion of upcoming guidance from the Federal Trade Commission on green marketing claims, the emergence of community solar programs, and the potential impact of Dodd-Frank regulations on the REC market.« less

77 FR 40683 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-10

... evolution of the equities markets away from manual executions and manual enforcement of rules toward an... Exchange's current market structure and to reflect rapidly changing market technology and the development...

Investigating the Influence Relationship Models for Stocks in Indian Equity Market: A Weighted Network Modelling Study

PubMed Central

Acharjee, Animesh

2016-01-01

The socio-economic systems today possess high levels of both interconnectedness and interdependencies, and such system-level relationships behave very dynamically. In such situations, it is all around perceived that influence is a perplexing power that has an overseeing part in affecting the dynamics and behaviours of involved ones. As a result of the force & direction of influence, the transformative change of one entity has a cogent aftereffect on the other entities in the system. The current study employs directed weighted networks for investigating the influential relationship patterns existent in a typical equity market as an outcome of inter-stock interactions happening at the market level, the sectorial level and the industrial level. The study dataset is derived from 335 constituent stocks of ‘Standard & Poor Bombay Stock Exchange 500 index’ and study period is 1st June 2005 to 30th June 2015. The study identifies the set of most dynamically influential stocks & their respective temporal pattern at three hierarchical levels: the complete equity market, different sectors, and constituting industry segments of those sectors. A detailed influence relationship analysis is performed for the sectorial level network of the construction sector, and it was found that stocks belonging to the cement industry possessed high influence within this sector. Also, the detailed network analysis of construction sector revealed that it follows scale-free characteristics and power law distribution. In the industry specific influence relationship analysis for cement industry, methods based on threshold filtering and minimum spanning tree were employed to derive a set of sub-graphs having temporally stable high-correlation structure over this ten years period. PMID:27846251

Investigating the Influence Relationship Models for Stocks in Indian Equity Market: A Weighted Network Modelling Study.

PubMed

Bhattacharjee, Biplab; Shafi, Muhammad; Acharjee, Animesh

2016-01-01

The socio-economic systems today possess high levels of both interconnectedness and interdependencies, and such system-level relationships behave very dynamically. In such situations, it is all around perceived that influence is a perplexing power that has an overseeing part in affecting the dynamics and behaviours of involved ones. As a result of the force & direction of influence, the transformative change of one entity has a cogent aftereffect on the other entities in the system. The current study employs directed weighted networks for investigating the influential relationship patterns existent in a typical equity market as an outcome of inter-stock interactions happening at the market level, the sectorial level and the industrial level. The study dataset is derived from 335 constituent stocks of 'Standard & Poor Bombay Stock Exchange 500 index' and study period is 1st June 2005 to 30th June 2015. The study identifies the set of most dynamically influential stocks & their respective temporal pattern at three hierarchical levels: the complete equity market, different sectors, and constituting industry segments of those sectors. A detailed influence relationship analysis is performed for the sectorial level network of the construction sector, and it was found that stocks belonging to the cement industry possessed high influence within this sector. Also, the detailed network analysis of construction sector revealed that it follows scale-free characteristics and power law distribution. In the industry specific influence relationship analysis for cement industry, methods based on threshold filtering and minimum spanning tree were employed to derive a set of sub-graphs having temporally stable high-correlation structure over this ten years period.

Endoscopy Practice Management, Fee Structures, and Marketing.

PubMed

Divers, Stephen J

2015-09-01

Although our knowledge and appreciation of endoscopic procedures in exotic pets is extensive, associated management practices, including equipment preferences and fee structures, have rarely been discussed. This short article highlights the results of a small survey of 35 experienced exotic animal endoscopists and details their equipment ownership/preferences and fee structures. The importance of marketing is also emphasized. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Detection of an unknown fusion protein in confiscated black market products.

PubMed

Walpurgis, Katja; Krug, Oliver; Thomas, Andreas; Laussmann, Tim; Schänzer, Wilhelm; Thevis, Mario

2014-01-01

Even without clinical approval, many performance-enhancing drugs are available on the black market and can therefore be easily obtained by cheating athletes. The misuse of these preparations can be associated with unforeseeable health risks - either due to a poor quality of the drugs or as a result of an insufficient clinical assessment. Moreover, confiscated black market products have frequently been shown to contain ingredients other than those declared on the label as well as additional by-products or compounds with a modified molecular structure. This communication describes the identification of an unknown fusion protein observed in several unlabelled black market products obtained from independent sources. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis of the confiscated preparations indicated the presence of an 18-kDa fusion protein consisting of the bacterial redox protein thioredoxin-1 (Trx, 12 kDa) and a 6-kDa peptide of unassigned composition. Trx has no relevance as performance enhancing agent but is routinely used as solubility tag for recombinant protein production. Further evaluation of the acquired MS/MS data revealed both an additional His tag and a thrombin cleavage site between the tags and the presumed bioactive peptide. However, thrombin cleavage of the fusion protein and LC-MS/MS analysis of the resulting peptide fragment finally suggested that the unknown protein is only the product of an empty expression vector without the DNA insert of interest. These findings are a further alarming example for the high level of risk that athletes take when misusing drugs obtained from the black market. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Concentration in the Greek private hospital sector: a descriptive analysis.

PubMed

Boutsioli, Zoe

2007-07-01

Over the last 20 years, governments all around the world have attempted to boost the role of market and competition in health care industries in order to increase efficiency and reduce costs. The increased competition and the significant implications on costs and prices of health care services resulted in health care industries being transformed. Large firms are merging and acquiring other firms. If this trend continues, few firms will dominate the health care markets. In this study, I use the simple concentration ratio (CR) for the largest 4, 8 and 20 companies to measure the concentration of Greek private hospitals during the period 1997-2004. Also, the Gini coefficient for inequality is used. For the two different categories of hospitals used (a) general and neuropsychiatric and (b) obstetric/gynaecological it is evident that the top four firms of the first category accounted for 43% of sales in 1997, and 52% in 2004, while the four largest firms of the second category accounted for almost 83% in 1997, and 81% in 2004. Also, the Gini coefficient increases over the 8-year period examined from 0.69 in 1997 to 0.82 in 2004. It explains that the market of the private health care services becomes less equal in the sense that fewer private hospitals and clinics hold more and more of the share of the total sales. From a cross-industry analysis it is clear that the private hospital sector has the highest concentration rate. Finally, it appears that the market structure of the private hospitals in Greece resembles more closely to an oligopoly rather than a monopolistic competition, since very few firms dominate the market.

Marketing-oriented organizations: an integrated approach.

PubMed

Stensrud, R; Arrington, B

1988-03-01

Organizations can be oriented toward marketing from a production, product, sales, or marketing perspective. Strategies, structures, and cultures, which reflect a company's basic orientation, must be integrated to ensure that marketing efforts communicate a clear corporate position. In a study of 31 hospitals, the Center for Health Services Education Research, St. Louis University, found that no hospital's organization fit neatly into a single category. For example, a hospital may have some service lines that were marketing oriented while other lines were production oriented. The majority of hospitals, however, were product oriented, focusing on productivity and financial performance rather than on market factors. The most effective sales orientation was observed in the for-profits. Their selling efforts, however, tended to be internally focused, with product development activities divorced from the planning and marketing functions. Only the for-profit hospitals showed the beginning of a marketing orientation. Developing a marketing orientation, especially in line divisions, requires a careful, well-orchestrated effort and the presence of several key factors: Access to capital and an emphasis on long-range planning and strategic spending The availability of hospital-specific market research. Key distribution channels. Talented middle managers. Up-to-date systems and structures equipped to serve new values and strategies. Leaders capable of communicating to the organization a vision of its role in the community.

77 FR 24941 - Vantage Wind Energy LLC; Order Accepting Updated Market Power Analysis and Providing Direction on...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-26

.... 1. In this order, the Commission accepts an updated market power analysis filed by Vantage Wind.... Background 3. On December 20, 2010, Vantage Wind filed an updated market power analysis in compliance with... power analysis filed by Puget Sound Energy, Inc. (Puget).\\4\\ \\3\\ See Vantage Wind Energy LLC, Docket No...

A marketing perspective to "delight" the "patient 2.0": new and challenging expectations for the healthcare provider.

PubMed

Buccoliero, Luca; Bellio, Elena; Mazzola, Maria; Solinas, Elisa

2016-02-09

The study aims at investigating the characteristics and the satisfaction determinants of the emerging patient profile. This profile appears to be more demanding and "empowered" compared to the ones traditionally conceived, asking for unconventional healthcare services and for a closer relationship with providers. Both qualitative (semi-structured interviews and focus groups) and quantitative (survey) analyses were performed on a random sample of 2808 Italian citizens-patients. Analyses entailed descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis and linear regressions. Four relevant dimensions of patient 2.0 experience were identified through a literature review on experiential marketing in healthcare. Beta coefficients exhibited the effect that different healthcare experiential elements have on patient 2.0 satisfaction. Results allow to state that a new marketing approach, based on patient 2.0 characteristics and value drivers, should be adopted in the healthcare sector. Critical satisfaction drivers and new technological healthcare guidelines are identified in order to match the new patient profile needs.

Systems Analysis of the Hydrogen Transition with HyTrans

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Leiby, Paul Newsome; Greene, David L; Bowman, David Charles

2007-01-01

The U.S. Federal government is carefully considering the merits and long-term prospects of hydrogen-fueled vehicles. NAS (1) has called for the careful application of systems analysis tools to structure the complex assessment required. Others, raising cautionary notes, question whether a consistent and plausible transition to hydrogen light-duty vehicles can identified (2) and whether that transition would, on balance, be environmentally preferred. Modeling the market transition to hydrogen-powered vehicles is an inherently complex process, encompassing hydrogen production, delivery and retailing, vehicle manufacturing, and vehicle choice and use. We describe the integration of key technological and market factors in a dynamic transitionmore » model, HyTrans. The usefulness of HyTrans and its predictions depends on three key factors: (1) the validity of the economic theories that underpin the model, (2) the authenticity with which the key processes are represented, and (3) the accuracy of specific parameter values used in the process representations. This paper summarizes the theoretical basis of HyTrans, and highlights the implications of key parameter specifications with sensitivity analysis.« less

Cross-correlations and influence in world gold markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Min; Wang, Gang-Jin; Xie, Chi; Stanley, H. Eugene

2018-01-01

Using the detrended cross-correlation analysis (DCCA) coefficient and the detrended partial cross-correlation analysis (DPCCA) coefficient, we investigate cross-correlations and net cross-correlations among five major world gold markets (London, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Mumbai) at different time scales. We propose multiscale influence measures for examining the influence of individual markets on other markets and on the entire system. We find (i) that the cross-correlations, net cross-correlations, and net influences among the five gold markets vary across time scales, (ii) that the cross-market correlation between London and New York at each time scale is intense and inherent, meaning that the influence of other gold markets on the London-New York market is negligible, (iii) that the remaining cross-market correlations (i.e., those other than London-New York) are greatly affected by other gold markets, and (iv) that the London gold market significantly affects the other four gold markets and dominates the world-wide gold market. Our multiscale findings give market participants and market regulators new information on cross-market linkages in the world-wide gold market.

Poverty crisis in the Third World: the contradictions of World Bank policy.

PubMed

Burkett, P

1991-01-01

Politicians, the mainstream media, and orthodox social science have all been telling us of a final victory of capitalism over socialism, suggesting that capitalism is the only viable option for solving the world's problems. Yet, the global capitalist system is itself entering the third decade of a profound structural crisis, the costs of which have been borne largely by the exploited and oppressed peoples of the underdeveloped periphery. While the World Bank's latest World Development Report recognizes the current poverty crisis in the third world, its "two-part strategy" for alleviating poverty is based on an inadequate analysis of how peripheral capitalist development marginalizes the basic needs of the third world poor. Hence, the World Bank's assertion that free-market policies are consistent with effective antipoverty programs does not confront the class structures and global capitalist interests bound up with the reproduction of mass poverty in the third world. The World Bank's subordination of the basic needs of the poor to free-market adjustments and reforms in fact suggests that the real purpose of its "two-part strategy" is to ensure continued extraction of surplus from third world countries by maintaining the basic structure of imperialist underdevelopment.

Schools, Choice and Reputation: Local School Markets and the Distribution of Symbolic Capital in Segregated Cities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bunar, Nihad; Ambrose, Anna

2016-01-01

An exploration is presented of how urban spaces, polarized by class and ethnicity, structure the basic conditions of emerging local school markets. The authors investigate how the distribution of symbolic capital, or "hot knowledge" of the market, affects schools, the market, and the urban spaces themselves. The study is guided by…

An Update of Marketing Student Perceptions of Learning Activities: Structure, Preferences, and Effectiveness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karns, Gary L.

2005-01-01

Many changes have occurred in the context of marketing education during the past decade, including the increased use of new technology-based and experiential pedagogies. To update the understanding of how students in advanced marketing courses perceive marketing pedagogies in this new context, a replication and extension of Karns's study of…

Toward a Model of Journal Economics in the Language Sciences. LINCS Project Document Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berg, Sanford; Campion, Douglas

This study outlines some considerations for an economic model of the scientific journal market. The model provides an explanation of journal market structure and the dynamics of market behavior, as well as a description of journal market development. Three types of periodicals are discussed: (1) primary, archival journals serving a current…

Strategic Planning and the Marketing Process: Library Applications.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Elizabeth J.

1983-01-01

Illustrates how basic principles of marketing and strategic market planning can be applied to libraries and discusses some concepts of strategic planning (organization mission, objectives and goals, growth strategy, program portfolio plan) and marketing (opportunity analysis, target market selection, marketing mix strategy, marketing systems…

Factors influencing efficient structure of fuel and energy complex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sidorova, N. G.; Novikova, S. A.

2017-10-01

The development of the Russian fuel-energy complex is a priority for the national economic policy, and the Far East is a link between Russia and the Asia-Pacific region. Large-scale engineering of numerous resources of the Far East will force industrial development, increase living standard and strengthen Russia’s position in the global energy market. So, revealing the factors which influence rational structure of the fuel-energy complex is very urgent nowadays. With the use of depth analysis of development tendencies of the complex and its problems the authors show ways of its efficiency improvement.

Minimum entropy density method for the time series analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jeong Won; Park, Joongwoo Brian; Jo, Hang-Hyun; Yang, Jae-Suk; Moon, Hie-Tae

2009-01-01

The entropy density is an intuitive and powerful concept to study the complicated nonlinear processes derived from physical systems. We develop the minimum entropy density method (MEDM) to detect the structure scale of a given time series, which is defined as the scale in which the uncertainty is minimized, hence the pattern is revealed most. The MEDM is applied to the financial time series of Standard and Poor’s 500 index from February 1983 to April 2006. Then the temporal behavior of structure scale is obtained and analyzed in relation to the information delivery time and efficient market hypothesis.

Industry sector analysis: The market for renewable energy resources (the Philippines). Export trade information

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cannon, E.; Miranda, A.L.

1990-08-01

The market survey covers the renewable energy resources market in the Philippines. Sub-sectors covered include biomass, solar energy, photovoltaic cells, windmills, and mini-hydro systems. The analysis contains statistical and narrative information on projected market demand, end-users; receptivity of Philippine consumers to U.S. products; the competitive situation, and market access (tariffs, non-tariff barriers, standards, taxes, distribution channels). It also contains key contact information.

Concurrent Probabilistic Simulation of High Temperature Composite Structural Response

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abdi, Frank

1996-01-01

A computational structural/material analysis and design tool which would meet industry's future demand for expedience and reduced cost is presented. This unique software 'GENOA' is dedicated to parallel and high speed analysis to perform probabilistic evaluation of high temperature composite response of aerospace systems. The development is based on detailed integration and modification of diverse fields of specialized analysis techniques and mathematical models to combine their latest innovative capabilities into a commercially viable software package. The technique is specifically designed to exploit the availability of processors to perform computationally intense probabilistic analysis assessing uncertainties in structural reliability analysis and composite micromechanics. The primary objectives which were achieved in performing the development were: (1) Utilization of the power of parallel processing and static/dynamic load balancing optimization to make the complex simulation of structure, material and processing of high temperature composite affordable; (2) Computational integration and synchronization of probabilistic mathematics, structural/material mechanics and parallel computing; (3) Implementation of an innovative multi-level domain decomposition technique to identify the inherent parallelism, and increasing convergence rates through high- and low-level processor assignment; (4) Creating the framework for Portable Paralleled architecture for the machine independent Multi Instruction Multi Data, (MIMD), Single Instruction Multi Data (SIMD), hybrid and distributed workstation type of computers; and (5) Market evaluation. The results of Phase-2 effort provides a good basis for continuation and warrants Phase-3 government, and industry partnership.

The structure of the pharmaceutical market in Iran using concentration indices

PubMed Central

Mohseni, Mohammad; Gorji, Hasan Abolghasem; Ahadinezhad, Bahman; Khosravizadeh, Omid; Keykaleh, Meysam Safi; Moosavi, Ahmad; Mohtashamzadeh, Bahareh

2017-01-01

Background and objective The efficiency and function of the pharmaceutical sector, as a vital portion of the health system, have a significant effect on intermediate and final indices of health. In this research, the structure of the pharmaceutical market in Iran was examined through the calculation of concentration indices in 2011. Methods In this cross-sectional study, the needed data was gathered from the Food and Drug Administration in the year 2011. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20 and Microsoft Office Excel software. Finally, two common measures of market concentration, the Concentration Ratio and the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, were calculated. Results The largest and the smallest shares of the industry were 5.57% and 0.01%, respectively. The average industry share was 1.09%. The share range was calculated to be 5.56%. The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index was 248.5, which indicates a very low concentration of the pharmaceutical market in Iran. Also, based on the Concentration Ratio of 4 companies (18.39%), the concentration of the pharmaceutical market has been too low. Conclusion The pharmaceutical market in Iran has a very low concentration and it does not have an exclusive mode in terms of market structure. Therefore, it can be attributed to the competitive model. The policy makers in this area can use this characteristic as a leverage to improve efficiency, fairness, revenue and health indices. PMID:28607663

The structure of the pharmaceutical market in Iran using concentration indices.

PubMed

Mohseni, Mohammad; Gorji, Hasan Abolghasem; Ahadinezhad, Bahman; Khosravizadeh, Omid; Keykaleh, Meysam Safi; Moosavi, Ahmad; Mohtashamzadeh, Bahareh

2017-04-01

The efficiency and function of the pharmaceutical sector, as a vital portion of the health system, have a significant effect on intermediate and final indices of health. In this research, the structure of the pharmaceutical market in Iran was examined through the calculation of concentration indices in 2011. In this cross-sectional study, the needed data was gathered from the Food and Drug Administration in the year 2011. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20 and Microsoft Office Excel software. Finally, two common measures of market concentration, the Concentration Ratio and the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, were calculated. The largest and the smallest shares of the industry were 5.57% and 0.01%, respectively. The average industry share was 1.09%. The share range was calculated to be 5.56%. The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index was 248.5, which indicates a very low concentration of the pharmaceutical market in Iran. Also, based on the Concentration Ratio of 4 companies (18.39%), the concentration of the pharmaceutical market has been too low. The pharmaceutical market in Iran has a very low concentration and it does not have an exclusive mode in terms of market structure. Therefore, it can be attributed to the competitive model. The policy makers in this area can use this characteristic as a leverage to improve efficiency, fairness, revenue and health indices.

Condom social marketing, Pentecostalism, and structural adjustment in Mozambique: a clash of AIDS prevention messages.

PubMed

Pfeiffer, James

2004-03-01

Despite significant debate about the efficacy, ideology, and ethics of the method, condom social marketing (CSM) has become the dominant approach to AIDS education in many sub-Saharan African countries. However, critics have charged that social marketing (SM) distracts from the structural determinants of health-related behavior and excludes genuine community participation. This article argues that the diffusion of SM techniques in Africa is not driven by demonstrated efficacy but is attributable to the promotion of privatization and free markets in the structural adjustment era across the region. The CSM experience in a central Mozambican community reveals the dangers of using the method at the expense of community dialogue and participation to confront the AIDS epidemic. The advertising campaign developed to sell condoms has clashed with Pentecostal and Independent Churches, now a majority of the population, that have expanded rapidly across the region spreading a contrasting message about sexuality and risky behavior.

Free markets and the marriage market: structural adjustment, gender relations, and working conditions among Dominican women workers.

PubMed

Safa, H I

1999-02-01

The relationship between economic conditions and marriage patterns in the Dominican Republic is analyzed using data collected in 1994 on women working in a free-trade zone. The author concludes that changes associated with structural adjustment appear to have contributed to a deterioration of the job market and a greater prevalence of female-headed households. It is shown that "structural adjustment increases the need for women to work, because of cuts in government programs, declining real wages, growing inflation, and a deterioration in male employment, which weakens the man's role as principal breadwinner and increases the importance and visibility of women's contribution to the household economy. This change in the gender composition of the labor force has encouraged some women to resist marriage and/or remarriage because the ¿marriage market' of eligible men willing and able to support a family has been reduced, contributing to greater marital instability." excerpt

Provision of ambulatory health services in Poland: a case study from Krakow.

PubMed

Chawla, Mukesh; Berman, Peter; Windak, Adam; Kulis, Marzena

2004-01-01

This study provides a comprehensive picture of the organization and delivery of ambulatory health care services in Poland. A main finding of the study is that, following the introduction of health insurance in 1999, the newly introduced Sickness Funds have become the main players in the medical services market, introducing new bidding procedures and contracts for provision of medical services. Contracts, and negotiations which precede them, have introduced elements of market competition, which has affected the number and types of services provided by health care centers operating under a contract. The health financing reforms have led to an even playing field for public and non-public providers, marked by a proliferation of structurally smaller health units. The introduction of a market environment has changed the way in which providers are compensated, with a discernible shift away from salary-based systems to capitation and fee-for-service compensation. The analysis of the provider market for outpatient care underscores the importance of understanding the organization and supply of health services, particularly insofar as it relates to the design of appropriate financial and other incentives for providers of health services and of policy interventions necessary for achieving systemic changes.

Perceptions of Turkish dentists of their professional identity in a market-orientated system.

PubMed

Ocek, Zeliha Asli; Vatansever, Kevser

2014-01-01

This study explores the perceptions of Turkish dentists of their professional identity and of the effects of market orientation in dentistry. This phenomenological study used a qualitative approach using a group of Turkish dentists, who were selected based on the principle of maximum variation. Four focus groups and 31 in-depth interviews were conducted. Forty-nine dentists were interviewed using a semi-structured form. The data analysis yielded three themes: (a) dentistry as a business; (b) dentistry as a profession; and (c) professional status of dentistry in the health care system and in the community. The participants' statements reflected that the dominance of market mechanisms in dentistry inevitably forces dentists to adopt the characteristics of a business person and prevents them from fulfilling the basic requirements of professionalism. All participants explained that with the transformation of the dental care market, dentists have become a cheap labor force and have lost their professional autonomy. Our study has confirmed previous reports pointing out the conflict between dentistry as a profession and dentistry as a commercial operation. The study also showed that in Turkey, as a country experiencing rapid reform processes, dentists' control over their professional practices and identities has decreased.

Strategic behaviour of institutional providers in mental handicapped care in the Netherlands.

PubMed

Van Harten, Willem H; Veldhuis, Marleen J M; Hoeksma, Bernhard H; Krabbendam, Koos J

2007-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to describe an inventory of the strategic responses of institutional providers of mental handicapped care to the strengthening of consumer choice through a personal care budget (PCB). Semi structured interviews were conducted among 26 providers covering 52 per cent of the total market volume of about 100,000 clients annually. A representative number of providers was included; on average a percentage below the national average of PCB users was found to be served. Of the 26 providers, 16 indicated adaption to their strategy in response to expected consumer empowerment The actual deployment of this response in the organisations seemed not to be very thorough or explicit. Surprisingly, as a growing part of PCB-clients choose alternative providers, no concerns were raised concerning the possible emergence of new service providers. Although the market share of PCB users is growing fast and existing providers do not seem to absorb this accordingly, a lack of market analysis and strategic behaviour of the traditional providers in response to this development was found. Based on this research growth of market shares of disruptive service providers can very well be anticipated.

A homotopy analysis method for the option pricing PDE in illiquid markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

E-Khatib, Youssef

2012-09-01

One of the shortcomings of the Black and Scholes model on option pricing is the assumption that trading the underlying asset does not affect the underlying asset price. This can happen in perfectly liquid markets and it is evidently not viable in markets with imperfect liquidity (illiquid markets). It is well-known that markets with imperfect liquidity are more realistic. Thus, the presence of price impact while studying options is very important. This paper investigates a solution for the option pricing PDE in illiquid markets using the homotopy analysis method.

Risk management in the competitive electric power industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dahlgren, Robert William

From 1990 until present day, the electric power industry has experienced dramatic changes worldwide. This recent evolution of the power industry has included creation and multiple iterations of competitive wholesale markets in many different forms. The creation of these competitive markets has resulted in increased short-term volatility of power prices. Vertically integrated utilities emerged from years of regulatory controls to now experience the need to perform risk assessment. The goal of this dissertation is to provide background and details of the evolution of market structures combined with examples of how to apply price risk assessment techniques such as Value-at-Risk (VaR). In Chapter 1, the history and evolution of three selected regional markets, PJM, California, and England and Wales is presented. A summary of the commonalities and differences is presented to provide an overview of the rate of transformation of the industry in recent years. The broad area of risk management in the power industry is also explored through a State-of-the-Art Literature Survey. In Chapter 2, an illustration of risk assessment to power trading is presented. The techniques of Value-at-Risk and Conditional Value-at-Risk are introduced and applied to a common scenario. The advantages and limitations of the techniques are compared through observation of their results against the common example. Volatility in the California Power Markets is presented in Chapter 3. This analysis explores the California markets in the summer of 2000 including the application of VaR analysis to the extreme volatility observed during this period. In Chapter 4, CVaR is applied to the same California historical data used in Chapter 3. In addition, the unique application of minimizing the risk of a power portfolio by minimizing CVaR is presented. The application relies on recent research into CVaR whereby the portfolio optimization problem can be reduced to a Linear Programming problem.

75 FR 34530 - Analysis by the President's Working Group on Financial Markets on the Long-Term Availability and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-17

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Analysis by the President's Working Group on Financial Markets on the... insurance for terrorism risk. The President's Working Group on Financial Markets (established by Executive... his designee, is the Chairman of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets. As chair of the...

25 CFR 162.551 - How will BIA determine fair market rental for a WSR lease?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... LEASES AND PERMITS Wind and Solar Resource Leases Wsr Lease Monetary Compensation Requirements § 162.551 How will BIA determine fair market rental for a WSR lease? (a) We will use a market analysis... method; or (2) Use an approved market analysis, appraisal, or other appropriate valuation method from the...

25 CFR 162.551 - How will BIA determine fair market rental for a WSR lease?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... LEASES AND PERMITS Wind and Solar Resource Leases Wsr Lease Monetary Compensation Requirements § 162.551 How will BIA determine fair market rental for a WSR lease? (a) We will use a market analysis... method; or (2) Use an approved market analysis, appraisal, or other appropriate valuation method from the...

Market segmentation and analysis of Japan's residential post and beam construction market.

Treesearch

Joseph A. Roos; Ivan L. Eastin; Hisaaki Matsuguma

2005-01-01

A mail survey of Japanese post and beam builders was conducted to measure their level of ethnocentrism, market orientation, risk aversion, and price consciousness. The data were analyzed utilizing factor and cluster analysis. The results showed that Japanese post and beam builders can be divided into three distinct market segments: open to import...

DIY Solar Market Analysis Webinar Series: Solar Resource and Technical

Science.gov Websites

Series: Solar Resource and Technical Potential DIY Solar Market Analysis Webinar Series: Solar Resource and Technical Potential Wednesday, June 11, 2014 As part of a Do-It-Yourself Solar Market Analysis summer series, NREL's Solar Technical Assistance Team (STAT) presented a live webinar titled, "Solar

Promotion or marketing of the nursing profession by nurses.

PubMed

Kagan, I; Biran, E; Telem, L; Steinovitz, N; Alboer, D; Ovadia, K L; Melnikov, S

2015-09-01

In recent years, much effort has been invested all over the world in nurse recruitment and retention. Issues arising in this context are low job satisfaction, the poor public image of nursing and the reluctance of nurses to promote or market their profession. This study aimed to examine factors explaining the marketing of the nursing profession by nurses working at a general tertiary medical centre in Israel. One hundred sixty-nine registered nurses and midwives from five clinical care units completed a structured self-administered questionnaire, measuring (a) professional self-image, (b) job satisfaction, (c) nursing promotional and marketing activity questionnaire, and (d) demographic data. The mean scores for the promotion of nursing were low. Nurses working in an intensive cardiac care unit demonstrated higher levels of promotional behaviour than nurses from other nursing wards in our study. Nurse managers reported higher levels of nursing promotion activity compared with first-line staff nurses. There was a strong significant correlation between job satisfaction and marketing behaviour. Multiple regression analysis shows that 15% of the variance of promoting the nursing profession was explained by job satisfaction and job position. Nurses are not inclined to promote or market their profession to the public or to other professions. The policy on the marketing of nursing is inadequate. A three-level (individual, organizational and national) nursing marketing programme is proposed for implementation by nurse leadership and policy makers. Among proposed steps to improve marketing of the nursing profession are promotion of the image of nursing by the individual nurse in the course of her or his daily activities, formulation and implementation of policies and programmes to promote the image of nursing at the organizational level and drawing up of a long-term programme for promoting or marketing the professional status of nursing at the national level. © 2015 International Council of Nurses.

Financial liberalization and stock market cross-correlation: MF-DCCA analysis based on Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruan, Qingsong; Zhang, Shuhua; Lv, Dayong; Lu, Xinsheng

2018-02-01

Based on the implementation of Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect in China, this paper examines the effects of financial liberalization on stock market comovement using both multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA) and multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis (MF-DCCA) methods. Results based on MF-DFA confirm the multifractality of Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets, and the market efficiency of Shanghai stock market increased after the implementation of this connect program. Besides, analysis based on MF-DCCA has verified the existence of persistent cross-correlation between Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets, and the cross-correlation gets stronger after the launch of this liberalization program. Finally, we find that fat-tail distribution is the main source of multifractality in the cross-correlations before the stock connect program, while long-range correlation contributes to the multifractality after this program.

Behavioral dimensions of food security

PubMed Central

Timmer, C. Peter

2012-01-01

The empirical regularities of behavioral economics, especially loss aversion, time inconsistency, other-regarding preferences, herd behavior, and framing of decisions, present significant challenges to traditional approaches to food security. The formation of price expectations, hoarding behavior, and welfare losses from highly unstable food prices all depends on these behavioral regularities. At least when they are driven by speculative bubbles, market prices for food staples (and especially for rice, the staple food of over 2 billion people) often lose their efficiency properties and the normative implications assigned by trade theory. Theoretical objections to government efforts to stabilize food prices, thus, have reduced saliency, although operational, financing, and implementation problems remain important, even critical. The experience of many Asian governments in stabilizing their rice prices over the past half century is drawn on in this paper to illuminate both the political mandates stemming from behavioral responses of citizens and operational problems facing efforts to stabilize food prices. Despite the theoretical problems with free markets, the institutional role of markets in economic development remains. All policy instruments must operate compatibly with prices in markets. During policy design, especially for policies designed to alter market prices, incentive structures need to be compatible with respect to both government capacity (bureaucratic and budgetary) and empirical behavior on the part of market participants who will respond to planned policy changes. A new theoretical underpinning to political economy analysis is needed that incorporates this behavioral perspective, with psychology, sociology, and anthropology all likely to make significant contributions. PMID:20855628

Changes in the Medicare home health care market: the impact of reimbursement policy.

PubMed

Choi, Sunha; Davitt, Joan K

2009-03-01

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 introduced 2 new reimbursement structures, the Interim Payment System (IPS, 1997-2000) and the Prospective Payment System (PPS, begun October 2000) for Medicare home health agencies (HHAs) under the fee-for-service program. This article describes and compares the impact of these changes on the Medicare home health market from a period before the BBA through the IPS and PPS in relation to agency characteristics. A secondary analysis of 1996, 1999, and 2002 Provider of Services data was conducted on all Medicare-certified HHAs. Frequencies and rates of change were calculated by agency characteristics to describe changes in the number of active agencies through those years. Logistic regression models were used to compare factors associated with market exits under different payment systems. The results indicate dramatic but disproportional changes in response to the IPS and the PPS among Medicare home health care agencies. Agency closures were greater and market entries fewer during the IPS, but more branch offices/subunits were closed during the PPS. Proprietary and freestanding agencies experienced greater volatility throughout, with the greatest number of closures seen in Region VI (Dallas). These results demonstrate the direct impact of policy changes on the home health care market and highlight the need to evaluate policy changes to understand both intended and unintended impacts on health markets. Future research should analyze the effect of these policy changes on other healthcare providers and systems and their impact on health outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries.

Behavioral dimensions of food security.

PubMed

Timmer, C Peter

2012-07-31

The empirical regularities of behavioral economics, especially loss aversion, time inconsistency, other-regarding preferences, herd behavior, and framing of decisions, present significant challenges to traditional approaches to food security. The formation of price expectations, hoarding behavior, and welfare losses from highly unstable food prices all depends on these behavioral regularities. At least when they are driven by speculative bubbles, market prices for food staples (and especially for rice, the staple food of over 2 billion people) often lose their efficiency properties and the normative implications assigned by trade theory. Theoretical objections to government efforts to stabilize food prices, thus, have reduced saliency, although operational, financing, and implementation problems remain important, even critical. The experience of many Asian governments in stabilizing their rice prices over the past half century is drawn on in this paper to illuminate both the political mandates stemming from behavioral responses of citizens and operational problems facing efforts to stabilize food prices. Despite the theoretical problems with free markets, the institutional role of markets in economic development remains. All policy instruments must operate compatibly with prices in markets. During policy design, especially for policies designed to alter market prices, incentive structures need to be compatible with respect to both government capacity (bureaucratic and budgetary) and empirical behavior on the part of market participants who will respond to planned policy changes. A new theoretical underpinning to political economy analysis is needed that incorporates this behavioral perspective, with psychology, sociology, and anthropology all likely to make significant contributions.

Market Structure, Financial Dependence and Industrial Growth: Evidence from the Banking Industry in Emerging Asian Economies.

PubMed

Khan, Habib Hussain; Ahmad, Rubi Binit; Gee, Chan Sok

2016-01-01

In this study, we examine the role of market structure for growth in financially dependent industries from 10 emerging Asian economies over the period of 1995-2011. Our approach departs from existing studies in that we apply four alternative measures of market structure based on structural and non-structural approaches and compare their outcomes. Results indicate that higher bank concentration may slow down the growth of financially dependent industries. Bank competition on the other hand, allows financially dependent industries to grow faster. These findings are consistent across a number of sensitivity checks such as alternative measures of financial dependence, institutional factors (including property rights, quality of accounting standards and bank ownership), and endogeneity consideration. In sum, our study suggests that financially dependent industries grow more in more competitive/less concentrated banking systems. Therefore, regulatory authorities need to be careful while pursuing a consolidation policy for banking sector in emerging Asian economies.

Price Analysis on Commercial Item Purchases Within the Department of Defense

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-02

Department of Defense Introduction Background This research builds upon the work conducted in collaboration with the authors’ thesis students ...market research and price analysis methods . Most contract pricing of acquisitions was conducted using cost analysis before these reforms were added to...analysis methods are being used? b) Do market research reports refer to market information that improves the buyers’ understanding of pricing in the